According to Renee Cho, a scientist from Columbia University, “Coral reefs are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on earth. They occupy only .2% of the ocean, yet are home to a quarter of all marine species; over 4000 species of fish make their home in coral reefs. With an annual global economic value of $375 billion, coral reefs provide food and resources for over 500 million people in 94 countries and territories. But tragically, coral reefs are in crisis” (Cho). Throughout this unit, many underrated environmental issues have been presented and recognized through a series of labs, teach-backs, field trips, books, and projects. I learned a lot about how the increasing levels of carbon dioxide, along with the rising temperatures in the ocean, affect the marine life. Before starting this unit, I, personally, was very unaware of the fragility of the food chain. Due to several field trips and my project on coral reefs, I now understand that if a significant species were to become extinct, their ecosystem would be threatened as well.
Learning about the different ecosystems and food chains has made me realize how connected humans are to biotic and abiotic factors. I’ve learned that all species are somehow connected through the food chain due to primary, secondary and tertiary consumers.
As you can see here, I have drawn out an ecosystem, based in an average park, and defined the different organisms and what they are when compared to one another. An example of a tertiary consumer would be a mouse. A mouse consumes a secondary consumer, a beetle, which consumes a primary consumer, being grass. I learned these terms through videos that Neto had supplied along with a mini demo we did at the beginning of this unit. At first, this concept was not very clear because there were a lot of different terms, which made it a little jumbled; however, I got the hang of these concepts very shortly after. For our most recent science assessment, I had to retake it because I had written down the wrong ecosystem because it was not clear that we should focus on a park, rather than the entire food chain. I have also learned how fragile humans are as well. If a species goes extinct that humans are used to having around, such as bees, humans will be affected as well. All sorts of fruit and vegetables are pollinated by honey bees, such as broccoli, squash, apples, and almonds. Pollination is not just important for the food we eat directly, it's vital for the foraging crops, such as field beans and clover, used to feed the livestock we depend on for meat. So, without the bees, humans no longer have fruits or vegetables, which will affect our health. As for the species that depend on fruits, vegetables and other plants for food, they have the potential of becoming endangered as well because their usual food source has now been taken from them too.
Going to Bodega Bay and Casa Grande’s Fish Hatchery was an outstanding experience because being able to ask these people, who were primary sources, questions was very helpful.
In fact, I went to Casa Grande’s Fish Hatchery both times because I was so interested in their program. They were very unique because this hatchery was the first one to be made by high school students all across the world. Mr. Hubacker, the teacher who was in charge of this program, explained the significance of the Steelhead Trout. He went through what would happen if these fish went extinct and how we would be affected. Once Mr. Hubacker was done explaining what they do at their hatchery, we had a student, Rachel, give us a tour around the facility. She explained how they started this program and showed us their Steelhead Trout. Once she was done touring us, we went down to their creek, which they had saved on their own, and showed us how they keep the fish there healthy. They both explained that a very practical location for fish to be is in a water source under trees since they do not favor a lot of light.
In this picture, the Steelhead Trout are at the second-youngest stage of development. These fish are cooped up into the corners because they don’t like a lot of bright light and movement, which is why the majority of them were just hanging out. Fish, not just Steelhead, are also very vulnerable when it comes to sound; loud noises can kill them if they are exposed to them for too long. The fish are kept in this tank so they can be monitored and would be released once they could be fed real fish food.
This is a timeline of the Steelhead Trout and how they develop. The fish are most susceptible to death due to bright lights and loud noises in their first few stages of life because they are not strong at this time. However, as the time passes and they become bigger, they are more tough and can survive on their own.
Throughout the world, coral reefs are dying off due to the increasing carbon dioxide levels in the ocean. For my unit project, I studied the environmental problem of coral reef extinction. Corals go through an episode such as “bleaching” when they undergo stress due to several factors. As the temperatures in our atmosphere are increasing, this has a direct correlation on global warming, which is what causes the ocean water temperatures to increase as well. Most coral are designed to thrive in their set temperatures and when this is altered, they cannot withstand this change. When coral become stressed, they expel zooxanthellae algae, which lives inside of the coral.
The picture listed above is a before and after picture of coral bleaching (Darby). As you can see in the first picture, this coral is very vibrant and the other one is mostly white. Coral are important in our environment because they supply ¼ all of marine species a habitat to live in; they also protect our coastlines. To help save the coral, Kelly, my partner, and I came up with a feasible model. We believe that a genetically modified coral is the way to go.
For each observational tank, there is a separate wastewater tank. The significance of a wastewater tank that is hooked up to their own observational tank is that we can see which coral has expelled their algae and which ones have not. The dependent variables in these observational tanks are the species of coral, water flow and sunlight exposure; whereas, the independent variables are temperature and pH. We know that a certain temperature and/or pH level is not suitable for a certain coral if we see that their algae has been expelled. A genetically modified coral is a possible solution because we have found certain resources, such as Crispr, that can make this work. Our plan is to take the genes from a resilient coral, that we would find in our observational tanks, and replicate their genes. Once this DNA has been replicated, Crispr can cut a weaker coral’s genes and before they repair themselves, Crispr puts in the stronger genes. Once a reasonable population has been “made,” a team of professional divers would take this and plant them in the midst of other coral in reefs.
Learning about the environment along with the effects of people and other organisms on our atmosphere is definitely something I will always remind people. The magnitude of what humans do with garbage and other pollution is absurd and thanks to this unit, I completely understand how we affect the food chain and how it affects us. Learning about the coral reefs in my unit project showed me what could happen to the marine life if all coral went extinct. It was a very magnificent experience to not only go on several field trips and see this for ourselves, but also creating our own model to try and do something about the environmental issues, rather than simply writing about them.
Work Cited
Cho, Renee. "Losing Our Coral Reefs." State of the Planet Losing Our Coral Reefs Comments.
Columbia University, 13 June 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
Darby, Megan. "Warming Seas Devastate Coral Reefs in Global Bleaching Event." Climate Home -
Climate Change News. Climate Home, 08 Oct. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
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