RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012 www.PosterPresentations.com The Great Barrier Reef is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. It is the largest reef system on Earth. It is on the verge of being listed as a World Heritage in Danger Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This is due to the industrialization and natural climate changes occurring. Not many people know much about the Great Barrier Reef and why it should be preserved. Its natural wonder is one of its kind and it seems as if not many care to stand up against those who put it in danger, because they are simply not informed of what is going on. Natural storms and climate changes already take their toll on the reef. Human interactions do more harm than good when dealing with the Great Barrier Reef. The best way we can help preserve the Great Barrier Reef is to strictly enforce regulations on any human activities which damage it. ABSTRACT The Great Barrier is recognized as the largest natural structure in the world. Its vast existence can even be seen from space. The Great Barrier Reef stretches over 14 degrees of latitude. The intricacy of the formation of reef amazes all of its visitors. It is home to hundreds and thousands of different marine wildlife. In 1770, a voyage under the command of James Cook, a British Royal Navy Captain, was the earliest documented encounter of humans with the Great Barrier Reef (Great Barrier Reef, 2014). Cook’s documented discovery resulted in the international scientific community knowing of its existence. Several explorers after Cook began to survey the rest of the reef and collected and documented information. Although Cook’s voyage had been the first documented human encounter with the Great Barrier Reef, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are native to its waters and land. There are around 70 clan groups made up of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders currently occupying the Great Barrier Reef. They have lived in this region for tens of thousands of years, ever since the majority of it was above sea level. Over 20 thousand years ago, glaciers from the end of the Ice Age melted causing hills in the northeast of Australia to turn into islands. In 1975, the Great Barrier Reef Park Authority was formed to protect it from any damaging activities. The Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders assist them with helping preserve the Great Barrier Reef. A world organization called UNESCO claimed the Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage Area in 1981, which meant that it now belonged to the world (United Nations Educational, 2014). A zoning plan was put into effect to control the location of certain activities. This is to ensure that no serious damage is done to the reef and its occupants. INTRODUCTION Corals are animals which make a calcium carbonate skeleton. They have a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae. Approximately 600 soft and hard corals grow all over the Great Barrier Reef. Climate change has risen the temperature of the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, which has caused the bleaching of corals. The reason they bleach is because of the the zooxanthellae being stressed out as they are sensitive to high temperatures. This causes the algae to turn white and no longer support the corals by providing food. Hard corals help build the reef. Over time, the polyps of hard coral will create a new base by detaching and secreting a new basal plate on top of the old one. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is deposited and the coral grows. All corals have the ability to retract their polyps to help protect them from predators or unfavorable lighting and water conditions. Over the past several years, Crown of Thorn Starfish have been destroying the coral population of the Great Barrier Reef. It had been responsible for a 42 percent decline in the coral population. Recently, the government gave permission to the culling of the Crown of Thorn Starfish whose population has boomed due to a pollution run off into the reef. 250,000 of these starfish have been destroyed by a single injection which gives a killer allergic reaction that kills the starfish within 24 hours (AAP, 2014). In 1998, 50 percent of the corals were bleached mainly due to rising water temperatures that stress them. In 2002, a 10 percent increase was observed in the bleaching of corals. A 2013 study shows that only 44 percent of the corals in the great barrier reef are healthy, which means there has been an improving difference in the health of the corals (GBRMPA, 2014). CORAL There are over 15000 species of fish that occupy the Great Barrier Reef. The main families of these fish are Angelfish, Butterfly Fish, Surgeon Fish, Cardinal Fish, Clown Fish, Damselfish, Gobies, Groupers, Cods, Parrotfish, Sharks, Triggerfish, Trout and Wrasse. There are visitors who feed these fish inappropriate food. Aside from the fishes’ health risk involved, uneaten food adds more nutrients to the water. This is harmful because this