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Monday, September 8, 2008,
4:04 PM
HELLO(: here are a few questions on the coral reefs. Information from: http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/reef/Reefinsights/coral_reefs.htm WHAT ARE CORAL REEFS? ANS: Coral reefs are essentially massive deposits of limestone formed by the accumulation of countless hard coral skeletons over thousands of years. This massive framework which can be very thick, is built by coral polyps. Calcareous algae and organisms that secrete calcium carbonate also contribute to reef building. This limestone framework is riddled with many crevices and caves which provide habitats for over 3000 species of marine plants and animals. WHERE ARE CORAL REEFS FOUND? ANS: Coral reefs are found in the warm shallow waters of tropical seas (not below 18° C), roughly between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The shallow depths in which they occur allow sufficient light penetration (<50m) size="4">HOW DO WE HELP/SAVE THE CORAL REEFS? ANS: A good way of conserving reefs and yet using them, is to manage harvest or usage at a rate allowing natural replenishment and repair. Proper management is crucial for such sustainable use of reefs. Marine parks and reserves are important to reef conservation. Management includes the zonation of reef areas allowing different levels of usage. Zones could be set up to allow different levels of usage. Zones could be set up to allow fishing, collecting, diving and snorkelling, research, while certain zones are set aside as sanctuaries and are totally closed to all activities. Reef enhancement projects have been rather sucessful in speeding up the recovery of degraded reefs. Tyre and concrete artificial reefs as well as sunken derelict ships are presently being used to enrich reef resources, especially the fish populations. Other forms of reef management include controlling fishing methods and frequency, setting up municipal and national legislation and educating the local communities on how they can manage their reef resources. WHY DO WE HAVE TO HELP SAVE THE CORAL REEF? ANS: The coral reefs supply man with a substantial amount of food. Reef-related fisheries annually contribute an estimated 9-12 % of the world's total fishery of 70 billion kg. Important food items from the reef are fish, sea-turtles, shellfish, squids, cuttlefish, shrimps, spiny lobsters, crabs, sea-cucumbers, algae and jelly-fish. Most of these are consumed by the local village communities in the region. They also support the large export industry for shells, hard coral skeletons and other ornamental products, which bring in substantial revenue for many Southeast Asian countries. Another large industry is the aquarium industry. Large numbers of fishes, other reef life like anemones, starfish, etc. and corals are collected to meet the increasing demand of marine aquaruim keepers. Naturally-occurring compounds of pharmaceutical importance may be extracted from certain reef organisms. Corals are also mined in many areas in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and the Philippines, for use as construction materials. Coral reefs are valuable resources for recreation and tourism. Water sports like snokelling, SCUBA diving, spear-fishing, underwater photography are very popular. Reefs are important as natural laboratories for education and scientific studies. Research investigations on coral reefs have been invaluable in the understanding of their many intricate biological and ecological processes. As natural breakwaters and wave buffers, they are very important in protecting shores against erosion. They also make large contributions of sand to the beaches. Atolls and barrier reefs or the ridges of fringing reefs which partially traverse bays from headlands help in the formation of sheltered harbours. Have i all the questions that you need? Well, I hope i did! Don't hesitate. SAVE CORAL REEFS. START TODAY :D KAIYING<3> |