Environmental Impact On Coral Reef Ecosystems

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Ecosystem Ecology:

Coral reef ecosystems have been subject to exceptional deprivation over the past few decades. Many environmental factors have been identified to influence coral reef bleaching and consequently lead to a cascade of events that pose a serious threat to the ecosystem. Perhaps the greatest threat to coral reef ecosystems is climate change. The warmer water surface and an increase in carbon dioxide initiated by global climate change impact coral reefs by stimulating coral bleaching events and modifying ocean chemistry. Carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere dissolves into the ocean altering the chemical processes in the water. Today, it has been estimated that, “the oceans have absorbed about 1/3 of the carbon dioxide produced from human activities since 1800 and about 1/2 of the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels” (Sabine et al. 2004). This rise in carbon dioxide leads to ocean acidification. …show more content…
Because both carbonate production is likely to decrease, and its removal is likely to increase due to the chemical modifications that are occurring in the ocean. With ocean acidification and warmer water, corals cannot absorb the calcium carbonate they need to maintain their skeletons that support corals and will eventually dissolve. Recent studies show that the ocean acidification has lowered the pH of the water by about 0.11 units shifting the ocean's pH from 8.179 to a current pH of 8.069, which means the ocean is about 30% more acidic now than it was in 1800’s (SCOR 2009). Therefore, the loss of these keystone species affects many other species associated with them. When corals die in bleaching events, the species that depend on them are also impacted, and the effects trickle through the reef ecosystem. Nearly 25% of all marine life is linked directly to coral ecosystems, often in complex biogeochemical pathways and food webs (

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