The Heat Bleaches Coral Off Islands On Both Sides Of Thailand

[webfact]

The heat bleaches coral off islands on both sides of Thailand

By The Nation

Up to half of the coral reefs off Surin Islands is now bleached due to the high temperature of the seawater, the Department of Natural Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said yesterday.

About 70 per cent of the corals in diving areas in Phang Nga and Phuket provinces are now bleached, directorgeneral Jatuphorn Burusphat said, adding that diving would be temporarily prohibited in affected areas pending official announcement.

About 25 per cent of the corals near Similan Islands and 30 to 50 per cent in the North and South Surin Islands are bleached.

Wannakiat Thabthimsaeng, a senior Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) scientist, said the coral bleaching began since early April when the temperature of seawater rose by 23 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs about 20metres high have mostly died due to direct exposure to sunlight, while those growing in greater depth were being bleached.

The other areas where coral bleaching is reported are off the coasts of Trang, Krabi and Satun provinces, located on the Andaman Sea, as well as in Chumphon, which is on the Gulf of Thailand.

Coral bleaching occurred in a large scale during 1991 and 1995, effects of which have lasted to this day. Bleaching also occurred in 2004, but the coral reportedly fully recovered once temperatures returned to normal due to a southwest monsoon, Niphon Phongsuwan, another DMCR scientist, said.

"If there is no seasonal southwest monsoon this year, the coral bleaching will only expand," he added.

-- The Nation 2010-05-14

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[gotlost]

Could always put that extra sun light to use for bleaching your white clothes.

[RickBradford]

Corals are very resilient little things.

I can remember when the reef near my house was thought to be doomed, due to the predations of a creature called the crown of thorns starfish. But when starfish numbers diminished, the reef bounced back with a speed that surprised all the scientists.

Corals around Thailand are especially robust, apparently.

"The fact that the Andaman Sea and other regions around Southeast Asia are home to such a high diversity of corals is surprising because the water there is so warm and sometimes murky," said Todd LaJeunesse, a biologist at Penn State. "The inshore locations we surveyed are not the sort of places where you would expect to see thriving coral communities. Not only is the water warm and murky, but the tidal flux is so great that many of the corals can spend hours out of water, exposed to the harsh sun and dry air."

In the Andaman Sea, the scientists found a variety of seemingly thermally tolerant algae species, with one species being particularly abundant. Called Symbiodinium trenchi, the species is a generalist organism -- one that is able to associate with a variety of hosts. Symbiodinium trenchi is able to become more prolific because of its apparent tolerance of high temperatures LaJeunesse said. "The species appears to have saved certain colonies of coral from the damaging effects of unusually warm water."

[CHdiver]

snip

Wannakiat Thabthimsaeng, a senior Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) scientist, said the coral bleaching began since early April when the temperature of seawater rose by 23 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs about 20metres high have mostly died due to direct exposure to sunlight, while those growing in greater depth were being bleached.

snap

What a load of bull....t. Please tell me how the water temperature can rise by 23 degress around Thailand. It may go down to 26 C in Wintertime and now it may be around 31 C. Also Coral reefs are below the surface, so I have no Idea what is meant by 20 meters high?

Looks like brain bleaching happens with the heat to some Journalists too. Just they dont recover from it like the Corals will do.

[Crushdepth]

About 70 per cent of the corals in diving areas in Phang Nga and Phuket provinces are now bleached, directorgeneral Jatuphorn Burusphat said, adding that diving would be temporarily prohibited in affected areas pending official announcement.

Went diving around Phi Phi a couple of weeks ago and saw little or no bleaching even in the shallows. This 70% figure is probably taken out of context - might be '70% of tidal flat corals' or something like that.

[AleG]

snip

Wannakiat Thabthimsaeng, a senior Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) scientist, said the coral bleaching began since early April when the temperature of seawater rose by 23 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs about 20metres high have mostly died due to direct exposure to sunlight, while those growing in greater depth were being bleached.

snap

What a load of bull....t. Please tell me how the water temperature can rise by 23 degress around Thailand. It may go down to 26 C in Wintertime and now it may be around 31 C. Also Coral reefs are below the surface, so I have no Idea what is meant by 20 meters high?

Looks like brain bleaching happens with the heat to some Journalists too. Just they dont recover from it like the Corals will do.

To be fair, by and large reporting of scientific matters it's abysmally bad in Thailand and most of the world too. For example see the caption bellow about the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

Corals start bleaching at a water temperature of 30 degrees or so, If I remember correctly, last time I went diving in the Andaman Sea the water temperature (around Koh Lipe), was about 26 or 27 degrees.

A friend that went to Koh Tao a month ago told me he saw extensive coral bleaching there.

[ourmanflint]

About 70 per cent of the corals in diving areas in Phang Nga and Phuket provinces are now bleached, directorgeneral Jatuphorn Burusphat said, adding that diving would be temporarily prohibited in affected areas pending official announcement.

