Coral Reef Populations

In general, the populations of the coral reef are declining. One of the large reasons for this is because of acidification and acid rain caused by the increased carbon dioxide in the air from combustion of fossil fuels. The reason acidification can be so devastating for a reef is because the extra carbon effects the growth of shells and harms the shelled organisms. It also causes coral bleaching, which kills the coral and the home for the thousands of fish inhabiting the reef. See below.

Other types of ways to identify population growths is logistic versus exponential growth. Exponential growth is the theory that with no carrying capacity, which is determined by both population dependent factors and population independent factors, the species will grow exponentially. However, the more realistic growth curve is logistic because most species do have a carrying capacity in their habitat. Logistic curves show that the population levels out once the capacity is reached. Fish can reach their capacity through a limited amount of shelter for homes or a limited amount of prey, for example.