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Corals are 500 million years old. Beginning as simple lonely organisms, they have come a long way before evolving to the reefs we know today.
Corals formed colonies over the years when conditions were favorable. They have withered in mass extinctions, to reappear after each event in a different form and form. They came and went throughout the geological record. About 210 million years ago during the Triassic period, things began to change. A massive expansion of coral reefs around the world has taken place and corals until then isolated have encountered algae.
And they reached an agreement. Corals began to provide shelter for algae, while in return they provided nutrients for photosynthesis. The algae have added color to the life of the corals. This symbiotic relationship has kept corals, algae and coral reefs alive all the way through. There have been more difficult times. Many times, corals have had to expel seaweed for various reasons, mainly because of the warming of the ocean. And whenever they expelled seaweed, the corals lost their color (technically, bleached). The marine life that made the reefs their home was left in trouble. But they always got back together, once the corals have recovered.
They are dying
But the bleaching known in the recent past has been different. Scientists have predicted that consecutive severe bleaching events will leave little chance of recovery, particularly in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. This means that two-thirds of the reef are dying. According to a recent study by the Climate Council, "Deadly Consequences: Climate Impacts on the Great Barrier Reef", it was found that the Great Barrier Reef could experience a whitening episode every two years by 2034 current greenhouse gas pollution. According to the study, 70% of coral reefs are likely to degrade in the long term by 2100 if the global temperature increases by 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
AROUND THE WORLD
** The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system comprising over 2,900 individual reefs. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is the largest single structure in the world made by living organisms.
** New Caledonia Barrier Reef, Red Sea Coral Reef, Rainbow Reef (Fiji), Tubbataha Reefs (Cagayancillo, Philippines), Raja Ampat (Indonesia), Palancar Reef (Cozumel, Mexico), the Wakatobi Islands (Indonesia) and the Maldives are some of the world's other systems
WHY SAVE THEM
* Coral reefs provide habitats for one out of four marine species
* Reefs are also crucial barriers protecting the coast against storms.
* They provide billions of dollars of revenue to the countries of tourism and fishing.
* Many compounds are used in human drugs
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