http://www.outsideonline.com/2112086/obituary-great-barrier-reef-25-million-bc-2016
http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/climate-change/the-great-barrier-reef-dead-at-the-age-of-25-million-years-after-worst-mass-bleaching-on-record/news-story/7cfc567d39516a13cb09ce443a0ba75d
http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/721115/Great-Barrier-Reef-dead-2016-after-25million-years-Queensland-Australia-Unesco-obituary
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scientists-take-on-great-barrier-reef-obituary_us_57fff8f1e4b0162c043b068f
http://www.salon.com/2015/10/11/scientists_are_breeding_supercoral_to_combat_the_effects_of_climate_change_partner/
Pick one of the articles above. Read the article and summarize what you learned. Remember that this should be a scholarly paragraph with at least 5 sentences. Somewhere in the paragraph, you need to mention which article you read. Is the Great Barrier Reef truly dead? What is next?
ReplyDeleteI chose to read Huffington Posts article Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists. They claim that the Great Barrier Reef is not dead. Only 22% of the coral died from a major bleaching event leaving the quarters of the reef still alive. Outside Magazine has been wrong about everything and freaking many people out. They say that the GBR is full dead and that the first major bleaching event happened in 1981. The truth is the first bleaching incident happened in 1998 and if we want to save the Great Barrier Reef, we need to try everything we can.
Why do you think that ecologists would exaggerate the damage to the Great Barrier Reef?
DeleteOn October 11th, 2016, the Great Barrier Reef was proclaimed dead… right? An obituary for the Great Barrier Reef was published, explicitly saying that “the Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in 2016 after a long illness.” but fortunately, the author was mistaken. In the article “Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists”, the author Chris D'Angelo, proved him wrong. There is still hope for the Great Barrier Reef to live on, we just can't give up yet. In fact, around three quarters of the Reef are still alive, although not particularly healthy, only 22% of the coral is actually dead. Though we do need to take action now to prevent a real obituary to be written any time soon, as it is in great need of relief. So, let’s say RIP to the Great Barrier Reef just yet, despite what some articles lead you to believe.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
DeleteDo you think that it is truly possible to save the Great Barrier Reef? Is there really hope that we can fix the damage that has already been done?
The Great Barrier Reef isn’t completely dead and I know from reading other miscellaneous articles that many biologists and ecologists are upset by the pronunciation of this event. When you say to the world our reef is dead the world (understandably) thinks that there is nothing that can be done to help. The scientists that pronounced it dead may have thought that people would care more by thinking it’s dead and attract attention to the event, however if it were stated the reef is nearly dead I believe it would have a more positive effect on our attitudes towards the crisis. In Outside’s Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC- 2016) it is stated that around 50% of the northern section of the reef is dead. This is utterly catastrophic and should have been prevented but it could get worse, we need to help the reef. I don’t know if there is a way to revive parts that have died due to a lack of knowledge in marine biology but there must be a way to stop the rest from dying. Obviously doing something like dumping ice off the coast of Australia wouldn’t be effective, but perhaps significantly stricter worldwide laws on pollution enforced by the UN could help. Especially in closer countries such as China that are outputting mass amounts of pollution. The reef can be saved, it’s unlikely but possible.
ReplyDeleteNeil,
DeleteI agree, but the optimist in me is really pulling for a come-back. Who doesn't cheer for the underdog?
After El Niño, Sekisei Lagoon suffered a much less severe but still apparent bleaching. The areas least damaged were able to naturally regenerate but the more hurt areas needed some conversationalist intervening. In Japan Mineo Okamoto noticed raising acidification of the ocean and warmer temperatures, seeing this he predicted future mass bleaches and worked on methods to reverse the bleachings. He discovered that using porcelin dishes under water to collect coral spawns and moving them into dead areas can bring back life. If this method was applied to The Great Barrier reef there's a chance parts of it could be brought back to life but it would need to be done before all of the reef dies out.
DeleteSource http://theresilientearth.com/?q=content/bleached-coral-reefs-bounce-back
Maybe that can be another career for me when I am done teaching? I can make porcelin dishes of coral and regenerate the Great Barrier Reef.
DeleteIs the Great Barrier Reef actually dead? This website http://www.outsideonline.com/2112086/obituary-great-barrier-reef-25-million-bc-2016 has made an obituary for the Great Barrier Reef. This reef is one of the largest and the only one visible from space. It contains for biodiversity than all of Europe combined with 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 species of mollusk, 450 species of coral, 220 species of birds, and 30 species of whales and dolphins. The reef is located on the eastern coast of the continent of Australia and without it, the surrounding ecological communities wouldn’t have existed. A spotlight was put on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770 and never left it because of constant attention from scientists, explorers, artists, and tourists. A “Save the Reef” campaign was created in 1960 which then culminated into the creation of The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in 1975. Soon after, the reef experienced its first mass bleaching which led to other bleachings. After reading many other articles about this one people first started freaking out, I realized that yes there is parts of the reef that are dead, but there’s new parts forming and parts that aren’t dead yet. Scientists were very confused by this claim that this website has made because there was no real announcement or clarification that the Great Barrier Reef had died and there still hasn’t been. The Great Barrier Reef isn’t dead, but it is in danger of it.
ReplyDeleteMia,
DeleteIf you think that the Great Barrier Reef is not in danger, do you think the article is just propaganda? Who is promoting this false information?
I totally agree with you! We can save the Great Barrier Reef!
