Famous Coral Reefs Essay

Submitted By Phybie-Barba
Words: 1367
Pages: 6

Costal Oceans & Coral Reefs
1st paragraph:
The variation in the Earth’s climate over time is a very important issue for the ocean and coastal. Climate change, which is causing global warming and sea level rise. It’s beginning to have and will possibly continue to have a large impact on coastal populations, economies, and natural resources. The Coastal Ocean has Mediterranean climate. It has cool rainy winters, foggy springs, and dry warm summers and falls. Our costal location is near the Pacific Ocean south of Los Angeles, California. The climates of the Coastal Oceans change impacts and have been identified as one of the greatest global threats to coral reef ecosystems. As temperature rise, mass bleaching, and infectious disease outbreaks are likely to become more frequent. Coral reefs are either restricted or absent from along the west coast of the Americas, as well as the west coast of Africa. Famous coral reefs and reef areas of the world include: * The Great Barrier Reef - largest coral reef system in the world, Queensland, Australia; * The Belize Barrier Reef - second largest in the world, Belize, Central America; and * The Red Sea Coral Reef - located off the coast of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. * Pulley Ridge - deepest photosynthetic coral reef, Florida * Many of the numerous reefs found scattered over the Maldives
2nd paragraph:
The kelp family is the most abundant plants in the coastal oceans. Kelp is a type of marine algae, or seaweed. Seaweeds come in three different color varieties, red, green and brown. Kelp is a kind of brown seaweed that grows to be very large. Kelp has allot of benefits such as:
Lowering of cholesterol levels - Atlantic sea kelp has been shown to lower the blood serum cholesterol levels, which can have an effect on overall cholesterol.
Boosted immunity - Kelp has been shown to be effective against infections such as influenza, herpes and HIV.
Cancer prevention - Some preliminary tests have shown a link between kelp and cancer prevention.
Radiation prevention - A link has been found between kelp and boosting the body's blood system protein complex, which can protect against fatal levels of radiation.
Antioxidants - All seaweeds, including kelp, have been found to have extremely high levels of antioxidants.
The California coastline is home to blue whales, the largest animals in the world. These marine mammals grow up to 108 feet in length when they mature or they can be as long as three school buses and weigh more than 300,000 pounds. Blue whales are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. Coral reefs are home to millions of species. Hidden beneath the ocean waters, coral reefs teem with life. Fish, lobsters, corals, sponges, seahorses, clams, and sea turtles are only a few of the thousands of creatures that rely on reefs for their survival. The green sea turtle specie feeds primarily on the sea grasses found in protected back reef lagoons. Sea grasses are most often found in shallow, sheltered marine or estuarine waters. They are the only type of angiosperm to successfully colonize the sea. Sea grass meadows play key roles in the lives of many coral reef animals including fishes, invertebrate animals, and visiting marine reptiles and mammals.
5th paragraph:

The base of marine life is a large complex group of organisms known as plankton. Plankton are not defined by size, but rather because they are passively carried by water motion. Phytoplankton, also known as microalgae, are similar to terrestrial plants in that they contain chlorophyll and require sunlight in order to live and grow
. Zooplankton are an important prey item in the life history of most fishes and often serve as a vital link between trophic levels in aquatic ecosystems. Which are typically the tiny animals found near the surface in aquatic environments. Like phytoplankton, zooplanktons are usually weak swimmers and usually just drift along with the currents.