G eo Factsheet

September 2001 Number 118

CORAL REEFS – Ecosystem in Crisis?

Introduction
In the year 2000, 10% of the world’s coral reefs were either totally dead Many of these uses are conflicting; they are all growing and therefore are
or degraded beyond recovery. Unless action is taken in the next ten years increasingly unsustainable as the coral reef ecosystems are being
this will rise to over 30% - indeed only 10% of all coral reefs are not at damaged or destroyed at a greater rate than they can ‘self-repair’. Saving
risk. Why is this and does it matter? coral reefs has become just as important as saving the rainforests – hence
in 1995 the International Coral Reef Initiative to promote sustainable reef
Table 1 The uses of coral reefs management and in 1997 the International Year of the Coral Reef to
promote public education on the state of the reefs and how best to manage
Coral reefs are of great value in many ways because they: them.
• include some of the most biologically rich ecosystems. Whilst
coral reefs only occupy 0.18% of the world’s marine Coral reefs as ecosystems
environments, the reefs are home to over 25% of all known marine Coral reefs are unique amongst marine ecosystems in that they are built
fish. Coral reefs rival rainforests for their biodiversity i.e. the up entirely by biological activity. Reefs are massive deposits of calcium
number of different species found within an area or ecosystem. carbonate (CaCO3) produced primarily by corals (Fig. 1). Their
Also many rare species live on reefs. distribution is controlled by what are known as limiting factors, i.e. if the
• protect adjacent shorelines from wave erosion and the impact of factor is not present the reef does not form.
tropical storms – at much lower cost than artificial sea defences.
These natural self-repairing breakwaters could become even Fig. 1 Distribution of coral reefs.
more important if sea levels rise due to global warming. Healthy
reefs will grow with rising sea levels.
Key:
• supply the basic food needs of many local communities. 109
Distribution of coral reefs
countries have reef systems and 80% of these countries can be
classified as LEDCs (less economically developed countries). A Reefs under threat
huge variety of fish and other species are caught using spears,
traps and other ‘native’ methods.
Tropic B
• make a major contribution to commercial fishing. Globally 20% of Cancer H E
of animal protein consumed by humans comes from marine D
environments – with coral reefs providing 25% of this total Equator X C G
commercial fish catch. G Y A F
• are sources of medicine. Reef species may support new treatments Tropic of Capricorn
for bacterial infections or possibly cancer, and corals are also
used for bone grafts.
• contain resident fish and animals such as seahorses which are Coral reefs - threats
vital for the growing global aquarium trade. In the year 2000, 20 A: East Africa Coral mining for building materials, blast
million seahorses were caught for this trade. fishing, tourist trade and sedimentation.
• are home to reef species which are used as decorative objects, for
B: The Gulf Oil and industrial pollution, sedimentation.
example shells and black corals, which are used for jewellery.
This trade supports many ‘native’ craft industries around the C: Thailand & Malaysia Tourist resorts, bucket dredging for tin,
world. over-fishing.
• provide coral which can be mined as a source of lime for cement. Blast fishing, coral mining, collection for
D: Philippines
Many tropical countries lack alternative basic building materials. tourist trade and use of poisons.
• provide ideal habitats for education and scientific research
because of their high biodiversity combined with their shallow E: Southern Japan Destroyed by coastal development and
water and easy accessibility. Ryukyu Archipelago sedimentation.

• are major magnets to the world’s tourists. In the year 2000 over F: Indonesia Destroyed by blast fishing, coral mining,
150 million people took a holiday in a coral reef area. 90% of the tourist trade and coastal development.
109 countries with coral reefs have an established tourist
industry. Many LEDCs such as those in the Caribbean derive over G: South Pacific Tourism, sedimentation from coastal
half the Gross National Product (GNP) directly from tourism. development.

H: Wider Caribbean Collection for tourist trade, coastal

development, mangrove destruction/
sedimentation and damage by boat anchors

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Coral reefs – Ecosystem in Crisis? Geo Factsheet