DeleteAfter 25,000,000 years, the Great Barrier Reef was pronounced dead by leading environmental writer Rowan Jacobsen. It was described as having a long illness. This illness are reef’s greatest enemy; bleaching corals. The article that I read, http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/721115/Great-Barrier-Reef-dead-2016-after-25million-years-Queensland-Australia-Unesco-obituary , describes coral bleaching as when environmental stress impacts the relationship between living creatures that form the reefs and microscopic algae that gives the reefs its diverse colors. Although the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches for over 1,400 miles, has been considered gone, it may not actually be. It is in serious collateral damage though. Researchers in May found that more than third of the coral in the northern and central parts of the reef were dead, and 93% of the individual reefs were affected. One researcher stated that “if it [the reef] was a person, it would be on life support.” In an effort to save the unique wildlife that the reef provides, experts from developing countries have come together to save the structures. Others who have already experienced seeing the reef have used clipboards to collect information about marine wildlife. They saw a lot of animals still intact. In total, they figured out that 22% of the entire reef has been killed, due to the largest bleaching report ever. So, although the reef may not be 100% dead, 22% is still much marine wildlife that has been taken away from us. Much needs to be done in order to save the mass bleaching, but beginning funds and programs is a good head start in protecting one of the greatest natural wonders.
ReplyDeleteIf 22% of the human population was wiped out, do you think people would be concerned? It seems like some of these articles are saying that we shouldn't worry because it is only 22% of the reef....that is almost 1/4. Seems like a lot to me..
DeleteI totally agree. twenty-two percent of our population wiped out would leave us with roughly 5.7 billion people, counting that we started out with 7.4 billion people. Even with our world overpopulated, that seems very concerning.
DeleteI read the article on news.com.au, “The Great Barrier Reef is ‘dead’ at the age of 25 million years after ‘worse mass bleaching on record’ claims writer” about the mass bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef. I learned that the Great Barrier Reef stretches roughly 2,250 km over an area of roughly 2,150 km. The Great Barrier Reef is also composed of more than 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands. The reef is also home to 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 molluscs, and 30 types of whales and dolphins. Research showed that 22% of coral died in the reef, most of it bleaching in similar areas. This could be catastrophic for the species living off the reef because many of the species won’t have anywhere to live, and won’t have much to eat. 22 percent might not seem like a lot but it is, the reef is huge, and that much coral dying would displace a lot of animals. The reef isn’t truly dead as much of it is still alive, but if nothing is done to help the Great Barrier Reef it could more than likely die. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has now started the second phase of its survey to see the impact of the bleaching. Although my article didn’t completely mention what’s next, it’s safe to assume that the scientists will continue to gather research on the reef and continue to try to protect the reef at all costs.
ReplyDeleteEthan,
DeleteIs this something that you think is interesting? Do you like Marine Biology?
The Great Barrier Reef has been declared dead after an amazing 25 million year life. According to the article on news.com.au an environmental writer named Rowan Jacobsen published an article about the major environmental death. After Rowan's article was published The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority began to asses the damage of 2016's bleaching. Their research showed that 22 percent of the coral on the reef died and 85 percent of the mortality occurred in a 600km stretch of the reef between the tip of Cape York and just north of Lizard island. Jacobsen wrote that "The whole northern section is trashed. Now it looks like a war zone" and "I used to have the best job in the world. Now it's turned sour."
ReplyDeleteBrandon,
DeleteWhat do you think? Do you think Jacobsen is exaggerating?
The great barrier reef is so big, it can be seen from space. I learned from the second listed article that the great barrier reef holds 1625 different types of fish, 3000 types of mollusks, and 30 different types of whales. Considering the fact that it is now dead, doesn't that pose certain risk for all those life forms now whose just lost lost their 25 million year old home? Yes, and clearly, this poses a big problem for the environment. The Great Barrier Reef's death will clearly greatly alter ocean life, because now all these animals have to find a new home.
ReplyDeleteAidan,
DeleteWhat are the key producers in the Great Barrier Reef?
The bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef was addressed by the Huffington Post in an article titled, “Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists.” Many people think that the reef is completely dead due to the article by Rowan Jacobsen, where he said it was proven dead by scientists. However, Chris D’Angelo, the author of this article thought otherwise. He said that there’s no denying the fact that the reef is in serious trouble, but “as a whole, it is not dead.” D’Angelo says “preliminary findings published Thursday of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority surveys show 22 percent of its coral died from the bleaching event.” That leaves over a quarter of the GBR still alive. I never knew this prior to reading this article. I thought that the whole reef perished, but I found out that it was only 22%. This still gives us time to make up for what Australia did to the reef. When Australia bleached the reef, I didn’t know that the reef actually turns white, I thought it shriveled up or dissolved in some way. The reef has existed for 25 million years, and I can’t believe that we’ve ruined a portion of one of the most beautiful things we have here on Earth. Chris D’Angelo made it really clear to me with an analogy. He said that what Jacobsen did was like saying that if you cut down 50% of the trees in the forest, that the whole forest is gone. In my opinion, Jacobsen took advantage of the people who didn’t know any better than to believe everything they read online. He forgot to include that not all of the reef is dead, but only 22%. He made me think that there’s nothing else we can do since it is perished already, but what he should’ve done was say that we need to fix this problem. He didn’t give us the whole truth that most of the GBR isn’t dead. My prediction for this crisis is that we will be able to prevent further bleaching of the Reef, and we will try to treat the bleached part as best we can.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
DeleteWould you have believed Jacobsen?
