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Contents contributed and discussions participated by Tristan Byall

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Tristan Byall

Human Impact on the Great Barrier Reef: Pollution - 1 views

sitemaker.umich.edu/...pollution

shared by Tristan Byall on 30 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • Pollution: Fertilizers and pesticides
  • Pollution has made significant impacts on the Great Barrier Reef and its struggle for survival.
  • Certain model estimates indicate that 22% of the world’s coral reefs are threatened by land-based pollution.
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  • It is noted that 80% of the land adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef is farmland that supports agricultural production, intensive cropping of sugar cane, and major beef cattle grazing.
  • If the farmers over feed or fertilize with the N fertilizers, it can be lost to ground water and surface water.
  • The runoff from many farmlands by the coast is also destroying the biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef with the major increase in population of the crown-of-thorns starfish.
  • Runoff
  • An example of the dangerous harm the farmers have caused the Great Barrier Reef from runoff are those located in Queensland Australia.
  • The technique used was an epidemiological technique, which was first used to link smoking to lung cancer in the 1960s
  • The same is true for the macronutrient fertilizers used such as NPK.
  • These large increases in crown-of-thorns starfish started back in the early 1960’s.
  • Since then around every 15 years there has been another large increase in this starfish.
  • Sedimentation
  • Sedimentation is another large impact on the Great Barrier Reefs that harms its fragile ecosystem.
  • There are various levels of sedimentation and how it can affect the coral communities when run-off occurs.
Tristan Byall

Human Impact on the Great Barrier Reef: Introduction - 1 views

sitemaker.umich.edu/...introduction

shared by Tristan Byall on 30 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • Coral reefs are the homes of some of the most diverse ecosystems and biologically productive habitats
  • The balanced ecology of the Great Barrier Reef is one that is vulnerable to even slightest human influence.
  • In these times, human activity has intensified to a level where our actions have extended to the coral reefs on a global scale.
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  • The ripple of human activity has not only affected the corals, but also the surrounding biodiversity that coexist within these systems.
  • Over-fishing, pollution and global warming are main factors that are tipping the equilibrium of the ecosystems within the coral reefs.
  • So far a fifth of the reefs have been destroyed and are not recovering, a quarter of the reefs are endangered and another quarter face long-term collapse (Spotts).
  • Global warming that has been induced by human activity has affected the reefs by creating warmer temperatures in the waters that will have adverse effects on these highly productive ecosystems.
  • Aggressive fishing has caused major disruptions to the food web and in turn will have a negative domino effect.
  • Overexploitation of marine life disrupts the entire stability of oceanic life because it depletes keystone plant and animal life.
  • Pollution is another major threat to the health and stability of the Great Barrier Reef’s ecosystem.
  • Development and farming off of Australia’s coast is harming the coral reef habitat with dangerous runoff and sedimentation that may eventually destruct the fragile coral reefs.
Tristan Byall

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority :: Fauna and Flora of the Great Barrier Reef W... - 0 views

www.gbrmpa.gov.au/...fauna_flora

shared by Tristan Byall on 29 Nov 10 - No Cached
    • Tristan Byall
      Tristan Byall on 29 Nov 10
       
      Click on links and there will be more information.
Tristan Byall

About Australia: Flora and Fauna - 0 views

www.dfat.gov.au/...flora_and_fauna.html

shared by Tristan Byall on 29 Nov 10 - No Cached
Tristan Byall

DRpure.com: Flora and Fauna: Adventure Tourism in the Dominican Republic - 0 views

www.drpure.com/index.php

shared by Tristan Byall on 29 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • The fringing reef is always connected to the mainland, but can extend quite far out to sea.
  • Beyond the fringing reef across the lagoon - an area of shallow water with a floor of coral sand and debris - you will come to the barrier reef or, as is more common in Caribbean and tropical Atlantic waters, the bank/barrier reef.
  • In the case of hard corals, this limestone creates a skeleton which encloses the animal altogether and eventually builds up to form the reef itself.
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  • Soft corals, meanwhile, have no such skeleton and resemble plants.
  • It is estimated that for every acre of reef, one ton of solid coral skeleton is converted into fine sand every year
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