Why Does the Mesoamerican Reef Need Help?
The Mesoamerican reef is very important to the economy of the U.S. Not only does it provide a barrier from seashore erosion, but it also procures many jobs in tourism, abundant food sources, and even some medicines. As they are barriers for seashore erosion, you would think they would be strong. In reality, athey are very fragile and break very easily. Their towering structures are what makes them useful as barriers. With jobs in tourism, comes many tourists. When you think of coral reefs and tourists, most mind flip to snorkeling. One wrong move of a flipper belonging to a first time snorkeler and hundreds of year of work will be gone. Although coral reefs provide a big food source, it isn't endless. Overfishing in the location of coral reefs is a very big problem As the population of fish decrease, there are increasing amounts of the small algae, animals, and plant that they eat. Zooxanthellae, one of the small algae's that are eaten by the disappearing fish, are very useful in aiding coral in the process of photosynthesis. Just like to much food is bad for us, to much of this algae is bad for the coral. As the climate changes, we as humans are trying to find alternative energy sources to stop the change. Not only is this climate change affecting us and our weather, but it is affecting the coral too. As the waters of the ocean get warmer, the coral it holds release the zooxanthellae. As well as aiding in photosynthesis, these small algae are the source of a piece of coral's color. This process is called bleaching and is an increasing problem in our coral reefs. There are many problems concerning coral reefs, but these are just some of the most important ones that have been brought to our attention about the Mesoamerican Coral Reef.