Why is coral important?
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Home to many marine species
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Biodiversity of our world – everything within an ecosystem is connected
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Many people live off of fish/marine resources
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Oxygen
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70% to 80% of all the oxygen we breathe comes from marine algae! Coral harbors algae in a symbiotic relationship. Add on the algae oxygen in freshwater and you get a total of about 90% OF ALL THE WORLD’S OXYGEN IS MADE BY ALGAE!
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Medicine
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Research is being done to potentially hone the medicinal properties of coral and use them to the benefit of people’s health
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Protect shores
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Barrier reefs protect shorelines from tropical storms
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Regulate amount of CO2
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Coral polyp turns carbon dioxide in the water into a limestone shell, without enough coral (which is a colony of polyps working together), there would be excess CO2 in the oceans, which would impact many other marine species
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What’s causing coral to die off?
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Carbon Dioxide emissions/ climate change
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CO2 from atmosphere + water vapor → carbonic acid
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With ocean acidification, corals cannot absorb the calcium carbonate they need to maintain their skeletons and the stony skeletons that support corals and reefs will dissolve
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Oceans have absorbed ⅓ of CO2 in atmosphere and ½ of that CO2 is from fossil fuels
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Temperature change – corals are sensitive to temperature! Our tanks shows the effects of dramatic temperature change, with some of our frags bleached due to the havoc of temperature change
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Unsafe diving
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Accidentally hitting coral can kill it – they are animals! “Hands and Fins Off the Reef” is the motto of many diving operations and it is in our t-shirts for a reason!
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Coral poaching/ Black market trade of coral
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Pollution from urban or agricultural run-off
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Poor fishing methods
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Dredging/ trawling
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Bottom trawls constitute one of the most invasive methods of fishing. Wide nets equipped with rollers, chains, and doors weighing thousands of pounds are dragged across the ocean floor
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What are we doing to mitigate the causes of coral demise?
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Try to propagate our own coral in the hopes that it will grow enough to be taken into the oceans and support ecological communities in the future
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Reach out to professionals to get their advice and also spread the word of our cause and get tips on propagating our own coral
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Spread awareness about the importance of coral through public events, social media, and other factors integrated within our community and abroad
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Inform the public on artificial reef initiatives,
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Inform public about consuming coral-friendly goods/services.
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Reduce Carbon Footprint through our practices and encourage that others do the same
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Educate the youth through interactive activities and STEM techniques
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Create a Network devoted to the cause of protecting coral
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Have people take our Coral Pledge to devote to the cause and recognize the present issue
- Get in touch with legislators to try getting the voice out about the importance of mitigating climate change in the context of coral
- Make a safe diving brochure filled with tips to dive in a way that doesn’t harm coral/marine species and distribute them to diving operations/ professionals beyond borders
- Support/ inform people about AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, which ensure that the zoos/aquariums that others support have safe and commendable practices instilled within their systems.
- Promote MSC-certified fisheries, which do not perform corrosive fishing practices, such as dredging and trawling.
Sources:
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/coasts/coral_reefs/