UNESCO Site: Great Barrier Reef, Essay Example

The Great Barrier Reef is an ecosystem located off of the north-east coast of Australia that has the largest collection of the words coral reefs. In addition, it has great biodiversity as there are over four hundred different types of coral there in addition to 1,500 species of fish and four hundred types of mollusc. Scientists have a vested interest in the region because various endangered species such as the dugong, or sea cow, and the giant green turtle reside in this marine habitat yet are primed for extinction. Thus, the Great Barrier Reef is the most extensive marine ecosystem in the world, which is why the Great barrier Reef is rendered so important on a macro scale. The entire marine ecosystem was added to the World Heritage List in 1981, and it covers over 348,000 square kilometers that extends along a contiguous area. The reef extends over a wide range, which includes the shallow inshore locales, outer reefs, and mid-shelves, as well as beyond, extended more than 2,000 meters. The seascapes and landscapes contained within this reef provide quite spectacular scenery along the littoral, as it is comprised of an amalgam of reefs that wary in size, shape, and species therein. The biodiversity of species within the reef showcases the interconnectivity of marine ecosystems, and not other natural site on the World’s Heritage list contains such a wide arrangement of diversity. Various endemic species contained in the reef are endangered or threatened for extinction, which is why this reef is the only on that is listed on the World’s Heritage list today.

There are various reasons why the Great Barrier reef is included on the World Heritage list. It is considered to be of supreme beauty both below and above water, thereby offering some of the most awesome natural beauty witnessed on the earth. It is one of very few man-made or natural structures that can be seen from outer space that appears as a mosaic of various reefs connected together, and it appears to be a complex matrix of oceanic structures located along the northeast coast of Australia. Various colonies of marine turtles and sea birds breed on the various cays contained in the reef, and aggregates of butterflies can also sometimes be spotted. Below the surface of the water there is ample diversity of flora and fauna species that provide vivid natural panoramas for visitors. Superlative natural phenomena can be witnessed at this reef, including nesting turtles, migrating whales, coral spawning that occurs on a yearly basis, and important spawning aggregation of certain types of fish species. The sheer length of the coral reef–it extends over two thousand kilometers along the coast of Queensland–provides an example of a marine ecosystem on a global level that has profoundly evolved over a protracted period of time. The locale has been flooded several times by glacial cycles, yet over 15,000 years reefs have continued to grow on the reef’s continental shelf. Thus, the Great Barrier Reef showcases how environmental history can be recorded in nature itself within the cores of the oldest coral contained therein. The reef contains diverse flora and fauna that reflect pervading environmental, geomorphic, and oceanographic processes that continue to be impacted by ecological processes such as migration, upwellings, and larval dispersion. It remains a breeding site for sea turtles that have been threatened for extinction for decades. The sheer enormity and diversity of this natural preserve have merited its inclusion on the World Heritage list.

The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by both natural and anthropogenic processes, which is why it remains on the World Heritage list. Indeed, it contains the most diverse flora and fauna in the world and provides a breeding ground for some of the most endangered species in the world. Over time, the accretion and erosion of the coral reefs has transpired, and similar processes have taken place around the continental islands nearby as well as on the coral cays and sand banks. Human interaction with the Great Barrier Reef is conveyed by the persistent links between the sea country and the aboriginal peoples living nearby, which is evident by the fish traps and various shell deposits that are present in the region. This site must be maintained because of the magnificent diversity of terrestrial and marine species that are contained, many of which retain global currency within conservation efforts.

Works Cited

Bell, Peter. AIMS: The First Twenty-five Years. Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 1998. Print.

Bowen, James and Margarita Bowen. The Great Barrier Reef : History, Science, Heritage. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.

Done, T.J. “Patterns in the distribution of coral communities across the central Great Barrier Reef“. Coral Reefs, 1.2(1982): 95–107. “Research Publications”. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Hutchings, Pat, Kingsford, Mike, and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg,(2008). The Great Barrier Reef: Biology, Environment and Management. United States: CSIRO Publishing, 2008. Print.

Lucas, P.H.C. The Outstanding Universal Value of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 1997. Print.

Mather, P. and I. Bennett, I. (eds). A Coral Reef Handbook: A Guide to the Geology, Flora and Fauna of the Great Barrier Reef (3rd ed.). Chipping North: Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Ltd, 1993. Print.