• Research Paper on:
    Hawaiian Islands' Coral Reef Ecology

    Number of Pages: 8

     

    Summary of the research paper:

    In eight pages the coral reefs of the Hawaiian Islands are examined in terms of their ecology. Six sources are cited in the bibliography and an abstract of 1 page is also included.

    Name of Research Paper File: D0_TJHwcor1.rtf

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    Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
    barrier reefs among the windward islands, and are also less diverse than many other coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific. Despite this however, the Hawaiian coral reefs ecology, divided into  four zones based on the depth and distance from the shore, does have a diverse assortment of corals, plant life, invertebrates and fishes among larger species which live among the  reefs. The ecology of the coral reefs in Hawaii is divided up into the reef flat zone (0-2 m from shore) which is most affected by terrestrial run-off and heavy  wave impact; the reef bench zone (2-10 m) which has the largest diversity of coral, fish, invertebrate and plant species, the reef slope zone (10-30 m) in which finger coral  is the dominant coral species; and the rubble zone (30-40 m) which is primarily coral fragments, rock and sand which provides a habitat for lobe and finger corals as well  as sea cucumbers and an assortment of fish. Coral reefs in Hawaii provide a vast amount of revenue for the area at well over $250 million annually in the areas  of commercial and recreational fishing and tourism. Like many of the coral reefs around the world however, the coral reefs in Hawaii are being damaged by a combination of natural  and manmade events. Industrial, nutrient and fresh-water run-off kills the coral closest to the shore and allows for the spread of coral-killing algae after which recovery of the reef takes  a great deal of time. In addition, increase in global water temperatures has led to coral bleaching which in some areas the reefs show little sign of recovery. Coral  reefs are considered as the "tropical rain forests of the sea" because of their creative and diverse ecological systems. Coral reefs are also considered as important economic resources and in 

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