After 25 million years of being the most biodiverse area on earth,the Great Barrier reef has been pronounced dead by environmentalists. They say that bleach is the culprit. After reading http://www.outsideonline.com/2112086/obituary-great-barrier-reef-25-million-bc-2016. I now know that there was more history to it than just a big reef,its bigger than the United Kingdom. It stretches 140 miles all around, making it the biggest living structure around the word. Until now. The Great Barrier reef and all of its beauty is dead.
ReplyDeleteJake,
DeleteWhat do you think? Would you want to visit the Great Barrier Reef? Have you ever been snorkling? Did you see the pictures of the reef covered with slime?
Yes I have been snorkling and I find it very sad that something that great can go to waste and die. Its even more depressing when it's covered in something as gross as that slime.
DeleteWhile reading the article Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists by Chris D’Angelo, I was well-educated on the Great Barrier Reef and the evidence against scientists claiming the reef is dead. The world’s largest, 25 million year old reef has not only been harmed by the El Nino the last few years and climate change, but also 22 percent of the coral has died due to the bleaching. With that said, the reef located near the coast of Queensland, Australia is far from an obituary, in fact there is still hope with three quarters of the coral remaining alive. In addition, I also read the news.com.au article. I learned the Great Barrier Reef is composed of 2,900 reefs and 900 islands, it is the habitat to approximately 1,625 species of fish, 30 different types of dolphins and whales, and 3,000 molluscs. Instead of pronouncing the Great Barrier Reef dead, we need to find ways to prevent further damage to these coral reefs.
ReplyDeleteI read in Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016) that the great barrier reef "Once had a large amount of wildlife It harbored 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 species of mollusk, 450 species of coral, 220 species of birds, and 30 species of whales and dolphins." and is now dying. It has been around for 25 million years and has built an ecosystem around it. It is dying because the water temperature is warming up at extreme amounts and the coral is becoming bleached and dying. Also I learned that there was nothing that we can do to prevent this from happening it is global warming. Another thing is that as the oceans absorbed more carbon the more acidic the water was becoming and started to ware away the lining of the coral reef. All in all there is nothing that we can do to protect the reef because it is already dead.
ReplyDeleteAfter 25 million years, the Great Barrier Reef is pronounced dead. In the article “Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016)”, they addressed the subject by writing an obituary on the reef. It told me that the Great Barrier Reef is larger than the UK, and consists of more biodiversity than all of Europe. The GBR met its demise due to bleaching, which is when the temperatures rise too high and the coral has to shed its algae in order to survive, causing it to turn white. Soon after that the coral will die if it cannot find more algae to nourish it. The GBR was a beautiful work of nature and it will be missed.
ReplyDeleteLuke,
DeleteDid you see that after the coral is bleached that it becomes covered with a brown slime? What happens to the algae? What causes the bleaching in the first place?
In the second website posted, from new.com, I learned that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority was on their second phase for surveying the reef and the impact on bleaching it. A total of 22% of the coral had died from this bleaching. The bleaching was known as the “worst mass bleaching event on record”. Even the an employee said it himself, “ “It looks like a war zone.” “It’s heartbreaking. “I used to have the best job in the world. “Now it’s turned sour.””. The Great Barrier Reef isn’t truly dead to me. It’s always been a popular name that I’ve grown up with. Something this big won’t die easily. Even if it's “dead”, I still think that it will live on. I believe that we will realize that we need to preserve this land site and we’ll treat the coral to try and fix it.
ReplyDeleteThe article I chose to read is by Huffington Post called Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, to the Horror of Scientists. In this article the writers talked about the false article by Outside Magazine saying that the Great Barrier Reef is actually dead. I do not think the Great Barrier Reef is dead because of what the Huffington Post article said, the Great Barrier Reef is not actually dead but 93% of it did get affected by the “most severe bleaching event on record”. About 22% of the Reef actually died from the bleaching. The article stated that Outsides post was meant to bring more attention to the situation at hand but instead people are taking it literally that the Reef is completely dead. We still have a chance to save the Great a Barrier Reef, and we cannot give up on it.
ReplyDeleteI read the article “Great Barrier Reef pronounced dead in 2016: How death is here after 25 million years.” This article is about the mass bleaching effect happening to the Great Barrier Reef. According to the article “coral bleaching is what happens when environmental stress impacts on the ‘symbiotic’ relationship between the rock-life living creatures that form the reefs and microscopic algae that give them their incredible colours.” The Great Barrier Reef has suffered bleaching effects in the past. The Great Barrier Reef is not dead yet; scientists are hoping that the water temperature will change and the coral will come back to life.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Obituary: Great Barrier Reef, I'm truly saddened by the death of the Great Barrier Reef. The reef really became the center of attention in 1770, when Captain James Cook became the first European to explore it. After Cook escaped the barrier reef, it never lost spotlight; it became a "beacon for explorers, scientists, artists, and tourists, it became Australia’s crown jewel.". Then the "Save The Reef" campaign launched in 1975 with the creation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which restricted fishing and shipping in the reef to ensure its survival. By the end of the millennium, mass bleachings were no surprise. The winter of 1997–98 brought a big one, followed by an even more severe one in 2001–02, and another huge one in 2005–06. As the oceans got more carbon , they became more acidic, and the acid was beginning to dissolve the reef. Some people made many efforts to save the reef, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. The Great Barrier Reef officially passed away in 2016.
