Why is the Coral Reef so Important?

Why is the coral reef so important?

Coral reefs all around the world are an extremely endangered habitat.  The Maldives’ coral is no exception.  The coral reef is home to a plethora of marine life, including fish, conch, squid, octopus and algae.  Here many of these creatures find the food they depend upon for survival.  The reef is also an important source of food and chemicals that are used for pharmaceutical purposes, such as cancer-treatment drugs and elements used in sunscreen.

All marine habitats are linked in some way, and they depend on each other to stay alive.  The coral reef has a very important relationship with seaweeds and mangroves, another endangered aquatic habitat.

It’s not just nature that depends on the coral.  Many countries, including the Maldives, Australia and Belize, make a large portion of their annual income from tourism.  The tourists visit to dive and snorkel around the coral reefs and learn about the incredible marine life that lives there.

Coral is extremely sensitive to climatic change and to human touch.  Global warming is constantly threatening the wellbeing of the coral, and as the ocean’s temperature rises, the coral is slowly dying.  Sometimes you can see discolored coral on the reef; this can be a sign of global climate change.  It’s difficult for one person to make a change to global warming, but you can definitely avoid touching the coral.  As soon as coral is touched, it will die.  Unfortunately, many novice scuba divers touch the coral when they are learning, and as a result it dies.  Lion’s Head dive site in the Maldives was once completely damaged by divers who would sit on the coral while watching the sharks feed.  Now, the site is a protected marine park, and the coral is slowly growing back.

The Maldives consists of 1190 coral reef islands, so life here is fully dependent on the survival of the reef.  Several different types of coral are endemic to the Maldives, including stony coral, blue coral, horny coral and soft coral.

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