Florida Reef Resilience Program

Florida Reef Resilience Program (FRRP) is a collaborative effort among scientists, resource managers, conservation organizations, and reef users to develop strategies for coping with climate change and other stresses on Florida’s coral reefs. The strategies are resilience-based, meaning information about corals that are surviving and thriving – bouncing back after trouble like bleaching – is used to direct protection efforts.
Due to their importance as a fast-growing reef builder, the Conservancy began working with a Key Largo-partner to grow this species in an underwater nursery to restore them to their former abundance

To date we have over 50,000 corals in eight nursery locations and have outplanted over 13,000 colonies to the reef.
Click here here to see coral reef nurseries
Or better yet, donate and/or support for Reef Resilience Program by clicking on this link
(source: www. nature. org)

Estimates of costs and benefits of restoration projects

The benefit of coral reef restoration is greater than the cost in the long run
Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) is a tool for organizing information on the relative value of alternative public investments like environmental restoration projects. When the value of all significant benefits and costs can be expressed in monetary terms, the net value (benefits minus costs) of the alternatives under consideration can be computed and used to identify the alternative that yields the greatest increase in public welfare.
However, since environmental goods and services are not commonly bought or sold in the marketplace, it can be difficult to express the outputs of an environmental restoration project in monetary terms. 
(source: http://www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/html/tech_sci/socio/bca.htm)

Coral Reef Restoration Effort for Florida Keys

This video will show how people protect Florida Keys, one of the largest coral reefs in the world. Through this video, we will understand how to systematically grow and protect coral reefs. The challenges in recruitment volunteer, monitoring, and protection against white band disease.

Use more public transportation

If humans reduce the consumption of carbon dioxide emissions, it will decrease the greenhouse gases level.

A possible  action one should do in order to keep the corals reefs around the world from getting destroyed is by fishing in a smart way. 

Nature Is Speaking

Actions Needed to Preserve Coral Reefs

Reducing greenhouse gases will be required to avoid irreversible effects climate-change has had on coral reefs.

 We will need to monitor climate change and ocean acidification, and project their impacts on ecological and human systems.

We need to develop ways to address these impacts that support local, national, and international policy. 

As well as take urgent actions to reduce the impact of elevated greenhouse gases on coral reef ecosystems.

Fishing impacts in coral reef areas, is ecologically unsustainable, and has lead to the depletion of key functional fish species in many locations.


 Minimizing negative fishing impacts throughout coral reef ecosystems is critical to revitalizing and protecting coral reef resources for current and future generations.

Problems facing coral reef ecosystems from land-based sources of pollution is broad and includes sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants, originating from a variety of land-based activities, that are transported in surface waters, runoff, groundwater seepage, and atmospheric deposition into coastal waters.

Controlling land-based sources of pollution through watershed management takes a concerted effort by all parties including local, state, federal and non-governmental organizations.

 Practices might include voluntary or regulatory activities on agricultural, public, private, urban or protected lands

For some people, seafood might just a part of meal plans, an option. For Pere villager, fish is their lives. "Titan of the Coral Sea" introduces the role of traditional fishing and modern fishing. The development in fishing techniques brings many challenges and opportunities to the Pere community and the fisheries ecosystem.
The use of spear-guns and underwater flashlights have ruined the reef and the fish population have dispersed into deeper ocean.
Fortunately, the threats have been found and conservation fish population have been established.
Click on this video below to learn more about their stories and their journey back to traditional fishing to protect the fisheries ecosystem.

Click here to help out Kekwa Clan and their fisheries

source: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/asiaandthepacific/papuanewguinea/explore/stories-of-hope-for-fish-and-people.xml#video1

CO2 in the last 100 years

Carbon dioxide has been increasing over decades now, and with human activities contributing to global warming, the carbon dioxide will only keep getting worse. This will have a bigger impact on coral reefs ecosystem.

Coral Reef bleaching in the next 50 years

Coral reefs accross the world

The clip will introduce the 6 most spectacular coral reefs in the world. The diversity of marine ecosystem is not only the beauty of these places but also a vital source of income for the coastal communities. 

In this video, we will discover how many organizations, government, and international effort to protect the coral reef ecosystem. 

Some of the efforts are: understanding the global warming, surveillance efforts, marine management: partnership arrangement, enforcement, and applying long term protection, and maintain marine population.

They also list some of the anthropogenic causes to the fall of coral reef such as: over fishing, poor water/waste management, deforestation, excessive agriculture waste in the ocean, increasing carbon dioxide in the beach. 

PORTFOLIO PART 3

      Coral reefs are known to be some of the most biologically diverse and economically valuable ecosystems on the planet.

       These ecosystems provide a food source to millions of people that live around them.  Coral reefs provide the habitat and breeding grounds for many economically viable fish species.  They also provide jobs and income to the local economies that surround them from fishing and tourism.

       Coral reefs are also very culturally important to many people around the world, especially in Polynesia.

 
       The estimated net benefits gained from coral reefs around the world are believed to be around 30 billion dollars a year.

For Hawaii in particular, the economic benefits from recreational activities, fishing, and the value of the biodiversity there are estimated at 360 million dollars a year.

      Deep sea reefs around the wold also hold value for ecosystems, serving as breeding grounds for many species, and are locations of large biodiversities and habitats.

       Many commercially important fish such as rockfish, shrimp, and crabs live in deep sea reefs.

       The properties of deep sea corals are also currently being researched for new medicines that have the potential to save many lives.

       According to the Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008, 19 percent of the world's reefs are effectively lost, 15 percent are seriously threatened with loss in the next 10-20 years, and 20 percent are under threat of loss in the next 20-40 years.

