Coral reef threats
Natural threats and human-caused or anthropogenic threats.
A natural threat includes weather-related disturbances. A single storm can break or flatten corals, scattering their fragments and wipe out the entire colony. A slight rise of maximum water temperature can stress corals causing them to expel the microscopic organism called zooxanthellae which provide them nutrients and gives colors to their tissues.
Corals are also vulnerable to predators like fish, marine worms, barnacles, crabs and sea stars where they prey on the inner soft tissue of coral polyps.
Water pollution is one of the greatest threats to corals. Dumping hazardous chemicals to the sea is lethal to the colony. Human’s activities like fishing with explosives send dead fish to water surface damaging the living coral reefs. Collection of corals, and careless boating or diving can also damage coral reefs. Furthermore, construction, mining, farming and logging along coats may result to sedimentation where soil run off smothers coral reefs and blocks sunlight which is essential to their survival.