Earth houses hundreds of different environments that each serve significant purposes for
the wildlife within them and humanity. One of the most crucial ones, coral reefs, are currently
being threatened by abnormally high temperatures and human negligence. In the past few
decades, it is no secret that earth’s temperature has slowly risen due to climate change, giving
way to an increase in natural disasters and a decrease in the health of the world’s ecosystems.
Global warming, a child of climate change, is one of the main factors in those ecosystems’
declining health. In the case of coral reefs, global warming is a killer. High water temperatures
cause coral to expel algae from their tissue, turning them white, which does not immediately
mean they are dead, but it is a sign of disturbance and a premonition of death. Today, many of
the reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef have turned white, and hundreds of other reefs have
begun showing signs of deterioration. Coral Reefs, one of the earth’s richest ecosystems and a
critical food source for hundreds of thousands, need to start regaining the vibrance they have
lost, and the only way to start that process, is for humanity to take notice of the reefs’ suffering
and begin taking steps to reverse the damage they have inflicted.
Just this summer, the summer of 2022, a heatwave hit the Mediterranean Sea.1 This
summer’s heatwave event is not exclusive either - the number of marine heatwaves has been
increasing just as worldwide temperatures have been in the past few decades. Even the United
Nations, in their 6th Assessment Report, found that “further warming of ocean surfaces are
projected to be between about 1 °C and 3 °C…” in the next century.2 And while this temperature
increase might seem minimal to the average news consumer, it carries significant, negative
implications for the health of the oceans and their ecosystems. Considering coral reefs are some
1
Evers-King, Hayley, et al. ``Marine Heatwave Intensification Threatens Coral Reef Health." Eumetsat, 13 Sept.
2022, www.eumetsat.int/marine-heatwave-intensification-threatens-coral-reef-health. Accessed 2 Oct. 2022.
2
Evers-King, Hayley, et al. "Marine Heatwave Intensification Threatens Coral Reef Health."
of the richest habitats on earth, one would think their current rate of deterioration would be more
of an alarming issue to the average person, especially when taking into account the food they
produce for people. However, it seems the average person has not yet made the connection
between the increasing amount of coral bleaching events and the disastrous implications they
have for the future. If sea and land-air temperatures continue climbing, the nature of oceans will
continue to change, which will ultimately result in the loss of some already endangered,
important species. Additionally, should mass bleaching events continue, hundreds of coral
habitats could be damaged beyond repair, a precursor to the complete loss of certain aquatic
species that the world’s fisheries rely on, which could lead to increased worldwide food
insecurity. The Coral Triangle, for example, is an area located near Indonesia and the Philippines
that generates around 3 billion dollars for its neighboring countries through the fish the
commercial fishing industry is supplied with there.3 Should the Coral Triangle become a victim
of warming waters and mass bleaching events, the commercial fishing industries and economies
of Indonesia and the Philippines would suffer a crushing blow. Furthermore, coral reefs benefit
countries’ economies because they serve as tourist hotspots during certain times of the year.
Continual bleaching events could destroy the color and beauty which attracts large groups of
people, leading to a loss of revenue for countries like Australia and other regions that benefit
financially from aquatic tourism.
According to a 2000’s report published by Wiley for Society for Conservation Biology,
1998 encapsulated “Tropical sea surface temperatures that were the highest on record,” as well as
bleaching HotSpots that were more extensive in the first six months than in any previous year.4
3
Hagen, Rachel. Underwater and Underrated: Coral Reefs and Climate Change. American Security Project, 2018.
JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep19816. Accessed 2 Oct. 2022.
4
Reaser, Jamie K., et al. "Coral Bleaching and Global Climate Change: Scientific Findings and Policy
Recommendations." Conservation Biology, vol. 14, no. 5, 2000, pp. 1500–11. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2641802. Accessed 2 Oct. 2022.
This report is over two decades old, and a similarity that comparable coral bleaching reports of
today have with it is that both are not a significant topic of conversation. Some people still
believe that global warming is not a grave threat, and some in advanced states of ignorance grasp
on to the belief that it is not a thing at all, despite decade-old reports such as this detailing
abnormal coral bleaching events and their adverse effects on the ocean’s health.
The first step to preventing continual coral bleaching is acknowledgment.
Acknowledgment from people about the hundreds of effects climate change has on the
environment, which go on to affect people, is the first step to reversing the damage inflicted on
the earth. The positive news is that measures toward coral reef protection and damage reversal
are already advancing. However, most of those measures only protect reefs from local threats
and more direct damage. In the words of researchers Mark Eakin and Hugh Sweatman, nothing
can be done “to protect reefs from global-scale stressors like the marine heatwaves.”5 Marine
heatwaves, a direct result of global warming and climate change, are disasters that cannot be
protected against on a local scale. A global effort needs to be made in order to return oceans’
temperatures to their normal states. Acknowledge the harm the world’s coral reefs are enduring,
and spread your findings with those around you. Only then will the world realize that the
deterioration of reefs directly affects it - and only then can large-scale changes be made to better
the well-being of our reefs.
5
Eakin, C. Mark, et al. "The 2014–2017 Global-Scale Coral Bleaching Event: Insights and Impacts." Coral Reefs,
vol. 38, no. 4, 2019, pp. 539–45, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01844-2.
Bibliography
Eakin, C. Mark, et al. "The 2014–2017 Global-Scale Coral Bleaching Event: Insights and
Impacts." Coral Reefs, vol. 38, no. 4, 2019, pp. 539–45,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01844-2.
Evers-King, Hayley, et al. ``Marine Heatwave Intensification Threatens Coral Reef Health."
Eumetsat, 13 Sep. 2022,
www.eumetsat.int/marine-heatwave-intensification-threatens-coral-reef-health. Accessed
2 Oct. 2022.
Hagen, Rachel. Underwater and Underrated: Coral Reefs and Climate Change. American
Security Project, 2018. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep19816. Accessed 2 Oct.
2022.
Reaser, Jamie K., et al. "Coral Bleaching and Global Climate Change: Scientific Findings and
Policy Recommendations." Conservation Biology, vol. 14, no. 5, 2000, pp. 1500–11.
JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2641802. Accessed 2 Oct. 2022.