Coral reefsWhat are coral reefs?Coral reefs are said to be the basis of many marine species and provide a crucial support for human life. The coral reef ecosystem is a diverse set of species that interact with each other and with the physical environment. Coral reefs are home to many species including crabs, shrimp, oysters and clams, foods consumed daily by humans. Coral reefs are among the most diverse and biologically complex ecosystems on earth and are home to 33% of marine fish species. Research has shown that there are numerous dangers to these precious species that live in our own oceans and along our coasts, and these are some pertinent questions that need to be addressed to determine whether coral reefs are necessary for our future existence. and global warming:1. Coral reef habitat?2. Environmental problems currently faced by the habitat3. What is coral bleaching?4. Coral bleaching and our global environment? Corals in Crisis Coral Reef Habitat According to Dustan, “Since the late 1970s, coral reefs around the world have been dying at an unprecedented rate, and it only seems to be getting worse. Dustan points out that in the Florida Keys alone, extensive reef monitoring studies by the EPA and other agencies have shown that reefs have lost more than 38 percent of their living coral cover from 1996 to 1999. Carysfort Reef has lost more than 90% of its coral cover. from 1974 to 1999.” The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, the world's largest coral reef monitoring effort, reported in October 2000 at the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium in Bali, Indonesia, that of all coral reefs monitored worldwide , 27% have been lost and another 32% could be lost in the next 20-30 years (Pockley 2000). Coral Reefs and Our Environment The coral bleaching response to climate change first appeared on the political stage in the summer of 2019. 1987, coinciding with a major international bleaching episode, growing concern about global warming and a of the hottest years on record in Washington, DC. The Senate held hearings on coral bleaching, and testimony reported preliminary scientific evidence linking bleaching with unusually warm seasonal seawater temperatures. Corals bleach when stresses, including high temperatures, stimulate the coral animal to expel its intracellular unicellular symbiotic plants, which are characteristic of all reef-building corals and critical to coral health. Because coral color is largely determined by plant cells, corals appear to bleach.