Essay about great barrier reef

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Describe the spatial patterns and dimensions of one case study of an ecosystem at risk, and analyse the negative impacts of humans on the ecosystem???
Introduction . largest living structure - located NE coast QLD- 8 S 24 S between Papua new guinea/ fraser island- altitude 200m below to 450 high- size 2300km long width 250km average- area 344400km-adjacent to NE QLD coast long thin strip-temp range 17 to 34-variety of species.
Human Impact-climate change, starfish, land clearing/agriculture , increasing surface temp, population-

Global warming- causes Global warming that has been induced by human activity has affected the Great Barrier Reef by creating warmer temperatures in the water that will have an adverse effect on these highly productive ecosystems.
Increases in sea temperature of 1°C may lead to coral bleaching; the death of coral can cause severe damage to dependent ecosystems. It is predicted that without a reduction in global emissions, the corals of the Great Barrier Reef will be destroyed and coral cover worldwide will...
Crown of thorn starfish- causes
Agriculture- causes problems.By 2010, forty per cent of the world’s coral reefs may be dead. By 2030, half of the Great Barrier Reef may be gone. Parts of it are already dying, but the reasons have not always been clear. Global warming and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish have put extraordinary pressure on the reef. Now scientists have identified another threat—sediments, fertilisers and pesticides from agricultural run-off. The reefs most at risk lie along Australia’s north eastern coast between Cairns and Townsville. Muddy Waters journeys to the plantations of north Queensland and into an underwater world to find out what’s killing the reef and what can be done to save it. It’s also the story of a small community facing the challenges of responsibility and change. This time, what’s at stake is one of the world’s greatest natural treasures. Sugarcane farmers, suffering bad seasons and low prices, are reeling at the prospect that their land management practices may be part of the problem. This is the heart of the wet tropics where high rainfall regularly causes rivers like the Tully to flood, sending huge plumes of mud and chemicals into the sea. In their natural state, native wetlands filter the water and silt but more than sixty per cent has been cleared and drained for sugarcane. Some
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