Tropical Conservation & Ecology

I know it's science but bear with this one! Along with my other business classes, I opted to take a Tropical Ecology & Conservation class as an elective. I am thrilled about this choice because it is a fantastic resource for learning more about not only the environments within Thailand, but also methods of protecting the world in which we live. This week we are discussing corals, and will be taking two trips to Koh Chang and Ko Sak within the next month to scientifically test and explore these tropical corals and ecosystems, so that we may play our part in keeping their environment alive and well.

Corals are the hard, variously colored, calcareous skeleton secreted by marine polyps. They are valuable to the natural environments of Thailand, as well as countless ocean areas all around the world. Corals provide significant scientific insights to, for example, nature of symbiosis, evolution and animal behavior. They also are the protectors of shorelines and provide a diverse habitat for thousands of sea creatures. Yet, in order for these coral communities to grow, they require sunlight! This sunlight cannot be environmentally provided with an abundance of pollution! As a global community we must play our part to stop heavy tourism and destruction of our world, and of our coral reefs and oceans. When visiting coral reefs, be sure to go through a sustainable dive operator and other tourism businesses.

More about keeping our coral: ----> http://coral.org/