Man-made threats damage our ecosystem—including coral reefs. One that’ being damaged right now, little by little, is none other than the Great Barrier Reef. Who knows—in a few decades, it might even be wiped out.
Located in the Pacific Ocean, off the northeastern coast of Australia, is where the Great Barrier Reef lies. It extends for more than 1,250 miles along the coast of Queensland, along with thousands of other animals living there. The Great Barrier Reef helps the animals that live around it in many ways. Vice versa, the animals also help the Great Barrier Reef. This act is the same throughout the rest of the other coal reefs. The Great Barrier Reef provides food, shelter and protection for thousands of ocean plants and animals. The reef is not only home to the polyps that contributes to building the reed, but also to millions of other colonies of sea creatures. There’s over 1,200 fish species, over 2,000 total marine species, nearly 215 species of birds and it supports about 400 estimated coral species in the Great Barrier Reef. It also serves as nurseries for growing fishes. For protection, the reef fishes hide in the reefs. They blend into the color reefs with their bright colors.
The Great Barrier Reef also helps us. Though it does not give us protection or shelter, it does give us food. It supplies us a source of protein in our diets, like seafood. The Great Barrier Reef is a famous attraction to tourists everywhere, not to mention it’s also one of the world’s treasures. It also plays an important role in Australia’s economy.
As amazing as the reef is, there are downsides to it. Global Warming is one of the things affecting it badly, along with many other man-made threats. Reef corals are sensitive to sea temperatures out of their normal range, and what’s happening now to the reef, is that the sea temperature is rising beyond their normal range. The warmer sea temperature we have now is likely to increase the events of coral bleaching. Plus, the...