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| Male', the capital of Maldives http://www.letsgomaldives.com/maldives/the-capital.html |
The reefs of Maldives create habitats for marine life and fishing and tourism industries for humans, unfortunately, these beautiful reefs are at risk (welcome, 2012). These ecosystems are as fragile as they are unique and unfortunately solely dependent on the present conditions of the Indian Ocean. But with the water temperatures increasing there are detrimental consequences to the entire foundation of the ecosystem. The biological impacts of warming on the corals are severe and devastating, and have actually been seen in several severe El Niño events (Edwards, 2001). These events have been associated with widespread bleaching events that leave barely any individual unharmed. Observing the consequences of these events can help scientists predict the expected results that climate change will have on the tropical corals of Maldives.
Maldives is a glorious place with shockingly blue waters that seem unreal. The country is located in the middle of the Indian Ocean and is formed by a collection of 26 reef made islands known as atolls (Welcome, 2012). It is an extremely popular tourist destination especially to the diving community due to its warm and constantly crystal clear waters that allow for magnificent sights of over 3,000 coral formations of every color and shape imaginable( Welcome, 2012).
These reefs are essential to the citizens of Maldives economically because of the money that tourism brings in as well as a variety of food obtained from the fishing industry. The destruction of the reefs will not only hurt the economy with tourism but also increase the amount of erosion of the shore by waves. Reefs stand as a barrier around the islands which cause waves to break and lose energy before they hit the shore (Allison, 1999). As the reefs become fragile and fall apart it allows the waves to break with more force increasing the amount of erosion on the beaches. This also plays a big part in the protection of the islands during tropical storms and hurricanes (Allison, 1999). The islands will become more vulnerable to this natural disasters causing damages to increase and recovery more difficult.
These reefs are essential to the citizens of Maldives economically because of the money that tourism brings in as well as a variety of food obtained from the fishing industry. The destruction of the reefs will not only hurt the economy with tourism but also increase the amount of erosion of the shore by waves. Reefs stand as a barrier around the islands which cause waves to break and lose energy before they hit the shore (Allison, 1999). As the reefs become fragile and fall apart it allows the waves to break with more force increasing the amount of erosion on the beaches. This also plays a big part in the protection of the islands during tropical storms and hurricanes (Allison, 1999). The islands will become more vulnerable to this natural disasters causing damages to increase and recovery more difficult.