Went diving around Phi Phi a couple of weeks ago and saw little or no bleaching even in the shallows. This 70% figure is probably taken out of context - might be '70% of tidal flat corals' or something like that.

I went snorkelling off phi phi last week and saw plenty of bleaching. Mostly stagshorn corals at a depth of about 10-15m. I would estimate it to have been about 20% of all corals noticably affected. |If it doesn't rain soon it will only get worse.

[hatyaiair]

Just returned from snorkeling on the West coast of Phuket, off a small island near Bang Tao beach. About 80% of the coral is bleached. It is shocking. I have been snorkeling this spot all winter and this is the first time I have seen bleaching. As this is the main snorkeling area for this area of Phuket it could be a disaster if the coral does not survive.

[mogoso]

All this bleaching, and yet not one word of a man caused disaster proven to kill coral. That of course is "sunblock creams", which Aussie scientists found to be deadly in minute concentrations. So if your a diver or swimmer or whatever don't enter the water wearing that gunk.

[JetsetBkk]

snip

Wannakiat Thabthimsaeng, a senior Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) scientist, said the coral bleaching began since early April when the temperature of seawater rose by 23 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs about 20metres high have mostly died due to direct exposure to sunlight, while those growing in greater depth were being bleached.

snap

What a load of bull....t. Please tell me how the water temperature can rise by 23 degress around Thailand. It may go down to 26 C in Wintertime and now it may be around 31 C. Also Coral reefs are below the surface, so I have no Idea what is meant by 20 meters high?

Looks like brain bleaching happens with the heat to some Journalists too. Just they dont recover from it like the Corals will do.

Oh, come on CHdiver. You know the Nation don't employ any English speakers or proof readers. It's all "lost in translation".

[sharkwatch]

in phi phi , bida nok , bida nai , hin pai , viking and many other sites have bleached more and more over the past two weeks Hope It Rains soon for a long time !

[sharkwatch]

snip

Wannakiat Thabthimsaeng, a senior Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) scientist, said the coral bleaching began since early April when the temperature of seawater rose by 23 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs about 20metres high have mostly died due to direct exposure to sunlight, while those growing in greater depth were being bleached.

snap

What a load of bull....t. Please tell me how the water temperature can rise by 23 degress around Thailand. It may go down to 26 C in Wintertime and now it may be around 31 C. Also Coral reefs are below the surface, so I have no Idea what is meant by 20 meters high?

Looks like brain bleaching happens with the heat to some Journalists too. Just they dont recover from it like the Corals will do.

Oh, come on CHdiver. You know the Nation don't employ any English speakers or proof readers. It's all "lost in translation".

dude its 33C in the moment and yes its bad for coral since the loose there little friends ( who give them there color , by the way ) at about 30C and above . look it up if you only interested in finding small mistakes due to languages barriers go on ur2ys2ys2cur2ys2ys4me

[JetsetBkk]

snip

Wannakiat Thabthimsaeng, a senior Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) scientist, said the coral bleaching began since early April when the temperature of seawater rose by 23 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs about 20metres high have mostly died due to direct exposure to sunlight, while those growing in greater depth were being bleached.

snap

What a load of bull....t. Please tell me how the water temperature can rise by 23 degress around Thailand. It may go down to 26 C in Wintertime and now it may be around 31 C. Also Coral reefs are below the surface, so I have no Idea what is meant by 20 meters high?

Looks like brain bleaching happens with the heat to some Journalists too. Just they dont recover from it like the Corals will do.

Oh, come on CHdiver. You know the Nation don't employ any English speakers or proof readers. It's all "lost in translation".

dude its 33C in the moment and yes its bad for coral since the loose there little friends ( who give them there color , by the way ) at about 30C and above . look it up if you only interested in finding small mistakes due to languages barriers go on ur2ys2ys2cur2ys2ys4me

"dude"? Ah, must be a yank. Try understanding the subtleties of British humour (with a "u"). There's a good chappie.

[Thai at Heart]

Well, from a local government Thai perspective, fortunately there are no tourists around to see.

[Unski]

Went to Phi Phi 2 days ago and 30-60% of corals are bleached. Water temperature was 32c in 20 meters still and 33-34 on the surface.

[adad]

snip

Wannakiat Thabthimsaeng, a senior Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) scientist, said the coral bleaching began since early April when the temperature of seawater rose by 23 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs about 20metres high have mostly died due to direct exposure to sunlight, while those growing in greater depth were being bleached.

snap

What a load of bull....t. Please tell me how the water temperature can rise by 23 degress around Thailand. It may go down to 26 C in Wintertime and now it may be around 31 C. Also Coral reefs are below the surface, so I have no Idea what is meant by 20 meters high?

