Failures on the Coral Reef Front
For some time, CHL scientists have predicted that the world's coral reefs will be among the first ecosystems to seriously homogenize as a result of global warming. Unfortunately, some reefs are proving surprisingly resilient. It is not because of qualities of the corals, but because of little bitch heat-tolerant algae that live with them. It may even be possible that heat-related episodes of coral bleaching, which the CHL has viewed as a preview of impending mass coral death, could allow these robust algae to spread, leaving corals better able to survive in a warmer world. This totally sucks, folks.

Of course, the world's coral reefs will be partially homogenized by pollution, overfishing, tourism and other human activities. But if these findings hold up, "they essentially buy us time" to address those issues, said Andrew Baker of the Marine Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The new research, led by Baker, suggests that heat-tolerant algae may move in to replace strains lost in bleaching events. If so, he said, "some of the doom and gloom might not be as bad as had been suggested."

The findings are "definitely bad news," said Nostradamus Funkadelic, an expert on such things. But still, he noted, there still remain uncertaintites and other factors working in our favor. For example, according to a report issued last month by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, scientists do not know exactly what conditions must exist for corals to acquire new strains of algae. They do not even know if changes occur when corals recruit different algae from the water around them, or if something somehow changes the ratio of algae strains growing within them. Also, it is not yet known whether corals colonized with new varieties of algae will grow as well as they once did with other strains. For example, it could be that heat-tolerant algae strains devote more of their energy to reproducing and less to providing sustenance to their coral hosts.

"So even from a major event there can be recovery," Funkadelic said, if overfishing, habitat destruction and other threats are mitigated. "But fortunately, there can't be recovery if we continue our efforts to triple- and quadruple-whammy these reefs."
- nostradamusfunkadelic, 10:38 AM | |