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Coral bleaching, degradation, and death have a great effect on the surrounding ecosystem and biodiversity. Coral reefs are important, diverse ecosystems that host a plethora of organisms that contribute different services to maintain reef health. For example, herbivorous reef fish, like the parrotfish, maintain levels of macro algae.
Coral reefs are among the more productive and diverse ecosystems on the planet, but one-fifth of them have been lost in recent years due to anthropogenic disturbances. [14] [15] Coral reefs are microbially driven ecosystems that rely on marine microorganisms to retain and recycle nutrients in order to thrive in oligotrophic waters.
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. [1] Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and ...
Experts say dying corals are animals, vegetables and minerals, so the fight to save them is anything but simple.
The Caribbean's coral reefs will cease to exist in 20 years if a conservation effort is not made. [127] In 2005, 34 percent of Jamaica's coral reefs were bleached due to rising sea temperatures. [128] Jamaica's coral reefs are also threatened by overfishing, pollution, natural disasters, and reef mining. [129]
Coral reefs, seagrasses, and mangroves buffer habitats further inland from storms and wave damage as well as participate in a tri-system exchange of mobile fish and invertebrates. Mangroves and seagrasses are critical in regulating sediment, freshwater, and nutrient flows to coral reefs. [136] The diagram immediately below shows locations where ...
There has been a 44% decline in coral reefs over the last 20 years in the Florida Keys and up to 80% in the Caribbean alone. [78] Coral reefs provide various ecosystem services, one of which is being a natural fishery, as many frequently consumed commercial fish spawn or live out their juvenile lives in coral reefs around the tropics.
This survival mechanism, previously known only in extinct fossil corals, has now been documented in living corals in the Mediterranean Sea, specifically Cladocora caespitosa. [1] [2] A study published in 2019 gives insight on the significance of rejuvenescence and its potential implications for the long-term survival of coral reefs. [1] [2]