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| Bleached corals in Samoa [27] |
Current negative processes surrounding coral reefs involves sea surface warming, acidifcation, bleaching and natural disease [5]. Elevated global temperature causes increases in the global hydrological cycle due to evaporation, which may cause successive events of strong rainfall [5]. More frequent natural catastrophe, from climate change, prevents the reefs from growing back and establishing itself. Therefore conservation efforts are ineffective in areas where unpredictable large scale natural catastrophes occur [12].
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| Process of coral bleaching [17] |
In addition, coral bleaching is a huge issue contributing to coral reef decline. This type of bleaching occurs annually and is triggered by a hodgepodge of events like risen water temperature, solar radiation, and water quality [1]. What happens is the reduced concentration of algal symbionts, important organisms that helps regulate photosynthesis. Specifically, when temperatures are too warm, the zooxanthaellae algae will not be as efficient in processing incoming light. A decrease in these symbiotic algae concentrations means a decrease in the capacity for energy acquisition by the reefs [1]. Luckily Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are shown to be sufficient enough to offset coral losses from bleaching events [11].
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| Bleached 500 year old coral head in Florida that has not recover between 1997 to 2005 [27] |
I think there are some repetitive themes here such as the importance of coral reefs. Also on the last page you said that coral reef management strategies aren't useful and here you're referencing the success of Marine Protected Areas.
ReplyDeleteAll of the background is good, as are your citations, the fluidity and concision could use a little adjustment.
There is a lot of information here, and yes, some of it is repetitive. Maybe summarizing a few key points and following it up with a figure would help. If you think there is still a lot of information you'd like to cover, I'd suggest starting another tab.
ReplyDeleteYes, I also find some of the information repetitive. I would recommend condensing this information and, in turn, include information on the "unknowns." For example, you could explore questions such as, (1) are there any unexplained losses of coral reefs, (2) where other issues could be playing a role in the damage or destruction of coral populations? and (3) what are the challenges in studying coral reefs? What are our gaps in information?
ReplyDelete