The Ivory Tree Coral Extinction And Solutions To Preserve

There are factors that should be considered before a decision is made to either save or let a species go extinct. Some of those factors include if they are helpful to humans, or if they provide for other organisms. One factor that should be considered is if the species provides an economic benefit. A species might be the cause for a lot of the tourism in a country. If a country's economy was based on tourism because people want to see a certain animal, and that animal went extinct the economy would suffer. For example, bison are well known in Yellowstone National Park. If the population of bison was to go extinct not as many people might go to Yellowstone. Yellowstone wouldn’t have as many visitors and might suffer without enough people visiting and without enough money. Another factor that can be used to determine if a species should be saved is if that species provides building materials. Some species are “valuable” because they provide us with building materials. Humans are always building more houses, office buildings, and stores.

Lumber is one of the main resources that humans use for building. If we were to cut down too many trees, and not let them grow back, we would run out of wood. If we ran out of wood we wouldn’t be able to build what we need to. In order to ensure humans have building materials forests and trees need to be protected. A species could be considered valuable if it provided resources to humans. Humans need resources such as food, which certain animals can provide. Humans need food, and one way we get food is by fishing. However, if we were to eat too many fish, to the point where the species was almost extinct, we wouldn’t have enough food. With a growing population, it is important to make sure out food sources are stable (and we aren’t overfishing). If too many of our food sources were dramatically reduced, or pushed to extinction, humans would suffer. That is why factors such as if a species provides humans with food should be considered when determining if a species should be saved.

Ivory tree coral is a species of coral that primarily grows off the coast of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Sea. This type of coral is slow growing, delicate, and forms colonies that can be up to 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide. The ivory tree coral serves as a fish and invertebrate habitat. The coral provides shelter and a “home” for ocean life. Over 300 species of invertebrates have been found living in ivory tree coral. The ivory tree coral should be protected and preserved because it serves as a shelter for sea life. If the ivory tree coral was to become extinct many animals would no longer have a place to live. Without a place to live organisms would die, and if the organisms that lived in ivory tree coral died other sea life would also be affected. The ivory tree coral is a keystone species, so its death would have a major and disastrous impact on the ecosystem. There are several threats to the ivory tree coral survival including, climate change, coral disease, and humans. When temperature rises (due to climate change) coral expel all the algae living in their tissues. This causes the coral to turn white and die, a process called coral bleaching. Like other organisms coral can also be affected by diseases.

Coral disease leads to the deterioration and death of coral. Infectious microbes, bacteria, or viruses, along with extreme temperatures, toxins, and nutrients can all lead to diseases among coral. Humans are also major threats to ivory tree coral. Fishing, coral mining, and ocean pollution are all caused by humans, and they all cause damage to coral. When fishermen cast their nets into the ocean they get their nets stuck in coral and break it. When pollutants enter the water they often cover coral reefs. Pollution damages the algae living in coral and lowers the water quality. Pollution also cause coral to be more vulnerable to catching diseases.

To save the ivory tree coral we should enforce the use of safer nets that won’t get caught in coral so easily. We should also impose more regulations on ocean pollution. A criteria for success of the plan will be if the number of damaged and dying ivory tree coral decreases, and there is moderate to high growth of ivory tree coral the plan will be successful. The constraints of the plan are that it will be difficult to ensure that all fishing boats and companies are using the correct nets. It will be challenging to make sure the plan is actually being enforced. There is already a budget put aside by the United States Government for Marine Conservation. That budget is $4. 967 billion dollars, however the plan will only use a small fraction of that budget. The plan mainly consists of new and enforced regulations, so there aren’t safety concerns that need to be considered. As far as reliability, as long as the use of different nets and regulations on ocean pollution are enforced, this plan should be reliable and able to work. My plan would also have other environmental impacts. My solution would benefit many ocean organisms. The use of fishing nets that don’t catch unwanted organisms (coral, dolphins, turtles, etc. ) and reducing pollution will help all ocean life.

While some species may appeal to our hearts and sense of beauty, not all organisms can be protected. Some species are less valuable or less important than others, and when it comes to deciding if they should be preserved we need to consider the value of that species. Out of the scrub mint, Mexican long nosed bat, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and the ivory tree coral scrub mint and vernal tad pool shrimp shouldn’t be preserved. However, the Mexican long nosed bat serves as a pollinator and the ivory tree coral serves as a core fish habitat, and should be preserved. On a scale ranking what species should be saved, ivory tree coral would come first followed by the Mexican long nosed bat. Third is the vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and finally scrub mint. Out of the scrub mint, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, Mexican long nosed bat, and ivory tree coral, we decided to save the ivory tree coral. We are saving this species because it serves as a habitat for many fish and invertebrates. If the ivory tree coral were to go extinct fish would lose a habitat and die. If many fish were to die it would affect the whole food chain and ecosystem.

The solution proposed (to enforce safer fishing nets and less ocean pollution) would also help the whole ecosystem. The reduction of pollution would not only cause less coral disease, but it would also freshen the water for other ocean life. The use of nets that wouldn’t trap ocean organisms would decrease deaths from animals getting stuck in them. As long as the regulations are maintained and enforced the solution should be a success. The ivory tree coral serves as an essential habitat for ocean life, and the solution proposed will benefit the ocean as a whole.