He June 1 We celebrate the World Reef DayTo make the public aware of the risks in which these marine ecosystems are confronted, due to factors such as ocean heating, excessive fishing and pollution.
According to estimates of the Division Marine Ecosystemsattached to UN environmental program” The planet could lose the living coral reef in the world by 2050.
What are reefs for?
Corals contribute to the reversing of the greenhouse effect, through the elimination and recycling of carbon dioxide. They serve as a habitat of a quarter of all marine species in the world. The reefs protect the islands and the continents of the waves and storms, which contributes to the survival of other species in shallow water.
How do you contribute to the protection of these marine ecosystems?
- Reduce C02 emissions and plastic consumption.
- Participate in reef retention projects. Practice diving in the sea in a responsible way. Do not touch the corals.
- Do not buy souvenirs made with corals. Use environmentally friendly sun blockers, with active ingredients (such as non-Nano zinc oxide).
World Reef Day 2025
Today June 1, the World Reef Day, An event that wants to increase consciousness of the important function that these unique ecosystems play, so that the global balance does not break and the serious threats that weigh on them.
There World Reef Day 2025 We must not forget that coral reefs are a pillar of marine life. The total surface is approximately 285,000 km², which represents 0.1% of the ocean surface, but houses 32% of life in the sea. They contain one Biodiversity Exceptional: More than 800,000 species live in coral reefs.
The coral reef is formed by polyps, marine invertebrate animals that belong to the edge of the Cnidarians, so it is a family member of the jellyfish and the sea anemones. These polyps adhere to each other on a hard surface to form a colony called coral.
The survival of it depends on a symbiotic relationship with a photosynthetic algae, the Zooxantela, which lives in the polyp. These small algae, in turn, depend on photosynthesis (and therefore of sunlight) to survive.
These hot water corals build their own geomorphology: they use the energy supplied by Zooxantela and calcium carbonate in the ocean to build its exoskeleton, so that living structures can be formed that can reach thousands of kilometers long. The large coral barrier in Australia has 2,300 km long and is visible from space.
Press Corals
Coral reefs are subject to multitude of local pressure:
- The overweight Destroy the habitats and marine life when applying to catching, industrial and destructive methods, such as towing fish, the use of explosives and much more.
- The coastal pollution caused by anthropogenic activities: discharge of toxic, chemical, oil, etc. and the use of fertilizers in agriculture, which release important quantities of toxic nutrients and metals in ecosystems
- Invasive species compete with the natives of Riffen and can introduce new diseases.
- He global It causes an imbalance in pH, density, salt content, etc. of seawater and influences all living organisms.
- He Climate change It generates events of enormous size, even in places where they had never suffered before.
There World Reef Day 2025 It is essential to keep in mind that the decline of the reefs began in the mid -twentieth century. Before this period, the coral cover was comparable to that estimate 10,000 or even 100,000 years. Since the start of the intensive use of fertilizers, maritime traffic of chemical agents and oil and the development of coastal infrastructure, the reef of the whole world has been drastically reduced.
Climate change
This event is a result of an accumulation of carbon dioxide In the atmosphere, which leads to the destruction of corals worldwide, because of the global heating of waters and the acidification of the oceans.
Oceanic Acidification
About 25% of the carbon dioxide that we broadcast are absorbed by the oceans. This increase in the concentration of CO₂ causes the acidification of the oceans, that is, a decrease in the pH of the waters. The reaction of CO2 molecules with water (Hepero) causes an increase in the concentration of hydrogen ions that causes acidification and a decrease in carbonate concentration, which is an essential connection of the coral skeleton. That is why corals grow less and their skeleton erodes as the acidification increases.
Heating
The ocean absorbs approximately 90% of the excess heat that is emitted by human activities by, among other things, burning fossil fuels. As a result, the warm -up of the oceans caused by climate change leads to intensification and extension of the ocean heat waves, which are deadly to the reefs.
Whitening
Water heating and heat waves that accompany them cause a huge and global phenomenon: the bleaching of coral reefs. The thermal tension caused by a heat wave causes the separation of the algae and the polyp, which ends a symbiosis that is essential.
Algae give color to the coral, so it becomes white. If the heat waves are not too long, the coral can repair and survive its algae. But if the temperature stays high for a few weeks, the coral dies. The corals that survive are weakened and more sensitive to diseases.