HELP me - HELP coral reefs [Part II]

Have you ever kicked something hard while snorkelling/diving??

This is an effort to educate the public on creating awareness towards depleting coral reefs. I had the utmost chance to do so in an event organized by NRIC-USM this May. I welcome conservationist, biologist, MARINE BIOLOGIST (yes, you guys out there), zoologist, academicians, exhibitors, economist, scientist etc. to drop-by. Please help me in this noble notion!!! (read on).

Corals are not just hard stones. They have a layer of tissues surrounding it to give colours and life to the stone. They are so sensitive that it took them hundreds of years to built up an entire reef structure. Imagine their regeneration time - they are barely renewable. That's why there is a need to conserve them before they are gone.


Efforts to culture corals often ended up in vain. It is not easy to grow a limestone with just several inch in a month!!! We just cannot expect them to reproduce today and grow by leaps and bounds tomorrow. Impossible......


Corals host the most productive ecosystem in the ocean and thus vital to all living beings in the sea. It they were to be wiped out due to man-made activities, do they still stand a chance to support the other organisms??

Galore of animals corresponding with the coral reefs.
They would be negatively affected when the coral reefs are gone.

My research studied the effects of carbon dioxide emitted from our daily lives towards these hyper-sensitive corals, scientifically. My findings reveal substantial evidence of detrimental effects. Where these carbon dioxide came from anyway?

• cigarette smoke,
• factories/industries,
• carbon monoxide from transportation (cars, planes),
• open burning,
• volcanic eruption
  
• fossil fuel
• unplanned & unsustainable development

Many doesn't know that the gases emitted had a harmful effect towards the organisms, BUT IT DOES!!!

Corals suffered the impact of too much CO2 and dies of slow death. Other organisms such as turtles, fishes, seahorses, sea cucumber, nudibranchs, starfish, algae, sharks, crustaceans, shrimps and much much more...... depend on the coral reefs for many reasons e.g : shelter, food, symbiosis, nutrition, light and etc.

Ask yourselves these :-

1. If these precious corals die, how could the other organism maintain their survival?
2. Where could they find similar source of food and shelter?
3. How could they reproduce if they are unhealthy?
4. What will happen to the whole underwater ecosystem?
5. In future, do we still stand a chance to snorkel and dive for this magnificent view?
6. Where would our source of income come from then?
   

Beautiful star coral, Galaxea fascicularis in healthy condition.

The underwater magnificent extravaganza would be gone in near future if we fail to realize their importance. There is a need to tell everyone of the carbon emission from our daily lives and the damage done.

This is the star coral dead from the effects of carbon dioxide.

Help to spread the word.


Tune in for more. Part III........