Author: joahernandez

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Can new sciences save dying coral reefs? National Geographic

A report released on November 28 by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) comes to the same conclusion: Human intervention is needed to ensure the persistence of the world’s coral reefs, which are of incalculable value to “human well-being, national economies, and future wonder.”“The coral report is a pragmatic list of tools for helping reefs survive climate,” says Stanford University biologist Stephen Palumbi, who chaired the NAS committee (and who is also a member of the National Geographic Society’s executive committee). “Kind of like what always happens when the panic of a crisis ebbs and you have to get down to solutions.”In 2016 and 2017, the Great Barrier Reef experienced back-to-back “marine heat waves,” periods of elevated sea temperatures that resulted in the death of almost a third of all the reef’s corals.For reasons that still aren’t entirely clear, coral polyps respond to elevated heat by expelling the symbiotic.

 

This article relates to environmental science because this is such a worldwide issue that by the United States taking a step to bettering the coral reefs conditions they are motivating other countries to make more research on corals. By making more research it leads to faster solution which leads to the coral reefs re-operation. The United States has created multiple research groups that many other countries like Australia has reached out and tried to help for the cause. There’s so much to the whole coral reef topic. There’s so many ways that they are being harmed not just intentionally but also unintentionally. Again, I do think it all comes down to time and the measure that all humans are taking not just a small group. If we really want coral reefs to bounce back from all the harm it has to be with the help of everyone.

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Stopping fish bombing.United Nations Environment Program

Fish bombing is an escalating threat to coral reefs, and to the people who depend on them for their livelihoods. It destroys fish habitats among reefs already threatened by overfishing and climate change.In Sabah, action is urgently needed: “Blast fishing in the past years has badly affected the marine ecosystems,” said Terence Lim of Sabah and a founding member of Stop Fish Bombing!. “If this is left unchecked we will not only lose the ability to produce wild fish stock but it will dramatically affect the tourism industry which now generates the second highest revenue for Sabah.”Stop Fish Bombing! has collaborated with Californian tech company ShotSpotter to adapt their gunshot location technology to detect fish bombs underwater.“Fortunately, we now have the technology to detect and locate fish bombs as they happen, and publish this information on tablets and phones for access by everyone,” said Woodman. The use of this acoustic sensing and location technology, combined with existing and emerging surveillance and monitoring systems, offers the possibility of building an effective global detection system and thus an opportunity to suppress or even eradicate fish bombing within a short time.

This article relates to environmental science because coral reefs need to be protected and there is so many that target them. Change is possible through soft measures such as community development, and hard measures such as enforcement.Getting communities involved in enforcement has proved effective in maximizing reach and minimizing cost. It also provides high-quality data to allow people in marine protected areas affected by blast fishing to objectively assess the issues and ways to solve them. Failing to address fish bombing ultimately exacerbates poverty, and turns an environmental problem into a security risk, because food supplies dwindle, and a disempowered rural population with expertise in homemade explosives pose a risk to future security. Although i think it is a great step the coral reef situation it is all about time. I think time is key to see major change in these communities. The harm that is being done is significant meaning it take times for the organism to bounce back and recuperate their original state, health and balance wise.

 

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Key West Bans Sunscreen Containing Chemicals Believed to Harm Coral Reefs

 

The measure, which the City Commission approved Tuesday in a 6-to-1 vote, will ban sales of sunscreens containing the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate. The legislation will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.“Our coral has been under attack by a number of stressors,” Mayor Teri Johnston said. “We just thought if there was one thing we could do, to take one of the stressors away, it was our responsibility to do so.”Over the last year, the state of Hawaii and the Western Pacific nation of Palau have also restricted sunscreen sales to protect the otherworldly coral reefs. (Parts of Mexico also ban non-biodegradable sunscreen.) Hawaii’s law bans the same chemicals as Key West’s, and takes effect on the same date. In Palau, 10 chemicals are prohibited, a list that could grow.Ms. Johnston said that people with medical prescriptions would be exempt from the ban, and that the first offense would be met with a warning. The second offense would incur fines that are still to be determined. She added that the reef was crucial to both the environment and the tourism driven local economy.But some dermatologists and trade groups have opposed the bans, arguing that more research is necessary and that banning sunscreen could lead to higher skin cancer rates. Sunscreen manufacturers have also disputed the claims about the dangers to coral reefs.

