Coral Reefs Dying near Belize
The citizens of San Pedro are asking the United Nations to step in to protect a barrier reef which lies just off the coast of Belize. Island dwellers fear its erosion from coral bleaching could lead to the collapse of the reef and subsequently endanger their homes and livelihoods if action is not taken soon.
Bleaching happens when water temperature reaches such a height that the single-celled plants called zooxanthelli - which live inside the coral polyps and provide them with oxygen - are driven away from the reef. And this phenomenon is directly attributed to global warming and specifically rising ocean temperatures.
When temperatures are very high for a protracted period, the zooxanthellae on which the coral polyps feed are driven away, the coral loses its colour as the polyps lose their food and so the reef is weakened.
The reefs then easily fall victim to the many forces that assail them - over-fishing, pollution, creatures that eat them, tourist snorkellers who inadvertently smother them with sand, and particularly the storm waves of hurricanes (which are also worsening due to global warming, but that's another story).
Bleaching happens when water temperature reaches such a height that the single-celled plants called zooxanthelli - which live inside the coral polyps and provide them with oxygen - are driven away from the reef. And this phenomenon is directly attributed to global warming and specifically rising ocean temperatures.
When temperatures are very high for a protracted period, the zooxanthellae on which the coral polyps feed are driven away, the coral loses its colour as the polyps lose their food and so the reef is weakened.
The reefs then easily fall victim to the many forces that assail them - over-fishing, pollution, creatures that eat them, tourist snorkellers who inadvertently smother them with sand, and particularly the storm waves of hurricanes (which are also worsening due to global warming, but that's another story).
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