Ecology of the Coral Reefs in the Caribbean

[pic 1]

[pic 2]

[pic 3][pic 4]

Introduction

Coral reefs are one of the most important structures of the environment to this day. They provide much needed goods and services to individuals that live and survive in these areas. These coral reefs are central part to entire ecosystems and house some of the most rare and unique animals on the earth today. These incredible creatures that thrive and call coral reef’s home are being threatened everyday by climate change and the acidification of the water that houses these reefs. This article will go in depth to describe the history, ecology and efforts to sustain coral reefs, economics, and cultural impacts that the coral reef has on the Caribbean and the individual animals and people who live there.

1. History

The Caribbean coral reef only amounts to 7% of the world’s total coral reef area, but provide a critical habitat to thousands of species which are

critical to the history and make up of the society of the Caribbean. The coral reefs have been under threat for many years, According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature

(2014), the Caribbean coral reefs have declined by more than 50% since the 1970’s. This is due to direct and indirect human activities, as well as natural disturbances.

European settlers arrived at the Caribbean in the 1960’s, which had put pressure on the coral reefs

due to overfishing.  This was complemented by the

White-Band outbreak, which eradicated much of the organisms that inhabit the coral  This caused a major decline in the coral reef cover, and land-based run off caused by the human development made it exceptionally difficult for the reef to recover. (Mumby, p. Fowler, j. et al 2014). The disease, which affects the Acroporid corals, is known to be the most devastating coral disease to ever occurred in the Caribbean and lead to the destruction of more than 95% of Acropora cover in the region (Gifnoux-wolfsohn, 2012). Because of the increased human population on during that period, it was assumed

that they were the cause. A study by Rosenberg, E, Kellogg, C, Rohwer, Forest (2007) found that anthropogenic factors were indeed the cause of the coral disease outbreaks.

The White-Band outbreak was followed by Hurricane Andrew, which wiped out much of the shallow water coral reef. This caused invasive species to come in to the waters. “Six invasive species ( of lionfish) were accidently released from an aquarium during hurricane Andrew” (Wurzbacher, j. 2011). With their extremely high reproductive rate, they have managed to spread all over the Caribbean seas. According to Hixton,M (2009), a single lionfish can reduce the population of juvenile fishes by 80%, in just 5 weeks. This was eased with the fact that they have no known predators in the western Atlantic (Wurzbacher, J. 2011). Low levels of the herbivore fishes means that seaweed will grow excessively, which will have a negative effect on the reef’s ecosystem. Though the Lionfish are extremely invasive, humans are believed to be the main cause of the decline in coral reef cover in the Caribbean. “The rate at which the Caribbean corals have been declining is truly alarming”, (Lundin, C).  If continued at this rate, they could all disappear by 2020. Climate change, being an indirect human impact, poses a major threat to the region as it causes ocean acidification. This is because the oceans absorb Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which then dissolves in the ocean and form carbonic acid. Over the years, the level of CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing drastically; leading to higher acidity levels in the oceans, thus causing coral bleaching.