An ecosystem refers to a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. An example of an ecosystem susceptible to vulnerability and resilience is the Great Barrier Reef which, is an under – pressure environment that has displayed this as a direct result of human induced modifications and natural stresses. Vulnerability refers to the measure of the extent which a community, structure, service or geographical area is likely to be damaged or disrupted. Whereas resilience, refers to the ability of a system to maintain certain functions, processes or populations after experiencing a disturbance. This is largely due to natural influences that place strain on an ecosystem known as natural stresses. The Great Barrier Reef has also been exposed to a number of natural stresses which include; cyclones and coral bleaching. Human induced modifications have also largely affected the Great Barrier Reef which is evident through Tourism and Jet skiing.
The Great Barrier Reef (shown in figure 1) comprises of more than 2900 and 940 islands as well as covering an area of approximately 348,000km squared which is larger than the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Netherlands combined. In 1981, the importance of the Great Barrier Reef was acknowledged as it was listed as a World Heritage Site. As a result of this, different management strategies were developed in order to maintain the significance of the Reef. However, any human activity on the reef, along the shore and even on the land, has potential to affect this diverse and fragile ecosystem. This is illustrated in figure 2; (statistics on human induced stresses and how this has directly affected the reef. This highlights that there is a clear correlation between human induced stresses and vulnerability, which directly leads to loss of coal and thus, damages the ecosystem. Due to the fragility of this ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef has been distorted to the extent where the reef discovered in 1768, is almost unrecognisable from the reef today. This is highlighted in figure 3, where multiple instances of human – induced stress have stopped the reef from progress. https://savegbr.weebly.com/timeline.html
All ecosystems are vulnerable to some extent. Depending on how small a change is needed to upset the equilibrium. The interdependence of the elements causes an ecosystem to be vulnerable. Whilst all ecosystems may all be vulnerable, the extent to which they are is varied. The factors which make certain ecosystems more at risk are; location, extent, biodiversity and linkages. For example, location is a significant factor to the vulnerability of an ecosystem as the greater the degree of specialisation an organism has to a particular set of environmental conditions, the more vulnerable the reef becomes. In addition, the extent is also a prominent factor in an ecosystem’s vulnerability the smaller the variety within an ecosystem the less vulnerable it is to loss. Whereas the reef has high diversity with over 1500 species of fish as well as facilitating for a number of rare, threatened and endangered species, this makes the reef more vulnerable to human induced stresses and natural stress.
Scientists have discovered that there has been periodic infestation of the crown of thorn starfish during the past 6000 – 8000 years, with human induced modifications to the great barrier reef having a significant role of this infestation. Examples of these human – induced stresses include; overfishing, trawlers catching many unwanted natural species as part of them by catch which may remove many natural predators of the starfish in their larvae stage. As well as excessive nutrient runoff from farms to rivers and sediment runoff from eroded banks caused by humans. The issue that arises as a result of the rate of change is that the coral in the Great Barrier Reef has low elasticity, meaning that it could take up to 15 years to reach its pre-infestation levels.
The high rate of biodiversity in the Great Barrier reef ecosystem allows the reef to cope with significant change. However, some changes cannot be adjusted to due to the high rate of specialization prevalent within the GBR ecosystem which is evident within the rise in water temperatures, with all corals being adversely affected by an increase in temperature. In addition, chronic stressors such as the aforementioned degraded water quality as well as increased sea temperatures, acidification can affect the Great Barrier reef’s reaction and thus, reduces reef resilience. For example, it is noted that “extreme weather events have shown that acute stress can result in the morality of marine animals […] such as dugongs and turtles in the Great Barrier Reef.” This statement by Climate Commission in 2014, demonstrates that chronic press – type influences such as tainted water quality, have been shown to reduce resistance to stresses. Overall, addressing chronic pressures in the system, such as poor water quality, will be a key management strategy for enhancing ecosystem resilience to future change.
Maintaining the Great Barrier Reef’s prestige can be achieved through both traditional and contemporary management strategies. Traditional management strategies focus on using marine terrestrial resources in an ecological way. Whereas, contemporary management strategies refer to various strategies that will resolve the issues experienced, and how they plan to resolve them. These strategies are of vital importance to the maintenance of the reef in the face of natural and human induced stresses that they are directly and indirectly exposed to.