What are coral reefs:<\/b><\/p>\n
1)Coral reefs are large underwater structures composed of the <\/span>skeletons of coral<\/b>, which are <\/span>marine invertebrate animals<\/b><\/p>\n 2)Coral Reefs are also called the <\/span>\u201crainforests of the sea\u201d.<\/b><\/p>\n Importance of coral reefs:<\/b><\/p>\n 1)Although coral reefs cover only about 1 percent of the ocean floor, they<\/span> support around 25 percent of marine biodiversity <\/b>and are <\/span>critical habitats of the planet.<\/b><\/p>\n 2)Reefs are also important for human beings \u2013 they <\/span>support traditional small-scale fishing communities<\/b>, generate revenue from<\/span> ecotourism<\/b> and in the past have <\/span>reduced the impact of tsunamis and storms.<\/b><\/p>\n 3)Coral reefs are one of the<\/span> most dynamic and threatened ecosystems<\/b> in India and their conservation is to be made an priority.<\/span><\/p>\n What is coral bleaching?<\/b><\/p>\n 1)Coral reefs are very <\/span>sensitive ecosystems<\/b>,even slight changes in water temperature and salinity can lead to coral \u201cbleaching\u201d and even death.<\/span><\/p>\n 2)Bleaching is when corals<\/span> lose the highly productive algae <\/b>(termed zooxanthellae) from their tissues due to stress from high sea temperatures and solar irradiation.<\/span><\/p>\n 3)The algae and coral have a <\/span>symbiotic relationship<\/b>: the algae remove the coral\u2019s waste products while the coral gives the algae a safe environment to live in, and provides compounds for photosynthesis. Without the algae, the coral no longer has a sufficient source of food, meaning that it essentially starves to death.<\/span><\/p>\n 4)Bleaching in itself is not a new phenomenon, it was <\/span>first recorded in 1911 in the Florida Keys, <\/b>and is likely to have occurred, at local scales, throughout the last several millennia of global reef growth. What is completely new is this<\/span> frequency of bleaching events. \u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Reasons for coral bleaching:<\/b><\/p>\n 1)Rise in <\/span>sea temperature<\/b><\/p>\n 2)<\/span>Global Warming<\/b><\/p>\n 3<\/span>)Pesticide<\/b> runoff from farms<\/span><\/p>\n 4)Atmospheric <\/span>pollution<\/b><\/p>\n 5)<\/span>Industrial run off <\/b><\/p>\n 6)Ocean<\/span> acidification<\/b><\/p>\n 7)<\/span>Alien species<\/b> invasion<\/span><\/p>\n 8)<\/span>Coral mining<\/b><\/p>\n 9<\/span>)El-Nino<\/b><\/p>\n Ecological Impacts of bleaching:<\/b><\/p>\n 1)<\/span>Decline in marine species diversity<\/b><\/p>\n 2)<\/span>Reduced growth rates<\/b>,decreased <\/span>reproductive capacity<\/b> and elevated <\/span>mortality<\/b> rates.<\/span><\/p>\n 3)<\/span>Land masses<\/b> will be <\/span>directly exposed<\/b> to waves leading to a risk of<\/span> erosion<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n 4)Changes in coral communities affect the species that depend on them<\/span><\/p>\n 5)Overall decline in genetic and species diversity occurs when corals die as a result of bleaching.<\/span><\/p>\n Socioeconomic impacts of bleaching<\/b><\/p>\n 1)Degraded coral reefs are not able to provide the <\/span>ecosystem services on which local human communities depend.<\/b><\/p>\n 2)Reefs damaged by coral bleaching can quickly lose many of the features that is important for the <\/span>aesthetic appeal that is fundamental to reef tourism.<\/b> Thus there is loss of revenue from tourism.<\/span><\/p>\n 3)It can drive <\/span>large shifts in fish communities.<\/b> This results into reduced catches for fishers targeting reef fish species, which in turn<\/span> impacts food supply<\/b> and associated economic activities.<\/span><\/p>\n 4)Coral reefs are a valuable source of<\/span> pharmaceutical compounds<\/b>. Degraded and dead reefs are less likely to serve as a source for important medicinal resources.<\/span><\/p>\n Great Barrier reef:<\/b><\/p>\n 1)The Great Barrier Reef is the <\/span>world\u2019s largest and longest coral reef system, <\/b>stretching for 2,300km from the tip of Cape York in the north to Bundaberg in the south in Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n 2)It is home to over 1,500 species of fish, abundant marine life and over 200 types of birds, it\u2019s also one of Australia\u2019s greatest conservation successes.<\/span><\/p>\n 3)It is a <\/span>World Heritage Area <\/b>since 1981 (the world\u2019s first reef ecosystem to be recognised by UNESCO), it is highly protected and one of the best-managed marine areas on Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n 4)It is <\/span>one of the seven wonders of the natural world<\/b>, and the <\/span>only living thing that\u2019s visible from space<\/b><\/p>\n 5)Rise in sea temperatures and pollution in addition to bleaching have led to an explosion in the numbers of a creature called the <\/span>crown-of-thorns starfish<\/b>.The predator starfish feeds on corals by spreading its stomach over them and using digestive enzymes to liquefy tissue.<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Steps taken by Australia<\/b><\/p>\n 1)Canberra had previously committed more than Aus$2 billion to protect the site over the decade, but has been criticised for backing a huge coal project by Indian mining giant Adani nearby.