The Fate of the Coral

ReefsGlobal Warming’s Effect on Ocean

EcosystemBy: Pat Wise

www.divegallery.com

http://liveandletdive.googlepages.com/dreamstimeweb_7417461_reef.JPG/dreamstimeweb_7417461_reef-full.jpg

http://spy-spider.com/skull_and_crossbones.png

http://www.australiaone.com.au/images/public/Great-Barrier-Reef-QLD.jpg

What is Coral Mate?

Phylum - Cnidaria

Class - Anthozoa

Reef building secrete CaCO3 skeletons

Neritic Zone of Ocean (Shallow)

Sunlight and warm water!

Cnidocytes

http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Coral/sciclasscr.html

Sweet Place to Live

Home to 9 million Species

Maximum Production!

One of Four

Sick Hiding Spots

www.apple.com

Symbiosis WOAH! Awesome!

Photosynthetic Dinoflagellates

Zooxantheallae – Nitrogenous waste, CO2, and a Home

Coral – Photosynthetic capability and increased CaCO3 production

Pigmented algae produce colorful coral

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/photos/corals.html

http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/coral3.htm

Global Warming (In Case You Forgot)

http://www.younggreens.ie/main/?p=89

Coral Bleaching… Not Cool

Increased Water Temperature

Zooxantheallae don’t pull their weight

Algae expelled from Coral

Leaves white coral behind

www.abc.net.au/reslib/ 200704/r135574_457949.jpg

Coral Bleaching… is Ugly

Coral Death leads to algae and soft coral overgrowth

Marine “Weeds”

http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/image_full/international/photosvideos/photos/bleached-coral-great-barrier

www.gbrmpa.gov.au

Damage Done – Great Barrier Reef

42% of Great Barrier Reef bleached in 1998

18% suffered permanent damage

El Niño in 2002 warmed water temperatures affecting 60% of GBR

Killed 90% of reef forming corals on some inshore reefs

Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). Climate Change, Coral Bleaching and the Future of the World's Coral Reefs. Mar. Freshw. Res.

The Future

CO2 increases will lead to further water temp. increases

Dr. Terry Done – “1° increase in global temperature = 82% reef bleaching, 2° increase = 97%, 3° = Total devastation”

Graph – Temp increase/bleaching threshold vs. Time

Increasing CO2 levels in ocean (acidification) hurts coral’s ability to generate CaC)3 reef structures.

http://www.sciencemag.org/

Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). Climate Change, Coral Bleaching and the Future of the World's Coral Reefs. Mar. Freshw. Res.

Effects on Fish

Lose Habitat

Massive Extinctions

Gobiodon Species C

Biodiversity Loss

Food Productionwww.mahonia.org

Red Tides

1998 El Niño results in massive burning of Indonesian Rainforests

Iron rich smog develops

Toxin producing Dinoflagellates (red in color) produce red tide

Devastating effect – carcinogens (Karenia brevis) wildcoast.blog.co

m

Red Tides… Even Worse

2002 – El Niño produces smog over Southeast Asia

Size of the United States

Cut sunlight by 10%

Heated lower atmosphere and Ocean

Hundreds of Millions of dollars worth of aquaculture damaged

Southeastern Coral Reefs may be permanently damaged

A New Hope?

Symbiodinium

50/400 = F-

No Complexity

Migration

To Where?

Google.images.com

What to Do???

Lower CO2 Emissions

Stop Overfishing

Protect Reefs from non-water warming harm (Tourism, Boating, Overfishing)

Stop El Niño!

More Simple Solutions

Turn off the Lights!

Eat less meat

Turn down your thermostat

Use electricity over natural gas

Use the fireplace!

Ride your bike

Make daily sacrifices to Gukumatz (Very Important)

http://www.yovendomicasa.es/images/dibujoserpientecols2.jpg

Hughes, T.P. et al. 2003. Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs. Science 301, pp. 929-33

Freeman, Scott. Biological Science. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2004.

Flannery, Tim. The Weather Makers, Our Changing Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2005. 104-13.

Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). Climate Change, Coral Bleaching and the Future of the World's Coral Reefs. Mar. Freshw. Res.

Donner, S., Skirving, W. J., Little, C. M., Oppenheimer, M. and Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2005). Global assessment of coral bleaching and required rates of adaptation under climate change. Glob. Chan. Biol.

"Garden Sprinklers May Save Reef from Bleaching." ABC News. 15 June 2007. ABC. 10 Nov. 2008 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/15/1951896.htm>.

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