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Coral reefs continue to face challenges and occasional glimmers of hope. But they lead a perilous existence, with these important tropical marine ecosystems living on the edge of collapse. As remnants of geological island movements, coral reefs form important barriers to island erosion and other weather- and ocean-related conditions (storms, currents, etc.) while also providing a home for countless numbers of marine species.
Bad News: Toxic Algae Acts Quickly
On the down side, researchers are discovering that algae can not only crowd out corals when their growth explodes due to nitrate-rich pollution (as previously studied worldwide), but algae blooms can also prove to be toxic by reducing oxygen and sunlight. And it can happen with remarkable speed.
Recently, in the Gulf of Oman, scientists were conducting a coral reef study and upon returning to their research area three weeks after an algae bloom, they found the corals seriously impacted. Several species of hard corals, including cauliflower and tabletop hard corals, were completely destroyed.
"We were surprised at the extent and speed at which changes to the coral reef communities were affected," said marine ecologist Andrew Bauman in the BBC News. Scientists have known that climate change in the form of warmer waters can adversely affect the coral, causing "coral bleaching" whereby the coral is severely and often fatally weakened from the loss of the symbiotic zooxanthellae algae that literally lives in the coral tissue.
While warmer temperatures can stress the corals to the extant that coral bleaching occurs, the scientists in the Gulf of Oman now have dramatic evidence of the impact of algae blooms in open water, literally choking the life from the coral - not to mention the impact on other sealife including fish, whose gills can be become clogged with algae particulates.
Good News: Island Nations Work Together
On the more positive side, tropical island nations are becoming more proactive in their efforts to protect their national treasures - the coral reefs. In 2007, the governments of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands formed the Coral Triangle Initiative to establish policies to protect their marine reef ecosystems. Realizing the importance of the reef ecosystem not only as a component of a healthy ocean but also of economic importance as a source of food and tourism for developing nations, the Coral Triangle Initiative is a government-led program supported by leading conservation organizations like Conservation International.
In the Indian Ocean, the Maldives - a nation of over 1,100 coral islands - recognizes the economic power of conserving its surrounding coral reefs. The reefs are the lure to worldwide scuba divers, snorkelers, and swimmers, making tourism a major component of the nation's economy. In addition, the need to protect its ecology - in fact, that of the world - is of critical importance to the Maldives. The islands are, at most, just under five feet above sea level. With sea levels rising due to global warming, scientists estimate that the Maldives will be uninhabitable by 2100.
The government has taken steps to both protect its citizens and the environment by instituting a variety of eco-friendly policies including installation of wind turbines, rooftop solar arrays, and phasing out fossil fuel-burning boats and cars. In July, 2010, they also outlawed shark fishing and the sale or export of shark fins. But the government is also reluctantly prudent and developing plans for the relocation of its entire population of 400,000 as sea levels rise.
Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed warned, “Climate change is a global emergency. The world is in danger of going into cardiac arrest, yet we behave as if we've caught a common cold. Today, the Maldives has announced plans to become the world's most eco-friendly country. I can only hope other nations follow suit.”Read about toxic algae in the BBC Earth News.
Read about the Coral Triangle Initiative at Conservation International.
Read about the Maldives at Mother Nature Network.
As many of you know, the Earth's coral reefs have been showing serious signs of damage from pollution, temperature change, acidification, and destructive fishing techniques. It seems no coral reef on the planet has been immune from some level of impact.
The South Pacific contains some of the richest marine environments, particularly an area known as the "Coral Triangle" that includes Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste. While the Coral Triangle only represents 1% of the earth's surface, it includes 30% of the world's reefs, 76% of the reef building coral species, and 30% of the coral reef fish species.
And according to The Coral Triangle and Climate Change: Ecosystems, People and Societies at Risk, a report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the University of Queensland, Australia, the Coral Triangle is gravely at risk - with major consequences not only for the marine environment but for the people who live and depend on the natural resources that benefit from the reef ecosystem.
