Eric Mato

EVST 100

Dr. David Levri and Dr. Brian Black

4/25/18

Negative Human Impacts on Coral Reefs

Since the beginning of human civilization people have been impacting Coral Reefs and

the aquatic life that calls it home. At the start of civilization these impacts were minor and mostly

unnoticeable, however with time the rate of human impact has steadily grown. Now 21st century

society is faced with handling the past and current issues involving chemical pollution,

overfishing, trash pollution, and ocean acidification. All of these Anthropocentric impacts are

severely deteriorating the health of our oceans reefs.

The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, is a perfect example of what people can

do to a thriving coral reef. The Great Barrier Reef contains around 3,000 individual reefs making

it the largest in the world. This makes it also one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world.

This diversity is what allows us to clearly determine that species are being lost rapidly. We know

that the reef is declining, as coverage has fallen from 28.0 % over the 214 reefs to 13.8% from

1985 to 2012. It is believed that cyclones, coral bleachings, increased sea temperatures, and

agricultural runoff is to blame.

Coral Bleaching has ravaged the reefs off Australia due to the decline in Zooxanthellae.

These small organism live inside of coral and provide them with their main source of energy, as

well as color. These microscopic organisms are very vulnerable to oceanic temperature changes,

meaning they die when temperatures reach to high. This creates coral reefs that are completely

white, as they lack nutrients and color. When Coral is bleached it remains alive but weak and
vulnerable to outside contaminants. They can regain their zooxanthellae, but it is unlikely they

ever will.

Cyclones in the Great Barrier Reef are connected directly to rising sea temperatures. As

global warming increases so does the increase in air temperatures. This atmospheric change

increases the energy available for cyclones to feed off. This increased temperature makes

cyclones more likely and more destructive. We can say this with certainty as cyclones over the

last five years have destroyed 68% of coral cover in the central-southern region. It’s believed if

the current rate of global warming is continued then cyclones will continue ravaging oceanic

plant and animal life.

The final major impact seriously impacting The Great Barrier Reefs is most abundant by

the coast. This impact would be agricultural run off. It is estimated that about ten million tonnes

of farm waste is washed onto the reef each year. This smothers coral reefs and organisms

basically suffocating and depriving them of nutrients and oxygen. Cattle farming and the

overgrazing of these animals is largely to blame for this. This creates a coast that is littered with

sediments, pesticides, and fertilizers. Many times pollutants are not leaked directly into the sea

but instead to wetlands that carry them to the ocean. Wetlands are meant to naturally filter out

many of these pollutants, but the growth of alien weeds such as; marsh grass, water hyacinth and

watermoss in Australia inhibits their ability to naturally perform their purpose.

The Great Barrier Reef and its issue are transferable to nearly all of the coral reefs found

world wide. This is Due to the fact that pollutants affecting this specific reef are found on a

national level. These pollutants usually impact the food web from top to bottom creating an

unbalanced food web. For example you cannot have large predatory fish like sharks and

barracuda’s without the basic life forms like plankton.

 When we look at Coral Reef species diversity worldwide the numbers are immensely

concerning. Caribbean Reef Fish populations declined from a healthy 72% to 32% in the last

decade. This decline directly correlates to the loss of coral in these areas. Species located near

reefs have adapted for millions of years to camouflage, feed, and reproduce under the safety of

reef protection. Without these vast reefs species diversity is primed to fall quickly.

The main category of aquatic life affected are three of the six dietary fish. Dietary fish are

fish that eat algae, invertebrates, and other smaller fish. The decline in these show a clear lack of

nutrient distribution to producers and primary consumers. An example of this is the parrotfish

and surgeonfish which feed on algae. Both of these are secondary consumers and they both are

declining exponentially. Without these two fish reefs are overrun by algae, as they act as nature’s

cleaners. Naturally this can be tied to over fishing, however non fished species are being affected

at similar rates. This is how we know that coral reef health is the primary cause for concern.

There are other animals and fish that will be lost alongside the reefs if something does not

change. Spiny Lobsters, Whales, Dolphins, Whale Sharks, and the Hawksbill Sea Turtle are all

species we could lose. Coral reefs when looked at objectively can be considered one mega

organism. If these organism were to disappear the reef will become weak and sickened.

Spiny Lobsters live most of their lives inside of reefs, relying on it for for protection.

They are most vulnerable during molting, without the reef they would become an easy snack for

predatory fish. This would be extremely detrimental as they are one of the few predators of Sea

Urchins. If the Spiny Lobsters disappeared then sea urchins would feed freely on Kelp Forests

destroying them. Dolphins and whales being of extreme similarity would be impacted similarly.