This article relates to environmental science because coral reefs are becoming such a huge environmental issue that drastic changes have to be taken. But it can also be a positive thing because it shows how United States is ready to make a change and help coral reefs for real this time. It might seem stupid for some but I think that if we follow this small change it can help tremendously because if you think about this way, how many people go into the ocean? There so many people that simply go to certain location because of the beaches. Due to the popularity of the location, if we ban certain sunscreens it cause for a huge impact on the coral reefs health. This makes me have hope for better solutions in the future. I think that as long as we make changes to help the coral reefs we can someday reach our goal.

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Huge previously-undetected coral reef off US East Coast

When people think of coral reefs, they typically picture warm, clear waters with brightly colored corals and fishes. But other corals live in deep, dark, cold waters, often far from shore in remote locations. These varieties are just as ecologically important as their shallow water counterparts. They also are just as vulnerable to human activities like fishing and energy production. Earlier this year there was a research expedition conducted by the Deep Search project, which is studying little-known deep-sea ecosystems off the southeast U.S. coast. Shallow corals get much of their energy from sunlight that filters down into the water. Like plants on land, tiny algae that live within the corals’ polyps use sunlight to make energy, which they transfer to the coral polyps. Deep-sea species grow below the sunlit zone, so they feed on organic material and zooplankton, delivered to them by strong currents.Yet another growing concern is deep sea mining for materials such as cobalt, which is used to build batteries for cell phones and electric cars. The International Seabed Authority, a United Nations agency, is working with scientists and non-government organizations to develop a global regulatory code for deep sea mining, which is expected to be completed in 2020 or 2021. However, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has warned that not enough is known about deep sea life to ensure that the code will protect it effectively. There is also deep-sea corals are not immune to climate change. Ocean currents circulate around the planet, transporting warm surface waters into the deep sea. Warming temperatures could drive corals deeper, but deep waters are naturally higher in carbon dioxide than surface waters. As their waters become more acidified, deep-sea corals will be restricted to an increasingly narrow band of optimal conditions.

This article relates to environmental science because many coral reef communities are still being discovered in all of United States, yet humans do not seem to care enough by not providing the help needed in order for all these coral reef communities to recuperate. This also shows the extent of our mistakes. Although these coral reefs were barely discovered the researches state that they are not in good conditions and so far have not shown any type of recuperation. Although they are in a different location. In other words sea level, they are still getting harmed by humans. Humans are using what is around these corals as a resource for batteries. Again, demonstrating the long term effects of our high demands. Coral reefs are used by the marine life to live in and depend on in order to have a healthy lifestyle, yet they have to constantly fight with humans to maintain a healthy habitat and have a simple home. Because, of the multiple negative effects that coral reefs are facing as a whole, the marine life is being impacted as well and are having to suffer the consequences of humans actions. It seems as though humans disregard that the marine life exists and that they also need a habitat in order to survive. These organisms are being restricted to a healthy life under the sea and are finding much difficulty to be able to survive and exist in the ocean itself.

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Here are some alternatives to reef damaging sunscreen

When you swim with sunscreen on, chemicals like oxybenzone can seep into the water, where they’re absorbed by corals. These substances can disrupt coral’s reproduction and growth cycles, ultimately leading to bleaching.Even with government bans, certain types of sunscreen can be used to protect against burns and skin cancer. Mineral-based sunblocks that use titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are safer than the oxybenzone, containing alternatives. Sunscreens with “non-nano” size particles are safer because they can’t be ingested by corals. Some sunscreens have a combination of nano-size and non-nano size particles, and the Consumer Products Inventory has a database that can tell you if your sunscreen contains nanoparticles.Some tour companies in popular destinations like Mexico make it mandatory for visitors to wear only biodegradable sunscreen. Select Hawaiian resorts and airlines give out free reef-safe sunscreen samples that don’t contain harmful chemicals. Many of these resorts will let patrons know of these restrictions in advance or list it on their websites.

