Coasts Gateway 2 (How people use coasts) Flashcards
HUMAN ACTIVITIES: Fisheries
D: Areas where fish are bred and raised to meet the growing demand for the fish. This is done through aquaculture whereby fish farmed close to coasts through the use of cages, and ponds.
Ex: In Ca Mau, Vietnam, the province is the nation’s shrimp production centre. More than 60,000 hectares of coastal mangroves are cleared for shrimp production, and they are waterlogged to provide favourable conditions for shrimp production.
A: The removal of mangroves causes these places to be vulnerable to erosion from storms. The ponds also generate waste, causing pollution and contamination of the ponds, causing marine life to die.
HUMAN ACTIVITIES: Housing and Transportation
D: Housing: Accomodation provided for people in areas in which they people live.
D: Transportation: Different facilities in which people can use for moving around for these communities
Ex: In Kukup Malaysia, located at the west of Malaysia, is a place with stilt house communities. It is an attractive tourists destination because of fishing communities providing sales of marine products, together with ferries to transport people around the area.
A: Waste that is produced in the housing area may be disposed into the waters, causing marine life to consume them and die. The removal of mangroves to build the houses also causes deforestation, increasing chances of erosion.
HUMAN ACTIVITIES: Tourism
D: Toursim refers to the temporary movement of people, primarily for leisure or recreational purposes, which are activities which are done for enjoyment when one is not working.
Ex: In Sentosa, Singapore it is a resort island occupied by a chain of sheltered artificial beaches on its southern coast. There is an intergrated resort, Resorts World Sentosa, on the north of the island. It has hotels, museums and marine life park on the coast. There were 19 million tourists who visited Sentosa in 2011.
A: People may pollute the oceans by throwing rubbish, which may pollute the waters and cause marine life to die. The presence of a floating platform also causes changes in the coastline due to longshore drfit.
CORAL REEFS: What are they?
D: A coral reef is a structure that develops at, or slightly below the sea level on the seabed, made up of thousands of coral polyps, which secrete rock-like deposits of calcium carbonate to protect the polyp.
VALUES OF CORAL REEFS
- (Habitats)
Coral reefs act as habitats for many marine creatures, allowing them to breed and grow, supporting the ecosystem there. Marine creatures that live around reefs provide food for larger creatures. For example, parrot fish graze on the living coral polyps and larger fish and mammals also prey on smaller creatures. - (Coastal protection)
Coral reefs absorb wave energy, thus protecting the adjacent land mass from erosion as the wave height and erosion energy of the waves decrease.
(DExA) PRESSURES ON CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS: Overcollection of corals
D: Collection of coral reefs to a large extent by tourists for personal or commerical use which causes depletion of corals
Ex: In Philippines, many tourists collect such corals as souvenirs and keepsakes, leading to the loss of corals in the ocean, Some 98 percent of Philippine reefs are classified as threatened, with 70 percent at high or very high risk.
A: As corals are collected in large numbers as people do not consider the negative impacts it does to the environment, it weakens the corals, further affecting the ecosystem of marine creatures who rely on coral reefs as habitats.
(DExA) PRESSURES ON CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS: Fishing methods
D: The use of dynamite blasting and cynaide to stun fish, as well as practicing spearfishing.
Ex: In the market in the city of Makassar, Indonesia, an estimated 10 to 40 percent of the fish are caught using dynamite blasting to provide ease of catching fish, causing 60% of corals to be destroyed
A: Due to the strong impact of the blasts, nearby corals are destroyed, causing the loss of habitats for marine creatures. Slelective depletion of fish populations disrupts food chains in ecosystems. Spearfishing of parrot fish which feed on algae on corals causes increase in algae growth that affects corals.
(DExA) PRESSURES ON CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS: Recreational use of coasts
D: Tourism activities such as the unplanned expansion of coastal resorts to accommodate to tourist numbers, as well as the anchoring of boats at jetties.
Ex: In Sri Lanka, where water activities such as kayaking, yachting, water skiing, scuba diving
A: Sewage waste is created and may be discharged into the waters where the coral reefs are at, and together with oil spills from boats, water in the area is heavily polluted, causing corals to feel stressed as the oil prevents light from penetrating the waters and reaching the corals. The anchoring of boats may also damage and kill the corals.
(DExA) PRESSURES ON CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS: Coastal development
D: Reclamation and extension of land areas by dumping rock and sand onto reefs. The expansion of coastal resorts and urban housing to cater to larger tourist and need for housing increases likelihood of more waste being disposited into the sea.
Ex: In Japan, land reclamation is practiced, whereby sediments such as sand are dumped into the sea to provide more land for touritst activities (same as recreational use of coasts). In Florida, USA, the development of urban houses increases the liklihood of more waste being deposited into the sea.
A: The dumping of waste into the waters, together with the sand causes corals to be suffocated and feel stressed, and they will be destroyed.
(DExA) PRESSURES ON CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS: Climate Change
D: Rapid changes of the sea temperature and sea levels as a result of varying climate may be faster than the ability of the corals to adjust and adapt to the new environment
Ex: In Seychelles, coral reefs experience rising sea temperatures, causing them to be threatened
A: Higher sea temperatures results in a loss of algae, and this causes coral bleaching whereby the corals become completely white, causing them to die due to inability to produce food from the lack of algae
CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH OF CORAL REEFS
Favourable conditions:
- (Salinity) Average seawater salinity of 34 to 37 parts per thousand
- (Oxygen) A moderate amount of movement of water ensures that corals receive sufficient levels of oxygen
- (Temperature) Sea surface temperature not lower than 17-18 degree celcius
- (Water depth) Clear saline water between 10 and 60 metres deep allows sufficient sunlight to penetrate, allowing for algae to photosynthesise
- (Turbidity) The turbidity of water, which refers to its level of murkiness, is low enough to allow sufficient sunlight to penetrate.
Unfavourable conditions:
- (sediments) Sediments present in the waters such as sand and rock may suffocate the corals
MANGROVES: What are they?
Mangroves are salt tolerant tropical or sub-tropical plants which grow in conditions that most plants are unable to, growing in tidal mud on sheltered coasts
ADAPTATIONS FOR MANGROVES: Prop Roots
Prop roots anchor the trees firmly to the soft muddy ground, ensuring that the tree will not be swept away by stong waves
ADAPTATIONS FOR MANGROVES: Aerial Roots
Aerial roots help trees breathe and are thin and pencil-like, taking in oxygen during parts of the day when they are not submerged in water.
ADAPTATIONS FOR MANGROVES: Kneed Roots
Kneed roots help to trap soil between their roots, the soil contains nutrients which are essential for plant growth