ReplyDeleteI chose to write about the article “The Great Barrier Reef is ‘dead’ at the age of 25 million years after ‘worst mass bleaching on record, claims writer”. The Great Barrier Reef stretches 2,150 km and is bigger than the entire United Kingdom. The reef is home to 1,625 different species of fish, 3,000 molluscs, and 30 different species of whales and dolphins. 22% of the coral on the reef died due to “the worst mass bleaching event on record.
ReplyDeleteIs the Great Barrier Reef dead? Well, according to writer Rowan Jacobsen, it is. Jacobsen recently released an obituary for the 25 million year old reef, claiming it dead. However, scientists say this is incorrect. Huffington Post published an article, titled Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists, and explained that the reef is not dead, but it is dying. The reef has been severely affected by El Niño and climate change. Twenty-two percent of the reef is dead, because of the bleaching event. This means that a majority of the reef is still alive, however, it is still in need of help. We need to work to help save the Great Barrier Reef, and all of the species living in it, before it really is too late.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "The Great Barrier Reef is "dead" at the age of 25 million years after "worst bleaching on record".This article was about the Great Barrier Reef and how it has been declared dead at 25 million years old because of a long "illness" caused from the worst mass bleaching event on record.Research showed that 22% of the coral on the reef died due to this incident.The Great Reef was so large it could be seen from space.It was home to 1625 species of fish,300 mollusks,and 30 different types of whales and dolphins.Also 450 species of coral,and 220 species of birds.The Great Barrier Reef provided some of the most thrilling marine adventures on earth.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Barrier Reef is a huge part of our society in many ways. This April, a mass bleaching occurred wiping out many of the coral reefs. Coral bleaching is when coral expels algae and turn white, leading some to die. Only 7% of coral was unimpacted, while an astounding 22% perished. Though a big percent majority of the coral survived. After the bleaching an obituary was published for the Great Coral Reef, making many believe it is dead. The Huffington post doesn’t agree with the fact that The Great Barrier Reef is dead, but they know it needs help. Since so much of the Reef is wiped out people assume it is dead. Dead and dying are two different things. Some of the reef remains unharmed which gives scientists hope. This 1,400 mile long reef contains more than 1,500 species of fish, making our oceans very diverse. Besides being a key to our environment it also provides 70,00 jobs through tourism, making it more important to save the reef. While I do think with true hard work and dedication we can keep the reef alive, I do think it will never be the same and eventually come to an early death
ReplyDeleteThe Great Barrier Reef was huge and relatively unaffected for millions of years. However, recently indirect human caused a change; by affecting water temperature large portions of the reef began to die. We did relatively little to try and stop this and almost just let it happen. The reef is not full dead, as small portions still live, although not thriving. The reef may revive but it may take longer than our lifetimes for that.
ReplyDeleteRecently, the Great Barrier Reef was pronounced dead, but much to the public’s relief was labeled this way mistakenly. After reading Chris D’Angelo’s article on the Huffington Post, hope can be found as he proves that there is no credibility to go along with Jacobsen’s claims. Despite the article’s flaws, the public was quick to jump on the trend and many were fooled into believing the claims. The Great Barrier Reef does have a chance though, but it’ll take the combined work of everyone to successfully bring the reef back to its former glory. This topic brings up the point that the reef’s declining state has been something we’ve been battling for a long time, and perhaps need to invest more time and money into. Clearly our efforts so far have been lackluster, but now that this scare is over, maybe we can use it as motivation to not let the next claim of the Great Barrier Reef’s death to be true.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article,”Great Barrier Obituary Goes Viral, To the Horror of Scientists. In the article, it talked about how the article by Outside Magazine is not true that the coral reefs are dead. According to Thursday Of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says, “22% of its coral died from the bleaching event. That leaves more than three quarters still alive- and in need of desperate relief.” So I don’t think all of the reefs are completely dead because there’s still some that survived the bleaching event but still need care to stay alive. The Great Barrier Reefs are not completely dead yet, but hopefully scientists can find a way to save them from going extinct.
ReplyDeleteI'm very frustrated after reading "The Great Barrier Reef's Last Great Hope", because it's technically our fault. We were the ones to come up with the automobile that creates pollution and started burning fossil fuels. Yes, people would argue that "we didn't know this would happen", but it DID happen and the Great Barrier Reef has suffered. The question of "Is the Great Barrier Reef dead?", is a question we should put into consideration. Could we fix this in the future? Madeleine Van Oppen thinks we can. Over the next couple of years she will be breeding "supercoral" to be able to live and survive in the now contaminated and dead Great Barrier Reef. Thinking that she can use assisted evolution to help bring back the all the lost life.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "Great barrier Reef Obituary Goes viral, To The Horror Of Scientists" and saw how the article spoke of the all the misconceptions jacobson's "obituary" caused. In the obituary, Jacobson (the author of the obituary) said that due to the recent bleaching of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef the entire reef was dead, and there was nothing we could do to save it. This simply was not the truth. though the reef had been badly damaged its still alive and desperately needs help in order to make a come back. Yet with the latest overstatements on the matter, people have already turned their backs on the reef when it needs us most.
