Intro to Marine Biodiversity

Throughout my life, I have been immensely passionate about animals and the entirety of the natural environment. I've spent countless hours hiking and exploring, catching lizards and reading animal books to broaden my understanding of the world around me. I have consistently been inspired to protect the natural world so as soon as I discovered the tremendous problems afflicting the planet, I have been compelled to solve them. Here is a brief outline of some of these issues and the effects they may have on ecosystems. I hope they will help you to protect the oceans too! (Note: Marine biodiversity is “the variety of life in the sea” encompassing all life, from the very small to the very large)

Causes of the Loss of Marine Biodiversity:

• “Hunting mammals, birds, turtles; toxic chemicals and nutrient pollution; habitat destruction; the human-assisted transport and release of species to environments where they did not previously exist; and possibly, the increased ultra-violet radiation due to ozone layer depletion” in addition to global climate change can cause changes to occur in the ocean and cause organisms to die.
• Chemicals released by humans can cause many organisms to perish upon consuming the toxins. Additionally, organisms that can adapt and survive take over the ecosystem and change it, potentially contributing to the death of more species.
• Commercial fishing depletes wild populations and some species, such as white abalone in California, are almost extinct because of it. Dragging nets along the sea floor destroys ecosystems and if they are used continuously, they prevent them from being quickly restored.
• “Residential development, tourism, aquaculture, industrial development, and dams” have massive impacts on coastal habitats like wetlands and estuaries which tend to be breeding waters for many species.

Effects of the Loss of Marine Biodiversity:

• If migrations or routes animals must travel to find a mate are disrupted, they will not be able to breed and genetic diversity will decrease.
• When the number of organisms in a population is diminished, there is less genetic diversity and it is harder for species to adapt to environmental changes. Thus, the likelihood of their extinction is increased.
• Many marine species are isolated to a single area so if something happens, they can easily be wiped out.
• Once one species perishes, others will follow because species are interdependent and depend on one another for survival. Thus, ecosystems can crumble and can affect species that humans depend on for food.

http://www.seaweb.org/resources/briefings/marinebio.php

Through the rest of these blogs, I will focus on specific issues and their solutions and discuss why they are not being addressed like they should be.  Some of the problems I will primarily focus on are:

•       Overfishing and harmful nets
•       Shark finning
•       Coral bleaching and ocean acidification 
•       Climate change

All of these issues will have tremendous effects on not only oceanic species, but human life as well. However, they can be lessened with a diligent effort to do so!