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The impact of the recent Asian tsunami on ecosystems from Indonesia to East Africa will take a long time and significant resources to assess. The first major report Status of Coral Reefs in Tsunami Affected Countries: 2005 has just been completed and confirms the earlier predictions about likely damage, made on this page, as follows:
There is likely damage to the structure and function of the coastal ecosystems (coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses, estuarine mudflats):
* The physical structure has been damaged by the force of the wave itself, physical removal of flora and fauna and increased sediment load which will have killed sediment sensitive corals and sea grasses by smothering. The extent of this damage is being assessed and will likely vary considerably depending on the local topography and hydrology.
* Chemical changes have included saltwater intrusion, eutrophication (enrichment) of the water resulting from increased runoff, raw sewage and decomposition of flora and fauna including unrecovered bodies. There will be the slower decomposition of timber from mangroves, fishing boats and buildings.
* Non biodegradable waste such as plastics has contributed to a build up in marine debris.
* Toxic wastes, which were inadequately stored, may have been dispersed, as has been reported on beaches in Somalia.
* Exotic (introduced) species used for aquaculture have escaped.
Finally, the biological structure of the ecosystem could be disrupted as various species at different trophic levels were differentially removed. With the structure altered, ecosystem functions could be altered. |
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