A researcher is excavating a fossil bed from a Devonian reef, now fossilized in

Question

A researcher is excavating a fossil bed from a Devonian reef, now fossilized in Pennsylvania. She encounters many species that are new to science.

c) Research reefs. Give some ideas about why reef communities, in times during the history of the Earth when they existed, have such high diversity? What happened to the Devonian reefs?

d) Research and describe threats to contemporary coral reef systems. List, and describe, the major threats to these systems resulting from climate change, human disturbance, ocean acidification, and other factors.

Explanation / Answer

C)

Coral reefs are beleived to have the highest biodiversity of an eco system on the planet.Coral reefs provide people food ,medicine,protection from stroms ,revenue from fishing and tourism.Devionian reef is located in kimberly region.

Devonian reefs are hypothesised to extinct due to diffence in sea levels and due to reduced oxygen concentration in ocean waters due to global warming or volcanism.

d) There are lot of threats to the coral reefs.

Climatic changes -High temperature is dangerous to corals.Global warmingled to the increase of coral bleaching.

Fishing practises - cyanide fishing,dynamite fishing,bottom trawling or banging the reef with sticks.

Over fishing- this leads to the imbalance of coral reef coomunities and disturbing food chain.

Pollution -urban and industrial wastage ,agro chemicals ,oil pollution poision the reefs.Some pollutants increase nitrogen content of reef and help in the over growth of algae which effect the penetration of sunlight into the water.

Sedimentation -Errosion caused by construction ,mining,farming lead to sedimentation.This leads to the deprivation of sunlight for corals

Coral Minining - live corals are removed from reefs and used as bricks,road fill or cement for new buildings.they are harvested for the live rock trade.

Careless tourism - careless boating,diving,snorkelling by tourists touching and disturbing reefs and anchouring of boats to reefs ,sewage disposal by resorts into reefs effect the diversity in reefs.

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