As coral reefs are known to be the homes, food sources, as well as used for protection for many marine species they are in danger due to the amount of beaching that is occurring in the ocean. Because of this, it's effecting not only the ecosystem of the ocean reefs, but also causing a decrease in certain aquatic species as well. What can cause this is the effect of warming of the ocean water caused by global warming. This has been happening for a long time now as the worst recording one was in 1998. Because of this, there is a relationship between coral bleaching and the increase of temperature. According to Hoegh-Guldberg found in a report conducted by Morgan S. Pratchett in the article Effects of Climate Induced Coral Bleaching on Coral-Reef Fishes - Ecological and Economic Consequences "Coral bleaching was particularly server on coral reef in the Indian Ocean, where coral cover declined by an average of 46% following in the 1998 bleaching" (Quoted in Pratchett et al. 2008). If this keeps up, then the consequences of the entire world.
Reference:
Pratchett MS, Munday P, Wilson SK, Graham NA, Cinner JE, Bellwood DR, Jones GP, Polunin NV, McClanahan TR.2008. Effects of climate-induced coral bleaching on coral-reef fishes. Ecological and economic consequences. Oceanography and Marine Biology: Annual Review. 46:251-96.
With most of the world burning right now, I honestly forgot about coral bleaching. I knew it was a problem, but I didn't know that coral decline went up to nearly 50% in 1998. According to CNN, the Great Coral Reef suffered its third mass bleaching event in five years with nearly 1.5k miles being affected. It certainly took the homes of thousands of species and it's a problem that's only going to grow if we don't do something about it. I read that the bleaching could still be reversed in some cases. Hopefully our greenhouse gas emissions are reduced so the "healthy" part of our oceans remain untouched and those affected areas have some chance of going back to what was.
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