ReplyDeleteI chose the article “The Great Barrier Reef is ‘dead’ at the age of 25 million years after ‘worst mass bleaching on record’, claims writer.” In the article it talks about how this coral stretches out to 2,250 km and how it is composed of 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands and that it is bigger that the U.K. Also it talks about how it’s the world’s largest living thing and that it is home to 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 mollusks, and 30 different types of whales and dolphins. Personally I don’t think that the reef is dead because the way this article is written it kind of just tells you they died but not how. That’s why I’m doubting them. They also said, “Eighty-five per cent of the mortality occurred in a 600km stretch of reef between the tip of Cape York and just north of Lizard Island.” So this shows that the whole population didn’t die but only a small mount. Also, If this was a really big thing it would be a really big deal all over the news and media also, this could be propaganda and a way to get people to care about this coral.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Barrier Reef was recently announced dead, and while part of this is true, it still needs our attention. After reading Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, to the Horror of Scientists, I have come to the conclusion that there is something in the reef we still need to save. What I believe happened is that people saw the pictures of the Great Barrier Reef in its current form, white/grey, an overall dead look. From this they assumed that it was dead when in reality, the reef is just ill, not extinct. Despite the good news of it not being dead, according to many scientists such as Terry Hughes and Russell Brainard, the reef is still in urgent need of help before it truly perishes. After researching what coral bleaching is, I believe it is safe to say it is a symptom, not a tell tale sign of death. Once water turns too warm for coral, algae pigmentation leaves, but the coral itself is not dead. It just shows that if not treated soon, not only the algae living on the coral will pass, but the reef will too. So with this in mind, we need to not distress, but to support and pressure the aid of the Great Barrier Reef.
ReplyDeleteIs the Great barrier reef dead? Yes it is except for some of the deeper areas the great barrier reef is dead due to rising water temperature from global warming. I learmed that the great barrier reef is 25 million years old as stated by http://www.outsideonline.com . The reef died due to the increase in temperatures which lead to an overpopulation of algae that produced too much oxygen this made the water acidic. Another factor which killed the reef is the rise of carbon inour atmosphere which dissolved into the water and killed the reef. It is said that the reef “Looks like a war zone” (Vernon). Overall I learned once again how badly humans ruin the environment with their technological advances and large egos. If the environment keeps declining the way it is know we should start looking for another place to live.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Barrier Reef is dead. According to the article from http://www.salon.com/2015/10/11/scientists_are_breeding_supercoral_to_combat_the_effects_of_climate_change_partner/, in the span of 27 years, half of the corral reef vanished. A majority of the loss was to climate change, which has strengthened destructive tropical cyclones and made surrounding waters warmer and more acidic. To save the reef, marine biologists started to breed supercorals that are capable of living in the increasingly inhospitable sea so that they could plant them into the coral reef and the the plants could cross breed and adapt to the new coral reef. If the coral can not adapt then the coral reef will be dead.
ReplyDeleteI read the news.com article and what it was saying that is due to the worst mass bleaching ever the Great Barrier Reef has died. It was made up of billions of tiny organisms to huge whales. It's variety of species was very vast. However 22% of it has vanished due to the bleaching. 22% is a very large number of the population. It was 25 millions years old. You could see it from outer space it was so big. It was larger than the United Kingdom. What's next for the reef? I think the reefs organisms and species will slowly start to fade far more than just 22%. I think at some point there will be almost nothing living at the reef.
ReplyDeleteI chose to read “Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists” because The Huffington Post is one of my favorite websites. I easily learned in the first paragraph or so that the Great Barrier Reef is not dead, but threatened. Since many of us aren't experts concerning coral, we believed the GBR died. But a fact is that only 22% of the coral died in the second bleaching occurrence. So, over 75% is alive. Many have left the GBR unattended after this false news. But we must get back on track and save the GBR, otherwise we'll lose a pristine attraction, leaving over 70,000 people unemployed. Once we lose the GBR, we won't see another one again.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article form outsideonline.com I learned that the Great Barrier Reef has been around for 25 million years, and I also learned that it isn't completely dead. The reef has gone through traumatic events that killed it, but it always came back. The first event being an oil spill in the 1960s, after that organizations were created in attempts to preserve the reef. After that bleaching-when algae that the coral feeds on produces too much oxygen causing the coral to become bone white and starve-of the reef became the biggest problem. Mass-bleachings took place in 1981, 1997-98, 2001-02, and 2005-06. The biggest bleaching happening now, killing 50% of the reef. I don't believe the reef is dead, half of it may be gone, but there is still half left. It has survived mass bleaching before and it can now. It may never recover to the full extent that it once was at, but that doesn't mean that it isn't still the Great Barrier Reef. Until the day when 100% of the reef is dead, it will never be truly dead.
ReplyDeleteThe article I have read here, http://www.salon.com/2015/10/11/scientists_are_breeding_supercoral_to_combat_the_effects_of_climate_change_partner/ states that for 27 years, half of the beautiful coral reef has vanished. Significant reasoning for this is mainly because of climate change. Which in turn, has strengthened destructive tropical cyclones and made surrounding waters warmer and more acidic. There's no final solution to this climate change, but marine biologists in Australia are conducting a new research to save the reef. They are manually breeding corals to live in inhospitable waters. By doing this, the scientists can then crossbreed their corals to the ones in the reef to help pass down stronger genetic codes and immunity to such harsh conditions. Honestly from reading this article, The Great Barrier Reef is definitely not dead, yet. But if these marine biologists can successfully breed their corals and have them adapt to warmer waters, there truly is a chance for the coral reef. The world is running out of options to save the reef, so this idea is truly splendid. And if done right, The Great Barrier Reef can make a big comeback.
