Biodiversity and Coral Reefs
February 15th, 2010
Biological diversity or biodiversity has become a popular term for the many variations among life forms on this planet. The word biodiversity can be used as a form of measuring the health of earth’s biological systems and species. How does the term biodiversity connect with the coral reefs on our planet? And how do pollution, global warming, and conservation efforts affect them?
Biodiversity
The term biodiversity can be interpreted in several ways but is generally used as a replacement for species diversity or genetic diversity. The terminology describes variations of life and its various forms in an ecosystem or biome, which includes the entire planet. Earth is made up of thousands of different ecosystems and each is generally self sustaining. The coral reefs are an excellent example of a perfectly balanced ecosystem within itself as long as the system remains in balance.
Upsetting a natural balance
When the sea is polluted or the water temperature rises above the norm, there is a chance the ecosystem will become threatened and then we see that finely balanced biodiversity becoming unstable and there may be loss of that ecosystem as we know it. There are barriers separating ecosystems and these may be in the form of mountains, oceans, rivers, and other barriers that prevent crossover from one particular environment into another. 
Australia is an excellent example of a large land mass ecosystem. There can be found a wide variety of animal and plant life that is only found on that continent, and never found anywhere else. That is until human interference comes into play. The mammals and birds would never be able to travel to other continents unless man takes them there.
Ecosystems imbalanced
There have been examples of fish being introduced into an environment unfamiliar to them and we find those alien fish totally take over their new environment and drive off or kill off the fish native to that waterway. The invasive species may well be capable of living in a far wider range of ecosystems but they are upsetting the balance and potentially becoming pests rather than useful additions to that environment.
Whenever new or exotic species are introduced into a ecosystem that they did not originate in by human intervention, the entire balance of that ecologic system is put at risk.
Pollution and our coral reefs
Biodiversity is what happens when the balance of nature is disrupted. Pollution of our oceans and seas has created an upset in that fine balance that can have long reaching affects on many ecosystems. Life forms that have been untouched and pristine for millions of years become unstable and unable to maintain their perfect balance.
The beautiful coral reefs have been called the rainforests of the sea. Most coral reefs on planet earth have been formed after the most recent glacial period, making them less than ten thousand years old. This means they are relatively young when compared to many living things on this planet. Many of them grow along the continental shelving created when sea levels rose during ice melts following the glacial movements. Most require light in order to thrive and grow as these reefs are living things, although some coral reefs can be found in deep seas and away from continental shelves.
Let’s save the planet before it’s too late. Coral reefs are amazingly beautiful and diverse, displaying a wide range of colors. When the oceans become polluted by human garbage and oil spills, or the waters warm due to the current global warming, these finely balanced ecosystems can die due to the changes in their environment. We must somehow prevent this from happening.
