Reef Under Attack

Reef Under Attack

Bita Ameen

Coral on the Great Barrier Reef is dying off faster and faster as time goes on. The deaths are most likely because of increasing ocean temperatures and pollution. These changes are happening too fast for the coral to properly adapt to its new environment. “The corals in the remote far north of the reef experienced extremely hot and still conditions this summer, and were effectively bathed in warm water for months, creating heat stress that they could no longer cope with,” says Russell Reichelt, the chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. This process of coral dying because of increasing ocean temperatures is called coral bleaching. Coral reefs, that were once blossoming with color are now bland and are dying off. Due to El Nino and climate change, over 12% of the world’s coral reefs have died. Coral reefs are habitats for many different sea organisms and if they die, the other organisms die, and a chain reaction of extinction occurs. If the heat stress is lessened, the coral may be able to bounce back.