Coral Bleaching: A Canvas Turns Blank
White is a color of Peace.
It symbolizes tranquility, patience, and hope.
It paves way for new discoveries, like paper to paint.
White is the beginning of life; our world's blank canvas. Little do we realize it can bring an end as well.
Coral reefs are bustling with color and splendor. Hot spots for all kinds of sea life, they are one of the most important underwater ecosystems out there.
They act as barricades, stopping storms from coming inland.
They are home to thousands of creatures, big or small.
They are where all the fish we consume begin their journey.
They give us inspiration beyond compare.
The list goes on, with no definite end. Right after you feel you've discovered every possible fact about reefs, they will continue to surprise you. If you left me to my own devices, I could go on about reefs for days on end.
But that's not what today's article is about. Instead, we'll discuss a more alarming issue- tied to the almighty global warming. We'll see how the color of white changed our oceans for the worse.
Before we look into that, though, we need to know more about coral reefs. Reefs are made of coral polyps, tiny Cnidarians that represent anemones in structure. When these polyps grow together, they develop a hard, calcium-carbonate exoskeleton over the years. This covering, along with the live polyps, is what we consider to be coral. A vast group of coral extending over the seafloor is a reef.
There are many different types of coral; from hard, rigid kinds to soft and flexible ones. This provides a diverse habitat, each nook and cranny home to some form of life. The uniqueness and systematic nature of a reef habitat are what make it such a successful ecosystem.
Despite their differences, all polyps share one thing in common- their symbiotic relationship with algae. This algae goes by Zooxanthellae, and is the main reason for the polyps' survival. Zooxanthellae, being autotrophs, can produce their own food, which they share with the coral polyps. In return, the polyps provide shelter to the algae. Zooxanthellae make 90% of a coral's intake, while the coral's rough exoskeleton provides safety against pesky fishes.
All this being said, we finally arrive at today's topic: Coral bleaching. Coral Bleaching is when the symbiotic algae that reside in coral are expelled from the polyp due to a change of external conditions. These include salinity changes, cyanide fishing, bacterial infection, climate change, and ocean acidification. When one of the mentioned stimuli affect the algae, it dies or grows sick. This causes the coral polyps to eject them from their system, not realizing that the zooxanthellae are vital for survival. Since the algae are what provide color to coral, the coral goes white without it, as though it had been bleached. The polyps don't die after bleaching, but it does affect them so much that most coral starves and stresses until the very end.
The reef turns blank, losing the life it once held. It's almost impossible to recover all damages at this point; millennia of developing just to be washed away in a few years.
93% of the Great Barrier Reef has been ruined by bleaching.
Strong and healthy coral is forced to succumb to global warming and his sister, ocean acidification.
Even a change in a few degrees, or a slight change in pH, can bring forth disaster. Think of it as when you have a fever- your temperature only increases by a little, but you still feel horrible on the inside.
Coral is the same way, after living years in an ocean with constant conditions, a sudden change affects them beyond imagination.
As I always do, I'll end this article with a warning.
Let's stand up for our reefs.
This is no longer a joke nor a game nor a hoax.
This is reality.
If you aren't ready to accept that, you're as good as gone.
Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/coralcoe/43449638314
It symbolizes tranquility, patience, and hope.
It paves way for new discoveries, like paper to paint.
White is the beginning of life; our world's blank canvas. Little do we realize it can bring an end as well.
Coral reefs are bustling with color and splendor. Hot spots for all kinds of sea life, they are one of the most important underwater ecosystems out there.
They act as barricades, stopping storms from coming inland.
They are home to thousands of creatures, big or small.
They are where all the fish we consume begin their journey.
They give us inspiration beyond compare.
The list goes on, with no definite end. Right after you feel you've discovered every possible fact about reefs, they will continue to surprise you. If you left me to my own devices, I could go on about reefs for days on end.
But that's not what today's article is about. Instead, we'll discuss a more alarming issue- tied to the almighty global warming. We'll see how the color of white changed our oceans for the worse.
Before we look into that, though, we need to know more about coral reefs. Reefs are made of coral polyps, tiny Cnidarians that represent anemones in structure. When these polyps grow together, they develop a hard, calcium-carbonate exoskeleton over the years. This covering, along with the live polyps, is what we consider to be coral. A vast group of coral extending over the seafloor is a reef.
There are many different types of coral; from hard, rigid kinds to soft and flexible ones. This provides a diverse habitat, each nook and cranny home to some form of life. The uniqueness and systematic nature of a reef habitat are what make it such a successful ecosystem.
Despite their differences, all polyps share one thing in common- their symbiotic relationship with algae. This algae goes by Zooxanthellae, and is the main reason for the polyps' survival. Zooxanthellae, being autotrophs, can produce their own food, which they share with the coral polyps. In return, the polyps provide shelter to the algae. Zooxanthellae make 90% of a coral's intake, while the coral's rough exoskeleton provides safety against pesky fishes.
All this being said, we finally arrive at today's topic: Coral bleaching. Coral Bleaching is when the symbiotic algae that reside in coral are expelled from the polyp due to a change of external conditions. These include salinity changes, cyanide fishing, bacterial infection, climate change, and ocean acidification. When one of the mentioned stimuli affect the algae, it dies or grows sick. This causes the coral polyps to eject them from their system, not realizing that the zooxanthellae are vital for survival. Since the algae are what provide color to coral, the coral goes white without it, as though it had been bleached. The polyps don't die after bleaching, but it does affect them so much that most coral starves and stresses until the very end.
The reef turns blank, losing the life it once held. It's almost impossible to recover all damages at this point; millennia of developing just to be washed away in a few years.
93% of the Great Barrier Reef has been ruined by bleaching.
Strong and healthy coral is forced to succumb to global warming and his sister, ocean acidification.
Even a change in a few degrees, or a slight change in pH, can bring forth disaster. Think of it as when you have a fever- your temperature only increases by a little, but you still feel horrible on the inside.
Coral is the same way, after living years in an ocean with constant conditions, a sudden change affects them beyond imagination.
As I always do, I'll end this article with a warning.
Let's stand up for our reefs.
This is no longer a joke nor a game nor a hoax.
This is reality.
If you aren't ready to accept that, you're as good as gone.
Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/coralcoe/43449638314
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