The 2008-2009 THEME WAS: “CORAL REEFS:
NATURE’S UNDERWATER CITY”
With this new theme for 2008-09’s poster contest students
have studied why coral reefs are regarded as “nature’s underwater cities.”
The reefs harbor countless fish species large and small, providing a hard
foundation for plants and animals to build upon. In addition many consider
them to be second only to tropical rain forests as incubators and
protectors of biodiversity.
They discovered that today,
man-made forces like pollution, global warming, and destructive fishing as
well as natural forces like hurricanes and ultra violet radiation have
disrupted the delicate balance of coral reef ecosystems putting the coral
reefs in danger.
Over a quarter of all marine
fish are found in reefs and estimates of fish productivity suggest that
reefs provide 10% to 15% of the total worldwide catch. Reefs occupy only
around 600,000 square kilometers, less than 0.2% of the ocean surface,
making their biodiversity and productivity many times greater than other
marine ecosystems.
Over 110 nations around the
world are working together to help regulate and protect coral reefs so
that our oceans can thrive with these beautiful and amazing cities for
millions of years to come.
From all over Florida students
entered their creative posters and in the process they have reached out to
their community. Their winning poster art won 7 of the 16 places in this
year’s contest with the National Division including students from
California to New York. We believe students teach adults! This is FSDA’s
outreach to students and marine ecology.
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