Soumah 1

Aicha Soumah

Mr.Phillips

English 3

8 May 2017

Coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef

Imagine having to lose the only place called home, due to coral bleaching.

Currently, the marine life of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia is going through coral

bleaching events. Climate change is taking a toll on the great barrier reef so, if we do

not intervene now, then the marine life can face challenges such as reproduction,

growth, and extinction.

Coral bleaching has been occurring in many coral reefs around the world for the

past century. But it affects the biggest Coral reef in the world the most ; The Great

Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching results from temperatures in the ocean water to rise

because of climate change. So, as average temperatures rises, so does the stress level

corals(Cave, Gillis). Corals have a limited temperature range in which they can live in. If

temperatures reduce quickly, then the corals can recover, but if not, they will die. The

recent event that just took place was El nino which was one the worst coral damages in

Great Barrier Reef history. Events like this are happening frequently which is

interrupting the process for corals to heal from past events. Some scientists are in fear

of losing the ecological treasure(Siomko).

The main concern of these coral bleaching events is the marine life. The coral

reef relies on diverse organisms and coral bleaching destroys that (Brayton). A variety of

species such seahorses, sharks, crabs, lobsters, turtles and more are affected by coral
 Soumah 2

bleaching. But out any of these species, fish are the most affected. For instance let's

take camouflage fish as an example. Camouflage fish use corals for protection to hide

away from predators(Kaplan). So with out the colourful corals to help them hide, their

chance of survival will decrease. Also fish along with other species need the coral reef

for reproduction and just simply for a place to live. So it's safe to say that if corals

continue to die, the we could possibly lose biodiversity to most of the marine life in the

great barrier reef.

Ever wondered how does coral bleaching affect the Australian economy at all?

Well it does a whole lot in fact. The Great Barrier Reef is one Australia's main attractions

due to it variety of marine life and corals. Tourist love to take pictures of animals and

corals while they're there. Also many visitors adore swimming in the great barrier

reef.So with the coral bleaching events happening, thousands of visitors will not find it

attractive to look at and are likely to go elsewhere for their

holidays (Haines). This means it can cause a major decrease to the Australian

economy(Morris).

Many people love the great barrier reef and the marine life also but, there are

people who do not for care for it as much, such as Australian politicians. Most politicians

often say that coral bleaching taking place in great barrier reef is exaggerated or over-

rated. But the fact is, the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef is very important.

The corals are home to many species of life. Scientists and researchers are saying that

the numbers of corals dying are increasing every year because, of the back-to-back

bleaching events. Scientists expect that more than ninety percent of Corals will die by
 Soumah 3

2050 (Becatoros). Instead of promoting this coral bleaching problem, politicians are

pushing it away.

Now the economy is one of the first things politicians worry about. The economy

is very important to every county. The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's main

sources of income. Thousands of tourist pay up to hundreds of dollars to visit the Great

Barrier Reef during vacation. Without out visitors coming, the Australian economy can

deal with losses up to one billion (Turner). So again as stated earlier, the economy will

drop tremendously if tourist do not travel to go see the great reef barrier. Politicians

should think about that more along with the economy.

Most Australian politicians will tend to argue that climate change is the only

reason why coral bleaching is happening and that should only be focus on. But that's

not that only case here. Climate pollution is also damaging that coral reefs. To be

precise, factors such as coal mining and other burning fossil fuel industry are reasons

why these bleaching events are happening also. (Ritter). Australia has one of the top

countries in coal exporting trade. The sad thing about it is that the coal exporting ships

take a route straight through the reef (Readfearn). This affects the corals and marine life

in numerous ways.

There is still enough time to help out the corals and the marine life of the Great

Barrier Reef. Ninety-three percent of the great barrier has been affected by coral

bleaching. That is a huge percent but, we can prevent that other seven percent from

being affected. Scientists and researchers are monitoring and maintaining the reef

(Smail). Also there are now foundations for public to join such as the Great Barrier Reef
 Soumah 4

Foundation (McCarthy). People who are not scientists love the fact that, they do not

have to wear a lab coat in order to contribute in helping the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef has been around longer than humans have on this

planet. It is vital that we make sure to protect it have it last here forever. Not only for us

humans but for the marine life as well. The marine life benefits off of the Great Barrier

Reef more than we ever will. It is their natural habitat; their home. There is still hope in

the future that things will get better for the Great Barrier Reef.
 Soumah 5

Works Cited

Becatoros, Elena. "Scientists Race to Prevent Wipeout of World's Coral Reefs."

Scientists Race to Prevent Wipeout of World's Coral Reefs | Fort Frances Times.

N.p., 13 Mar. 2017. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

Brayton, Casey. "Responding to Coral Bleaching in the National Marine Sanctuary

System." Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. N.p., 8 July 2016. Web. 25 Apr.

2017.

Cave, Damien, and Justin Gillis. "Large Sections of Australias Great Reef Are Now

Dead, Scientists Find." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2017.

Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

Haines, Gavin. "Coral Bleaching Could Cost Australian Tourist Industry 616 Million

Annually." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 21 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Apr.

2017.

Kaplan, Matt. "Bleached Corals Ruin Fish Camouflage." Nature News. Nature

Publishing Group, 21 Oct. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Morris, Lulu. "Why the Loss of The Great Barrier Reef Will Cost $1tn Globally." National

Geographic. N.p., 12 Apr. 2017. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Readfearn, Graham. "Link between Fossil Fuels and Great Barrier Reef Bleaching Clear

and Incontrovertible." Google. Google, 10 Apr. 2017. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

 Soumah 6

Ritter, David. "Australia's Politicians Have Betrayed the Great Barrier Reef and Only the

People Can save It." Greenpeace Australia Pacific. N.p., 09 Apr. 2017. Web. 26

Apr. 2017.

Siomko, Sam. "Great Barrier Reef in Jeopardy Due to Climate Change." The

Gettysburgian.N.p., 21 Apr. 2017. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Smail, Stephanie. "Citizen Scientists Help Document Impact of Coral Bleaching." ABC

News. N.p., 22 Oct. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

Turner, Steven. "Climate Council Says GBR Bleaching Will Cost $1 Billion in Annual

Tourism Revenue, Thousands of Jobs." Radio National. N.p., 11 Apr. 2017. Web.

25 Apr. 2017.