Reef Conservation
Some of the integral issues that face our generation is the steady decline of our reefs. Knowing the causes of our reef decline is imperative in addressing some of the issues that we can influence in preserving our valued marine eco system. As many know and understand, much of our food supply is brought to us primarily from our vast oceans, and without it, our generation & generations to follow will suffer.
Taking a sensible approach in explaining the factors that affect the oceans eco system lends to a common sense approach to preserving our marine eco system. Understanding various effects on our ocean waters, we need a fair explanation of some of the causes of coral bleaching.
Coral bleaching is at it sounds, but with many attributing factors both natural & man made. A bleached coral reef is without certain plankton and algae. Plankton and algae are in the most part is what creates color in a reef, as well plankton and algae is part of the food chain that fish eat. Plankton and algae are sensitive to water temperatures, light, pollution and salinity which can have a dramatic effect on the viability on the reefs.
Certainly we cannot control some of the natural factors that can affect some of our worlds reefs, for example hurricane force winds, tidal changes and the natural warming effects of El Nino & La Nina. These naturally occurring affects change water temperatures surrounding the reefs and at times changes the amount of light reflected on to reefs.
We can influence the effect of man made factors that are warming the world's oceans. Global warming which has been under intense investigation by many scientists suggests that pollution within the air cases a greenhouse effect which traps warmer air around the globe. This greenhouse effect not only warms air currents but also causes glacial meltdown. This creates a two fold effect that causes water temperatures to rise but also introduces more fresh water into the oceans which causes the oceans salinity to change.
We can certainly control the amount of pollution that reaches our worlds reefs. In the past indiscriminate dumping of petroleum based garbage into our worlds oceans has had a tremendous effect on our worlds oceans. In some areas of the world, there was the belief that dumping old tires into the waters was a creative introduction into preserving and building reefs.
Plastics and Styrofoam are another petroleum based product that that we can also prevent from being introduced into the worlds oceans. In short, these plastics break down into edible sized particles that fish and plankton eat, in time this level of contamination will choke out our food supply. Currently there is a giant pool of plastic garbage & Styrofoam the size of Texas swirling around our worlds oceans.
Controlling the amounts of nitrates and phosphates entering the water is a measure we can take to insure the viability of our worlds oceans. Nitrates and phosphates affect the chemistry of the water. More often than not, nitrates and phosphates are introduced via bilge expulsion. A bilge is the part on a boat or ship that pumps out contaminated water. Phosphates and nitrates are also introduced into our worlds oceans via poor sewer run off.
Hopefully, we can bring about a better understanding of what is happening within our worlds oceans. Simply following a course of common sense will help in preserving our worlds reefs and, preserve our worlds foods supplies for our generation and generations to come.
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