Globally
Exam Hint: Many exam questions require candidates to comment
• Temperature: No reefs develop where the mean annual temperature on the structure and functioning of a chosen named/location
of the water is below 18°C. The best conditions for reef development ecosystem.
occur in water temperatures between 23-25°C. Above 27°C causes 1. Be sure to distinguish between the two. Structure is how the
problems for the health of the reef. components are arranged within the ecosystem and
• Water depth: Most reefs grow in depths of 25m or less on the margins functioning involves the operation of key processes such as
of continents or islands. energy flow and nutrient cycling.
• Light: As light is needed for photosynthesis for the tiny algae (called 2. Learn a diagram such as the one shown below in Fig 3. It is
simple to produce, can be adapted to show structure (via
zooanthellae) which live in corals and in return for a space to live,
trophic levels) or functioning and also is well linked to a
supply the corals with 98% of their total food requirements, coral reef chosen named ecosystem.
growth is restricted to shallow waters.
• Salinity: Corals are marine creatures which are intolerant of water Note how the primary productivity of a coral reef is extremely
which is less than 30-32 psu, but surprisingly they will tolerate highly high at between 1500-5000g c/m 2/year, about 100 times higher
saline conditions such as those in the Red Sea or Persian Gulf. than the surrounding waters. It is this enormous productivity
which supports the whole ecosystem, and is the key to the high
Locally biodiversity. The diagram shows how nutrients are brought in
from other areas such as the adjacent sea grass and mangrove
• Sediment: Corals require clear, clean water as sediment clogs up their swamps.
feeding mechanisms and reduces the light available for photosynthesis.
Hence, almost always, there is a break in the reef across a river mouth. An alternative approach to structure would be to draw a diagram
• Wave action: As coral reefs thrive in well oxygenated water they of Coral Reef Zoning in an atoll.
prefer areas of strong wave action, but not too exposed to frequent
storm conditions as waves destroy delicate corals.
• Exposure to air: Corals die if they are exposed to the air for too long, so
for this reason the growth of reefs is limited to the level of the lowest tides. Fig. 3 Trophic Levels

Top carnivores, e.g.

Typical Exam Questions: humans - fishing

Energy loss as energy is utilised

1. Describe and suggest reasons for the global distribution of
coral reefs. T5
2. Describe the general picture i.e. where the reefs are by
latitude (tie this into global limiting factors. Tertiary
3. Discuss anomalies e.g. at X or Y where you would expect reefs carnivores, e.g.
to grow but they don’t (clue: ocean currents – cool and warm). T4
meat-eating Much
Large fish - barracuda nutrient
quantities recycling
of detrivores/ Secondary consumers within reef
Types of coral reef scavengers
T3
carnivores - largely fish
Generally, coral reefs can be grouped into one of three categories:
1. Fringing reefs such as those found around many Caribbean islands
e.g. St. Lucia or Buccoo Reef, Tobago. These occur adjacent to a land
T2 Herbivores include zoo plankton and
mass and are separated from it by a narrow lagoon.
crustaceans (primary consumers)
2. Barrier reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef are much larger and
separated from the adjacent land mass by a deeper, larger lagoon.
3. Atolls such as those forming the Maldives are ring shaped reefs Primary producers - algae (zooanthellae) and
which enclose a lagoon rising out of very deep water far from land. T1
phytoplankton - live in symbiosis with corals
As coral requires shallow water to form in, explaining the formation of
atolls is a challenge. Fig. 2 shows a simple theory, first developed by
Charles Darwin, which links the three types of reef into an evolutionary Water currents bring Note the very high primary
subsidence generated theory. dissolved nutrients & productivity which leads to
plankton to the reef such a diverse ecosystem
Fig. 2 The formation of reefs.
A: Fringing reefs grow around newly formed islands. These islands
subside or sea level rises relative to land. Reefs at risk – the causes
B: If the process is slow the reef will grow upwards to form a larger The world’s coral reefs are under increasing threat. Of particular concern
barrier reef separated from the island by a deeper lagoon. are the 15% of world reefs which qualify as biodiversity hotspots – i.e.
C: When the island disappears beneath the sea, an atoll forms. very high ecological value, high-risk sites in the Philippines, Indonesia or
Corals can continue to grow on the outside to keep the reef on the the Caribbean.
surface. On the inside, where the land used to be, quiet water with
increased sedimentation prevails. At the root of the problem is the increasing population of the coastal areas
A B Sea level D both from natural increase (an average 2.5% - 3% per year in many
Reef Crater Lagoon LEDCs) and from migration to the coastal areas which are frequently
areas of economic opportunity and employment (tourist development
etc). The result is development which has both primary and secondary
Rocky volcanic Reef enlarges as Circular coral impacts as shown in Fig 4 (on page 3).
islet encircled by land sinks (or sea reef or atoll (with
fringing coral reef level rises) further change in level)
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Coral reefs – Ecosystem in Crisis? Geo Factsheet

Fig. 4 The impact of development on a coral reef ecosystem and the vicious circle of reef decline.

