Natural Environment Blog

Colorful fish at Rapture Reef, French Frigate Shoals of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

According to the Australian newspaper, several scientists have downplayed the significance that global warming will have on our coral reefs.

Specifically, they respond to a recent comment by University of Queensland’s Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, that sea temperatures are likely to rise 2C over the next three decades, which would undoubtedly kill the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Professor Hoegh-Guldberg, also of the Australian Research Council’s Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS), has spent the past 15 years warning us about the impact of climate change on the coral reefs.   

But Dr Andrew Baird principal research fellow at CoECRS says that this is a pessimistic view, and that there are serious knowledge gaps about the impact that rising sea temperatures would have on coral. 

Baird believes that coral has the ability to adapt to climate change.

“I believe coral has an underappreciated capacity to evolve. It’s one of the biological laws that, wherever you look, organisms have adapted to radical changes.” he said.

However, Dr Baird did acknowledge that we need to do something about the impact of climate change on coral reefs.

“There will be sweeping changes in the relative abundance of species,” he said. “There’ll be changes in what species occur where.

“But wholesale destruction of reefs? I think that’s overly pessimistic.” he added.

Russell Reichelt, chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority shared Dr Baird’s sentiment.

“I think that he’s right,” he said. “The reef is more adaptable and research is coming out now to show adaptation is possible for the reef.”

Dr Reichelt, a marine scientist, believes that the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef is water quality. In particular, he refers to the coastal regions where sediment and fertilizer is draining into the ocean and therefore threatening the future of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef.

“If a reef’s going to survive bleaching, you don’t want to kill it with a dirty river,” he said.

Coral can Cross-Breed

Baird and Reichelt aren’t the only ones who believe that coral could adapt to climate change.

Recent studies carried out by CoECRS have found that at least one species of coral can cross-breed and create a hybrid species, suggesting that coral may in fact be able to adapt to climate change.  

Ocean Acidification

Rising sea temperatures isn’t the only threat to our coral reef systems. Ocean acidification has been recently cited as a major threat.

At least three recent studies - one of which professor Hoegh-Guldberg was involved in - have concluded that rising CO2 emissions is a major threat to coral reefs around the world. This is because increased CO2 leads to increased ocean acidification - which in turn, destroys coral reefs.

Coral on the Great Barrier Reef

A lot of recent studies have been warning about the threat that climate change is posing on the world’s coral reef systems. The common conclusion appears to be that, if nothing is done about global warming, our reefs face imminent extinction. 

But according to a new study, there may yet be hope for our coral reefs.

Scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Australia (CoECRS), James Cook University, the Museum of Tropical Queensland and the Australian Institute of Marine Science have released a research paper indicating that at least one rare coral species may actually be able to adapt to climate change.

The study found that some Acropora (staghorn corals) coral - a particularly rare species of coral - are in fact hybrids. This means that they have cross-bred with other Acropora species to result in a hybrid species. By hybridising with other species, these corals draw on genetic variation in other species, increasing their own potential to adapt to changing conditions.

The Importance of Acropora

Zoe Richards, lead author of the research paper, says “Acropora are the main reef-builders throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and so of critical importance to the ability of reefs to cope with changing conditions. However, till now, very few clear cut examples of hybridisiation were known, and some people did not even accept that corals can cross-breed.”

She added that corals may prove tougher to exterminate than many people feared.

“Hybridising with another species actually makes a lot of genetic sense if you are rare and the next colony of your species may be hundreds of kilometres away.  It suggests these creatures are far more resilient that we thought, based on what we know from the behavior of land animals.” she said.

A number of factors are threatening coral reefs around the world. In particular, rising CO2 levels is leading to increased ocean acidifcation. Also, poor water quality is having a major impact on coral reefs.

Three separate investigations from three different parts of the world have drawn the same conclusion; that rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels will have a far greater impact on the world’s coral reefs than previously thought.

In particular, it is the CO₂ derived from human activities that will cause this greater impact and is likely to cause the death of coral reefs around the world. 

The Three Studies

The three different studies were carried out by:

• A team in Australia, led by Dr Ken Anthony of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and the University of Queensland
• A team in Taiwan, led by Allen Chen, an associate researcher at the Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica
• A team in the United States, involving oceanographers Long Cao and Ken Caldeira from the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University in California

The Findings

All three studies concluded that anthropogenic CO₂ - carbon dioxide derived from human activities - causes increased ocean acidification, which in turn, leads to coral bleaching and eventually, the death of coral reefs.

Cao and Caldeira from the U.S. study said that the main contributor of anthropogenic CO₂ is the burning of fossil fuels.

