Abstract:
Recently, some of human activities had been extended significantly to contribute in greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, and so that it will affect the world climate changes and it is well known as “global warming”. Some influences
of the global warming are sea surface temperature increase (El Niño) and mean sea level rise.
Coral reefs are well developed in tropical shallow waters, which are directly influences by global warming.
Usually, temperature mean increased above the normal level and can cause some corals damage and death, which occur
along the El Niño moment, and cyclone hurricane (Lena cyclone). One of the El Niño indications effect is if there is occur
massive bleaching of coral (more than 50% coral death). There are two predictions from sea level rise effects to the coral
reef ecosystem are: first, if it still in limit of tolerance, coral reef can hold out and grow up (to keep up) but the requisition is
the coral reef systems are not violated by human activities. Second, if it passes over for growing tolerance (40 cm/century),
it will cause a great disappearance of coral reef. The other impact is the increasing acidity of the waters as a result of the
increasing concentration of CO2. This phenomenon implied to the other coral and other calcium producer fauna, where the
coral skeleton structure will face fragility and will slow down the growth of the coral.
A number of indirect effects of the climate changes will be increased to development of coral reef in the next
century, these are: storm and rainfall (short-term catastrophic of coral communities); elevated surface water temperature
(lead to occurrence of coral bleaching frequently); and eutrophication enhance (reduced of calcification rate, trophic
structure changed, and bio-erosion increased).