Coastal areas attract

development

Development of urban Clean and beautiful coral reefs Fertile coastal plains Mining of reef for
areas attract fishing and tourism attract farmers development
Primary
impacts
Fishing ports Young enclaves Increased Increased agriculture cash crops
develop urbanisation to feed tourists

Snorkelling and diving Increased Increased siltation from deforested

develops pollution slopes, accelerated soil erosion
Secondary
impacts
Removal of fish Increased reef More raw sewage and fertilisers Eutrophication from
destruction into the sea fertilisers

Sea becomes silty and

polluted

Reef quality and cover

declines

Fish do not come Tourist visits decline Reef health declines, more vulnerable
to feed to bleaching and disease

Decline

Local fishing and food supplies Loss of income and employment

under threat for local people

Natural causes of reef decline and destruction Why do these plagues occur? Many people argue that enrichment from land
Coral reefs thrive in temperatures between 23 and 25°C. As tropical run-off enabled huge numbers of these starfish to survive into adulthood, or
oceans warm, either because of short term and localised El Niño impacts that over-fishing has killed their natural predators.
or longer term because of the impact of global warming, this can lead to
corals going ‘white’ because of bleaching. When corals become stressed Hurricanes can also generate storm waves to reduce coral reefs to
they expel the zooanthellae which colour their tissues and provide them rubble, as most reefs are in the hurricane belt (Fig. 1). However diseased
with nutrients – so they die. ‘Bleaching’ occurs when ocean temperatures and stressed reefs can be destroyed and eroded much more easily than
rise by only 1-2°C. Increased coral reef stress leads to the onset of healthy reefs. Tropical storms and hurricanes bring huge quantities of
diseases such as white and black band disease. silt down from the deforested hillsides, as well as making the waters
much less salty in localised areas, both factors causing damage to the
Sometimes it is not the coral itself, but another organism’s disease which coral. When Tropical Storm Debbie struck St. Lucia in September 1994,
has a knock - on effect. For example Long Spined Sea Urchins normally nearly 400mm of rain fell in 10 hours bringing down huge quantities of
feed on the algae in the reef, controlling its levels. When the sea urchin silt, especially from the bare area caused by the construction of the new
population falls, as a result of disease, the uncontrolled growth of the West Coast Road from Castries to Soufrière. The Park Rangers had to use
algae overwhelms the coral, blocking out the light. marine vacuum cleaners to collect all the silt from the coral!

In some reef areas, notably the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the starfish Note: In all cases these natural factors became more damaging because
Acanthaster (known as Crown of Thorns) occurs in plagues, and can kill 80- of parallel human causes.
90% of reef building corals.
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Coral reefs – Ecosystem in Crisis? Geo Factsheet

Fig. 5 Human impacts on the reef

Dredging for harbours

Boating - anchoring and marinas Fishing (often over-fishing) which
White sand beach
can damage the reef Lagoon upsets the ecological balance
Coral heads in lagoon
Coastal Reef crest
development which
leads to pollution
of the reef

Sea lev
el

Fore-reef slope

Changing land use, e.g. Reef debris slides down

deforestation, which leads into deeper water
to siltation of the reef

Reef debris mixes with Reef tourism which can

sediment produced in lagoon damage the reef
Coral colonies build up Coral mining which
Over-exploitation of destroys the reef
massive lime framework
species, e.g. black coral

Human causes of reef destruction Fig. 6 Strategies for the successful development of a Marine
Fig. 5 summarises the human activities which impact on coral reefs –
Protection Area.
some directly and some indirectly. Essentially these are activities which
seek to exploit the value of the reef.
Increasing the diversity and Regulation of reef access by
cost-effectiveness of local establishing sustainable
The real question is not whether these activities should occur but how
economies, e.g. providing quotas for fishing, divers,
they can be managed in a sustainable way, so that the coral reefs are
fishermen with a refrigeration snorkellers and boat
conserved, or that badly damaged reefs can be given a chance to recover.
plant and better boats. anchorages
Most recent research suggests that coral reefs can and do recover,
especially from acute damage caused by a single event as opposed to less
Promoting alternative Development of agreed
intense but prolonged disturbances (chronic damage).
strategies of income legislation and its
generation to prevent enforcement by policing
Reefs at risk – the solutions ‘wildcat’ fishing by the to control damaging
International Agreements and Initiatives need careful monitoring. For unemployed actions
example, as early as 1975 the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES) included Black Coral on a list of species in Establish clearly
which international trade should be restricted, but as it was such an marked limits for a
important source of income via a highly lucrative jewellery trade, many unit of sufficient size.
local artisans were unconvinced of the need to control the exploitation to
sustainable levels.
Successful sustainable
strategies for MPAs
Coral reefs have to be seen as part of a wider coastal zone, the integrated
management of which requires considerable co-ordination between
government departments at a national scale.
Clean-up strategies and Provision of education
management of land and training to harness
The creation and successful development of Marine Protection Areas
leased trouble spots to public support and
(MPAs) to conserve reef ecosystems is vital. At present there is no truly
limit pollution and community expertise
global network of MPAs. In 1998 there were nearly 500 marine
siltation for better reef
protection areas in 70 countries, but at least 40 countries had no formal
management and a
protection for their reefs. Many of the MPAs are small, frequently less
bottom up involvement.
than 1km2 and are ‘paper parks’ – designated protected areas only by Establish a programme of
name. Some 60% of MPAs have ineffective or poorly conceived scientific research to monitor
management plans. It is vital, as is the case with the Great Barrier Reef, reef to access health and any
which is seen as an example of good practice, to balance the conflicting impact of improvement Developing codes of
needs of users such as tourists and fisheries yet at the same time to protect strategies. conduct for all users.
biodiversity. You can research SMMA (Soufrière Marine Management
area – see the website list – another example of good practice).