This article relates to environmental science because it demonstrates how coral reefs are not only harmed when humans do something intentionally towards them, but they can also be harmed when humans are simply using products to protect themselves. I think this should gives us somewhat of a motivation to change our ways. I think this is a great example of a small change that could come a long way. You don’t necessarily have to attend a huge event/project to protect coral reefs but you can definitely  always use safe sunscreens that will not make coral reefs weaker. Like coral reefs there are many other organisms that are accidentally and easily getting harmed by humans. Lastly, if we lose coral reefs, we will have lost a vital ecosystem. We could also hurt our global economy coral reefs are a major tourist attraction and source of income for these popular vacation spots.

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Escape responses of coral reef fish obey simple behavioral rules

The escape response to evade perceived threats is a fundamental behavior seen throughout the animal kingdom, and laboratory studies have identified specialized neural circuits that control this behavior. The results, published November 12 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal how a sequence of well-defined decision rules generates evasion behavior in a wide range of coral reef fish species. They took an approach used in laboratory studies into a complex, natural environment and found that the same behavioral mechanisms seem to apply.They found that fish initiated escape maneuvers in response to the perceived size and expansion rate of the threat stimulus using a decision rule that matched the dynamics of known loom-sensitive neural circuits.

 

This article relates to environmental science because I think this a great example of how every organism depends on each other in order to make an ecosystem work. I think this is great evidence demonstrating how coral reefs play an important role in other species lives and help them maintain a healthy and well-functioning lifestyle. Although it talks mostly about the fishes how they behave in certain situations it mentions how coral reefs allow them to act a certain way whenever they want, indicating that in order for this space to act the wait was meant to act it needs coral reef in their habitat. When coral reefs are taken away from from ecosystems it negatively affects other organisms and it becomes a barrier for them to function the way they are meant to function. I find this pretty depressing that we disregarding the health of all marine organisms and protecting our own well bings by hurting not just coral reefs but other organisms that depend on them. I find this pretty selfish in my opinion and a bit ignorant.https://news.ucsc.edu/2018/11/escape-responses.html

 

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Coral reef conservation

https://coral.org/

California drivers are working with Fijians divers to come up with solutions for coral reef communities survival. They are also working on doing new research to determine other factors that are making it difficult for these communities to survive and have a healthy ecosystem. They’re leading holistic conservation programs that improve coral reef health and resilience and are replicated across the globe. This group is also involving some scientists that come from Californian and Fijians to furthermore the research and data that is accumulated. This helps come up with solid and accurate research.

 

This article relates to environmental science because coral reefs are becoming such a huge environmental issue that other countries have to get involved to com up with a variation of solutions in order to try to solve the issue or help any change be made. In my opinion this is a bright idea because it helps get research and progress done to eliminate or come up with new ideas in order to help solve the issues. Although i think it is a great step the coral reef situation it is all about time. I think time is key to see major change in these communities. The harm that is being done is significant meaning it take times for the organism to bounce back and recuperate their original state, health and balance wise.

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Admiring Anacapa Islands coral pinnacle

Anacapa Island is more protected from storms and thus tends to offer clearer, warmer water than the other islands in the northern Channel Islands, making it an ideal, and reliable, charter destination especially for visitors, less experienced divers and snorkelers.Coral Reef is Anacapa most popular deep dive and is know for the striking colors and beautiful micrography opportunities it provides to advanced scuba divers. Most of the marine life here benefits from strong currents that serve as the lunch truck, delivering nutrients. The anemones, aggregating and orange cup corals, and gorgonians feed this way. Although there are beautiful coral communities where there are no hard corals present. Not only here but in the entire state of california. These corals are called ‘exceptions’ of corals meaning although they are not considered to be hard coral they are most definitely similar to corals, because of their major similarities they can be classified as corals.

