Biodiversity Depletion in the Coral Triangle: Specifics of the Problem

The detrimental issues associated with the coral triangle are fairly recent.
Not until the post-war era that coral biogeography made its appearance in the scope of marine biogeography.
John Wells was an American Paleontologist who published a table of coral in respect to their locations in the world.
The Coral Triangle itself was introduced in relation to science and fish in 1998. Since that time, it has received a lot of attention from conservationists and other scientific reports.

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Climate change is one of the biggest factors. Sea warming, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification are the results.
If the amount of CO2 goes above 450 parts per million it is severely detrimental to the growth of coral.
Bycatch is also a severe issue in the well-being of the coral triangle.
Overfishing and destructive fishing harm the reefs and kill off fish as well as other animals.

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If the algae gets too hot, it dies, and the coral dies along with it, losing it bright color as well. This is called bleaching.
The rise of CO2 also makes it difficult for the coral to form hard skeletons.
The rising sea level threatens the coastal communities in the coral triangle, along with sea turtles that use the beach to lay their eggs (Endangered animals of the ocean are in harms way).

The Coral Triangle’s resources provide for over 120 million people. The coral environment gives food to the local coastal communities as well as supplying for global consumption.
Fishing is the main source of income for many people living around the Coral Triangle.
Fish population is diminishing faster than the fish’s population can recover. The fish that are in the most global demand in the fish industry are tuna, grouper, and snapper.
Reduce the fishing and tourism industry for local people and threaten their food supply.

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Coral reefs, in general, are very sensitive to warming sea temperature—more so than other parts of the ocean. This is not only a problem for the indigenous people of the coral triangle, but also global populations.
Coral isn’t the only habitat that is threatened; mangroves and sea grasses are also threatened from rising sea levels that accompany the warming of the ocean.
The world will have unhealthy coastal environments if CO2 levels increase at the predicted rate. Human poverty will sky rocket, societies will weaken which will lead people to congregate in urban areas, creating more problems in cities with the growing population.