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Coral reefs – Ecosystem in Crisis? Geo Factsheet

Case study: Management of the Buccoo Reef and Bon Accord Fig. 7 Annotated sketch map of Buccoo Reef
Lagoon Complex in South West Tobago N
KEY:
Traditionally use: fishing, tourism (since 1930s). Reef flat Buccoo Reef
Reef extent TOBAGO
1973: It was declared a Marine Reserve with restricted access.
Sandy beach
0 6km
1990: Management plans developed. Between 1973 and 1990 Navigational
considerable damage was done to the reef and adjacent seagrass and buoy
mangrove areas. Mangrove CARIBBEAN
SEA
Causes of damage: hurricanes, reef operators, tourists, sewage
effluent, fertiliser run-off from agricultural holdings, silt from heavy Possible
storms damage from
snorkellers
age
Problems included: d Pass
Blin
Northern Reef Outer Reef
• the failure to publicise and clearly demarcate the zoning plan of a
scuba zone – anchorage area, snorkelling zone and a buffer zone. Coral
Deep Channel Gardens
• the failure to adequately police reef activities which caused damage.
Western Point
• the limited training provided for the staff. Possible boat
Reef Blue
anchor damage
• the limited availability of equipment such as patrol boats. Hole
Reef Lagoon
Pigeon Point
There was a lack of finance to support all these activities. Reef Eastern
Nylon Reef
Pool
Pigeon Point
Ketchup Possible sewage
Reef effluent from
Exam Hint: In exam questions it is vital that you use an in-depth Sheerbird’s
hotels
case study of a named reef system, e.g. Buccoo. If possible draw Point
a simple sketch map such as the one shown in Fig. 7. 0 500 1000 m Bon Accord Lagoon

High value breeding area

Useful websites
To summarise, MPAs are created to: Websites are numerous – search using the words Coral Reef!
• prevent further habitat degradation by physical disturbance e.g. http://www.coral.org/links.html (the Coral Reef Alliance) which gives
divers’ feet details of other websites, publications, research etc.
• prevent natural degradation from water pollution from shoreline http://www.reefcheck.org provides details of global reef monitoring.
development and waste disposal from boats http://www.smma.org.lc provides details of the Soufrière Marine
• prevent the overuse of reef resources, balancing exploitation with Management area in St. Lucia – a very successful scheme.
conservation.

Exam Hint: Exam questions at AS are usually 1 side of extended

writing worth 10 marks for which around 12 minutes of writing
time are available.
1. ‘Examine the impact of human activities as one named
located ecosystem’ is a typical style of question.

2. Draw a simple diagram such as Fig. 7 to locate your named reef.

3. Go back and look at Fig. 4, which would be very appropriate

as the main threats at Buccoo are traditional fishing and
tourism as well as siltation and pollution. Note use named
examples in the case study.

Acknowledgements;
Further research This fact sheet was researched by Sue Warn, as a result of a project funded by the
UK Government’s Darwin Initiative – a fund set up to support projects which are
A set of fact sheets on coral reefs is available from the Marine
helping to conserve biodiversity.
Conservation Society, 9 Gloucester Road, Ross on Wye, HR9 5BU.
Geo Press. Unit 305B, The Big Peg, 120 Vyse Street, Birmingham B18 6NF
Geopress Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students,
Two useful books include: provided that their school is a registered subscriber.
Ecological Issues – the exploitation of Coral Reefs. British Ecological No part of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
Society, 1996, ISBN 1 851 53 856 9 (available from Field Studies Council). transmitted, in any other form or by any other means, without the prior permission
Coral Reefs - Ecosystem in Crisis? S Warn. Field Studies Council 2001. of the publisher. ISSN 1351-5136