Final Blog

Over the course of these blogs I have learned a vast amount about corals, from how they function in the ocean system. On a smaller scale, I have looked at individual coral reefs in the form of the Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea Coral Reef. I have seen how corals are affected by human stress, and just how large this problem is set to become.

Human stresses are a gigantic threat to corals. We have looked at this in detail. The future of the coral reefs hangs in the balance. Unfortunately the collective lack of action from world powers to tackle climate change leads be to believe that corals may be consigned to the history books. Bleaching of corals is increasing rapidly, co2 emissions are as well, resulting in an acidic ocean, and continued irresponsible fishing and dumping of waste into the ocean means corals look set to face an uphill battle for survival.

As David Attenborough said in the recent 'Planet Earth 2', humans are a plague on the earth. With little regard for the world we live in, we are destroying environments world over, with no thought of the cost. The loss of corals would be catastrophic, both economically and environmentally. The loss to the tourism would run into the billions of $. Arguably, the environmental impacts would be even more astronomical. The loss of corals would mean decrease in fish populations as well as other marine life. The lack of corals could lead to mass starvation as corals from the basis of the food chain with the support they give to algae.

There would likely be unforeseen impacts with the loss of corals. One certainty would be that coastal areas would come under a lot more stress from waves and storms. Corals act as a natural barrier and dissipate the energy of incoming waves. Without this other forms of protection would be required, such as expensive hard engineering methods. Damage to low lying countries would increase, like Bangladesh and The Maldives.

An example of the damage that can be caused by rising sea levels.

It seems as though there is not much hope for corals, but there is time. If global action can be taken to combat climate change, then perhaps there will be a future for coral reefs. We are the generation that can make a difference, and so we must work together to ensure the future of not just coral reefs, but the entire world.