Abby Allen

4/25/17

Impact of the Loss of Coral Reefs

Part 1: Information Literacy Exercise

1 Given my library experience, as well as personal values and understanding, I decided to

dig deeper into a current environmental issue that I feel is often overlooked. This topic is

the loss of our coral reefs. I started by using the library database to find the top

environmental issues that we face today, and thats where I came across the topic of the

Coral Reefs. I have a small background of understanding how this ecosystem works, as I

learned a little about it in my internship this summer in Hawaii. I then narrowed my

search down to focus on the deterioration of coral reefs because a lot of the sources that

came up were just about the reefs in general.

2 A. Weber, Peter K. "Saving the Coral Reefs." Futurist, vol. 27, no. 4, Jul/Aug93, p. 28. EBSCOhost,

bryant.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN

=9309075630&site=ehost-live. This source does a good job of highlighting and summarizing the

condition of the global reefs. It is a reliable source because it is a peer-reviewed article on

ebsohost.

B. Munday, Philip L. "Habitat Loss, Resource Specialization, and Extinction on Coral Reefs."

Global Change Biology, vol. 10, no. 10, Oct. 2004, pp. 1642-1647. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00839.x. Credible because it is from a published book on Biology.

Sale, Peter, and Peter F. Sale. Our Dying Planet, edited by Peter Sale, and Peter F. Sale,

University of California Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central,

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bryant/detail.action?docID=730028.

1
 This source was great because it went into good details about the coral reefs from the

perspective of a biologist with a lot of background studying the reefs.

Part 2: Paper Two Assignment

Science reveals that Coral Reefs are likely to disappear within the century and this will mark

the first ecosystem eliminated from earth. According to the World Conservation Unition and the

U.N Environment Programme (UNEP), Human beings have damaged or destroyed coral reefs off

the coasts of 93 countries. The impact that this will have is much greater than just the loss of a

beautiful ecosystem that is aesthetically pleasing and fascinating to learn about. The deterioration

of this ecosystem has an unpresented effect on earths future, and has direct relations with many

international development issues that we see globally. According to scientist Phillip L. Munday,

prediction of what the loss of these reefs will cause in terms of overall risks and species

extrinction is one of the most challenging and urgent tasks facing ecologists. Recovery of

Coral reefs is in our hands; and we should focus more on educating the public on this beautiful

and important ecosystem, as well as issue laws to protect and revive them.

How could an ecosystem that only covers about .17 percent of the ocean floor have so much

value to us you might ask. Well, although coral reefs only cover about the size of Texas in

comparison to the ocean at large, it makes up about of all marine species. The organisms that

make up these reefs affect the lives of not only the 109 countries they line the shores of, but

every single one of us in some way.

Many of these organisms have historically made significant contributions to science and

medicine, and losing Coral Reefs will prevent more discoveries and advances in medicine to be

made. Kainic acid, for example, is collected from reefs in Japan and Taiwan and is used as a

2
chemical to investigate Huntington Chorea, a rare but fatal disease in the nervous system. The

reefs also have shown to have organisms with potential to benefit cancer and AIDS research.

Particularly for those countries lined with coral reefs, they rely on these reefs for protection.

The reefs are designed to help hold back the erosive forces of the sea. Without them, the ocean

will destroy hundreds and thousands of homes.

Our coral reefs also make big contributions to our food supply. Pacific islanders receive up to

90% of their protein intake from organisms in the reefs. Worldwide, around 1/10th of all fish

caught for human consumption are found in the reefs.

The decline of our coral reefs has direct relations with many other developmental and

environmental issues that we face today. A main reason for their rapid decline is due to coral

bleaching which is an effect of global warming. When the surface of the water is hotter than it

should be, it kills important algae needed for the coral to survive.

There are many other factors that contribute to the loss of the reefs that have direct correlation to

human beings, how we are evolving, and how we treat our environment. Although the reefs are

beautiful, full of unique and colorful plants and animals, they are wrongfully used a lot of times

as a business. Many of the movies and readings we see in and outside of class teach us how

tourism has had grave effects on the development of many countries. We see that in many

tropical destination locations, the local people are immensely effected by tourism and it controls

everything around them including their struggling economy and access to resources. Not only

does this cause harm to the people of these locations, but it harms the environment as well. The

reefs are used by tourists for exotic pets, gift shop items, building materials such as limestone,

and tourist complexes. Even if the tourists themselves dont go in the water or purchase the

products, the hotels often pipe their sewage and wastewater directly into the ocean polluting the

3
water. One article stated, Tourism is often cited as motivation for countries to protect their reefs

from these various forms of destruction, yet the boom in this industry is also contributing to the

degradation of reefs in some areas. What this reveals are quite contradictory, because although

people travel to see and experience the marvels of the reefs, at the same time this is a main

reason they are being destroyed.

There has not been much done by people to bring attention to the problem or issue

change, although there has been some. Australia issued a reef protection in 1975 by creating the

Great Barrier Reef Park. The park is run much different than other reefs, and is split up into

different sections for different uses. This is important because park authority is able to regulate

the use of the reef and works to maintain long-term health. Other organizations such as the

Regional Seas Programme and the World Bank are putting money and effort into the protection

of these amazing ecosystem. Good news is today; 7 reefs are protected as World Heritage Sites.

But there is much more that could be done. One article suggests that industrial countries should

map the worlds reefs with satellite and airplane surveillance equipment to monitor the health of

the reefs and provide people with more basic information about reefs around them.

The theory of environmental politics that is most helpful in understanding this issue is

anthropocentrism/biocentrism (specifically anthropocentrism) and sustainable development.

Anthropocentrism is the idea that people believe they are the center of everything, and that

human domination of nature is natural. This can be explained with our current values/emphasis

on making money and tourism. If we keep using these beautiful natural ecosystems as simply a

source of income, we will completely destroy them and wipe them off our planet. I think this is

not only awful because of the damage it will do to our environment, but I think it is reflective of

how selfish we as humans have become. We are so encapsulated by making money and what we

4
have access to now, we are blind to what we are doing to them and ignore the fact that in the near

future, we will destroy them. On the other hand, I think a sustainable development system would

be the ideal theory to maintain coral reefs. From class, we learned that this is a very complex

theory that develops the present while keeping in mind the needs of future generations. This

would be essential because realistically global warming isnt going to suddenly stop, nor will the

tourists and the hotels, but if we work together to spread awareness and be more conscious of our

actions and their effects on the environment, we can make better future choices.

Works Cited

5
Weber, Peter K. "Saving the Coral Reefs." Futurist, vol. 27, no. 4, Jul/Aug93, p. 28. EBSCOhost,

bryant.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=93090

75630&site=ehost-live.

Munday, Philip L. "Habitat Loss, Resource Specialization, and Extinction on Coral Reefs." Global Change

Biology, vol. 10, no. 10, Oct. 2004, pp. 1642-1647. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00839.x.

Sale, Peter, and Peter F. Sale. Our Dying Planet, edited by Peter Sale, and Peter F. Sale,

University of California Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central,

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bryant/detail.action?docID=730028.