Oliver, a marine biology graduate from the University of North Carolina Wilmington , is the director of restoration operations at Coral Vita , a Bahamas-based company that aims to restore damaged reefs by growing and transplanting resilient corals.
Last month the group was honored as one of the first winners of the Earthshot Prize , an award given by the Royal Fund of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — better known as Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Its methods grow coral up to 50 times faster than traditional methods and improves resilience to the impact of climate change," states Coral Vita's Earthshot award announcement.
Along with being a bit of a beach bum, he also fed his marine curiosity by participating in UNCW's MarineQuest program. Oliver credits the school's youth outreach program, which he ended up working at after graduating, as helping nurture his desire to pursue a marine-oriented career. Oliver said Coral Vita is working to help the reefs rebound by collecting live coral fragments and splitting them up into "postage stamp-sized pieces. The growing fragments are then recombined, where they mesh back together.
A starfish may sound harmless, but these venomous creatures voraciously eat coral. Every so often, their numbers spike. Some scientists think these starfish caused over half of the reef damage from to Fortunately, many people are passionate about protecting the Great Barrier Reef. National Geographic Explorer Dr. Erika S. Woolsey conducts research on coral reefs.
Scientists can see damage to the reef over time and take detailed measurements of every nook and cranny—without having to get wet! People around the world can access images of reef structures to study, thereby contributing to our knowledge of the reef. So, is there still hope for the Great Barrier Reef? People are making a determined effort to help, and there are things that you can do right at home.
Because climate change is an important cause of damage to the reef, efforts to fight it matter. In , countries signed the Paris Climate Agreement, committing to work to reduce carbon emissions and taking other steps to address climate change. You can also make changes in your own life to use less energy, produce less waste, choose environmentally friendly products, and be informed.
You can even be a citizen scientist and collect data for scientists if you visit the reef. In a presentation, Dr.
Even though they cover less than one percent of the sea floor, they harbor about a quarter of all marine biodiversity. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society. National Geographic Society. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service.
If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.
Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. Biodiversity refers to the variety of organisms found in a particular habitat. It is important to maintain biodiversity because we rely on it for ecosystem services, which fall into four main categories: provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting.
The earth provides these to us for free and they are critical to achieving a planet in balance. Use these resources to explore the diverse species that exist across the globe, and encourage your students to become good stewards of life on earth. A reef is a ridge of material at or near the surface of the ocean. There are natural and artificial reefs.
Corals are fascinating animals that form reefs. Learn the risks our world's coral reefs are facing and what they mean for our future and the future of the ocean.
Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Image barrier reef Coral reefs like the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, support diverse marine populations in unique underwater ecosystems.
Photograph by vlad
0コメント