Why Coral Reefs Need To Be Protected

And Conserved For Future Generations Essay, Research Paper

Coral Reefs need to be preserved for many reasons. In this paper I will discuss a

few of them. First of all, they houses a collection of diverse organisms, and contribute

fisheries which provide food items such as fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Furthermore,

coral skeletons are being used as bone substitutes in reconstructive bone surgery and may

be able to provide important medicine, including anti-cancer drugs and a compound that

blocks ultra-violet rays, they even help reduce global warming by taking carbon dioxide out

of the air.

These reefs provide a house for many species. If the coral reefs were to become

extinct than future generations would not have the benefits that theses animals have to

offer, such as possible medicines, pest control, and carbon dioxide control.

Fisheries are also contributed by corals and if they were eliminated would reduce

the food source greatly. By not preserving corals, we are taking food directly out of our

grandchildren’s mouths.

With the technology that is rapidly being discovered, we learn more and more about

what we can do with bone structure and hard corals. Right now we are doing

restructuring procedures and learning that bone tissue and blood vessels spread into the

coral graft and eventually bone replaces most of the coral implant. Think about what could

happen in the future, what future generations could do to improve bone structure

disabilities. The possibilities are endless.

There is evidence that suggests coral reefs could potentially provide important

medicines, including anti-cancer drugs and a compound that blocks out UV rays. Do we

really want to take that opportunity away from our descendants? With the ozone layer

depleting more and more each day they are going to need all the protection they need from

the sun’s harmful rays. Possibly a cure for cancer, and people are treating these living

organisms like they are nothing. Maybe if there was more education people wouldn’t take

the subject so lightly.

These organisms not only provide protection from ultra-violet rays they also help

slow down the depletion of the ozone layer by taking carbon dioxide out of the air.

The last reason I have as to why these precious resources should be protected is that

they are a living laboratory. Students and teachers can study the symbiotic relationship

between the coral and the organisms that live within it.

In conclusion, I would like to say that before writing this paper I had no idea how

important coral reefs were to the earth. I have learned a lot and I think that if more people

were informed about the positive capabilities of them, humans wouldn’t be so careless with

them.