Both of these mammals are predatory fish meaning they rely on smaller fish living in reefs to

provide nutrients. If reefs go so do predators similar to these two. Both of these animals are also
considered extremely emotionally intelligent. This is why people need to step back and look at

this situation biocentricaly and ask themselves, can these animals feel the negative impacts

people are causing them. The Whale Shark, which is a shark not a whale feeds primarily on

plankton. Being that these sharks are so large they need massive amounts of plankton to thrive. It

is unknown why declining coral reefs affect these large animals, but a direct correlation between

the two have been identified. The Hawksbill Sea Turtle is identified as critically endangered, as

they eat sponges located on coral. Sponges rely directly on coral reefs so the loss of reefs creates

a domino effect that leads to sea turtle decline. This will further coral destruction as they help

with nutrient cycling, maintaining healthy grass beds, and balancing food webs.

At some point people are going to need to ask themselves if this anthropocene view of the

world is sustainable? Just as The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great

Forces of Nature states”Global warming and many other human-driven changes to the

environment are raising concerns about the future of Earth’s environment and its ability to the

services to maintain viable human civilization”. I believe we are impacting the Earth’s ability to

maintain civilization which is why we need to begin to look at the environment in a more

conservative way.

In order to dig deeper into the problem of coral reefs we need to start addressing world

wide issues concerning aquatic pollution. Pollution on local levels are important but they do not

tell the full story. Countries around the world coupled with the governments that run them are

massively responsible for reef destruction. Pollutants burned into the atmosphere are carried

globally impacting life continents away.

One thing is clear when it comes to global temperatures, they are rising. What we need to

figure out is why this is happening in order to implement laws and regulations to stop this. China
which is one of the leading causes in global warming plays a part in coral reef destruction. This

seems odd as it does not even border the ocean. The rate of carbon emissions coming from this

country tops all other including the U.S. On top of this the rest of China’s greenhouse gas

emissions are extraordinarily high.

China is a largely coal dependent nation which in return creates so much extra carbon.

The reason for this is that carbon is a byproduct of coal. This along with other greenhouse gases

traps heat in the atmosphere not allowing it to leave. This happens by burning fossil fuels. If

greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere continues to rise then scientist predict global

temperatures to rise 5-6 degrees celcius by the end of the century. This will result in further

increases in ocean temperatures as well as the further decline in coral reefs.

Ocean Acidification is connected directly to gas emissions just as global warming is.

When resources are burned into the atmosphere it becomes part of the water cycle. Once carbon

enters the atmosphere it has the ability to bind to cloud molecules. This exchange between

carbon and cloud molecules makes it possible for the carbon to return to earth in the form of rain

and snow. The rain or snow is then deposited into the soil, ocean, streams, or rivers. Even if the

acidic precipitation manages to avoid all bodies of water it can still cycle through soil into them.

Upon entering the water chemical changes immediately take place. Acidity increases in these

areas of oceans and causes stress once again to the coral reefs. The acidity increases ph levels

which can deteriorate hard corals calcium carbonate makeup. This means when other coral tries

to build on top of these hard corals they will grow poorly. Sometimes coral can even completely

calcify which will cause them to be brittle and less resilient. This influences survival and creates

an unhealthy environment. This acidity also creates difficulties for shelled organism in the reef.
Clams, snails, and oysters all rely on their calcium shells for protection which can be weakened

by ocean acidity.

The final global impact of coral reefs is plastic trash pollution. A recent study found that

roughly 11.1 billion pieces of plastic trash are trapped in coral reefs across the Asian pacific

region. This makes coral more susceptible to common diseases. Some of the reasons for this is

they can cut coral open, carry bacteria to them, and lastly it can shade them robbing them of

needed sunlight. Plastic trash is also at times inhaled, eaten, or trapped around animals bodies.

Aquatic life is not made to filter plastic through their digestion system so this can kill off species.

Fish and other animals are also adapted to filtering oxygen through their gills or mouth not

plastic that can suffocate them. When trash becomes trapped around appendages it can severely

hurt fish and other animals ability to move fluently through the water, especially when being

chased by predators.

Even with all of this evidence around the deterioration of our oceans reefs there still is

hope. Reducing fuel consumption by incorporating alternative ways of transportation by biking

and carpooling will help fight global emissions, global warming, and the conservation of marine

life. Eliminating harmful impacts such as fertilizers and pesticides will also help solve

agricultural run off. Recycling regularly will stop trash from entering our oceans. If this is cut off

at the source than reefs will be covered in less harmful trash. Lastly society needs to implement

more rules and regulations on a governmental level. Countries can no longer be aloud to freely

destroy the balance people have with nature. Emissions need to be regulated better along with the

use of our trash.

 Bibliography

1. “Climate Interpreter.” The Effects of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs | Climate

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2. “Coral Bleaching and the Great Barrier Reef.” Coral Reef Studies,

www.coralcoe.org.au/for-managers/coral-bleaching-and-the-great-barrier-reef.

3. Hsu, Sara. “Is China's Pollution Accelerating Climate Change?” Forbes, Forbes

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2018, www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases.

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7. “5 Species We Stand to Lose If Coral Reefs Are Destroyed and What YOU Can Do

About It.” One Green Planet, 17 Dec. 2014,

www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/species-we-stand-to-lose-if-coral-reefs-

are-destroyed/.
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