QUICK DESIGN GUIDE (--THIS SECTION DOES NOT PRINT--)

This PowerPoint 2007 template produces a 36”x60”

professional poster. It will save you valuable time placing

titles, subtitles, text, and graphics.

Use it to create your presentation. Then send it to

PosterPresentations.com for premium quality, same day

affordable printing.

We provide a series of online tutorials that will guide you

through the poster design process and answer your poster

production questions.

View our online tutorials at:

http://bit.ly/Poster_creation_help

(copy and paste the link into your web browser).

For assistance and to order your printed poster call

PosterPresentations.com at 1.866.649.3004

Object Placeholders

Use the placeholders provided below to add new elements

to your poster: Drag a placeholder onto the poster area,

size it, and click it to edit.

Section Header placeholder

Use section headers to separate topics or concepts within

your presentation.

Text placeholder

Move this preformatted text placeholder to the poster to

add a new body of text.

Picture placeholder

Move this graphic placeholder onto your poster, size it

first, and then click it to add a picture to the poster.

RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012

www.PosterPresentations.com

QUICK TIPS (--THIS SECTION DOES NOT PRINT--)

This PowerPoint template requires basic PowerPoint

(version 2007 or newer) skills. Below is a list of commonly

asked questions specific to this template.

If you are using an older version of PowerPoint some

template features may not work properly.

Using the template

Verifying the quality of your graphics

Go to the VIEW menu and click on ZOOM to set your

preferred magnification. This template is at 50% the size

of the final poster. All text and graphics will be printed at

200% their size. To see what your poster will look like

when printed, set the zoom to 200% and evaluate the

quality of all your graphics before you submit your poster

for printing.

Using the placeholders

To add text to this template click inside a placeholder and

type in or paste your text. To move a placeholder, click on

it once (to select it), place your cursor on its frame and

your cursor will change to this symbol: Then, click

once and drag it to its new location where you can resize

it as needed. Additional placeholders can be found on the

left side of this template.

Modifying the layout

This template has four

different column layouts.

Right-click your mouse

on the background and

click on “Layout” to see

the layout options.

The columns in the provided layouts are fixed and cannot

be moved but advanced users can modify any layout by

going to VIEW and then SLIDE MASTER.

Importing text and graphics from external sources

TEXT: Paste or type your text into a pre-existing

placeholder or drag in a new placeholder from the left

side of the template. Move it anywhere as needed.

PHOTOS: Drag in a picture placeholder, size it first, click

in it and insert a photo from the menu.

TABLES: You can copy and paste a table from an external

document onto this poster template. To make the text fit

better in the cells of an imported table, right-click on the

table, click FORMAT SHAPE then click on TEXT BOX and

change the INTERNAL MARGIN values to 0.25

Modifying the color scheme

To change the color scheme of this template go to the

“Design” menu and click on “Colors”. You can choose from

the provide color combinations or you can create your

own.

© 2012 PosterPresentations.com 2117 Fourth Street , Unit C Berkeley CA 94710 posterpresenter@gmail.com

Student discounts are available on our Facebook page.

Go to PosterPresentations.com and click on the FB icon.

The Great Barrier Reef is comprised of living organisms, which is not only the largest ecosystem but also the largest structure on this planet. However, the reef has suffered a catastrophic decline within the past 3 decades causing nearly half of the reef to disappear (Gerken, 2012). One of the major problems contributing to the coral decline is the crown-of-thorns starfish, which has contributed for 42% of the reef’s damage (Gerken, 2012). In addition, the increasing acidification and sea temperature are causing a severe amount of damage to the coral reefs. Furthermore, the dramatic decreased in calcification throughout the Great Barrier Reef is decreasing the coral’s resistance against predators and diseases, such as bleaching which has contributed to 10% of the reef’s destruction (De'ath, 2009). Lastly, tropical cyclones caused by ecological stress have contributed to 48% of the reef’s destruction in the past 27 years (Jha, 2012).

ABSTRACT Heat or any stress on corals can cause bleaching, which is the process that forces the coral to expel its zooxanthellae. Furthermore, without the zooxanthellae to provide energy and color pigmentation, the corals turn white and die. In addition, El Niño is a naturally occurring event that introduces an unusually amount of warm water into the ocean; as a result, the sudden temperature increase causes bleaching. Nevertheless, coral reefs take up to 10 years to recover from damages under suitable conditions without any disturbances (Schutzman, 2011). Therefore, reoccurring disasters and threats to the coral reefs does not allow enough time for the reef to recover.

The Great Barrier Reef is the home of more than 2000 different species of marine animals, which also includes many endangered species such as the dugongs (wwf.org.au, 12/6/12). Furthermore, the reef contributes $5.4 billion every year to the Australian economy and in addition supplies over 60,000 jobs to people (wwf.org.au, 12/6/12). In conclusion, homes of marine animals, jobs and billions of dollars will be lost if attempts to save this magnificent structure continues to fail.

