Category Archives: reef health

climate change, coral, coral reefs, reef health

Marine Pollution Bulletin: Viewpoint: The Coral Reef Crisis: The Importance of <350 ppm CO2 by Veron (a), Hoegh-Guldberg (b), Lenton (c), Lough (d), Obura (e), Pearce-Kelly (f,i), Sheppard (g), Spalding (h, i), Stafford-Smith (a), Rogers (j, i).

08/26/2019 admin Leave a comment

Since this is a copyrighted article, we refer you to the Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 1428-1436 and provide this abstract:

Temperature-induced mass coral bleaching causing mortality on a wide geographic scale started when atmospheric CO2 levels exceeded 320 ppm. When CO2 levels reach 340 ppm, sporadic but highly destructive mass bleaching occurred in most reefs worldwide, often associated with El Nino events. Recovery was dependent on the vulnerability of individual reef areas and on the reef’s previous history and resilience.

At today’s level of 387 ppm, allowing a lag-time of 10 years for sea temperatures to respond, most reefs world-wide are committed to an irreversible decline. Mass bleaching will in future become annual, departing from the 4 to 7 years return-time of El Nino events. Bleaching will be exacerbated by the effects of degraded water-quality and increased severe weather events. In addition, the progressive onset of ocean acidification will cause reduction of coral growth and retardation of the growth of high magnesium calcite-secreting coralline algae.

If CO2 levels are allowed to reach 450 ppm (due to occur by 2030–2040 at the current rates), reefs will be in rapid and terminal decline world-wide from multiple synergies arising from mass bleaching, ocean acidification and other environmental impacts. Damage to shallow reef communities will become extensive with consequent reduction of biodiversity followed by extinctions. Reefs will cease to be large-scale nursery grounds for fish and will cease to have most of their current value to humanity. There will be knock-on effects to ecosystems associated with reefs, and to other pelagic and benthic ecosystems.

Should CO2 levels reach 600 ppm, reefs will be eroding geological structures with populations of surviving biota restricted to refuges. Domino effects will follow, affecting many other marine ecosystems. This is likely to have been the path of great mass extinctions of the past, adding to the case that anthropogenic CO2 emissions could trigger the Earth’s sixth mass extinction.

Authors are from the following institutions:
a Coral Reef Research, Townsville, Australia
b Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
c School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
d Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia
e IUCN Coral Specialist Group, CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya
f Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom
g Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
h The Nature Conservancy, Newmarket, United Kingdom
i Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
j International Programme on State of the Ocean and Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom

climate change, coral, coral reefs, reef health

CBC News: Algae on coral in UAE ‘gives hope’ against bleaching

02/27/2015 admin Leave a comment

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/algae-on-coral-in-uae-gives-hope-against-bleaching-1.2974647

Technology & Science

Persian Gulf algae prevents coral bleaching in seawater that can reach 36 Celsius in summer

CBC News Posted: Feb 27, 2015 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Feb 27, 2015 5:00 AM ET

Algae living on coral in the Persian Gulf appear to protect the host coral from dying off. Seawater in the area gets so warm the same temperatures would kill off reefs elsewhere. (Jorg Wiedenmann, John Burt)

Scientists have discovered a new species of algae in the United Arab Emirates that helps corals survive in the warmest seawater temperatures on the planet.

Researchers from the University of Southampton and the New York University Abu Dhabi described the “heat-tolerant species” in a paper published this week in the journal Scientific Reports.

‘It gives hope to find that corals have more ways to adjust to stressful environmental conditions than we had previously thought.’- Jorg Wiedenmann, Coral Reef Laboratory at University of Southampton. Ocean waters in the Persian Gulf can reach temperatures of up to 36 degrees Celsius at the peak of summer — warm enough to kill off corals found anywhere else in the world.

How Gulf corals manage to thrive in such habitats likely has something to do with the nutrient-rich algae living in their tissue, the researchers believe.

It seems the algae living off Gulf corals in a symbiotic relationship give their coral hosts a heat-resistant edge not found in reefs elsewhere.

Climate change threat

“When analyzed by alternative molecular biological approaches, we found pronounced differences that set this heat-tolerant species clearly aside,” the researchers said in a statement.

In reference to its ability to survive unusually high temperatures, the researchers named the algae Symbiodinium thermophilum.

Higher water temperatures often cause corals to lose their colour and die, a phenomenon known as coral bleaching. (Ove Hoegh-Guldberg/Centre for Marine Studies/The University of Queensland)

Algae are known to deliver nutrition to the coral they inhabit. However, algae are also sensitive to environmental changes, with even slight increases in seawater temperatures putting them at risk.

Loss of algae on corals in the symbiotic relationship often results in “coral bleaching,” in which the white skeletons of corals are left exposed once their algae tissue thins or dies.

“In Gulf corals, both the coral host and the associated algal partners need to withstand the high seawater temperatures,” Jörg Wiedenmann, head of the Coral Reef Laboratory at the University of Southampton Ocean, said in a statement.

