1. Ocean acidification impacts on Bangladesh.

Basically, when carbon dioxide is absorbed by seawater, chemical reactions occur

which reduces pH level of seawater, carbonate ion concentration, and saturation
states of biologically important calcium carbonate minerals. On the other side, Bay
of Bengal, the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian
Ocean. Bangladesh is situated at the head of the Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal is a
reservoir of lot of marine species specially shells, coral reefs and many sea fish and
mammals. The effect of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and organisms
that inhabit them has only recently been recognized and is of serious concern to
scientists and policy makers involved in climate change, biodiversity and the marine
environment. Fossil-fuel combustion releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere,
leading to a warmer climate. Increasing atmospheric CO2 is changing the global
ocean’s chemistry, as one-fourth of the anthropogenic CO2 is absorbed by the ocean.
In addition, ocean absorbs CO2 from the respiration and breakdown of dead organic
matter. When CO2 dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, decreasing both
ocean pH and the concentration of the carbonate ion. The historical trends analysis
showed an increasing water temperature with a decreasing pH levels over the
period which may lead substantial effect on the biodiversity of the Bay of Bengal.
Ocean acidification could affect marine food chain and substantially change the
marine biota which is huge threat to global protein supply and food security for
millions of people, including the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. Acidification
can affect marine organisms, especially to those that build their shells and skeletons
materials from calcium carbonate, such as species of corals, oysters, clams, mussels,
and snails The ocean acidification refers to the process of lowering the oceans’ pH
levels which results coral bleaching, slow growth and decrease coral species
diversity. Moreover, feeding and spawning areas of reef inhabiting aquatic species
may be reduced which ultimately lead to dramatic loss of fisheries biodiversity An
increased CO2 causes reduction in water pH which also reducing soil pH and
responsible for the damage of mangrove vegetations.

Ref: https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2015-049.pdf
https://www.omicsonline.org/scientific-reports/2157-7617-SR-699.pdf
https://www.oceandocs.org/handle/1834/9683

2. Coral bleaching
 Coral reefs are not just beautiful, brightly colored backgrounds for serene snorkeling
experiences they are vital to life on earth. The stunning colors in corals come from
marine algae called zooxanthellae, which live inside their tissues. This algae
provides the corals with an easy food supply thanks to photosynthesis, which gives
the corals energy, allowing them to grow and reproduce. When corals get stressed,
from things such as heat or pollution, they react by expelling this algae, leaving a
ghostly, transparent skeleton behind. This is known as ‘coral bleaching’. Some corals
can feed themselves, but without the zooxanthellae most corals starve.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef made headlines in 2016 for all the wrong reasons. Part
of the world’s largest coral reef had been turned almost white by warm seas and
other stressors. The shocking sight drew worldwide attention to the process of coral
“bleaching”.

Bleaching occurs when water temperatures and other stressors are too extreme and
disrupt the symbiotic relationship between the coral and the single-celled colorful
algae which live inside them, causing the algae to be expelled and the white coral
skeleton to become visible. Coral technically an animal not a plant can survive
bleaching, but it is a sign of extreme stress and in the worst cases bleaching can cause
the catastrophic loss of large areas of coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef benefits
from a wealth of cores extracted by scientists over the past four decades, giving a
unique opportunity to understand patterns in past growth and bleaching, which can
be identified from groups of successively very small bands in the coral skeleton. This
new approach to reconstructing bleaching has allowed us to look back beyond the
observational record, to reconstruct 400 years of bleaching along the Great Barrier
Reef. Over the past 400 years, the time span covered by our cores, Great Barrier Reef
corals have shown evidence that they can recover from widespread bleaching events.
However, since the 1800s, both the number of such events and the number of corals
involved have increased, indicating they may not be able to cope well with sustained
increases in temperature, and are possibly reaching a tipping point. Future studies
would benefit from longer cores, allowing us to look further back in time.

Around 67 percent corals of the Saint Martin's Island have been bleached to death
and the rest are likely to be damaged if pollution and non-regulated navigation
continues, reveals a survey finding. “Save Our Sea” (SOS), a research and advocacy
platform run by Organization for Social Orientation, conducted several studies and
surveys from November 2013 to March this year to build an ecological profile and
prepare conservation management plan for the island. Some of the key findings of the
studies were presented in the “2nd Marine Conservation and Blue Economy
Symposium” earlier last month at the capital's Brac Centre Inn. The event was
organized by SOS in cooperation with Mangroves for the Future and the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh. According to recent data
released by SOS, the number of sea turtles visiting the island to lay their eggs has
drastically declined. The island had only 17 successful nesting of sea turtles in 2015-
16 nesting season. It is one of the major nesting sites in Bangladesh for sea turtles
and the locals say that before tourism started the numbers were in thousands every
season.

Corals under water in Saint Martin's Island are being damaged and destroyed by
global warming, unplanned tourism and over exploitation. Global climate change
creates a high risk to the population of coral reefs in this area. The major threats to
coral reefs are most frequent cyclones, storm surges, and high levels of sedimentation
and beach erosion. Rise in sea temperature and ocean acidification, both linked to the
global warming. Coral reefs are dependent on an alga species, which lives
symbiotically in corals body and produces food by photosynthesis. When the
temperature of sea rises above 30 degree, the coral ejects the algae colony and
consequently it starves. With the removal of the algae, it loses color and appears
white, which is known as coral bleaching. Coral reefs have already experienced major
mortalities because of high-temperature events. Moreover, coral reefs are susceptible
to human activities since the majority of coral reefs grow in shallow waters which are
near shores where human activities are the utmost. Human impacts such as
increased sediment load, population stress, shipping, careless tourism, pollution,
habitat destruction, overfishing and development along shorelines have dramatic
adverse impacts on the coral population, and it require a much more time for the
coral reef to recover.

Ref: http://theconversation.com/the-great-barrier-reef-has-been-bleaching-for-at-
least- 400-years-but-its-getting-worse-101691

https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/the-corals-st-martins-peril-1248553