Coral reef protection

Coral reef protection is the process of modifying human activities to avoid damage to healthy coral reefs and to help damaged reefs recover. The key strategies used in reef protection include defining measurable goals and introducing active management and community involvement to reduce stressors that damage reef health. One management technique is to create Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that directly limit human activities such as fishing.

It takes approximately 10 thousand years for coral polyps to form a reef, and between 100,000 and 30 million years for a fully mature reef to form.

Differences in exposure to wave patterns create a variety of habitat types. The coral need a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae algae in order to build a reef. The ocean water contains relatively little beneficial nutrients that the coral can utilize. The single celled algae derive their nutrients by using photosynthesis, and the coral provide shelter to the algae in return for some of the nutrients. Coral receive their vibrant colors from the different species of zooxanthellae that inhabit them. Zooxanthellae populations can die with changing environmental conditions, causing the coral to lose color, known as coral bleaching.

Coral reefs provide a variety of services to humans and other species. These include providing habitat for fish and other marine species, destination sites for marine tourism, grounds for subsistence, recreational and commercial fisheries, medicinal substances and shoreline protection from storms.

The coral reef ecosystem provides habitat to over 9 million species covering approximately one fourth of marine life. Its three dimensional structure provides hiding places for fish, shrimp and clams. Coral itself is consumed by species such as parrotfish. It provides a hunting ground for predators.

Coral reefs houses plants and animals that produce chemical compounds that have found use in human medicines. As early as the 14th century, the medicinal properties of coral reef dwelling species were utilized. Antiviral extracts and tonics continue to be studied and toxic compounds such as neurotoxins discovered in coral reefs have proven beneficial as painkillers. The limestone skeleton of coral has been tested and used for human bone grafts, due to its porous nature and has a lower rate of rejection than artificial bone graft materials.

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