摘要：Ever since coral reefs exist, changing environmental
conditions have periodically led to their decline. However, within the perspective of geological time-spans,
corals have always managed to re-install themselves.
Today, human activity has enhanced stress factors and
added new ones that cause a rapid and (on the human
time-scale) irreversible decline of many reef ecosystems. The reasons for the disturbance of these complex
communities are multiple, but global warming is a key
factor. As a result, coral reefs lose their vital role of protecting
coastal areas from flooding and storm impact
and of creating habitats for numerous marine organisms. In this short article, natural and anthropogenically
induced stress factors are discussed, and measures for
mitigating or stopping coral-reef decline are proposed.
