All posts tagged: rainforest

The Coral Triangle: The Ocean’s Amazon Rainforest

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  (Photo Credit: World Wildlife Fund) The Coral Triangle is rich in diversity and home to iridescent corals, fish, marine plant species and crustaceans. Additionally, it is home to twenty-two species of dolphin and endangered dugongs.  Seventy-five percent of the world’s coral species are found here—nearly 600 different species. The Coral Triangle is considered to be the underwater equivalent of Amazon Rainforest.  The reason being, the Amazon comes as a close rival to the Coral Triangle in terms of species richness.  Essentially, the Coral Triangle, is a hot spot for marine life, as it is home to an astonishing amount of marine species, more than anywhere else.  It is massive, spanning across the ocean, encompassing an area that is half the size of the United States.  This incredibly beautiful and rich in diversity, habitat is an underwater wonderland.  Unfortunately, this incredible are of coral reefs faces a variety of threats, including, pollution, climate change, and unsustainable fishing.  As a result, these threats are inflicting negative effects upon this precious eco-system, such as the degradation of …

The Falling of Trees In a Forest […] Does it make a Sound?

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  Today let’s celebrate International Day of Forests.  At the heart of International Day of Forests it is a “global celebration of forests” it “provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests” (UN). Did you know? “Forests cover one third of the Earth’s land mass, performing vital functions around the world” (UN)  If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?  Yes! The falling of trees -deforestation- is making a big sound.  Nature is speaking, and we need to listen. Forests are vital to our environment, they “cover 31% of the land area of our planet” (WWF).  Most importantly, they are the beating heart and lungs of our planet, so to speak.  Trees produce oxygen, which we need to breathe- to live.  In addition, forests provide a home to many wildlife species, many of which are threatened by deforestation- devastating their natural habitat. Deforestation is jeopardizing our environment.  It impacts a wide range …

Where The Mangroves Grow…

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Mangroves are integral to our ecosystem as they provide a home to juvenile fish, baby turtles and baby lobsters, as well as the West Indian Whistling Duck, White Egrets and our national icon, the Cayman Parrot.  Mangroves not only provide a safe area for fish, crustaceans and birds it also acts as a natural sea wall or barrier protecting our coastline during hurricanes and other storms which pass through our waters.  Perhaps an overlooked benefit of the mangroves is the fact that our Central Mangrove Wetland contributes to rainfall which largely graces areas like George Town and West Bay, which is “40% greater than in the eastern districts” and without this rainfall those areas would not be as blessed with an abundance of healthy trees and vegetation, instead would be dry and have poor soil (National Trust).  The Central Mangrove Wetland covers a total of 8,500 acres, and in a sense it can be considered as our version of a rainforest so to speak.  The Central Mangroves Wetland acts like a rainforest by saturating the …