Crystina Bakus, an Environmental Science major in ENR 2300 shares her experience from her study abroad program in Australia in 2012. Her post is along the lines with ongoing discussion in class on global fishing scenario and its impact.
I studied abroad with OSU last Summer 2012. We spent a large
portion of our course work on the Great Barrier Reef. I learned a lot about how
fragile the ocean is, and how hard it is to try and contain all the factors
that can affect it negatively.
As we talked in class,
overfishing is a huge problem on the reef.Increasing
demand for food fish and tourism curios has resulted in over fishing of not
only deep-water commercial fish, but key reef species as well. Overfishing of
certain species near coral reefs can easily affect the reef's ecological
balance and biodiversity.
Along with the overfishing,
and as said in the video we watched in class, there are many destructive
fishing methods.Fishing with dynamite, cyanide and
other methods that break up the fragile coral reef are highly unsustainable.
One thing that people don’t
think about in terms of environmentalism is environmental tourism.
Tourism generates vast amounts of income for host countries. Physical damage to
the coral reefs can occur through contact from careless swimmers, divers, and
poorly placed boat anchors. Hotels and resorts may also discharge untreated
sewage and wastewater into the ocean, polluting the water and encouraging the
growth of algae, which competes with corals for space on the reef.
Another outlier is coastal
development.The growth of coastal cities and
towns generates a range of threats to nearby coral reefs. Sensitive habitats
can be destroyed or disturbed by dredging activities to make deep-water
channels or marinas, and through the dumping of waste materials.
One of the big environmental
issues is obviously, pollution.Coral reefs need clean water to
thrive. From litter to waste oil, pollution is damaging reefs worldwide.
Pollution from human activities inland can damage coral reefs when transported
by rivers into coastal waters. Do your bit - do not drop litter or dispose of
unwanted items on beaches, in the sea, or near storm drains.
Another thing that people
don’t think about that affects the reefs health and ecosystem is the global
aquarium trade.It is estimated that nearly 2
million people worldwide keep marine aquariums. The great majority of marine
aquaria are stocked with species caught from the wild.
Coral Bleaching is also a
huge problem that is caused by so many human interactions and environmental issues.Coral
bleaching occurs when the symbiosis between corals and their symbiotic
zooxanthellae breaks down, resulting in the loss of the symbionts and a rapid
whitening of the coral host Mass
coral bleaching generally happens when temperatures around coral reefs exceed
1oC above an area's historical norm for four or more weeks.
Along with global warming,
rising sea levels are an issue.Observations since 1961 show that
the average temperature of the global ocean has increased even at depths of
3000m. With this increase in rising sea levels, the sunlight cannot reach the
coral, which need to perform photosynthesis.
Along with pollution, ocean
acidification was also a huge topic to talk about in Australia. The rising pH
levelswill have negative consequences,
primarily for oceanic calcifying organisms such as coral reefs. With this rise
in pH, crustaceans can’t produce hard shells; coral reefs cannot support
themselves and provide shelter and homes for the marine life.
Coral Disease is also a huge
issue that not many people are aware of.During the
last 10 years, most diseases occur in response to the onset of bacteria, fungi,
and viruses. In Australia at the Sea Turtle Hospital, the main disease they
were concerned about is currently Fibropapilloma, which is a herpes-like virus.
This disease is caused by pollution in the water.
Also, things like invasive species, and strong predators
like the crown of thorns starfish are causing a huge problem in the food web.The
Crown of Thorns Starfish is a voracious coral reef predator. Populations of the
COTs have increased since the 1970s and large outbreaks of starfish can occur
wiping out huge tracks of coral reef. I remember in Australia this was a huge
issue, because not many other animals can, or are willing to consume the crown
of thorns starfish. This is a specific example of a disruption in the food
chain and ecology of the whole reef.
The
Great Barrier Reef is a prime wicked example. There is not one way to fix the
reef’s problems, because there is not just one factor that is causing the
decline of the reef’s health. The issue of global warming, which gives problems
to rising sea levels, bleaching and other things discussed above, isn’t caused
just by the country’s problems. It’s a global issue that is directly affecting
a specifically fragile environment. Although it is not Australia that caused
the decline in the reef’s health, their country has taken a huge initiative to
save one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Australia as a country takes pride
in it’s natural beauty and have made many laws and regulations in order to try
and sustain the reef. These include specific zoning between law scale
fisheries, local fisheries, tribal rights for the Aboriginals, the tourism
industry, and public fishing. Australia’s government even funds extensive
research in order to collect as much data as possible to try and find out what
they can do for the whole of the reef. No system is perfect, but I think that
the United States, and the whole world could learn from Australia’s
concentration in trying to become a sustainable country, and take
responsibility for something that isn’t necessarily their fault.
Of all the above factors affecting Coral Reefs, I think the worst is the oil spills. In 2011 alone there were at least about 10 of them in different parts of the world. The reason this should be prevented more than anything else is that there is almost no way to mitigate its effects. They linger for years and cause millions of deaths under water.
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