Global Issues - Great Barrier Reef
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Transcript of Global Issues - Great Barrier Reef
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The Great Barrier Reef Coral Loss
By: Gift S.
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Research Question
What happened to the Great Barrier Reef and what caused
it to happen?
The Great Barrier Reef Facts
World’s largest coral reef
Northeast coast of Australia
World Heritage site
400 types of coral and 1500 species of fish
Many marine species are endangered
Lost about half of corals in last 30 years
Reasons why the Corals are Lost
1. Storm damage
2. Great increase of carnivorous ‘crown-of-thorns starfish’
3. Fertilizers
4. Coral bleaching
5. Greater amount of CO2 in sea
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
Covered with long, sharp and venomous spines
Carnivorous
Adult starfish can grow up to 46 cm in diameter
Adult starfish can eat 6 square meters=12 months
Females produce 5-20 million eggs
Lived in GBR for thousands of years, but lately numbers have greatly increased
Blamed for 40 percent of the GBR loss
Facts• 2nd largest starfish in
the world• Most starfish have 5
arms, crown of thorns has 13-21 arms
• Nocturnal (Active at night)
• Can move at a speed up to 20 km per hour
Why the Crown of Thorns Starfish affected so much of the GBR and
increased over the past years
1. The females produce over millions of eggs
2. Fertilizers from the farmlands of Australiai. Eggs become larvae - larvae feed on
‘phytoplankton’
ii. Nowadays, more fertilizers near the sea get washed down to the sea
iii. Phytoplankton algae feed on the fertilizer chemicals = greater increase in the algae, more larvae survive and become adults
Solution for the Carnivorous Starfish
New substance scientists created:
1. Inject into starfish
2. Causes allergic reaction
3. Dies within 2 days
In 40 minutes, divers can inject 1000 starfish – 1000 crown of thorns starfish dies
Connections
Class work: • IDU – Water unit • Science – Biodiversity
and ecosystems unit
Global importance:• Species could grow
bigger, spreading over the globe
• Recently happened in Philippines, culled 87,000 crown of thorns starfish
Choices
When scuba diving, be aware of these species
Teach farmers to use organic fertilizers
Help reduce global warming
Bibliography
"Barrier Reef Starfish Cull." Newsademic. N.p., 1 May 2014. Web. 6 May 2014. <http://resources.nist.ac.th/mediacenter/Other%20Documents/Newsademic/Newsademic%20Issue%20222%20B.pdf>.
"Coral Bleaching." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Keppelbleaching.jpg>.
"Crown of Thorns Starfish." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 09 May 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Crown-of-thorns_starfish>.
"Crown of Thorns Starfish to Be Tackled." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 08 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 May 2014. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/9593191/Crown-of-thorns-starfish-to-be-tackled.html>.
"Crown-of-Thorns Starfish." Great Barrier Reef Biome. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. <http://great-barrier-reef-biome.wikispaces.com/file/view/crown-of-thorns-starfish-phuket-big.jpg/326805896/crown-of-thorns-starfish-phuket-big.jpg>.
"Diver Among the Corals." National Geographic. Ed. David Doubilet. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. <http://s.ngm.com/2011/05/great-barrier-reef/img/great-barrier-reef-diver-615.jpg>.
"Fun Facts - Crown of Thorns Starfish." Fun Facts - Crown of Thorns Starfish. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. <https://sites.google.com/a/pennington.org/crown-of-thorns-starfish/fun-facts>.
"Great Barrier Reef." - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. <http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154>.
"Great Barrier Reef." Britannica Online for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/24/19824-004-4BF0C660.gif>.
"Great Barrier Reef." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/GreatBarrierReef-EO.JPG>.
"How to Setup Different Types of Connections in Ozeki Phone System XE." OZEKIPhone SystemXE. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://ozekiphone.com/attachments/1424/connection.png>.
Johnson, Chris. "Getting Specific About Choices." Simplifilm Product Demo Videos. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://simplifilm.com/getting-specific-about-choices/>.
Nellist, Glenys. "Making Connections." Glenys Nellist: Kids' Ministry Matters. Blogger, 24 Oct. 2011. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WtgjsZJVQEg/TqWAXGnLcVI/AAAAAAAAAIU/RsLP4RxBTHI/s200/connections-2be414r.png>.
Siddle, Julian. "Killer Starfish Threatens Great Barrier Reef." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26183209>.
"Small Crown of Thorns Starfish." Trip Advisor. N.p., Aug. 2011. Web. 10 May 2014. <http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/fc/99/56/small-crown-of-thorns.jpg>.
"Storms at Sea." Gems Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://gemscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/stormAtSea-300x201.jpg>.
"Variety of Chemical Fertilisers and Their Uses." B2B Market for Latest B2B Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mbPI_7jWVvw/T45mzzYZjQI/AAAAAAAAAzk/_kYsmkOaraU/s400/Chemical%2BFertilizers%2B1.jpg>.
"What Is Coral Bleaching?" What Is Coral Bleaching? N.p., 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 May 2014. <http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html>.
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Interactive ActivitySplit into 3 teams & answer questions
Q1
Where is the Great Barrier Reef located? Give me north, east, south or west.
Q2
Since when did they lose their corals?
Q3
What is one reason for the loss of corals in the Great Barrier Reef?
Q4
Another reason, please.
Q5
What causes coral bleaching?
Q6
What color are the corals after coral bleaching?
Q7
Is the Crown of Thorns starfish a herbivore, carnivore or a omnivore?
Q8
What is the largest starfish in the world?
Q9
What is one choice we could make?
Q10
What country is my issue in?