Ecosystems at Risk Free Essays

The negative nature and rate of change that is occurring within the Great Barrier Reef(GBR) is largely due to human induced activity. Coral reefs are vulnerable to the slightest of human impacts and the frequency in which we are doing so has dramatically increased over the years, increasing it to a global scale. Climate change along with pollution, overfishing and tourism are affecting the vulnerable ecosystems existence. We will write a custom essay sample on Ecosystems at Risk or any similar topic only for you Order Now Climate change is affecting the globe at an increasing intensity. The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing many changes that it is unable to adapt to such as a rise in the average water temperature. The unnatural change physiologically stresses the corals and upset the critical balance that maintains their symbiotic relationship with algae that inhibits it. When this process occurs the corals lose their colour becoming bleached, the recognized biological effects reduce the calcification rates, weakening the skeletons and eventually eroding coral communities.Polar ice caps are also melting due to global climate change, having serious impacts on the nature and life span of coral reefs. As the levels slowly rise, fresh water inlets will be contaminated with salt water affecting the biodiversity of terrestrial vegetation in these fragile environments. Humans impact the GBR is through numerous paths of pollution, all of which can cause serious damage. Although not directly, deforestation has many long-term impacts, as well as sedimentation, fertilizers an d pesticides, runoff and plastic build up. 2% of the world’s coral reefs are threatened by land-based pollution; both chemical and nutrient based e. g. fertilizers, herbicides, human derived sewage and pesticides. 80% of the GBR’s adjacent land is farmland that supports agricultural production. The chemicals used to maintain the farmland pose long term damage to the ecosystem due to their high levels of phosphorus and nitrates. This runoff affect occurs when the farmer uses too much of the product to maintain his land, or it is lost to ground water.Sediments that flow out from rivers with large amounts of eroded material carry with it many of the pollutants stated previously from farms that border the reef at risk. Tourism is vital to help people recognize and promote the value of protecting the Great Barrier Reef, but at the same time has certain elements involved with it, that are slowly taking toll on the environment, which will if not looked at closer, or eliminated all together destroy it for generations to come.Tourism is listed a s a major management issue to the GBR, because of the large amount of tourists and its value to the economy. The impacts range from low to high priority, and often trigger large infrastructure developments on islans and coastal communities, leading to further problems involving runoff and other pollutants mentioned earlier. Also associated with tourism, is the souvenir, ornamental and aquarium trade that severely affects the livelihood of the GBR.People taking home a small piece of the reef cause significantly widespread damage to the ecosystem and its biodiversity. For the Great Barrier Reef to be enjoyed for generations to come, protections laws need to be se t, understood and most of all abided by. The nature and rate of change is fast increasing the decline of one of Australia’s most beautiful ecosystems that should be enjoyed without disturbances. The fragile ecosystem is able to adapt to natural fluctuations and subtle changes in the ecosystem, but human activity is fast destroying it. How to cite Ecosystems at Risk, Papers Ecosystems at Risk Free Essays Humans have been associating with ecosystems and changing them for as long as the start of human life. An ecosystem is a community of species and their non-living environment working in cohesion. Ecosystems at risk, such as The Amazon rainforest and the GBR are those which are heavily affected by change and if altered they require a long time to return to their former state. We will write a custom essay sample on Ecosystems at Risk or any similar topic only for you Order Now Human activities such as fishing, tourism and deforestation have had huge impacts on the balance of these ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest biological organism in the world, the balanced ecology of the Great Barrier Reef is very vulnerable to even the smallest human influence. The range, frequency and the scale of human impacts on coral reefs are building to the extent that reefs are threatened globally. Pollution, global warming and over-fishing are the main factors that are tipping the stability of the ecosystems within the coral reefs. Pollution has made a huge impact on the Great Barrier Reef and its struggle for survival, human based pollution has caused such harm to our reefs that it needs to be stopped or reduced dramatically in order to save our this fragile ecosystem. The human pollution has been a major source for issues concerning the Great Barrier Reef and its struggle to survive in modern day conditions. The Amazon rainforest is one of the world’s largest tropical rainforest covering more than half of Brazil. Deforestation is the major concern in the Amazon Forest, there is little thought been given to sustainable methods for the region. Due to Brazil’s economic situation, the government decided to use the Amazon Basin to increase activity in the agricultural industry; As a result the largest factor of forest destruction has been to create temporary cattle pastures but because most of the regions poor soil the pastures is only viable for a few years. Government policies have allowed the destruction of the forest to be so extensive that there are no more incentives for cattle pasture in Amazonian Brazil. Deforestation causes the rapid depletion of resources; this is happening because the natural resources are being extracted through mining. Products such as Mahogany and Brazilian Cherry Wood are being cut at such a rate that they are now considered a rarity; these products are also the most useful products in the region. If nothing is done to stop the mining of these natural resources there will be none left. Overfishing is one of the major driving pressures that have devastated impacts on coral reefs. Aggressive fishing methods have often hurt coral reefs sometimes beyond repair. Overfishing of a certain species near coral reefs can easily affect the reef’s ecological balance and biodiversity. Overfishing of certain species near coral reefs can easily affect the reef’s ecological balance and biodiversity. Due to certain amounts of nutrients, oxygen and salt content the fishes in the coral reef ecosystem help maintain the balance needed by the corals and without these fishes the coral reef would collapse. There are many necessary steps to help stop overfishing, these are: designing effective conservation programs, finding the impact of management actions, knowing the drivers of overfishing and deciding how are we made to exceed sustainable limitations on fishers. The animal resources are subject to exactly the same plundering. For example, many of the best edible fish such as the piracacu have had their populations greatly reduced by overfishing without any seasonal control to avoid the breeding season. The use of gill nets, dynamite and other environmentally unacceptable methods of fishing is having a drastic effect on the product that is the best source of protein in the region. Already river turtles have been over hunted to almost extinction through the use of their meat and eggs. The exploitation of natural resources has been great and has put the ecosystem at great risk. Ecosystems are very precise , fragile and have an almost equilibrium like environment, it needs all its elements to be able to function and to be stable, that is why even the slightest human interference is often harmful to the ecosystem, and given the modern context we are increasing the damage done to the Great Barrier Reef ; the Amazon forest. If we do not stop our destructive ways, humans will eventually destroy all major ecosystems. How to cite Ecosystems at Risk, Essay examples