Task details
You are going to undertake an enquiry into coral reefs. The enquiry is divided into 2 sections; i)
background information and ii) case studies. The enquiry will take place over 2 lessons, with one
lesson in the computer room.
The key questions for the enquiry are listed below, along with some suggested resources to aid
your research. The eventual outcome of the enquiry is for you to produce a poster entitled:
“The natural and human threats to coral reefs, can they be managed?”
Tip: All good posters have a good balance between text and images/diagrams so remember to
save these when doing your IT research.
Key questions
i)
Background information
 What are coral reefs?
 How have they formed? (Hint: polyps)
 Where are they found? Why? (Hint: what conditions do corals need to grow?)
 How many types of coral reefs are there? How are they different?
 Why are coral reefs such an important coastal ecosystem?
 What is happening to the state of the world’s coral reefs?
 Why?
o Natural threats to coral reefs?
o Human threats to coral reefs? (include direct and indirect impact of human
activities on coral reefs)
ii)
Case studies
Maldives
 Where is the Maldives?
 What is the Maldives like? (physical and human characteristics e.g. population size, GDP
from tourism)
 What threats face the coral reefs of the Maldives?
 What are the proposed management solutions for the Maldives?
Ban Don Bay, Thailand
 Where is Ban Don Bay?
 What islands make up Ban Don Bay?
 What impacts have tourists had on the coral reefs?
 How are the coral reefs being managed? (refer to recreation and tourism, fisheries,
water quality and public awareness).
Sources of information:
a) Websites
 BBC news clips: http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgibin/search/results.pl?tab=av&q=coral+reefs&recipe=all&scope=all&start=1
News clips from BBC reports about the pressures on coral reefs. Especially good is ‘Fish
harvesting threat to reefs’ and ‘Acidic sea threat to coral’.
 Blue Planet: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/blueplanet/webs/explore.shtml
Click on the tab in ‘info bursts’ and select the topic associated with coral reefs that you
want to look at.
 Blue Planet: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/blueplanet/webs/further_threats.shtml
Coral reef conservation issues webpage. Click on the links for detailed information about
the threats facing coral reefs.
 Coral film: http://www.coralfilm.com/
Click on the ‘Learning about Reefs’ tab at the top of the page and follow the links,
including the ‘Educational activities and resources’.
 Coral reef education: http://www.uvi.edu/coral.reefer/
Good section on threats to coral reefs.
 Coral reefs: http://www.solcomhouse.com/coralreef.htm
 Noaa: http://www.coral.noaa.gov/cleo/pdf/Carbon%20Dioxide%20background.pdf
Good explanation of how the increasing acidity of the oceans affects coral reefs.
 Oceans edge: http://www.oceansedge.com/coralreefs.shtml
 Ocean World: http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/index.html
 Reef relief: protect living coral: http://www.reefrelief.org/coral_reef_index.shtml
Useful information and facts about coral reefs. Includes information about location.
 Sea World: http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Coral/home.html
Brief information about causes of coral death. Useful section which highlights why coral
reefs are important (see conservation of coral).
 Maldives fact file:
http://www.sln.org.uk/geography/schools/blythebridge/a2csmaldives.htm
b) Text books
 Warn, S. and Naish, M. (2000). Changing environments: AS level Geography for Edexcel B.
Longman.
 Digby, B. (2000). Changing environments. Heinemann.
c) Articles
 “Maldives: Paradise soon to be lost” by Nick Bryant
(Also online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3930765.stm)
 Marine tourism: a case study of sustainable marine tourism in the Maldives
Links to exam specification (Edexcel B):
 Changes in coastal ecosystems result from natural change and the direct and indirect
impact of human activities.
 Long-term impact of global climate change on rising sea levels (e.g. survival of the
atolls in the Maldives)