Sea Level Rise

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Pages: 4

Sea-level rise is clearly detrimental to the survival of shoreline ecosystems and to the continued existence of hundreds of coastal communities supporting over a billion human beings but, surprisingly, oceanic ecosystems are also at risk. One key example is the impact of rising oceans on marine plants which like their terrestrial counterparts use sunlight for photosynthesis. Deeper water means that plants living an aquatic existence will have access to less light to allow photosynthesis. Marine plant life may be forced to migrate towards shallow waters which themselves are at risk of becoming too deep for sunlight to be seen. There are two varieties of marine plants affected by sea level rise, macro-algae and sea-grass, algae are biologically …show more content…
However, shallow water species may be threatened as their access to sunlight is limited by the increase of depth in the water. Unluckily for sea grass, sea level rise is bad news as the immobile organisms have to cope with darker waters, a larger volume of liquid means that less photosynthesis inducing light can penetrate. This could mean less food for species, which can only exist in stable sea conditions, which have to consume plants of a species which is slowly moving away. Groups of marine plants and plant-like organisms such as kelp can be very vital as micro-ecosystems for various species of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and some marine mammals such as dugongs. The immature forms of many marine organisms hide inside underwater “forests “in order to evade predators. The disappearance of these vital plants can spell trouble for marine life. Coral reefs are also at risk of rising seas because they depend on stable temperatures and sea levels over a long period of time. Coral reefs serve as homes to many species such as the sea turtle, various eels, shrimp, crabs, sea urchins, and