ReplyDeleteI chose to read the news.com article and it was saying that due to the worst mass bleaching ever the Great Barrier Reef has died. It had a variety of species was very unique, however 22% of them have died off due to the bleaching. 22% is a very large number of the population to have disappeared. The Great Barrier Reef was 25 million years old and now it’s dying. The reef is commonly referred to as the world’s largest living thing but it is actually made up of billions of tiny organisms. Probably the reefs organisms and species will slowly start to fade far more than just 22%. Eventually there will be almost nothing living at the reef after more years.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was “Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016)” by Rowan Jacobsen. In the article it claimed that the 25 million year old Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away from an illness. I learned that it was the world's largest living structure for most of its life, that just amazed me since it has lived for so long. It's home to many species of fish, mollusk, coral, dolphins and whales. It took a huge part in the community without it the surrounding ecological community wouldn't have existed or be what it is today. The reef isn't necessarily dead but it's getting there, as oceans are absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere, it's more acidic and that acid is dissolving the living reef. In 1981 the water temperatures went insanely high which caused ⅔ of the coral of the inner portions of the reef to bleach. Unless the temperatures go back to normal who knows how long the reef is going to be around.
ReplyDeleteIn the American Scientist article, it is stated that since 1985 over half of the Great Barrier Reef has died. The Great Barrier Reef, a 1,400 mile long reef which can be seen from space is without a doubt dying, or, more accurately, being killed. Some people say that it is already dead which is not the case. Though through global warming and rising acidic levels in the surrounding waters have caused harm to the Great Barrier Reef, scientist in Australia, such as Madeleine van Oppen, have been working to perform assisted evolution to keep the Reef alive. They are working on breeding coral that can withstand the new harsh qualities that are killing the Great Barrier Reef and using them to keep it alive. While the Great Barrier Reef is in danger, there are people working to keep it alive and I don't think there is cause to be worried.
ReplyDeleteFrom The Great Barrier Reef’s last great hope. The Great Barrier Reef which spans about 135,000 square miles reigns as the world’s largest living structure. It houses hundreds of species of coral and thousands of other types of marine animals. In the past 27 years from 1985-2012 half of its coral has vanished. Some causes of this is climate change and water quality. A research facility in Australia called the National Sea Simulator have planned to manually breed supercorals capable of living in the increasingly inhospitable sea in hopes of restoring the sea. I don’t think the Reef’s are completely dead, I think they just need a little help living.
ReplyDeleteI read "Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016)" which was the first site posted. The Great Barrier Reef was home to 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 species of mollusk, 450 species of coral, 220 species of birds, and 30 species of whales and dolphins and was stretched along 1,400 miles. The reef was made up of coral that relied on algae to thrive. When the algae that they relied on was dying, the entire GBR started to decline. The reason for the deterioration of the Great Barrier Reef was actually due to humans emitting excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The excessive amounts of carbon dioxide raised the overall temperature of the atmosphere (global warming) which caused the algae to produce too much oxygen which is toxic when large amounts are produced. Therefore, a chain reaction of the coral starving because the algae were dying was creating along with a catastrophe known as "bleaching". Many scenarios when bleaching wiped out species have happened in the past, but not to the extent that happened in 2016. Now, we have created a situation that is irreversible and caused the true "death" of the GBR.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Barrier Reef is not dead. Scientists are causing the whole problem with the Great Barrier Reef to be even worse by dramatizing and over playing the situation making it seem impossible to solve. I read the article on Huffington Post which did definitely focus on the dark side of the problem. The Great Barrier Reef has no doubt been hit pretty hard but considering it's absolutely massive size, there is still fight left. Some of the coral should be able to adapt at the pace of the problem, but it might require the aid of genetic engineering. I’m not worried about the willingness of people to help out because The Great Barrier Reef is an amazing tourist attraction for Australia so they would not want to lose it.
ReplyDeleteI used: http://www.outsideonline.com/2112086/obituary-great-barrier-reef-25-million-bc-2016
ReplyDeleteThe Great Barrier Reef was recently declared dead by environmentalist it was around 25 million years old when it recently “died” in 2016.
The research showed that the coral on the reef died due to the worst mass bleaching event on record. The GBR harbors 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 species of mollusk, 450 species of coral, 220 species of birds, and 30 species of whales and dolphins. The reef was also home to one of the world’s largest breeding ground of green turtles. The reef was dying from the extreme rise in water temperature. Also the coral was becoming bleached. When reading I found that there is nothing further we can do about the global warming killing the reef, because the reef is too far gone or in other words “dead”.
I read the Huffington Posts article titled, “Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists.” This article was centered around the fact that dead and dying are two different things. Once the Great Barrier Reef was diagnosed with it’s illness, many people gave up. One news source even wrote an obituary years and years ago. All of these newspapers and websites are saying that the Great Barrier Reef is dead when really it isn’t. It definetly endured a severe blow after the last bleaching, but it made it out alive. Workers at the Great Barrier Reef are actually offended because all of these rumors are swarming all over the place. I think if we keep a positive attitude and continue to keep it alive, we can bring the Great Barrier Reef into what it used to be.
ReplyDeleteI read the article “Great Barrier Reef pronounced DEAD in 2016: How death is here after 25 million years.” It was talking about how it was declared dead after 25 million years due to a mass bleaching. The article said that 22% of the coral on the reef died. This was home to many living organisms and now they are in danger. However scientists say that the coral can come back to life if the water temperature changes because this has already happened in the past. But the coral reef won’t be the same anymore even if it does get saved.