Looks like brain bleaching happens with the heat to some Journalists too. Just they dont recover from it like the Corals will do.

rose by 2.3 degrees and corals around 20 meters (deep obviously)?

[AgentSmith]

Being a professional diver, which is of course not the same as a coral expert, I can say that here on Koh Chang we could declare a state of emergency for all coral reefs. For instance all the big table coral has already died within the last few weeks, going from the brownish/yellowish color to pure white. All that remains are the calcium skeletons which looks spectacular but is of course disastrous. Other hard corals are rapidly bleaching too and lots of soft coral, especially leather coral, seems to have passed the point of no return as well. We actually did a reef check about 6 weeks ago and is wasn't bad at all. But the water temperature just kept rising and it now being 33 degrees, from surface to 20 meters below, I think we will loose most if the rain doesn't come soon, and I mean SOON.

Corals aren't by far as resilient as we would want it to be. They just cannot handle these temperatures for much longer. Lots of fish seem to have left already. All I can hope is that we have at least something left to show to the tourists next high season. If ever there will be a high season again this year but that's a whole other story...

[verygoodgirl]

i was just out snorkeling around the southern part of samui today in fact

oh lord so much NEW bleached (dead) coral I could not believe my eyes

this seems very serious to me

i would like to hear what this means to life on earth and the ocean environment too?

i don't get it but it looks very serious to me

the water is so warm its uncomfortable toois the world as we know it ending or what?

[womble]

True the coral is bleached and it is a short term disaster, but it happens almost every el nino year, this year it seems is going to be particulary bad.

The truth is corals actually regenerate much faster than most scientists lead us to believe. This is a natural phenomenom unlike run off or algae blooms caused by polution.

I'm not playing it down, as I say, short term it is a big disaster, however it will recover, some species faster than others. The ones that recover faster will move into and take over areas where the slower growing ones are. Natural selection and darwins theory at work.......

Whilst some species will be disapearing off the reef, we may see other species rarer in these waters appearing.

I hope the winds change to sw soon, a little bleaching every el nino is not unusual, but another month and the effects could be much longer lasting......

[Fookhaht]

Went snorkeling 5 years ago in Phuket, Phi Phi & Lanta, and had a great time. Returned in April of this year to the same old snorkeling spots to enjoy the same. I was unaware of the bleaching phenomenon going on.

Was like visiting a graveyard. Fish gone, coral bleached. Nothing. This tourist, for one, will not be returning in the foreseeable future. So sad.

[Mrjlh]

snip

Wannakiat Thabthimsaeng, a senior Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) scientist, said the coral bleaching began since early April when the temperature of seawater rose by 23 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs about 20metres high have mostly died due to direct exposure to sunlight, while those growing in greater depth were being bleached.

snap

What a load of bull....t. Please tell me how the water temperature can rise by 23 degress around Thailand. It may go down to 26 C in Wintertime and now it may be around 31 C. Also Coral reefs are below the surface, so I have no Idea what is meant by 20 meters high?

Looks like brain bleaching happens with the heat to some Journalists too. Just they dont recover from it like the Corals will do.

Oh, come on CHdiver. You know the Nation don't employ any English speakers or proof readers. It's all "lost in translation".

I totally agree... there a lot to be said about the English translations from any language that gets miss quoted and misunderstood. Editors do their best in reporting and translating into another language. It's only as good as the translators. So lighten up when you read the articles. Make sure YOU understand what they MEANT to say before criticizing them. Many times it not what you think they said. Even our own English reports get it wrong and they speak the language!

[ajarnpot]

Corals are very resilient little things.

I can remember when the reef near my house was thought to be doomed, due to the predations of a creature called the crown of thorns starfish. But when starfish numbers diminished, the reef bounced back with a speed that surprised all the scientists.

Corals around Thailand are especially robust, apparently.

"The fact that the Andaman Sea and other regions around Southeast Asia are home to such a high diversity of corals is surprising because the water there is so warm and sometimes murky," said Todd LaJeunesse, a biologist at Penn State. "The inshore locations we surveyed are not the sort of places where you would expect to see thriving coral communities. Not only is the water warm and murky, but the tidal flux is so great that many of the corals can spend hours out of water, exposed to the harsh sun and dry air."

In the Andaman Sea, the scientists found a variety of seemingly thermally tolerant algae species, with one species being particularly abundant. Called Symbiodinium trenchi, the species is a generalist organism -- one that is able to associate with a variety of hosts. Symbiodinium trenchi is able to become more prolific because of its apparent tolerance of high temperatures LaJeunesse said. "The species appears to have saved certain colonies of coral from the damaging effects of unusually warm water."

I agree yes the crown of thorns was detrimental to coral reefs after it's only predator the giant triton - collected for it's shell - conch- was overhunted. Remove star fish, coral recovers. Bleaching is different, it actually oxidises the cell structure. the reefs are asterisked