The Effects of Global Warming On Coral Reefs Essay -- Environment Glob

The Effects of Global Warming On Coral Reefs Graphs Missing Introduction: The effects of global warming touch every human, animal, plant, ocean, landmass, and atmosphere level on this planet. The numerous effects of global warming are mixes of "good" and "bad" results, depending on how your definition of "good" results and "bad" results are. A "good" effect, a person could say, would be for regions with normally cold temperatures to receive warmer temperatures for their normal. Yet, there are more "bad" effects that seem to out weight the "good" effects. Some of the effects would include increases of flooding, severe storm systems, and rising sea-levels. One major consequence would be an increase of temperature globally. This would give a chain reaction that would change temperatures and precipitation within many ecosystems. Which could cause a possible alteration in migration routes of various animals or produce permanent damage to creatures and their habitats, or worse, result in extinction for sensitive organisms that cannot handle the change. An exampl e of a sensitive organism is the coral reef. This vital creature serves as a home, feeding area, and shelter for many fish, plants, and animals living in the shallow water domain. The degradation by global warming of this essential species is discussed more in-depth below. Bleaching of Coral Reefs When coral reefs are thought of, warm images of vibrant multi-colored creatures and corals emerge from our imaginations. Mental pictures of a bustling biodiversity of animals, invertebrates, and plants congregate around the coral reef that acts as a glue holding together the shallow waters of the underwater realm. Yet, many of the worlds most beautiful and important coral re... ...blic about the bleaching of corals. Its our problem, we need to create a solution or the colors of the ocean may be fading away as we speak. Works Cited Australia Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). "What is coral bleaching?" 2002. http://www.aims.gov.au/pages/research/coral-bleaching/coral-bleaching.html (3 Feb. 2003). Dennis, Carina. "Reef under threat from 'bleaching' outbreak." Nature, 415. 28 February 2002: 947. January 25, 2003. http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v415/n6875/full/ 415947a_fs.html. Houghton, John. 1994. Global Warming The Complete Briefing. Elgin, Illinois: Lion Publishing. Wilkinson, Clive. "The 1997-1998 mass bleaching event around the world." Status of coral reefs of the world: 1998. 1998: Chapter 1. February 4, 2003. http://www.aims.gov.au/pages/research/coral-bleaching/scr1998/scr-00.html.