ReplyDeleteI read the Huffington Post article, and I'm quite sad, yet hopeful. No, the coral reef is not dead, but 22 percent of it has vanished because of bleaching. This is quite sad, but there's hope. I myself had read the article that stated the coral reef was dead and I was devastated. But upon finding out that this article was innaccurate, I was furious. Now anyone who's seen that article has probably given up, not knowing that we can still try and save it. I hope we'll find a way to save them all, but I bet recycling and not dumping waste into our oceans could help not only the coral reef, but the rest of the ocean as well.
ReplyDeleteDead? No use of the word 'dead' in Salon.com's article "The Great Barrier Reef's Last Great Hope". Rather, writer Anne Sneed chooses to use 'vanished', 'bleak' and 'grim' to describe the state of the GBR and its future. The article states that "in the past 27 years, half of the GBRs coral cover has vanished." And "the GBRs future looks bleak." Again, no mention of dead. The article holds climate change, with warmer and more acidic waters, as the reason for coral 'loss'. I feel Sneed purposely does not include 'dead', because she does not feel the GBR is dead....yet. The article focuses on assisted evolution of super corals and the hopes being placed in it to restore the GBR corals. Assisted evolution is a manual breeding of corals that will hopefully be able to survive and thrive in the GBR's changed climate. This article, along with the blogs of my peers referencing the other articles, brings me to the opinion that the GBR is not dead. With increased awareness, research and assisted evolution, I feel the vanished areas of coral in the GBR can thrive again.
ReplyDeleteAfter thoroughly reading the Huffington Post article, Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists by Chris D’Angelo, I can conclude that the Great Barrier Reef is not dead. In the article it states that only 22% of the reef has died. That's 1 third of the Great Barrier Reef, which means that 2 thirds of the reef is still alive, even if it's hanging on by a thread. This doesn't mean the rest won't die, but it doesn't mean it will. If Australia were to try and fix the problem, maybe the reef will not die but as of right now, they haven't done anything to help which leaves the question. Will the great barrier reef die?
ReplyDeleteI find it very sad to see such a beautiful place die. The Great Barrier Reef was home to thousands of animals, and it is sad to see it go. But I kind of feel like it was sort of our fault. Somewhere in the ocean, there is a trash island that I have heard is more than a mile long. And animals like sea turtles go to see what it is and they consume our trash, and they die from it. This was very sad for me to hear.
ReplyDeleteafter reading the huffington post, i realize that the great barrier reef is not dead but it is dying. the article says that only 22% of the reef is actually dead. this means that most of the reef is still alive. yes it is in a great struglle, but it is not dead yet.
ReplyDeletein the article i read (The Great Barrier Reef dead at age 25 million) I learned that the Reef died this year at the age of 25 million from a long illness of bleaching. I did find it really interesting that you can see it from outer space. the Reef is much larger than I thought too, it was home to 1625 species of fish, 3000 molluscs, and 30 different types of whales and dolphins. Overall the Reef seemed to be the "Father land" for sea creatures and will be catastrophic if its no longer fit to support life
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the News.com article, I can conclude that the Great Barrier Reef is, unfortunately,dead. The Article explains that the reef had been 25 million years old and had eventually died this year. It had been effected by a huge bleaching which ended up killing it. Not all of it had died though, only 22% did. But that is enough to make a big enough impact. I think there is enough left to possibly recover, but that goes against what most scientists have said so I wouldn't be surprised if it never recovers.
ReplyDeleteI read the article from news.com and it was very interesting. It showed how all of the life and species of the Great Barrier Reef is not dead. It said how the life is affected because of the worst mass bleaching in history. The situation has affected many organisms but they want to believe that it has not come to an end even though a person said "that the Great Barrier Reef died in 2016, it was 25 million years old". 22% was affected but the other 78% we like to believe will always live on.
ReplyDeleteThe article that I read was Obituary: Great Barrier Reef(25 Million BC-2016). This article talked about some of the background information about the reef. What I gathered from this is that the the Great Barrier Reef is not totally dead yet. The Great Barrier Reef could totally be saved. The article just says that the coral was bleached because the algae was ejected out. If there is no algae(which is the food) the coral will die. So far the Great Barrier Reef is mostly bleached but if we make an effort to save it, such as bringing in algae for the coral to eat, the Great Barrier Reef could be saved.
ReplyDeleteThe great barrier reef home to many living organisms has suffered from a very terrible bleaching. Bleaching is when stress is put on the relationship between the coral that forms the reef and the algae that gives the coral it color. The algae is expelled from the coral and it turns completely white. If the coral is left without food for long it will die. After this major bleaching 22% of the reef has died because of it. The reef is not dead and is far from it but is on that road if things don't change.
