1. Case Study on Coral Reefs and Honey Bees

2. What Are Bees?
The Honeybee is of a group of insects in the family Apidae (order Hymenoptera)
In a stricter sense, honeybee applies to any one of seven members of the genus Apis and usually only the single species
This species is also called the European honeybee or the western honeybee.

3. Where are they found?
Researchers believe that the original habitats of the honey bee are tropical climates and heavily forested areas (egs. gardens, woodlands, orchards, meadows etc.)
As a result of the domestication of honey bees to produce honey for human consumption, they are now found all over the world in different habitats.

4. Uses of Honeybees?
Pollination- As bees move from flower to flower in search of nectar, they leave behind grains of pollen on the sticky surface, allowing plants to grow and produce food.
Honey- Honey is used as an ingredient in meals, baking and drinks. It has been used a folk medicine for millennia.
Beeswax- Beeswax is flammable and has been used to make candles for a millennia. It also acts as a sealant to prevent air and moisture from metal tools.

6. Threats to Honeybees
Parasitic tracheal mites- They are a big problem for bees. These mites are so small that they can invade a bee’s respiratory system. As the mites grow bigger and bigger, they cut off the bee’s air supply and make it impossible to breathe.
The Varroa destructors – They are another mite that hurts bees. They live on the outside of a honey bee’s body, feeding on the bee’s hemolymph (a bee’s version of blood). These mites can cause Colony Collapse Disorder, which makes bees sick, disoriented and unable to find their way back home.
Pesticides- Some farmers use chemicals called pesticides to protect their crops. However, in certain circumstances, these chemicals can cause some serious health problems to insects like bees, including nervous system failure, muscle spasms or even death.

8. Protection of Honeybees
Start a flowering garden and help put back some of what's been paved over by planting your own small garden. This provides the honeybees with a habitat.
Plant native flower species. Pollinators like lupin, clover, bee balm, and asters attract bumble bees. Choose a variety that bloom throughout the whole season, that’ll bloom early spring into fall, or plant a variety so that the garden is never not blooming.
Use chemical pesticides and herbicides sparingly, or not at all. Even if you're very careful with where you're spraying that weed killer or pesticide, these can travel on the wind and harm bees far away.

10. What are corals?
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals.
Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups

11. Where are Corals found?
Coral reefs are found in more than 100 countries around the world. Most reefs are located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Corals are also found farther from the equator in places where warm currents flow out of the tropics, such as in Florida and southern Japan.

12. Uses of Coral Reefs
Reefs house a huge habitat for creatures that humans use for economic purposes. Fishing is a multimillion-dollar business, feeding the world’s population. Sea animals, including shelled organisms, provide economies with souvenir items to entice tourists.
The reef itself is a tourist attraction, creating water sport economies based on snorkeling and SCUBA fees.
Air Quality Corals use the dissolved carbon dioxide in the ocean water to form new reefs. This gas conversion to limestone shell controls the carbon dioxide levels in the ocean
The ocean’s powerful currents could easily erode famous beaches and shorelines without coral reefs in place. As waves strike the reefs, the water is slightly redirected and slowed down to preserve the shoreline. The currents themselves may change course permanently.

13. Threats to Coral Reefs
Humans-Avoid striking or touching a coral reef. Running your boat into a coral reef can cause it serious damage. People can also damage coral reefs simply by touching them. Also, contact with things like anchors and fishing nets is a key way that coral reefs die or suffer damage.
Littering- Littering on the beach or in the ocean and garbage on a beach can harm coral reefs. Throwing litter into the ocean itself can eventually cause the trash to come into contact with the coral reef. When trash ends up on a coral reef, it can actually smother the corals.
Ocean Acidification- Recently, ocean acidification has emerged as another potentially serious threat to coral reefs. These acidic conditions dissolve coral skeletons, which make up the structure of the reef, and make it more difficult for corals to grow.

15. Protection of Coral Reefs
Don't fish or boat near a coral reef. Contact with things like anchors and fishing nets is a key way that coral reefs die or suffer damage.
Don't litter on the beach or in the ocean. Leaving behind things like fishing nets or general garbage on a beach can harm coral reefs.
Snorkel or scuba dive with care. Snorkelers can cause serious damage to coral reefs especially in high tourism areas

16. Group Members Hubert Phillips Saleem Salick Timothy Chandler
Joss Ibrahim
Rudra Dass
Moosa Juman