This is an extensive and thorough report (229 pages) and I have only started to get into it. It's actually a compilation and analysis of over 300 published scientific studies involving biology, economics and fisheries science, so the conclusions are pretty solid. It basically puts forward two scenarios: one is the bleaker scenario, where nothing is adequately done and the coral reefs of the Coral Triangle are expected to disappear by the end of the century. This would bring about a major collapse of the regional coastal environment's ability to feed the population. Up to 100 million people would suffer loss of livelihoods, increased poverty, loss of food security, and there would be a major migration of people away from the coast, either moving into tighter, more over-populated communities inland or migrating to neighboring countries like Australia or New Zealand, further taxing the resources of those countries. In all, a pretty dire scenario of direct impacts on mankind if we choose to ignore the fate of this vital component of a healthy marine ecosystem.
The other scenario, however, is a more promising one, avoiding the worst-case scenario, if governments and commerce can wake up to the seriousness of the issue and respond by controlling CO2 emissions, provide better management of fisheries, and control pollution and declining coastal water quality. There would still be a level of coral loss, a rise in sea level, and increased storm and drought activity - but if we act now, it can be brought under manageable levels and even improve over time.
So, there's still time, but the clock is ticking and so action must be taken now rather than later. Click here to download the entire report.
On the other side of globe, deep water corals along the southeast coast of the U.S., from North Carolina to Florida, are at risk from destructive fishing techniques. Commercial deep-water fishing techniques include longlines and trawls the rake across the bottom, scraping up everything in its path - including delicate corals. And this isn't a gentle little rub; these nets can lift 18-ton rocks and pieces of reef right off the bottom. (Watch these techniques at work and you'll think twice about ordering that shrimp cocktail.)
Oceana is initiating a campaign to garner support for a proposed regulation by NOAA to protect as much as 23,000 square miles of deep coral reef area. Click here to learn more about what you can do.
Yin-Yang news for coral reefs. The bad news: the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a study that predicts that coral reefs in the Coral Triangle - a wide expanse that includes the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste - could be wiped out by the end of the century due to climate change. This would not only represent a tremendous loss of coral species, but also the fish that are supported by the reef ecology. And then there's the millions of people who depend on the reefs for food and other marine resources.
"This is the planet's crown jewel of coral diversity and we are watching it disappear before our eyes," said Catherine Plume, director of WWF's Coral Triangle Program.
Now the good news: One of the forces threatening coral reefs, due to increasing temperatures or human interaction, is the increased growth of algae that essentially smothers or crowds out coral species. Hawaii is planning on banning the taking of three species - parrotfish, chubs (a type of surgeonfish) and urchins - that feed on invasive algae. The ban, if approved by Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, starts with the island of Maui and would be a first for the state.
More good news: Japan is developing a new restoration process for re-planting coral reefs that involves growing coral polyps on ceramic pods and ensuring genetic diversity. While currently focused on Japanese reefs, the project with its new techniques hopes to expand to a worldwide level. As promising as their efforts are, it must be tempered with the need for addressing the problems that have brought coral reefs to the point where they require replanting techniques - coastal development, chemical pollution, and of course, climate change.
News bytes from Seaweb.org
Coral reefs continue to face challenges and occasional glimmers of hope. But they lead a perilous existence, with these important tropical marine ecosystems living on the edge of collapse. As remnants of geological island movements, coral reefs form important barriers to island erosion and other weather- and ocean-related conditions (storms, currents, etc.) while also providing a home for countless numbers of marine species.
In the Indian Ocean, the Maldives - a nation of over 1,100 coral islands - recognizes the economic power of conserving its surrounding coral reefs. The reefs are the lure to worldwide scuba divers, snorkelers, and swimmers, making tourism a major component of the nation's economy. In addition, the need to protect its ecology - in fact, that of the world - is of critical importance to the Maldives. The islands are, at most, just under five feet above sea level. With sea levels rising due to global warming, scientists estimate that the Maldives will be uninhabitable by 2100.