ReplyDeleteI read the article from news.com stating that after 25 million year the Great BArrier Reef is dead. Home to 1600 different fish 3000 molluscs and 30 different types of dolphins or whales the reef has been destroyed due to bleaching. About 85% of the deaths occurred in a 400km span in the reef. The reef is located of the coast of Australia in Queensland and stretches 400 miles long. This lingering illness has been around the reef for awhile so scientist Rowan Jacobsen explained that it was bound to happen soon.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read from The Huffington Post, stated that the Great Barrier Reef is not dead. It showed that 22 percent of the reef died due to the belaching, the rest of it may be in need of help, but is not yet dead, it is dying. Many scientists, including Russell Brainard, have said that the Reef is only on its way to death. The article stated that overall, there were many mistakes in the article originally published stating the Reef's death, that since they are not true leave the Reef only close to death.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, the title of the article I read seemed to be misleading, it could've been improved if they squeezed "premature" in there. Now onto the main discussion, the Great Barrier Reef is experiencing what might be the extinction of over 1600 species of fish, 3000 molluscs, and 30 different types of whales and dolphins. Now this is alarming at the very very least not only considering the biodiversity the Reef is home to, but think of the ecosystems that'll be effected by the loss of such a huge biome. People do not honestly realize the severity of the issue, what if those fish go extinct? Will it impact the same things that produce our oxygen? Maybe it'll affect the food our livestock eat, in which case it would be devastating. No one has thought of the consequences and now the entire world is paying the price.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Ruiz
ReplyDeleteI read the huffington posts article on the death of the barrier reef on how it's been 6 months since th worst coral bleaching on recorded history. Which is horrible because
The massive backlash that the environment could be facing due to the reefs own ecosystems collapse it's quoted as a ," illness" that destroyed the 420 miles of life.
The article I read was "The Great Barrier Reef is ‘dead’ at the age of 25 million years". After reading it I learned about how the reef lies off the coast of Queensland and can be seen from outer space. It also is home to 1625 species of fish, 3000 molluscs, and 30 different types of whales and dolphins and is commonly referred to as the world’s largest living thing but it is actually made up of billions of tiny organisms. This was very important piece of nature that was destroyed by human activity. When I read this I realized how much of an impact humans have on our planet. This reed had lived through 25 million years worth of distaster and then it is destroyed by simple human error. I believe that this is a problem that we need to deal with immediately or it can spread. The reef being destroyed can lead to a chain reacting that will be very bad for the ecosystems around it and also possible the entire ocean. If we don't deal with this now, humans could be the prime reason for the destruction of our planet.
ReplyDeleteI read the article "Obituary; Great Barrier Reef" and it become very apparent to me that we are killing this wonder. The reef was widely known as the most diverse ecosystem in the world. It came to fame in 1770. Then it never left many scientists would travel from around the world just to see the "labyrinth". But due to human error the giants death is coming very quick. Bleaching is a huge problem and it is becoming very apparent. This is risking 1625 species of fish, 3000 species of mollusk and 450 species of coral. It is very disappointing that us humans could let this huge area just be damaged over and over agian yet the reef is not totally gone we will still have to have everyone put a little something in to save such a Beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteI read the article published by the Huffington Post, Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists. This article claims that only 22% of the reef was killed by the bleaching. However, the reef is still in trouble, and pretty much doomed to die. The only thing we can do is watch and wait. The only thing left for the reef is tourism, much of the ecosystem revolved around the reef will disperse. According to the article, the reef is gone.
ReplyDeleteI read the article " Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists" by the Huffington Post. The article starts out explaining how a article in Outside Magazine that claimed that the Great Barrier Reef had died was misunderstood by many people. The article in the Huffington Post then goes on to explain how bleaching events have devastated the Great Barrier Reef. But despite this , three quarters of the Reef are still alive, but in need of desperate help. Yet other news sources picked up this misconception, also claiming that "the Great Barrier Reef declared by scientists as dead" despite this not being accurate. But thanks to this bleaching, whether "dead" or not, the great Barrier Reef is in desperate need for help.
ReplyDeleteI read the article “Obituary: Great Barrier Reef”. In the article it explains how important the great barrier reef is to our world. With 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 species of mollusk, 450 species of coral, 220 species of birds, and 30 species of whales, it is more biodiversity than all of Europe combined. Could you imagine what it would be like to lose such an important ecosystem? The article also explains the horrible mass bleachings that are going on in The Great Barrier Reef. These bleachings are caused mostly as a result of global warming which is causing the ocean to become more acidic. Bleaching is when algae is ejected from coral because too much Oxygen is being released. If all of the algae is gone than the coral will not have any oxygen left to survive.More than 50% of the reef has already died off. I don't believe that the Great Barrier Reef is dead yet, but if we don't do something soon the results could be irreversible. Losing such an important ecosystem could have extremely bad aftereffects. Our world relies on a balance. Every ecosystem relies on a another ecosystem in some way. If just one of those ecosystems were removed, there is no telling what could happen. With such an important ecosystem falling, the effects could be especially catastrophic.
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.outsideonline.com/2112086/obituary-great-barrier-reef-25-million-bc-2016
I read the article on news.com.au titled "The Great Barrier Reef is 'dead' at the age of 25 million years after 'worst mass bleaching on record.' This article explained how 'great' the Great Barrier Reef was. It said how it stretches across 2250 km which is crazy big. It said that it was home to 1625 different species of fish which is unthinkable and many more species of other sea creatures. Something so big and something that has lived for so long was finally overwhelmed by the bleaching. I can't believe this happened because the Great Barrier Reef is so old and is so huge. I found this article very informational and interesting and it is crazy that this happened.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the post made by the "Outside Online" I learned that despite the fact that the reef is the largest attraction in Australia, some may even say it is Australia's Crown Jewel, the Queensland government still tried to lease nearly the entire reef to oil and mining companies in the 1960s—a move that gave birth to Australia’s first conservation movement and a decade-long “Save the Reef” campaign that culminated in the 1975 creation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which restricted fishing, shipping, and development in the reef and seemed to ensure its survival. A quote from Veron's book "A Reef Time" says "No one knows if a serious effort at the time could have saved the reef,but it is clear that no such effort was made."
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