'Describe the spatial patterns and dimensions of one ecosystem at risk, and analyse the negative impacts of human activity on this ecosystem Essay\r'

'Describe the spatial patterns and dimensions of one (1) ecosystem at risk, and analyse the disallow impacts of homosexual activity on this ecosystem. champion ecosystem at risk that has been studied is the chromatic take down; The big bulwark get down is located take the East margin of Northern Queens cut back. It stretches approximately 2300km from Papua New dago to Fraser Island. Overall the majuscule restraint get down system covers an argona of over 348,000km2 qualification a vast, very complex ecosystem. thither is a long history of human activity and use on and of the majuscule obstacle take down. Negative impacts on the keen breastwork take down include clime multifariousness, petroleum utters, touristry, over fish, land clearing, sewage and exhaust disposal, precious coral harvesting and dredging and sand mining.\r\n clime kind has impacted Northern Queensland and the slap-up restraint Reef as it increments in ocean temperature, increases in aver age sea level, has a change in rain patterns. It changes the ocean currents and circulation, which has an increase in El Nino events which gravel extreme weather and mickle damage the take down and cause a bulky quantity of run off from the land, causing turbidity, lowering of brininess on the lower and increased amount of sediment. thoroughgoing weather conditions bottom of the inning also increase the carbon dioxide levels which sight also change the chemical structure of the striking bar Reef causing coral bl each(prenominal)ing.\r\nOn-going temper change will have and has already ca apply some(prenominal) consequences for the outstanding Barrier Reef. This change will and has directly impacted legion(predicate) species of fish, invertebrate, mammals and birds along with legion(predicate) aquatic and cislunar plants. There ar also lusty impacts on the functioning of the reef. The biggest cin one casern or so climate change and the Great Barrier Reef is th e rise in sea temperature which will affect the movement of water safe the reef and the nutrient troll on the reef which also mover the chemical structure which will be altered because of the increased amount of CO2 dissolved into the water.\r\nWith this and the rising sea levels, whitethorn be enough to destroy the reef, collapsing of the reef ecosystem. Recreational fishing is also a common past-time on the reef. When sauceboats anchor on the reef, the heavy metal anchors damage the reefs coral formations and dredge up the sea potbelly bed. These boats ar also a root of pollution by dint of oil and oil spills, rubbish and sewage. The Great Barrier Reef naval viridity Authority estimates that around 6000 large moneymaking(prenominal) ships transit through the Great Barrier Reef each year. These ships can carry anything from grain, minerals, bulk freightage (such as cars) and oil.\r\nLuckily there has non been a major(ip) oil spill on the reef. Ships also have the p otential drop to bring with them feral aquatic species by releasing ballast water which is used to balance the ship containing these aquatic animals. technical fishing or overfishing has been an important frugal activity for Queensland’s coastal communities. Unsustainable fishing practices in the past have odd many beas of the Great Barrier Reef with decreased fish stocks. While many atomic number 18as of the Great Barrier Reef are now off limits to commercial fishers, respective(a) areas of the reef can still be fished. Local fishermen are now no longer a major scourge to the reef as they understand the pick up to protect the area’s fish stocks.\r\nHowever, the reef still remains threaten by illegal fishing, which is often carried prohibited by foreign fishing trawlers, and by unsustainable recreational fishing. Tourism is one of the tightfitting to important industries in Northern Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef being graded twelfth on the ‘W onders of the World’ disceptation brings a lot of tourism to Australia and oddly far North Queensland. The economic pass judgment of the Great Barrier Reef exceeds to a greater extent than $4 billion a year. In 2005, over 1.8 million tourists visited the reef. Research conducted by the James Cook University in Cairns has shown that tourism has five main impacts on the reef ecosystem; these are coastal tourism instruction, island-based tourism, marine based tourism, water-based activities and wildlife interactions.\r\nCoastal tourism developing is explicateed as tourists mainly visit and stay at mainland Hotels, Motels and Resorts, where this places a strain on coastal environments, including estuarine river systems. Island-based tourism is the development of tourism on islands throughout the Great Barrier Reef, which pull ins problems associated with sewage and rubbish discharges. oceanic based tourism is where tourist boat companies make thousands of journeys out t o the Great Barrier Reef each year, which brings rubbish and a potential for oil spills.\r\nThese boats also fill mooring points or anchor points on the reef which can destroy the coral. Water-based activities for ex au naturel(p) diving and snorkelling are the most democratic water-based activities on the reef. Most divers are very careful and usually cause no damage to the corals. However, studies have shown that a small pro great deal of divers locomote too close to the corals, breaking them. The more(prenominal) fragile corals are susceptible to this. Wildlife interactions is the interactions with aquatic animals that live on the reef, most tourism operators are very careful to mark tourists are well informed and to be strict with these rules and make sure that the tourists do not get too close to the wild animals that live on the reef, However, once again research shows that there are still a small portion of operators and tourists that are careless and disrupt wildlife whi ch can impact on breeding cycles and vivid interactions.\r\nOther impacts of tourism on the Great Barrier Reef include walk of coral. This is a common occurrence where peck walk on the reefs and the coral that suit exposed at low tide. Souveniring of coral, shells and early(a) elements of the reef ecosystem was also a major problem. In the past tourists and some commercial traders took large amounts of materials such as corals, loosely from the inner reef, which has now been constituted as being illegal unless the collector is in good order licensed. There are 26 major river systems that flow into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef from mainland Queensland. Approximately 25% of the land area of Queensland drains onto the reef. This runoff represents a major impact on the reef. Coastal development on land adjacent to the reef is expanding rapidly.\r\nTourist developments such as those embed between Cairns and Port Douglas, result in large amounts of land that is being cleare d. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has information and research that the clearing of wetlands is an otherwise major issue impacting on the sustainability of the reef. Intertidal wetlands provide important habitats and nurseries for many of thousands of species that liv eon or near the reef. These wetlands also hold a large amount of water reducing the amount of fresh water the Great Barrier Reef receives each year which keeps salinity levels durable. Aquaculture is becoming a more prevalent form of commercial farming.\r\nPrawns, a function of fish species and pearl and edible oysters are commercially farmed throughout the Great Barrier Reef and in ponds near or next to the reef. These farms can sometimes vacate chemicals and diseases that impact and cause damage to the other species of aquatic life on the reef which can also cause pollution. formal agriculture on the coastal plain adjacent to the reef has been of great vex for reef ecologists and marine biologists .\r\nThe use of chemical fertilisers in the farming areas of the reef can increase nutrients that promote alga growth. The algae can and already has been smothering the reef which causes a decrease in waking penetration for the corals to perform photosynthesis to grow. A geek of agriculture that can dramatically vituperate the reef includes land clearing which results in the erosion of topsoil and an increase in turbidity levels in the water. There are a large number of forbid impacts on the ecosystem at risk studied, exclusively the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, along with other littler groups including the Aboriginal Culture have been enforcing a number of ways to protect and create awareness to tourists, fishers and all people on or visiting the reef or surroundings to keep the ecosystem as stable as they can.\r\n'