Eric H. Santana
End the Peril Facing Corals
In my opinion, despite the situation of global warming, mankind has the ability to slow
down and maybe even stop the bleaching of coral reefs. Once people have sufficient knowledge
of the situation involving corals, the issue should be solved relatively easily considering some
other tasks mankind has taken on, such as the construction of the pyramids without modern
equipment or the invention of airplanes that now journey through our skies. The damage to
some coral reef ecosystems that have gone through bleaching can be potentially reversed,
meaning it is possible for the coral reef to recover fully from such an occurrence. So we as
mankind should seek to benefit our surroundings with our intelligence and put an end to the
contributing factors of coral reef bleaching for our own good as well as the corals’.
Before one can pursue any possible solution to coral reef bleaching, we need an
understanding of what coral reef bleaching actually is. Coral reef bleaching is when corals pale
in color in part due to the loss of the brown pigment of a symbiont within the coral. According
to Geographical, “Bleaching occurs when the zooxanthellae – microscopic plants which live in
coral tissue and provide it with colour and food – stop working due to stress, often as a result of
rising temperatures.” (Geographical 1). Basically there is a symbiotic relationship between the
coral and protists. When the coral undergoes varied forms of stress the symbiotic relationship
begins to fall apart. This process in other words is “the breakdown of the endosymbiosis
between corals and the dinoflagellate protist Symbiodinium.” (Donner et al 1). According to
“Sunscreens Cause Coral Bleaching by Promoting Viral Infections” (Danovaro et al 1) the
bleaching of corals has been caused by “positive temperature anomalies, excess ultraviolet (UV)
radiation or altered available photosynthetic radiation, and presence of bacterial pathogens
and pollutants.” Allowing these factors to continue existing, they will negatively affect both
corals as well as to any opportunities for mankind to benefit from the existence of corals in
relation to knowledge we can gain through observing and studying them. The negative aspects
of coral reef bleaching can also be stated as “Field and laboratory evidence has shown that
frequent or severe bleaching can lead to a reduction in the reproductive capacity, growth,
disease resistance and/or survivorship of affected corals at large geographic scales.” (Donner et
al, pg. 1).
The next question for the concept of coral reef bleaching would be ”why is that bad for
the coral?” and I feel with that information one can see why a solution to slowing down or
stopping coral reef bleaching is necessary. When a coral bleaches it suffers in many different
ways including: a decline in its ability to defend against diseases, a slow or complete stop in the
growth of the coral, a decrease in the corals’ ability to reproduce more coral, and even the
coral’s life is potentially threatened. “Global Change Biology” (Donner et al) discusses how
global warming is the cause for coral reef bleaching and unless we as mankind make a
concentrated effort to control and limit greenhouse gas concentrations then coral bleaching
will happen a lot more often in the coming years.
There are many reasons coral reef bleaching can occur, including sunscreens we go into
the ocean wearing. Initially it seems unclear how sunscreen could be linked to coral reef
bleaching due to the fact that most people wear sunscreen when attending a beach or other
large bodies of water. It would seem so many people are unaware of their influence upon the
oceans ecosystems by their decisions at the beach due to the continuation of people wearing
sunscreen into the water. Within our sunscreens there are organic ultraviolet filters which,
when in contact with the coral, can cause dormant infections the symbiote within the coral may
have to activate and go through whatever the virus’ cycle may be. To be more scientifically
stated “Suncreens cause rapid and complete bleaching of hard corals, even at low
concentrations. The effect of sunscreens is due to organic ultraviolet filters, which are able to
induce the lytic viral cycle in symbiotic zooxanthellae with latent infections.” (Danovaro et al 1).
Even in small amounts the ingredients of sunscreen can prove deadly to the coral reef
ecosystems that share the waters of our beaches, so it would seem within the best interest of
the coral for mankind to make an effort in preventing such contaminants from making it into
the water.
