climate effect on marine life

Lila was a coral polyp living in a reef in the Indian Ocean. She was part of a large and diverse community of marine life, including fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae, and other corals. She enjoyed her life, filtering plankton from the water, exchanging nutrients with her symbiotic algae, and communicating with her neighbors through chemical signals.

She was proud of her reef, which was a colorful and vibrant ecosystem that provided shelter, food, and protection for many species. She had heard stories from her elders about how humans had visited their reef in the past, admiring its beauty and diversity. She had also heard stories about how humans had harmed their reef, by overfishing, polluting, and destroying it with dynamite and cyanide.

But she had never seen a human herself, and she hoped that they would leave her reef alone. She hoped that they would respect and appreciate the value of her reef, not only for its aesthetic appeal, but also for its ecological and economic importance. She hoped that they would realize that her reef was a vital part of the ocean, which covered more than 70% of the planet and supported more than half of all life on Earth.

She hoped that they would understand that the ocean was in trouble, and that they were the cause of it. She hoped that they would acknowledge that their activities were changing the climate, and that this was affecting the ocean in many ways. She hoped that they would stop emitting greenhouse gases, which were trapping heat in the atmosphere and warming the planet.

She hoped that they would stop warming the ocean, which was causing many problems for her reef. She hoped that they would stop causing sea level rise, which was threatening to drown her reef. She hoped that they would stop causing ocean acidification, which was making the water more acidic and dissolving her reef. She hoped that they would stop causing coral bleaching, which was making her lose her algae and turn white.

She hoped that they would stop killing her reef.

She hoped that they would stop killing her.

But they didn’t.

They didn’t listen to the warnings of the scientists, who had been studying the ocean and its changes for decades. They didn’t heed the pleas of the environmentalists, who had been campaigning for action and awareness for years. They didn’t care about the consequences of their actions, which were affecting not only the ocean, but also themselves.

They didn’t stop.

They didn’t slow down.

They didn’t change.

And so, the ocean changed.

And so, her reef changed.

And so, she changed.

She felt the water getting warmer and warmer, until it was too hot for her to bear. She felt the water getting more acidic and more corrosive, until it was too harsh for her to endure. She felt her algae leaving her and dying, until she was too weak to survive.

She felt herself bleaching and dying, until she was too gone to hope.

She felt nothing.

She became nothing.

She was nothing.

And so was her reef.

Here is a parting shot. How we can protect coral reefs.

Coral reefs are amazing and important ecosystems that support a lot of marine life and provide benefits for humans as well. Here are some things you can do to protect coral reefs on your next trip or in your daily life:

• Practice safe and responsible diving and snorkeling. Avoid touching reefs or anchoring your boat on the reef. Contact with the reef will damage the delicate coral animals, and anchoring on the reef can kill corals, so look for sandy bottom or use moorings, if available.

• Take a reef-friendly approach to sun protection. Some ingredients in sunscreen can be harmful to or even kill corals. Inform yourself of safer choices for coral. Better yet, cut down on sunscreen use by wearing a long-sleeved shirt or rash guard to prevent sunburn.

• Recycle and dispose of trash properly. Marine debris can be harmful to coral reefs. Recycle your trash at home and on the go (especially plastic), and remember the three R’s (reduce, reuse, and recycle). When disposing of trash, do it properly in bins, to avoid trash being blown or washed away into waterways and oceans. On beaches, make sure you leave no trash behind, and never throw or leave any cigarette butts in the sand.