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    John Osborne
    Over a 20-year period from 1979 to 1998, the number of coral reef areas showing bleaching off the coast of Australia increased. El Niño events, which cause increased water temperatures, corresponded with spikes in coral bleaching. If El Niño events increase in frequency as scientists predict, coral bleaching is also likely to increase. Removing the Sargassum algae canopy from reefs led to higher percentages of coral bleaching at both Goold Island and Great Palm Island, with bleaching increasing more at Goold Island. Abiotic factors like increased water temperature from El Niño and removal of the Sargassum canopy can contribute to coral bleaching. One human impact that could increase bleaching is pollution,

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    Objective

    Uploaded by

    John Osborne
    118 views3 pages
    Over a 20-year period from 1979 to 1998, the number of coral reef areas showing bleaching off the coast of Australia increased. El Niño events, which cause increased water temperatures, corresponded with spikes in coral bleaching. If El Niño events increase in frequency as scientists predict, coral bleaching is also likely to increase. Removing the Sargassum algae canopy from reefs led to higher percentages of coral bleaching at both Goold Island and Great Palm Island, with bleaching increasing more at Goold Island. Abiotic factors like increased water temperature from El Niño and removal of the Sargassum canopy can contribute to coral bleaching. One human impact that could increase bleaching is pollution,

    Original Description:

    Analysing Coral Bleaching Data

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    Over a 20-year period from 1979 to 1998, the number of coral reef areas showing bleaching off the coast of Australia increased. El Niño events, which cause increased water temperatures, corresponded with spikes in coral bleaching. If El Niño events increase in frequency as scientists predict, coral bleaching is also likely to increase. Removing the Sargassum algae canopy from reefs led to higher percentages of coral bleaching at both Goold Island and Great Palm Island, with bleaching increasing more at Goold Island. Abiotic factors like increased water temperature from El Niño and removal of the Sargassum canopy can contribute to coral bleaching. One human impact that could increase bleaching is pollution,

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    118 views3 pages

    Objective

    Uploaded by

    John Osborne
    Over a 20-year period from 1979 to 1998, the number of coral reef areas showing bleaching off the coast of Australia increased. El Niño events, which cause increased water temperatures, corresponded with spikes in coral bleaching. If El Niño events increase in frequency as scientists predict, coral bleaching is also likely to increase. Removing the Sargassum algae canopy from reefs led to higher percentages of coral bleaching at both Goold Island and Great Palm Island, with bleaching increasing more at Goold Island. Abiotic factors like increased water temperature from El Niño and removal of the Sargassum canopy can contribute to coral bleaching. One human impact that could increase bleaching is pollution,

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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    The document discusses coral bleaching, which occurs when coral expels algae due to environmental stress, causing it to appear white. Factors like El Niño events and the removal of the Sargassum algae canopy can contribute to higher rates of coral bleaching.

    The number of coral reef areas showing bleaching has generally increased over the period from 1979 to 1998, as indicated by the graph.

    El Niño events are associated with an increase in water temperature, and the arrows on the graph indicate that coral bleaching incidents tend to increase when El Niños occur, likely due to the elevated water temperatures.

    DATA ANALYSIS QUESTION (OBJECTIVE 5)

    CORAL BLEACHING
    A coral polyp is a marine organism, characterized by a hard skeleton. Coral reefs are colonies of
    numerous individual polyps. Coral polyps often form close associations with tiny plants such as
    algae. The algae, which live within the tissues of the polyp, give the coral its unique colour. The algae
    receive nutrients from their host and provide the host with a food source in return. When coral
    undergoes environmental stress it expels algae from its polyps and the coral appears white. This
    process is called “coral bleaching”.

    The graph below indicates the number of coral reef areas showing bleaching over a 20-year period
    off the coast of Australia. The arrows indicate the occurrence of El Niño, an event that brings effects
    such as an increase in water temperature around the coral.

    [Source: adapted from M Spalding, K Teleki, and T Spencer, (1999), Climate Change and Coral Bleaching,
    UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, www.unep-wcmc.org/climate/climate%20report.htm,
    reprinted with permission of the authors]

    (a) Outline the trend in the number of coral reef areas showing bleaching over the period
    1979 to 1998.

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    (2)

    1
    (b) Discuss the effect of El Niño on the incidence of coral bleaching.

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    (3)

    (c) Scientists suggest that El Niño may be increasing in frequency. Suggest the impact that this
    might have on coral bleaching.

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    (1)

    Sargassum, a variety of brown algae that exists as a floating canopy above coral, was studied to
    determine its impact on the rate of coral bleaching. The graph below shows the percentage of
    bleached corals on two reefs, Goold Island and Great Palm Island, with the Sargassum canopy left
    intact and with the Sargassum canopy removed.

    70 Key:

    60 Sargassum removed
    Sargassum left intact
    50

    Percentage of 40
    corals bleached 30

    20

    10

    0
    Goold Island Great Palm Island
    [Source: J Jompa and L McCook, (1998), Seaweeds save the reef?! Sargassum canopy decreases coral bleaching on
    inshore reefs, www.aims.gov.au/pages/research/seaweed/seaweed-canopy01.html, reprinted with the permission of the
    Australian Institute of Marine Science]

    (d) Identify the percentage of corals bleached near Great Palm Island when Sargassum is left intact.

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    (1)

    2
    (e) Compare the effect of Sargassum removal on the amount of coral bleaching at the two locations.

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    (2)

    (f) With reference to the effects of El Niño and Sargassum removal, suggest two abiotic factors
    which might contribute to coral bleaching.

    1. ........................................................................................................................................................

    2. .......................................................................................................................................................
    (2)

    (g) Suggest, giving a reason, how one human impact might increase the degree of coral bleaching.

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    (2)

    (h) Follow the link and make a summary of the BBC media article, indicating the most important
    information: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34473371

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    (3)
    Total 16 marks

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