How coral is destroyed

The Destruction of Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are being destroyed by anthropogenic fluxes in their environment. These fluxes are caused both directly by people who have physical contact with the reefs and by all other people who contribute to earth’s pollution.

Direct Contact: Fishing

Humans destroy coral reefs directly through unfriendly fishing habits. Many coral reefs are overfished, destroying their sustainability. In other areas, practices like cyanide fishing and blast fishing destroy reefs. Cyanide fishing is a method in which divers squirt cyanide into reef crevices and onto fish, stunning them and making them easy to catch. Small organisms, especially coral polyps, are killed by the cyanide in this process. Blast fishing, in which explosives or gun shots are sent into the reefs, can completely destroy the reef structure.

Direct Contact: Tourist Economies

Tourism has caused severe damage to the reefs. Corals are often removed from their habitat to be sold as souvenirs. Also, in some coastal areas with rapidly growing populations and development, piers and docks have been built right on top of coral reefs. Careless divers often inadvertently destroy coral reefs by kicking them or dropping anchors from their boats directly onto the coral. In poorer countries, septic waste from resorts often leaks out into the ocean, killing off the fragile corals.

However, much of the destruction of coral reefs is caused by people who have never even seen a reef. The pollution which has adversely affected the earth over the last century has had a dramatic effect on the health of the reefs.

Pollution: Global Warming and Ozone Depletion

Global warming has translated into oceanic warming, the rising temperature of earth’s oceans. This process, combined with the depletion of earth’s ozone and subsequent increases in ultraviolet radiation, has lead to what is known as “coral bleaching”. Coral bleaching occurs when the coral polyps, stressed by changes in temperature or UV radiation, expel the zooxanthellae which are necessary for their survival. This not only “bleaches” them and causes them to lose their color, it often leads to their death.

Pollution: Increased CO2

Increases in the amounts of carbon dioxide found in water have had an adverse effect on coral. The Carbon Dioxide seems to be dissolving the coral skeletons and making them much weaker. The process has been compared to osteoporosis in humans, and is leaving the fragile coral structures weak and even more vulnerable to anthropogenic fluxes.

Pollution: Water Contamination

Oil spills, waste dumping, and other byproducts of human advances have resulted in the contamination of the oceans. When the homoeostasis of the reef area is lost, there is an overgrowth of algae. When too much algae grows on the reef, the coral cannot get enough oxygen and is the reef is effectively smothered by Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide.

Source: http://plaza.ufl.edu/bettie/coralreef.html