"The Sixth Extinction" Chapter 7- Matthew Batista

Kolbert talks about her experiences at One Tree Island, an island consisting of coral rubble ranging in size from marbles to boulders. Besides a research station the island was deserted. She then talks about the first European, Captain James Cook, to encounter the Great Barrier Reef and how he rammed into the reef on the Endeavour(120). Kolbert goes on to talk about how Darwin had visited Moorea which was encompassed by a reef and all the marine life he observed there. She talks how the pH of the ocean water around the reef is causing the reef to stop building itself which affects marine life that are in a mutualistic relationship with the reef. This relates to the theme “The Earth itself is one interconnected system” because when you think about these ecosystems all of the animals rely on themselves. Without the coral reef, a myriad amount of other animals can’t survive. For instance, “An Australian researcher once broke apart a volleyball-sized chunk of coral and found, living inside of it, more than fourteen hundred polychaete worms…”(139). Animals are using these reefs as shelter and food. If we continue to acidify our oceans than the interconnected system will be broken and the killing of coral reefs will lead to a greater amount of aquatic species dead.

Coral reefs support thousands of species by providing food and protection. Subsequently, many species have co-evolved with corals. Due to ocean acidification, it is very possible that corals will become extinct by the end of the century. When El Nino occurred in 1997-1998, widespread and severe coral reef bleaching occurred in the Indo-Pacific region and the Caribbean, killing 16% of the world’s coral reefs in just 12 months. Prior to the industrial revolution, underwater reefs had an aragonite saturation state between 4 and 5. However, if current emission intensities remain as they are today, “by 2060 there be will no regions left above 3.5”(137). This will lead to an increase in energy needed for calcification. This extra energy that will eventually be expended on calcification is currently vital to corals, as they use it to recover from being eaten away by marine species and battered by waves.