A general overview of coral reefs threats under accelerated anthropogenic climate change
By: Víctor Hugo Hernández-Elizárraga ¹ The oceans are an amazing part of the planet Earth. They support a wealth of marine wildlife, but unfortunately, they are being impacted by anthropogenic climate change. The increasing greenhouse gas emissions are challenging marine ecosystems that are already stressed by overfishing, land-use change, environmental pollution, and human development. Climate alterations are affecting a wide variety of marine species such as fish, polar bears, sea lions, seabirds, penguins, plankton, and corals. One of the ecosystems most affected by accelerated anthropogenic climate disturbances are coral reefs. For thousands of years, coral reefs all over the world have offered support to humans, and today they continue to be essential for our survival. Despite constituting only 0.1% of the ocean surface, coral reef structures are unique ecoregions that provide diverse benefits to the earth’s population. These ecosystems represent an important source of ...