<\/span><\/p>\n 1)The Australian government has, in 2018, announced its <\/span>largest-ever investment in the coral reef<\/b>: over half a billion Australian dollars ($378 million). <\/span><\/p>\n 2)The money will be used to <\/span>counter water pollution<\/b>,<\/span> combat coral-eating starfish<\/b>, increase <\/span>public awarenes<\/b>s, boost <\/span>reef monitoring<\/b>, and improve the <\/span>environmental impact of surrounding businesses.<\/b><\/p>\n 3)The funds will also be used to <\/span>expand reef restoration efforts<\/b>, including<\/span> trialling new techniques<\/b> that can <\/span>breed corals resistant to high temperatures and light stress.<\/b><\/p>\n 4)The bulk of the new funding has been earmarked to <\/span>improve water quality <\/b>by <\/span>changing farming practices<\/b> and <\/span>adopting new technologies and land management.<\/b><\/p>\n 5)The funds will also go towards<\/span> working with farmers to prevent sediment, nitrogen and pesticide runoff into the reef.<\/b><\/p>\n 6)The Government would also work with <\/span>traditional Aboriginal owners<\/b> and the<\/span> tourist industry<\/b> to protect the reefs.<\/span><\/p>\n Coral Reefs in India:<\/b><\/p>\n 1)Coral reefs in India are mostly found in the<\/span> Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Gulf of Mannar, the Gulf of Kutch and the Lakshadweep Islands.<\/b><\/p>\n 2)Recently, the Zoological Survey of India reported finding <\/span>three \u201cpristine\u201d reefs off the coast of Sindhudurg in Maharashtra.<\/b><\/p>\n 3)Many of India\u2019s coral reefs are protected areas \u2013 the Gulf of Mannar, the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park and the Gulf of Kutch, for example, are <\/span>marine national parks set up to preserve these fragile ecosystems.<\/b><\/p>\n 4)Most of the coral reefs in India are of the <\/span>fringing type<\/b> but the<\/span> Lakshadweep Islands are coral atolls.<\/b><\/p>\n Coral bleaching in India <\/b><\/p>\n 1)The corals of <\/span>Andaman and Nicobar<\/b> Islands:<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Problem<\/b>:They were severely affected by the <\/span>2004 Tsunam<\/b>i and have not yet fully recovered. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0Other reasons for coral bleaching in these islands include <\/span>unregulated tourism, fishing,<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0marine pollution<\/b> amongst others.<\/span><\/p>\n 2)Coral in the <\/span>Gulf of Kachchh<\/b> region:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Problem<\/b>:<\/span>Siltation and eutrophication <\/b>due to developmental activities have been the major<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0cause of bleaching of corals.<\/span><\/p>\n 3)Corals of <\/span>Lakshadweep islands<\/b>:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Problem<\/b>:<\/span>Periodic dredging for boat passage <\/b>in the lagoons, amongst others, affect the<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0health of corals in these coral islands.<\/span><\/p>\n 4)<\/span>Gulf of Mannar<\/b> reefs<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Problem<\/b>:They affected due to<\/span> intense local activities<\/b> like<\/span> intensive fishing, illegal<\/b><\/p>\n harvesting of protected species which affects the ecological balance, pollution from<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0boats, construction along the shores etc. <\/b><\/p>\n Way forward and steps to be taken:<\/b><\/p>\n 1)<\/span>Reduce overuse of fertilizers <\/b>in farms.<\/span><\/p>\n 2)Regulate <\/span>tourism <\/b><\/p>\n 3)<\/span>Treat industrial effluents<\/b> before discharging them into the sea.<\/span><\/p>\n 4)<\/span>Ban fishing and harvesting of protected species.<\/b><\/p>\n 5)Regularly service and<\/span> maintain fishing vessels<\/b> so that they cause minimum pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n 6)<\/span>Create awareness <\/b>among the<\/span> coastal communities <\/b>and enlist their support to protect coral reefs.<\/span><\/p>\n 7)Monitor and minimise invasion of <\/span>alien species.<\/b><\/p>\n 8)Changing <\/span>land use pattern<\/b> along the coast.<\/span><\/p>\n 9)Adopting<\/span> eco friendly construction techniques<\/b> along the coast.<\/span><\/p>\n 10)<\/span>De-silting of rivers<\/b> to reduce sediment flow into the sea.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Context: Australia pledged Aus $500 million ($379 million) in new funding to restore and protect the Great Barrier Reef.This has highlighted the seriousness of the problem of coral bleaching. What are coral reefs: 1)Coral reefs are large underwater structures composed of the skeletons of coral, which are marine invertebrate animals 2)Coral Reefs are also called… Continue reading Coral bleaching and initiative by Australia<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":19418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-editorials","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/E011_rt-featured.jpg?fit=1012%2C530&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704871135},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/event.jpg?resize=252%2C170\")
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