 

This article relates to environmental science because it also mentioned how there are hardly any species like scallop and lobsters that live in this type of ecosystem. When tourists can notice that there are some marine species that are absent in an ecosystem where coral reefs exist I think we can come to the conclusion that it is becoming a huge issue. Although the Anacapa Islands does have a decent amount of coral reefs there are many marine species that are not present due to the fact that the population of coral reefs has decreased significantly in the past years, months, and days. Coral reefs might seem like an insignificant issue to solve but it is a ‘small’ issue that is the cause of many other ‘major’ issues in the islands and around the world. Other organism heavily depends on coral reefs in order to survievand have a stable, balanced life where multiple organisms can coexist and commute to have what once was a healthy ecosystem. I think we need to bring awareness to all parts of the state and world about this coral reef issues even those locations that are not supposed to be heavily populated with coral reefs. By bringing awareness we can come up with multiple solutions, research and programs to help the population of coral reefs increase and marine organisms to remain in their original habitats. https://cadivingnews.com/dive-spot/admiring-anacapa-islands-coral-pinnacle/

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State of deep coral ecosystems of the U.S. Pacific Coast:California to Washington

A coral reef is a resistant marine ridge that consists of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically that contains magnesium and calcium carbonates. They are the most diverse of all marine ecosystems. Due to this diversity, Coral reefs are often referred to as the rainforests of the sea. Corals, sponges and seaweeds cover the surface of many coral reefs. Coral Reefs form in warm, shallow waters, and they provide home to a variety of sea life. They also protect the shoreline from erosion by causing large waves to break, losing some of their force before reaching land. The U.S. Pacific coast marine region encompasses the continental margin off the states of California, Oregon and Washington. Includes a review of potential impacts to corals in the region and related conservation measures enacted to protect coral communities and their habitats. Finally, the authors provide recommendations for future research to improve our understanding of these organisms.

 

This article relates to environmental science because many coral reef communities are being discovered in California, yet humans do not seem to care through providing the help needed in order to help not harm these organisms anymore. Coral reef communities are widely spread throughout California, spreading all the way to Oregon and Washington, meaning that there population is increasing but are decreasing at the same time because of the impact that humans are having on these Coral reef communities. Coral reefs are used by the marine life to live in and depend on in order to have a healthy lifestyle, yet they have to constantly fight with humans to maintain a healthy habitat and have a simple home. Because, of the multiple negative effects that coral reefs are facing as a whole, the marine life is being impacted as well and are having to suffer the consequences of humans actions. It seems as though humans disregard that the marine life exists and that they also need a habitat in order to survive. These organisms are being restricted to a healthy life under the sea and are finding much difficulty to be able to survive and exist in the ocean itself.https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/deepcoral_rpt/Chapter3_PacificCoast.pdf

 

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Energy system ill-prepared for impact of accelerated global warming

The intensity of the wild fires raging in California it’s just the latest example of climate change is deadly manifestations. Northern California utility Pacific Gas & Electric(PG&E) is under what is called “renewed scrutiny as possible culprit” in the campfire, which has devastated towns north of Sacramento raising serious questions about the fitness of the utilities equipment and it’s compliance with state safety laws. The bigger picture is that PG and E is not alone in being unprepared for the harmful effects of warming planet. Around the globe, many energy and fuel producers have been caught off guard this year by severe storms, high/low temperatures, and rapid changes to available water supplies. This issue leads to rising global temperatures which are having a serious impact such as coastal inundations which this may result in intensive heat and damage to Coral reefs, much earlier than proof previously expected. As a result, damage to fuel-distribution systems energy generation sites and the power grid are already occurring and will likely intensify in the coming years.

 

This article relates to environmental science because it demonstrates how coral reefs are not only harmed when human target them but they are also easily harmed by series of events. In other words this is an indictment what if coral reefs are in danger when we don’t target them we should try to do whatever is possible in our hands to try to protect them when they are accidentally harmed by natural events. I think this should gives us somewhat of a motivation to change our ways ad begin to care for them. Like coral reefs there are many other organisms that are accidentally and easily getting harmed not just when humans target them specifically but when a series of natural events like fires occur.https://www.axios.com/energy-system-ill-prepared-for-impact-of-accelerated-global-warming-8efbe610-2f51-42f3-ab98-1f2ed8286d3d.html