   
       

This demonstrates how a Yellow-band disease can rapidly spread over a coral destroying the delicate underlying tissues. 

Here is an example of coral bleaching in Indonesia. In a matter of 5 years, the coral reefs have lots it nourishing colors. 

What is ocean acidification?

What could raise the acidic level of the ocean ?
Increasing of hydrogen ion concentration in the water. As carbon dioxide absorbed into the ocean, it react with water to form carbonic acid, a weak acid, which will breakdown into hydrogen ion and bicarbonate ion. The hydrogen ion is responsible for ocean acidification taken place in the ocean.

Why does ocean acidification is a major problem?
This video will demonstrate the problem of ocean acidification and its impact on marine organism and people who depend on marine resources.

The second video, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a well known researcher on the impact of global warming on coral reef will explain the importance of coral reef, its role in ecosystem, and the impact of global warming.

PORTFOLIO PART 2

The acidification of the ocean has has a great impact on coral reefs around the world.

Figure A represents healthy coral

Figure B represents unhealthy coral

Ocean acidification is degrading coral reefs around the world.

Here is an example of the degradation of the reefs in the Floida Keys.

Even within the last 30 years the effects of climate change can be seen.

High carbon emissions are directly related to an increase in carbon in the ocean.

The atmospheric carbon is absorbed into the ocean and becomes carbonic acid.

The increase in carbonic acid results in the ocean becoming more acidic. 

Coral reef growth is heavily impacted by increases in acidity.

Levels of ocean acidity have been on a steady rise

Carbonic acid reduces the level of calcium in the ocean when the two react with each other.

Coral and many other forms of marine life rely on calcium to form skeletons and exoskeletons.

20% of coral reefs around the world have already been lost in the last few decades.

250 million people also depend on coral reef ecosystems for their livelihood around the world.

27% of coral reefs are also at risk of completely disappearing in the future as well.

Coral reefs play a large role in the ecosystem of the ocean

Events that are a result of climate change effect reefs in many ways

Coral and other small marine animals like phytoplankton and zooplankton rely on the ability to

form skeletons and exoskeletons  

Coral and these other organisms are also the base of many food chains for ocean life

If the growth of animals at the base of a food chain are impacted it can have 

long reaching consequences to animals higher up in the food chain as well

If you look at this image you can see an example of how large and interconnected 

an ocean ecosystem can be.

Warmer water temperatures caused by climate changes alter coral reefs areas by stimulating coral bleaching due to their sensitivity to changes in temperature. Coral reefs without zooxanthellae, turn white, since this is what gives corals their appealing color, and makes them weak. 

Round 2: What if.... the energy gradient change? 

 Less reading, yet key terms are not as easy and cute as it appears to be.
Only 5 minutes but let's see how many times you have to review :)

Oceanic circulation: Thermohaline circulation and Wind-driven circulation

What do we need to know about thermohaline circulation?
Thermohaline circulation is how ocean water move around the world by density gradient. This mechanism is influenced by temperature and salinity (salt content).

What is salinity? How salinity is different among the sea? How this impact climate change?

Don't worry, Cute Furball is coming to rescue!

Consider this experiment 
There is a frozen salt water in the fridge. After 20 minutes, the ice cold start to melt a little bit. You pull a small portion into a small cup (A). After 1 hour, all the ice has melt down, you pull another portion into another cup (B). Cup A is more salty than cup B.
Why? Because in cup A has less water but more salt (the water still store in the ice). While in cup B, the ice have all melt down, leaving the cup with more water and salt.
Cup A: is represent the water in the Poles (cold and salty)
Cup B: represent water at the equator (warm and more mixed with molecules)

Remember what we learn from Chemistry?
Cold and salty-->higher density--> Sink
Warm and less salty-->lower density-->Rise.
This is how thermohaline circulation work.

Thermohaline circulation is important to climate change because it is the absorption mechanism that controls the amount of carbon dioxide in the ocean. The more carbon dioxide absorb into the ocean, the warmer the sea temperature. Increasing temperature is not the only changes that global warming bring to the ocean floor, but it is also the increasing ocean acidification which we will further discuss in the next section.

 

Got it? Ready for round 2? The global warming and changes in thermohaline circulation?

Question: Why does the global warming in the atmosphere have to to with changing temperature in the ocean?

Answer: The atmosphere and the ocean exchange energy simultaneously based on the different in energy, density, and pressure gradient. Any changes in energy gradient in the atmospheric circulation would eventually reflects on oceanic circulation as well. 

Question: What is climate feedback?

Answer: Feedback is things that respond to temperature change (and also affect temperature as well). The picture illustrates positive feedback of oceanic temperature which influence by changing atmospheric temperature.

As more CO2 is put into the atmosphere, more CO2 is then absorbed into the ocean.

The amount of CO2 that is coming into the ocean is greater than the amount of CO2 that is leaving it, as well as the amount that plant life in the ocean can absorb from it.  This leads to the ocean becoming more and more acidic over time.

The absorbed CO2 travels in ocean currents that travel on the surface and deep in the ocean as a result of the ocean's thermohaline circulation.

As the CO2 travels along the surface currents the acidity of the CO2 infused ocean water can effect the development of sea life.

This increased amount of CO2 has a particularly harmful effect on coral reef growth and health, as well as the health of all the marine life that lives in the coral reefs themselves.

The increased CO2 emissions that we have created over time will have a dramatic effect on all ocean life, but especially coral reefs which are very sensitive to even the smallest change in the chemical makeup of the ocean.

If these effects on the ocean continue, there may not be any coral reefs in the future to speak of.