Coral+Reef+Conservation

__** Coral Reef Conservation **__ =1. a.= Ryan Coral reef attracts ecotourism. But the increase in ecotourism is usually accompanied by increases in reef damage. Divers and snorkelers may harm the corals by touching the polyps, while the boats transport ecotourism to the reefs may damage the reef by dragging anchors. Although ecotourism is responsible for reef damage, if it is carefully maintained ecotourism may actually help preserve these valuable habitats.

Ally b. It is not just the land biomes that are getting hit with climate change. The coral reef is also involved in this problem. As the carbon dioxide levels rise in the atmosphere, they also rise in the coral reef causing the waters to be more acidic. This makes it harder for the corals to form a skeleton, which in turn slows coral growth, and impacts reef structure, especially after damage or disease events.

As the temperature drops outside, it also drops in the water. This causes something called "coral bleaching" and it is very harmful for the coral. When the coral gets "bleached", it loses its algea that provides it food. When the temperature increases drasticly, it can kill the coral. Climate change is a problem that we need to fix.

Ryan 2. a.  More frequently today coral reefs are being over grown by seaweed. The reason is over fertilization from sewage and agriculture products. This is pouting the coral reefs and having the seaweed over grow and smother the reefs. This is a problem that is easily solved. You can solve this by tertiary treatment of all sewage to remove nutrients; also the farmers could use more efficient use of fertilizers.

Ally = b.  = In the coral reef, a problem in the coral reef is that there is a lot of over fishing. One of the main problems that occur in over fishing is the aggressive fishing methods’. One method is the fishermen blow up the coral reef and injects cyanide into the water. That stuns the fish and then they catch them. Blowing the reef up damages it beyond repair and the other organisms will also die off too. Some scientists say that the reefs "will not survive for more than a few decades unless drastic action is taken to protect them."

One way that we can help save the coral reefs is to make designated "no take" zones -- where fishing and other exploitation is banned. There are also laws against some harmful fishing methods in federal waters. They also have been studying the birth grounds of types of fish so that they could protect the offspring from harmful fishing methods. These are all possible solutions to over fishing in the coral reef.

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