Coral Reefs in the Modern World
Coral Reefs in the Modern World
Today coral reefs, perhaps more than other marine systems, are suffering from numerous pressures. As a result many have succumbed as functioning ecosystems. Nutrients and industrial pollution, shoreline alterations, diseases of corals and other important groups of organisms, and over-extraction of fish, invertebrates and even the limestone rock itself, have all contributed to the demise of about one third of the world's reefs. More recently, climate change, notably a rise in sea temperature which has led to coral bleaching and then death of component corals, has added to the stress imposed on this ecosystem. In future, ocean acidification, sea level rise and increased storms will add further stress. Many of these factors interact, making the precise responses of reefs to these changes very complex.
Keywords: industrial pollution, sewage pollution, landfill, marine diseases, sea surface warming, ocean acidification, sea level rise
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
