The article, “Great Barrier Reef has Lost Half its Corals Since 1985, New
Study Says” by Juliet Eilperan,
published on October 1st, 2012, from the Washington Post, can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/great-barrier-reef-has-lost-half-its-corals-since-1985-new-study-says/2012/10/01/c733025c-0bda-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html.
The
Great Barrier Reef, located in Australia, is the world’s largest coral reef
system. Within 133,205 square
miles, the Great Barrier Reef attributes about 3,000 individual reefs. It is one of Australia’s most
incredible natural gifts.
Unfortunately, Australia is slowly losing it. Throughout the past 27 years, the Great Barrier Reef has
lost half of its corals. The
causes of the decline of coral include hurricanes, coral-eating starfish and
coral bleaching.
Storm damage contributed 48 percent of
the losses, while starfish known as crown-of-thorns caused 42 percent. The remaining 10 percent of the damage
came from coral bleaching, caused by warmer waters. While intense storms and
warm water are almost impossible to control, the crown-of-thorn starfish are
easier to target. In order to do
this, Australians need to improve their water quality. This is because nutrient runoff is what
is fueling the crown-of-thorn’s population to increase. These outbreaks, which once only
occurred every 50 to 80 years, are now occurring once every 15 years.
 |
| Crown-of-Thorn Starfish |
A
chief executive of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, John Gunn
states, “The study shows that in the absence of crown-of-thorns, coral cover would
increase at 0.89 percent per year, so even with losses due to cyclones and
bleaching there should be slow recovery.”
He is saying that even with storms and coral bleaching, the coral
population would increase if there weren’t any crown-of-thorns affecting
it. It is amazing how one species
can impact a whole ecosystem so greatly.
This
article was really eye opening. It
made me realize that we are losing an ecosystem that is essential to the
world. I think that if Australians
really do care about the Great Barrier Reef, they will make the effort to help
it. It’s not only the Australians,
who can help save this ecosystem, but other people can help too by releasing
less carbon dioxide into the air, which is raising sea temperatures and making
the ocean more acidic. I suggest
that Australians release a predator of the crown-of-thorns into the Great
Barrier Reef to decrease the population of the starfish, just like farmers
release organisms such as ladybugs to keep pests away from their crops. If there are no changes made, and the
Great Barrier Reef keeps on losing corals at this rate, there will be barely
any corals left 10 to 15 years from now.
This
article really reminded me of the movie The
Lorax, which we watched in class.
In The Lorax, the organisms
were losing an ecosystem because the Onceler and his family were ruining the
environment by cutting down trees.
In the article, organisms living in the Great Barrier Reef are losing an
ecosystem because the crown-of-thorn starfish are eating the coral. This shows that it only takes one
species to affect an entire ecosystem.
The Great Barrier Reef is an ecosystem worth saving.
Citations for Pictures:
Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://2012freshmanenglish.blog.ntu.edu.tw/files/2012/10/Great-Barrier-Reef-Holiday-Reef-Fish12.jpg>.
Crown-of-thorns Starfish. Digital image. Flickriver. N.p., 16
Jan. 2007. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.flickriver.com/photos/g-na/370139074/>.
I agree with you article, I think that the article was eye opening and well thought out. When you said “the Great Barrier Reef attributes about 3,000 individual reefs”, with the Great Barrier Reef covering 133,205 square miles it is a important part in the ecosystem. Also it is just like the Once-ler destroying the habitat in witch organisms like the fish, coral, and star fish are losing. Overall I agree with you and thought the article was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteLiz, I really enjoyed reading your article! I find it really interesting that all it takes is one organism to affect a whole entire ecosystem all on their own. Also, I learned from your article about coral bleaching. I had never heard about that before, but now I understand that it is a major issue. Since we are learning about Carbon dioxide and the ways to promote a more sustainable earth, conserving energy would help save the coral reefs because of the green house gas making the waters warmer. I also never knew that the coral reefs were so large in number. Coral reefs are so beautiful and I would hate to see them go. I really liked reading your post it has put me in a direction towards the way to help save the coral reefs!
ReplyDeleteLiz, your article was really interesting and showed me that although the Great Barrier Reef is decreasing because of hurricanes, coral-eating starfish and coral bleaching, there is still hope that the Australians can save it! I like how your article told us about different reasons why the Great Barrier Reef is being destroyed. In your blog, you explained that storm damage like hurricanes causes 48 percent of damage to its corals. Starfish known as crown-of –thorns cause 42 percent of damage and coral bleaching causes 10 percent. Your blog was very good and was packed with a lot of valuable information because there are ecosystems in Boston that we are responsible to preserve. My grandparents live in Australia and can relate to this article because although many Australians love the coral reef, they are confused on how to save it! I loved the pictures in your blog; they made it very colorful and interesting! Great job, Liz:)
ReplyDeleteHi Liz, I enjoyed reading your blog post about the Great Barrier Reef, because it's something that we all know about. I agree that it is worth saving. I'm glad I read your article because I was not aware that the Great Barrier Reef is losing it's corals. You made a great point that humans have a lot of effect on things, and they don't even know it. Although we can't help the fact that hurricanes are destroying coral reefs, I find it interesting that if we reduce the amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, it could help save the reef. Hopefully, be educating australians, and people all over the world, we can raise awareness that some of earths most beautiful sights in the world are slowly declining, and there's something we can do to stop it. Good job on your article, and I loved the pictures that you used to help explain your point. :)
ReplyDeleteI concur with you on this article. While storms and warm water contact is merely impossible to control, individuals can still act with the crown-of-thorn starfish situation. Releasing several predators whose diet consists of crown-of-thorn starfish is a great plan. This would certainly keep the crown-of-thorn starfish population relatively low, and the coral in the area will not diminish as much.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in this article. I also believe it is merely impossible to stop the hurricanes and the coral bleaching, but we can do something about the Crown- of - Thorn Starfish. They are 42% of the reason why the reef is decreasing in size. An easy way to stop them would to hunt them or find a better habitat were the ecosystem benefits from having them. Great Job Liz!
ReplyDelete