Environmental Resilience - Underwater Ecosystems - Coral Reefs (Secondary Research)





 Coral reefs are just one kind of marine ecosystem. They exist in the layer of sea water that receives enough sunlight to allow photosynthesis to occur. The exoskeletons excreted by coral provide shelter to many different organisms.

Coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems that home to sponges, sharks, crustaceans, molluscs, fish, turtles, dolphins, and many more. It is said that coral reefs can account for a quarter of all ocean species (National Geographic, no date).

There are many attributes that make coral reefs resilient. High levels of biodiversity increase the chances of varied responses to any threats. There a more than one species that have the same role on reefs, providing a safety net should something happen to a species. A process called recruitment (young creatures becoming a part of the adult population) ensures high levels of biodiversity on healthy reefs and recovery on damaged reefs. High herbivore populations stop macroalgae from overgrowing and preventing coral reef recruitment. (Reef Resilience Network, no date)

Any and all harm to marine life can effect coral reefs. Over fishing can reduce species, leaving coral reefs without biodiversity and enough species to complete the roles necessary to maintain the resilience of the reefs. Synthetic fibres used in textiles are created using petroleum that often spills and harms marine life. Washing and disposing of textiles and clothing is releasing a massive amount of plastics and microplastics into our oceans, which harms marine life. The huge amounts of CO2 released by the textile industry contribute to global warming and 28% of all CO2 released is dissolved in the ocean. Unusually hot waters is the cause of coral bleaching, bleached corals are likely to have reduced growth, less reproductive capacity, species can be killed and there is an increase in susceptibility to diseases (Ben Williams, 2020).

 The changes in the coral effect the creatures that depend on them for food and shelter. The damage to coral reefs also effects the human communities, they lose the aesthetic that encourages reef tourism and divers. Coral reefs also provide compounds used for medicines and they lose the resources when they are damaged or dead (Reef Resilience Network, no date).


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