Coral Reef

Coral Reefs: A Resource at Risk

Although coral reefs exist in nutrient-poor waters, they are one of Earth's most diverse ecosystems in terms of species richness. Because of their high biodiversity and their efficiency in nutrient recycling, coral reefs have been likened to rain forests. Not only is the living substrate diverse, but the habitat it provides allows for thousands of vertebrate and invertebrate species to exist there. Due to the high level of biodiversity that is present within coral reef ecosystems, they provide an important resource for use by humanity. Coral reefs provide a food resource rich in protein for human consumption around the globe that includes exotic dishes for export, such as Napoleon Wrasse Lips, and local staples, such as Queen Conch. Both of these species have been fished to dangerously low levels in some parts of the world. The reefs also bring in large sums of tourism income on an annual basis for the countries where they occur. Tourists spend money in these countries on food, lodging, diving supplies, and fees to experience the coral reefs. It should be noted that [Page 583]even though visitors often have good intentions, they can often accidentally disturb or destroy the corals if they physically come in contact with them (first photo). Another resource that reefs provide is fauna for aquarists. The harvesting practices of aquarium fauna from coral reefs is largely unregulated and one of the most damaging. Cyanide is used by divers to stun reef fishes so that they can be captured; often the fish are evading the diver in protective crevices in the reef, and these parts of the reef are killed when they come in contact with the cyanide. The most destructive practice used to harvest stunned fish is the use of dynamite. With the use of dynamite, whole sections of coral reef structure that took hundreds of years to build are destroyed in seconds. The same reefs that provide so many resources are at risk of decline from many factors. These factors include increasing human population worldwide with increased food demands, ocean acidification, sea surface temperature increase, and harmful harvesting of fauna from the coral reef environment.

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