Dr Anthony from the Australian study said “Every time you start your car or turn on the lights, half the CO₂ you emit ends up in the oceans, turning them just a tiny bit more acidic, as well as causing the climate to warm. What is new is an understanding of how these two effects interact to affect the corals and reef building algae.”

Caldeira issues a bleak forecast, “If current trends in CO₂ emissions continue unabated, in the next few decades, we will produce chemical conditions in the oceans that have not been seen for tens of millions of years. We are doing something very profound to our oceans. Ecosystems like coral reefs that have been around for many millions of years just won’t be able to cope with the change.”

Chen, from the Taiwanese study says, “Coral ecosystems could disappear completely by the end of the century if measures are not taken to reduce carbon emissions.” 

Chen also said, “The disappearance of the coral ecosystem would produce a ripple effect and be detrimental to human survival.”

Scientists who wrote the “Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification and Reef Management” have presented key findings and recommendations of the report to delegates of the World Conservation Congress being held in Barcelona this week.

The Honolulu Declaration was first presented to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting in Kona, Hawaii back in August. The report provides recommendations in dealing with the issue of acidification of the oceans, and managing coral reefs around the world.

Ocean acidification is believed to be the biggest threat to our oceans today, and could virtually wipe out the world’s coral reefs before the end of the century.  

Some of the recommendations in the report include:

• Stabilize CO2 emissions and reduce marine pollution across multiple channels;
• Mandate the inclusion of climate change actions into marine protected area management plans;
• Increase appropriations to improve the science and actions addressing ocean acidification impacts on coral reefs;
• Reduce all stresses on coral reefs as much as possible to enhance their health and resilience;
• Protect reefs that are less vulnerable to the impacts of ocean acidification by creating new marine protected areas and through zoning plans in existing ones;
• Develop, test and implement innovative interventions to reduce damage to weakened reefs and replenish species loss caused by ocean acidification; and
• Develop a collaborative international program on ocean acidification that includes a coordinated network of monitoring stations.

Governments around the world are starting to realize the threat that our coral reefs are under. Only a few days ago, the Queensland government of Australia agreed to step up efforts to save the Great Barrier Reef,  following the ,release of a new report on water quality surrounding the reef.

This year is the International Year of the Reef.

The International Year of the Reef 2008 (IYOR 2008) is a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability, and to motivate people to take action to protect them. All individuals, corporations, schools, governments, and organizations are welcome and actively encouraged to participate in IYOR 2008.

The International Year of the Reef was first declared in 1997. IYOR 1997 was a global effort to raise awareness and understanding of our coral reefs and the increasing threats they are facing.

In 1997, IYOR had over 225 organizations in 50 countries participating. There were over 700 articles published in newspapers and magazines. Hundreds of surveys were undertaken.

IYOR 2008 aims to:

• Strengthen awareness about the ecological, economic, social and cultural value of coral reefs and associated ecosystems
• Improve understanding of the critical threats to coral reefs and generate both practical and innovative solutions to reduce these threats
• Generate urgent action at all levels to develop and implement effective management strategies for conservation and sustainable use of these ecosystems.

For more information on IYOR, check out the official IYOR website.

The Reef Check Foundation is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of two ecosystems: tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs. According to its website, Reef Check aims to:

• Educate the public and governments about the value of coral reefs and rocky reef ecosystems and the crisis facing them
• Create a global network of volunteer teams, trained and led by scientists, that regularly monitor and report on reef health using a standard method
• Facilitate collaborative use of reef health information by community groups, governments, universities and businesses to design and implement ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions
• Stimulate local action to protect remaining pristine reefs and rehabilitate damaged reefs worldwide especially through the creation of Marine Protected Areas.

Reef Check includes 3 major programs:

1. EcoAction Program – an education and certification program for kids to adults who want to learn more about the ocean and take part in protecting reef ecosystems.
2. Coral Reef Management Program – a coral reef monitoring and management system that focuses on establishing Marine Protected Areas to conserve coral reefs while encouraging sustainable use of surrounding reefs by local residents.
3. Reef Check California – a volunteer monitoring program for California rocky reefs designed to provide data for managers and to build a conservation constituency among California divers.

Reef Check works with volunteers in more than 80 countries to help protect and rehabilitate the world’s coral reefs. Much of this work involves monitoring reefs and their marine life, as well as formulating ways to manage their protection and/or rehabilitation.

If you’ve ever been snorkelling or scuba diving, you’ll appreciate the beauty of coral reefs. You might also be aware of the fact that many of the world’s coral reefs are actually dying. In my article on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, I mentioned that factors such as global warming, overfishing, and land pollution are causing major issues for coral reefs. This is where Reef Check hopes to make a difference.