will grow more algae than normal and can harm corals. Angelfish are one of the most numerous species. There are over 80 species of Angelfish throughout the reef. Butterfly fish are vibrantly colored with a FISH OTHER ANIMALS Whales, dolphins, dugongs, birds, sea turtles and sea snakes are also residents of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is home to the largest population of dugongs. As of 2011, the dugong population has been declining due to the natural damage done to seagrass which is their food source. Floods and heavy rain destroy the delicate seagrass which can take up to 10 years to grow back (Pearlman, 2011). There are 6 of the 7 species of sea turtles living in the Great Barrier Reef. 3 of the 6, Loggerhead, Olive Ridley and Leatherback are endangered while the others are vulnerable. The three types of birds are Land, Sea and Shore birds. The Great Barrier Reef is an important breeding area for sea birds as it homes 50% of the Australian Black Noddy specie. It also has more than 25 percent of Australia’s tropical breeding population. There are 17 different species of the sea snakes. Only 15 of these species are venomous, but are normally not aggressive. There are about 30 species of dolphin and whales. The humpback whale has been labeled as a vulnerable specie but is beginning to recover its population. Two species of the dolphin, Australian snubfin and Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins are the more protected out of all the others due to their natural areas they inhabit being where there’s much human activity. INDUSTRIALIZATION On December 15, 2013, Australia’s Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, Gregg Hunt, has permitted a coal port to be built in the surrounding waters of the Great Barrier Reef (Zubrzycki, 2013). This has risen great concerns as marine life is sensitive to environmental changes. Supporters of this decision believe that the regulations put into place will protect the reef from any damages. The support stems from a $80bn debt the Australian state, Queensland has. A projection of 60 million tons of thermal coal will annually be produced. This would generate billions of dollars in revenue to Queensland. The coal terminal will be located at Abbot Point, while dredging will take place right through the Great Barrier Reef to provide passages for ships transporting the coal mainly to Asia and India. Currently, dredging has already taken its toll in Gladstone Harbor as many fish and other marine life have died from the large amounts of sediments clouding the water. The Commonwealth Minister is taking actions to resolve the problem. REFERENCES 1. Zubrzycki, J. (2013, December 15). Australia approves coal port near Great Barrier Reef. Christian Science Monitor. p. N.PAG. 2. United Nations Educational. (2014). Retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154http://www.greatbarrierreef.org.au/gladstone- dredging-project-not-consistent-with-best-practice/ 3. Pearlman, J. (2011, Aug 12). Ecological crisis looms for great barrier reef. The Straits Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/883058067?accountid=38871 4. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.(2014) Current Conditions on the Reef. Townsville, Australia<http://www.gbrmpa.com.au> 5. Great Barrier Reef.(2014).History of the Great Barrier Reef.Townsville, Australia<http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/history.php> 6.AAP (2014, Apr 22) Starfish killer injection saving reef.AAP General News Wire Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1517994233?accountid=38871 By: Joeferson Gawaran The Great Barrier Reef dominant color of yellow. They have thin bodies to navigate through rocks to eat polyps and algae. Cardinals are elusive and have homocercal claudal fins. Clownfish are brightly colored and have been popular since the movie Finding Nemo. They have a symbiotic, mutual relationship with anemones. Damsels are one of the most common species found in the Great Barrier Reef. Despite their small size, they are very territorial. Gobies are the smallest species of fish. They are mainly bottom dwellers and are a main food source for predators. Groupers and Cods are some of the largest species but are harmless to humans. They can weigh up to 800 lbs. Parrotfish resemble parrots by their beak-like mouths which bite off coral for food. They grind the coral with their teeth and later excrete it as sand which helps in the development of the reef. The White-tipped Reef Shark is the most common specie. Tiger sharks are on top of the food chain as opportunistic predators. Qualia.(Apr 2014).[Photo of Great Barrier Reef from bird eye view].Retrieved from http://www.qualia.com.au/great-barrier-reef Packtoholiday.(Apr 2014).[Photo of fish in the Great Barrier Reef].Retrieved from http:/www.packtoholiday.com Blueplanetcustodians.(May 2014)[Photo of coral in the Great Barrier Reef]. Retrieved from http:/www.blueplanetcustodians.com Greatbarrierreefinfo.(Apr 2014).[Photo of sea turtle in theGreat Barrier Reef].Retrieved from http://www.greatbarrier Reef.com.au