“It is estimated 60% of the worlds coral reefs will be lost by 2020”
For coral to live it needs certain needs and things to survive just like everything living thing on this earth. For coral to live the water temperature has to be between 18- 29*C degrees. If temperatures go above or below these levels it is critical for the coral and unfortunately the coral is on the urge of dying. The colour of the Coral comes from the zooxanthellae living inside their tissues.When the temperature rises the coral becomes stressed and the algae (zooxanthellae) leaves.
Without this algae the coral loses it major source of food and turns white/ or very pale and dies. When the coral dies it turns into a hard white rock. If the temperature of our water keeps getting affect by global warming the future of coral reefs are not very good to picture in the long shot. Miserably temperature and over tourism are not only the causes of coral bleaching. Another factor of this ongoing problem to our beautiful coral reefs is agricultural runoff. this is a problem because coral to survive needs low nutrients.
When farmers fertilize their crops runoff from that washes into the coral reefs. Since coral needs low nutrients to live when fertilizer gets into the water the coral takes in in and then has high nutrients and once again dies. In Australia the Great Barrier Reef sits in the Queensland area. It is experiencing coral bleaching. UNESCO requested Australia to check the health of the reef in December 2016. The report showed that the reef is in danger and The Great Barrier Reef should be listed as ‘in danger’. Together we can turn the tide and put a stop to this.