Recent study brings new hope for human source for food and living in the fishing industry amid global warming effects. Researchers believe that coral reefs can adapt and survive major climate change.
Based on the 2000 report of the Status of Coral Reefs of the World from NOAA, coral reefs are being destroyed for decades. Twenty percent were caused by increased temperatures between 1998 and 1999. In the Carribean around 80 percent of its coral mantle was lost due to El Niño and La Niña in the area. Previous studies have recorded the same patterns which account for a trend in coral reef decline.
Other causes of coral deaths are pollution, acidification, sedimentation, coral diseases, fishing malpractices, sea level rising, and others
This decline brought about by mass bleaching and death of coral reefs has alarmed the scientists who have consistently worried about the future of coral reef ecosystems. For this study, a team of scientists analyzed the temperature output of the sea surfaces across the globe to forecast coral bleaching rates.
Since earlier studies seemed to have overshot the extent of reef destruction based on the past increases of temperature, the researchers investigated if the coral reefs are able to adapt to climate change and hinder the progression of coral bleaching.
"Earlier modeling work suggested that coral reefs would be gone by the middle of this century. Our study shows that if corals can adapt to warming that has occurred over the past 40 to 60 years, some coral reefs may persist through the end of this century," said lead author Dr. Cheryl Logan who is also an assistant professor in the California State University Monterey Bay.
The study forecasted that if emissions of carbon dioxide shrink substantially, coral reefs could diminish the rate of temperature increase caused by coral bleaching as much as 20 to 80 percent by 2100.
"The hope this work brings is only achieved if there is significant reduction of human-related emissions of heat-trapping gases. Adaptation provides no significant slowing in the loss of coral reefs if we continue to increase our rate of fossil fuel use," explained Dr. Mark Eakin who is the NOAA Coral Reef Watch monitoring program Director.
The researchers who are from NOAA's partners - the California State University Monterey Bay and the University of British Columbia - are requesting further studies to build upon their findings, such as up to what extent the coral reefs could adapt to the thermal changes in the oceans brought by climate change.
The study was published in the online journal Global Change Biology.