John Burt, with NYU Abu Dhabi, said the team confirmed the new type of algae is prevalent year-round across several dominant species found near the coast of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

Wiedenmann said more research must be done to better understand how the Gulf’s coral reefs can withstand extreme temperatures, in order to get a better grasp of how reefs elsewhere are dying as a result of climate change.

“It gives hope to find that corals have more ways to adjust to stressful environmental conditions than we had previously thought,” Wiedenmann said. “However, it is not only heat that troubles coral reefs. Pollution and nutrient enrichment, overfishing and coastal development also represent severe threats to their survival.”

coral reefs, reef fish, reef health

Science Daily: New Listing to Protect 21 Species of Sharks and Rays

11/11/2014 admin Leave a comment

.
ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news
Featured Research from universities, journals, and other organizations
New listing to protect 21 species of sharks and rays
Date:
November 10, 2014
Source:
Wildlife Conservation Society
Summary:
Conservationists are rejoicing at the listing of 21 species of sharks and rays under the Appendices of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), made official today in the final plenary session of the Conference of Parties (CoP). With these listings, member countries agreed to grant strict protection to the reef manta, the nine devil rays, and the five sawfishes, and committed to work internationally to conserve all three species of thresher sharks, two types of hammerheads, and the silky shark.

“We are elated by the overwhelming commitment expressed by CMS Parties for safeguarding some of the world’s most imperiled shark and ray species, including the highly endangered sawfishes,” said Sonja Fordham of Shark Advocates International, a project of The Ocean Foundation. “Today’s unprecedented actions more than triple the number of shark and ray species slated for enhanced conservation initiatives.”

The proposal to list the thresher sharks was brought by the EU. Silky shark listing was proposed by Egypt. Ecuador and Costa Rica jointly proposed the two hammerhead species. Kenya put forward the sawfish proposal while both the reef manta and devil rays were proposed by Fiji. Fifty-nine of the 120 CMS Parties participated in this CoP.

“Manta and devil rays are exceptionally vulnerable to overexploitation, usually having just one pup every few years,” explained Ian Campbell from WWF, who served on the delegation of Fiji. “The Appendix I listing obligates CMS Parties to ban fishing for reef manta and all devil ray species, and reflects a responsible, precautionary approach in light of their inherent susceptibility to depletion.”

Listing on CMS Appendix I commits countries to strictly protect species while Appendix II listing encourages international cooperation towards conservation of shared species. The rays (including sawfishes) were listed under both Appendices while the six shark species were added to Appendix II.

“From hammerheads of the Galapagos to threshers in the Philippines, sharks are incredibly popular attractions for divers,” noted Ania Budziak of Project AWARE. “With increasing recognition of the economic benefits of associated tourism, divers’ voices are playing a key role in winning protections for these iconic species.”

While consensus to advance the sawfish, devil ray, hammerhead, and thresher shark proposals was reached in Committee, Peru and Chile at the time expressed opposition to listing silky sharks on CMS Appendix II. In the final plenary session, however, the two countries did not voice resistance, thereby clearing the way for adoption.

“We could not be more pleased that, in the end, all of the proposals to list sharks and rays under CMS were adopted, and yet we stress that the benefits of such listings depend on concrete follow-up action by the Parties,” said Amie Brautigam of the Wildlife Conservation Society. “We urge countries to channel the overwhelming concern for sharks and rays demonstrated at this historic meeting into leadership towards national protections and regional limits on fishing.”

The CMS Parties also agreed a Resolution encouraging improved data collection and fisheries management for sharks and rays.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Wildlife Conservation Society. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Wildlife Conservation Society. “New listing to protect 21 species of sharks and rays.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 November 2014. .

Special thanks to Robert F. Bolland, Ph.D

coral reefs, reef health

Coral list: Paul Hoetjes–Curacao Office of Nature: Final Report of Caribbean Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, Curacao August 2014

10/28/2014 admin Leave a comment

Hi everyone,
Below please find a link to the final report of the Caribbean workshop on Coral Reef Monitoring held in Curaçao last August.

Summarizing very briefly: a steering committee for coral reef monitoring in the Caribbean was agreed and tentatively identified, coordinated by SPAW through its Regional Activity Center (RAC) in Guadeloupe. A set of core data necessary for meaningful monitoring was agreed and recommended methods to collect those data. A set of training materials and, when possible, meetings to exchange knowledge and issues, are planned to support this program.
Best,

Paul
Paul C. Hoetjes
Policy Coordinator Nature
………………………………………………………………………
Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ)
National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands (RCN)
Visiting address: Kaya International z/n, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands
Mailing address: P.O.Box 357, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands
………………………………………………………………
T (+599) 715 83 08
M (+599) 795 90 86
F (+599) 717 83 30
paul.hoetjes@rijksdienstcn.com
http://www.rijksdienstcn.com

Dear all,

I am glad to tell you that the final report and the outcomes (ref. annexes) of the Curacao workshop have been finalized and are now available on the SPAW-RAC website. (This page layout will be improved tomorrow!)

Please note that the technical outcomes are still proposals at this stage, and are therefore subject to improvement along the coming months ( in particular the Proposed core set of data & methods , the Network Structure , the Terms of Reference and the Socio-economic guidelines).