Collins, Nick. "Great Barrier Reef Loses Half Its Coral in Just 27 Years." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 02 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

De'ath, Glenn. "Declining Coral Calcification on the Great Barrier Reef." E-atlas.org.au. Australian Institute of Marine Science, 17 Feb. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Gerken, James. "Great Barrier Reef Has Seen Major Decline In Past 3 Decades."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 02 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Jha, Alok. "Great Barrier Reef Loses More than Half Its Coral Cover."

The Guardian. Guardian News, 01 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Rowe, Mark. "Tourist Sunscreen ‘killing off Coral Reefs’." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 22 Feb. 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

Schutzman, Stacey. "Great Barrier Reef in Jeopardy Following Cyclone." Discovery. News Discovery, 14 Feb. 2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

Internet source at http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/great-barrier-reef, accessed 12/6/12

Internet source at http://www.ema.gov.au/www/ema/schools.nsf/Page/Get_The_FactsCyclones accessed 12/6/12

Internet source at http://www.wwf.org.au/our_work/saving_the_natural_world/oceans_and_marine/priority_ocean_places/great_barrier_reef/ accessed 12/6/12

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef sketches for more than 300,000 square kilometers consisting of thousands of corals reefs, which by far makes it the largest coral reef system in the world (australia.gov.au, 12/6/12). The corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef are marine animals that belong to the phylum Cnidaria; however, only the hermatypic corals are considered reef-builders. Furthermore, coral polyps the foundation of coral colonies starts as a planula, which if able to survive will continue to duplicate and form colonies. The polyps are able to produce calcium carbonate skeletons; however, the process is too slow without the help of their mutualism relationship with the zooxanthellae. In other words, the development and creation of a coral reef would not be possible without the zooxanthellae to increase the calcium carbonate production. Furthermore, the coral provides a protected and resourceful environment for the zooxanthellae to perform photosynthesis and in return, they provide energy to the coral.

People that wear sunscreen may be contributing to coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef; in fact, about 5,000 tonnes of sunscreen are washed off into the ocean every year (Rowe, 2008). Furthermore, coral gets their color and energy from zooxanthellae and in return, the zooxanthellae are able to benefit from the coral’s nutritious waste. This mutualism relationship is vital to the survival of the coral; however, the chemicals found in sunscreen such as, paraben and cinnamate are causing algae hosts to explode. Furthermore, the explosion of algae hosts release viruses into the water and inflects other corals. As a result, without the algae to provide energy and pigmentation, the coral turns white and eventually dies.

The growth and survival of coral is highly dependent on calcification, which is a process that allows the coral to absorb calcium ions in the water to form their calcareous skeletons. The calcareous skeleton or aragonite is essential to the coral’s survival because it improves their resistance against bleaching, diseases and predators. However, the climate change caused by the ocean’s absorption of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is putting corals under extreme physiological stress. According to De'ath Glenn, investigations of 69 different reefs in the Great Barrier Reef indicate that calcification has decreased by 14.2% since 1990. The cause of this epidemic is unknown; however, studies suggest that temperature increase and seawater calcium decline is decreasing the coral’s ability to build calcium carbonate skeletons.

The graph indicates that there was an increase in calcification from 1930-1970. However, there has been a dramatic decrease in calcification since 1980 resulting from the increasing acidification and sea temperature. The graph indicates that calcification has decreased in the Great Barrier Reef by 14.2% from 1990-2005 (De'ath, 2008).

The crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) consumes the corals by thrusting its stomach out on top of the coral and slowly digesting the living tissue. Furthermore, they have contributed to 42% of the reef’s destruction in the past 27 years (Gerken, 2012). Furthermore, the crown-of-thorns starfish can potentially produce millions of larvae, which is contributing to the massive outbreak of these specific starfishes all over the Great Barrier Reef. Although the crown-of-thorns starfish are considered extremely slow creatures, each starfish can potentially consume 107 square feet of virtually any type of coral per year and are known to destroy entire reefs (Collins, 2012). Although the outbreaks of these starfishes are unknown, researchers believe that the decreased in natural predators have allowed them to populate at an unprecedented level.

Tropical cyclones are the most devastating events to happen to the Great Barrier Reef, which over the past 27 years have contributed to 48% of the reef’s destruction (Jha, 2012). According to Jha Alok a science correspondent, the Great Barrier Reef has been hit by six major cyclones in just the past seven years; for example, Cyclone Hamish passed through 930 miles of the reef leaving behind it destruction and turmoil. Other category-five cyclones that have devastated the Great Barrier Reef are Larry and Yasi. Furthermore, category-five cyclones are the strongest cyclones with winds up to 280km/hr (ema.gov.au, 12/6/12). Furthermore, the thick sediment clouds do not allow sunlight to pass and as a result, the photosynthetic zooxanthellae are unable to survive and support the coral (Schutzman, 2011). In addition, cyclones transport sediments, fertilizers and pesticides to coral reefs, which in the long run dramatically decreases the health of the coral and the quality of the water (Schutzman, 2011).