Coral+Reef+Conservation

__ **Coral Reef Conservation ** __ Many fish and other invertebrates are taken from coral reef biomes and sold to the aquarium industry. During this process, poisons such as cyanide cause death to fish and surrounding corals. Those that do survive are likely to die because of dietary and physical requirements. Corals and shells are collected and sold as souvenirs, made in to jewelry, or exported. On the positive side, stag horn coral nurseries have been established in order to grow colonies for research restoration.   There are some problems that need to be addressed by humans soon. One of these is the overpopulation of the Crown of Thorn starfish. It has destroyed parts of the Great Barrier Reef and is threatening the “Coral Triangle” the largest area of coral diversity. It extrudes its stomach over the coral to create a digestive enzyme, which turns the reefs into liquefied tissue. Another of these is climate change. Some scientists say that in 2050 Coral Reefs will be decimated if ocean temperature rises by 1.5 degrees Celsius.   In order to solve the overpopulation of the Crown of Thorn starfish, we can kill them off so they don’t destroy corals at an alarming rate. In order to do this scientists inject starfish with a concentrated solution of copper sulphate. Another way is to erect underwater fences, but this method is expensive. In order to make sure climate change does not kill off coral reefs, we should try to cut down our CO2 emissions by burning less fossil fuels and using alternative energy sources.  Click here for Biomes Home. Click here for Coral Reef Home. Click here for Coral Reef Facts. Click here for Coral Reef Fiction. Click here for Coral Reef Bibliography. Click here for Coral Reef Food Web.