Why is the decline of Coral Reefs Impacting biodiversity of

marine life and humans? What could be done to prevent a

further decline?
Coral reefs are the backbone of many societies, proving to be economically valuable to
humans. In turn, this has led to the decline in the biodiversity, beauty and health that these
reefs once experienced in abundance. The human-coral reef relationship could be described
as parasitic1 . The majority of benefits gained from activity is majority economic, without
considering ethics when performing said activities (e.g., disruption), which has resulted in

You might not know that under the Ramsar classification for wetlands, a coral reef can be
considered a wetland if it's near the surface. Coral reefs are made up of colonies of
thousands of tiny individual corals, called polyps. These marine invertebrate animals have
hard exoskeletons made of calcium carbonate, and are sessile, meaning permanently fixed
in one place. Polyps form different shapes and sizes depending on their species. These
structures are classed as wetlands under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands definition.
With the help of other animals with calcium carbonate skeletons, and also coralline algae,
corals form complex reefs. It’s the algae living inside their tissues that give the corals their
vibrant colours. It also gives corals energy, allowing them to grow and flourish

The human and coral reef relationship could be described as parasitic2 . The majority of
benefits gained from activity is majority economic, this has caused major decline in health of
the reef. Coral reefs present us with

1
Parasitic – One benefits at the expense of the other, often harming or exploiting the other.
2
Parasitic – One benefits at the expense of the other, often harming or exploiting the other.