Endangered species - Caribbean Corals

Caribbean corals, like many other species too, are dying off, and this could significantly change marine ecosystems and have tremendous negative effect on ecological balance under the sea. Mostly because of climate change and warmer waters this beautiful creatures have even become candidates to be marked as "critically endangered".

Coral reefs habitats are areas of amazing biodiversity and their extinction would mean extinction of many other species that rely on coral reefs for shelter and reproduction and complete change of under sea ecosystems. Climate change and warmer water are the most serious threats to these creatures, but sadly there are also some other influential factors threatening their habitats such as coastal pollution, human development, overfishing, smothering by sediments caused by soil erosion, severe hurricanes from climate change.

So what is the solution for coral reefs preservation? The only possible answer could be formation of marine protected areas since these areas would mean minimum human impact, however this is only the partial solution because of the thermal stress caused by global warming that affects their growth in all habitats, whether protected or not.

So the only real solution for their preservation is (like for many other species too) global action against climate change. Unfortunately so, this global action hasn't yet started in many parts of the world despite some notable efforts, and coral reefs aren't certain to survive.

Beautiful Caribbean corals