By far, I feel the biggest contributing factor of coral reef bleaching worldwide is global
warming. As we continue to release more and more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases into our atmosphere we as mankind are changing the environments of the earth and are
making it more difficult for coral reef ecosystems to live. In raising the temperature of the
worlds’ oceans we are manipulating the habitat in which the coral depends on to survive and
overall the corals have been negatively influenced in varied degrees globally. The bleaching of
coral reef ecosystems is occurring in part to rising temperature of the oceans and unless we can
begin to stop global warming this will continue with increasingly more serious results as corals
grow weaker. According to “Coral Crisis” by Joe Dupree “Warmer oceans have triggered
widespread episodes of coral bleaching… Higher levels of Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases have also altered the chemistry of the oceans, undermining corals’ ability to build reefs
and fight off predators and disease.” (Dupree 1). To me it would seem logical to put an end to
global warming because there is no benefit I can imagine from raising the temperatures of our
oceans and altering them on a chemical level so that life within the oceans would be placed in
danger. Corals are not our enemies so there should be no reason to seek destruction of their
underwater world.
The bleaching of coral reefs in not necessarily a permanent occurrence, as suggested
within “Coral Bleaching Threat” which states “…reefs are not immediately killed by bleaching,
and if they aren’t severely stressed, they can recover their zooxanthellae and regain their
colour.” (Geographical 1). In other words, a coral reef ecosystem can potentially survive
bleaching and even recover completely if the level of stress the coral undergoes is not too
great. The symbiote within the coral can be restored after the bleaching event and the color
can return to the coral if the pigment replenishes within the symbiote as well. It is possible for
corals to resume normal, healthy existence after bleaching so I feel that is ever more a reason
to pursue the end to coral reef bleaching; previous damages to corals can potentially be
undone as well. This is very important as mankind would be able to benefit from a broader area
for research in relation to corals by allowing them to recover’ as opposed to allowing corals to
die off. Should that happen researchers would have to work with the few living specimens
remaining if any, making their potential findings significantly less than as if they had a whole
planet of living coral to research. With more living corals there are more opportunities for
advancements in knowledge, understanding of undersea life, and medicine through the
research of these corals and the ecosystems around them.
As I previously stated, I feel mankind can begin to slow down and possibly even stop
coral reef bleaching. Some steps have already been taken in that direction, as shown in “Coral
Crisis.” Which states
Combating the threat global warming poses to coral reefs and other wildlife habitats is a
top priority for NWF, which is backing congressional legislation to reduce greenhouse
gases, publishing reports on warming’s impact on wildlife and collaborating with state
affiliates on grassroots efforts. In Florida, following last year’s publication of the report
An Unfavorable Tide…NWF has been working with community leaders, government
officials, dive shops and sport fishing enthusiasts to build support for curbing global
warming pollution at the state and national levels. (Dupree 1)
With continued efforts such as this I feel we as mankind can successfully save coral reefs from
prolonged bleaching for the purpose of not only preserving their existence but also to benefit
from their presence in the forms of research and potential medicine among other things. Other
methods of preserving the corals include making an effort to not allow the sunscreen we wear
to the beach to get into the ocean water. I feel this will contribute to the preservation of coral
reefs against bleaching because it is evident in “Sunscreens Cause Coral Bleaching by Promoting
Viral Infections.” Within the article it is stated
“Our goal was to evaluate the potential impact of sunscreen ingredients on hard corals
and their symbiotic algae… RESULTS: Sunscreens cause the rapid and complete
bleaching of hard corals, even at extremely low concentrations…we conclude that
sunscreens, by promoting viral infection, potentially play an important role in coral
bleaching in areas prone to high levels of recreational use by humans.” (Danovaro et al
1)
Coral reef bleaching is a process that can be slowed down and potentially even
stopped with concentrated efforts on mankind’s behalf. Through my research I feel this
statement is a factually based valid opinion. A person can seek to avoid going into the ocean or
any large body of water while wearing sunscreen, that is to say, one way a person can make an
effort to prevent coral reef bleaching would be to avoid going into water wile wearing
sunscreen. Also groups devoted to ending global warming are in existence and one can easily
seek information on how to become a part of them. In ending global warming, the biggest
contributing factor to the bleaching of coral reef ecosystems would be gone. There are many
avenues to explore in methods of slowing and putting an end to coral bleaching and the articles
I have used for reference support that idea in one way or another. Putting an end to global
warming is the most beneficial path for preserving and saving coral reef ecosystems in my own
opinion because the ocean temperature range for corals to exist is not vast enough to support
the projected increases resulting from the current patterns of climate change. With the
opportunity to not only stop bleaching but allow the reefs to recover, we as mankind must act
before we miss the chance to reverse the damage to the coral reef ecosystems and instead
must cope with a world full of dead coral skeletal structures and warmer oceans.