As planned during the workshop, a presentation was prepared and presented by Jeremy and Ruben this week at ICRI meeting in Japan.
Results will also be presented in two weeks, during the GCFI meeting in Barbados (by Peter, Ruben and Jeremy)

We encourage you to communicate and circulate this information among your contacts, and to forward us the feedback you will receive.

Thank you again for all your input on the report and hard work on the annexes!

Best regards,

Julie
Julie BELMONT
Project coordinator – CAR-SPAW
Regional Activity Centre for Protected Areas and Wildlife

Parc national de la Guadeloupe
97120 Saint-Claude – Guadeloupe
Tél : +590 (0)5 90 41 55 85 – Fax : +590 (0)5 90 41 55 56
julie.belmont.carspaw@guadeloupe-parcnational.fr
www.car-spaw-rac.org

coral reefs, reef health

Open Journal of Ecology: Community-Based Coral Reef Rehabilitation in a Changing Climate: Lessons Learned from Hurricanes, Extreme Rainfall, and Changing Land Use Impacts

10/28/2014 admin Leave a comment

http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=50930#.VE_CUWf61Rp
OJE> Vol.4 No.14, October 2014

Edwin A. Hernández-Delgado1,2,3*, Alex E. Mercado-Molina2,3, Pedro J. Alejandro-Camis3, Frances Candelas-Sánchez3, Jaime S. Fonseca-Miranda2,3, Carmen M. González-Ramos1,2,3, Roger Guzmán-Rodríguez3, Pascal Mège2, Alfredo A. Montañez-Acuña1,2,3, Iván Olivo Maldonado3, Abimarie Otaño-Cruz1,3,4, Samuel E. Suleimán-Ramos3

Affiliation(s)
1Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation, Coral Reef Research Group, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
3Sociedad Ambiente Marino, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
4Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

ABSTRACT
Coral reefs have largely declined across multiple spatial scales due to a combination of local-scale anthropogenic impacts, and due to regional-global climate change. This has resulted in a significant loss of entire coral functional groups, including western Atlantic Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) biotopes, and in a net decline of coral reef ecosystem resilience, ecological functions, services and benefits. Low-tech coral farming has become one of the most important tools to help restore depleted coral reefs across the Wider Caribbean Region. We tested a community-based, low-tech coral farming approach in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, aimed at adapting to climate change-related impacts through a two-year project to propagate A. cervicornis under two contrasting fishing management conditions, in coastal areas experimenting significant land use changes. Extreme rainfall events and recurrent tropical storms and hurricanes had major site-and method-specific impacts on project outcome, particularly in areas adjacent to deforested lands and subjected to recurrent impacts from land-based source pollution (LBSP) and runoff. Overall, coral survival rate in “A frame” units improved from 73% during 2011-2012 to 81% during 2012-2013. Coral survival rate improved to 97% in horizontal line nurseries (HLN) incorporated during 2012-2013. Percent tissue cover ranged from 86% to 91% in “A frames”, but reached 98% in HLN. Mean coral skeletal extension was 27 cm/y in “A frames” and 40 cm/y in HLN. These growth rates were up to 545% to 857% faster than previous reports from coral farms from other parts of the Caribbean, and up to 438% faster than wild colonies. Branch production and branchiness index (no. harvestable branches > 6 cm) increased by several orders of magnitude in comparison to the original colonies at the beginning of the project. Coral mortality was associated to hurricane physical impacts and sediment-laden runoff impacts associated to extreme rainfall and deforestation of adjacent lands. This raises a challenging question regarding the impact of chronic high sea surface temperature (SST), in combination with recurrent high nutrient pulses, in fostering increased coral growth at the expense of coral physiological conditions which may compromise corals resistance to disturbance. Achieving successful local management of reefs and adjacent lands is vital to maintain the sustained net production in coral farms and of reef structure, and the provision of the important ecosystem services that they provide. These measures are vital for buying time for reefs while global action on climate change is implemented. Adaptive community-based strategies are critical to strengthen institutional management efforts. But government agencies need to transparently build local trust, empower local stakeholders, and foster co-management to be fully successful. Failing to achieve that could make community-based coral reef rehabilitation more challenging, and could potentially drive rapidly declining, transient coral reefs into the slippery slope to slime.

KEYWORDS
Acropora cervicornis, Climate Change, Coral Farming, Extreme Weather Events

Cite this paper
Hernández-Delgado, E. , Mercado-Molina, A. , Alejandro-Camis, P. , Candelas-Sánchez, F. , Fonseca-Miranda, J. , González-Ramos, C. , Guzmán-Rodríguez, R. , Mège, P. , Montañez-Acuña, A. , Maldonado, I. , Otaño-Cruz, A. and Suleimán-Ramos, S. (2014) Community-Based Coral Reef Rehabilitation in a Changing Climate: Lessons Learned from Hurricanes, Extreme Rainfall, and Changing Land Use Impacts. Open Journal of Ecology, 4, 918-944. doi: 10.4236/oje.2014.414077.