Scientists battle to save world's coral reefs

[webfact]

Scientists battle to save world's coral reefs
By CALEB JONES

HONOLULU (AP) — After the most powerful El Nino on record heated the world's oceans to never-before-seen levels, huge swaths of once vibrant coral reefs that were teeming with life are now stark white ghost towns disintegrating into the sea.

And the world's top marine scientists are still struggling in the face of global warming and decades of devastating reef destruction to find the political and financial wherewithal to tackle the loss of these globally important ecosystems.

"What we have to do is to really translate the urgency," said Ruth Gates, president of the International Society for Reef Studies and director of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.

Gates, who helped organize a conference this week for more than 2,000 international reef scientists, policymakers and others, said the scientific community needs to make it clear how "intimately reef health is intertwined with human health."

The International Coral Reef Symposium convenes Monday to try to create a more unified conservation plan for coral reefs. She said researchers have to find a way to implement large scale solutions with the help of governments.

Consecutive years of coral bleaching have led to some of the most widespread mortality of reefs on record, leaving scientists in a race to save them. While bleached coral often recovers, multiple years weakens the organisms and increases the risk of death.

Researchers have achieved some success with projects such as creating coral nurseries and growing forms of "super coral" that can withstand harsher conditions. But much of that science is being done on a very small scale with limited funding.

Bob Richmond, director of the University of Hawaii's Kewalo Marine Laboratory, said the problems are very clear: "overfishing of reef herbivores and top predators, land-based sources of pollution and sedimentation, and the continued and growing impacts of climate change."

While reefs are major contributors to many coastal tourist economies, saving the world's coral isn't just about having pretty places for vacationers to explore. Reefs are integral to the overall ecosystem and are an essential component of everyday human existence.

Reefs not only provide habitat for most ocean fish consumed by humans, but they also shelter land from storm surges and rising sea levels. Coral has even been found to have medicinal properties.

In one project to help save reefs, researchers at the University of Hawaii's Institute of Marine Biology have been taking samples from corals that have shown tolerance for harsher conditions in Oahu's Kaneohe Bay and breeding them with other strong strains in slightly warmer than normal conditions to create a super coral.

The idea is to make the corals more resilient by training them to adapt to tougher conditions before transplanting them into the ocean.

Another program run by the state of Hawaii has created seed banks and a fast-growing coral nursery for expediting coral restoration projects.

Most of Hawaii's species of coral are unlike other corals around the world in that they grow very slowly, which makes reef rebuilding in the state difficult. So officials came up with a plan to grow large chunks of coral in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

Coral reefs have almost always been studied up close, by scientists in the water looking at small portions of reefs.

But NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is taking a wider view, from about 23,000 feet above. NASA and other scientists recently launched a three-year campaign to gather new data on coral reefs worldwide. They are using specially designed imaging instruments attached to aircraft.

"The idea is to get a new perspective on coral reefs from above, to study them at a larger scale than we have been able to before, and then relate reef condition to the environment," said Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences' Eric Hochberg, principal investigator for the project.

If the scientific community and the world's governments can't come together to address coral's decline, one of earth's most critical habitats could soon be gone, leaving humans to deal with the unforeseen consequences.

"What happens if we don't take care of our reefs?" asked Gates. "It's dire."


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-06-20

[chiang mai]

The whole business of higher temperatures is becoming very scary, last month was the 13th straight month in a row where temperature records for that month were broken, plus the CO2 levels in the previously untouched Antarctica have risen for the first time. I don't want hear from climate change deniers that this is all a scam by big business and vested interest to make a few people rich, this is a seriously dire problem that threatens mankind, question is, when are we finally going to do something serious about it.

[apetley]

Until there is no longer water enough to drink, enough food to eat, until rising sea levels force millions from coastlines then not enough will be done imo.

Desperately sad and unforgivable but those in positions of enough power to actually do something seem, for whatever reasons, not to have the will.

[Catoni]

Oh no.... not more of the Gore Bull Warming crap. We're still in an Ice Age folks..... and we just came out of the "Little Ice Age" circa 1850.

If you like it cooler and not warmer, then why in the world did you move to the tropics and not the Polar region ? ?

22,000 years ago there was an ice sheet more than a mile thick sitting where Toronto, Canada is now...

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--HA0nHmJS--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/18rbae924hi05png.png

[williamgeorgeallen]

thailand has already found out how to save them. ban foreign tourists from swimming near them. problem solved, next problem, returning happiness to the people, 1% are still unhappy.

[SOTIRIOS]

...oh you mean the tourists are not to blame.....???

[chiang mai]

These nutters that come out of the woodwork at times such these saying, I've researched it, it's not a problem, it's all normal, they ignore the worlds leading scientists who are increasingly raising the alarm and saying things like, we can't explain this! It reminds me strongly of those Brexit guys, living in fantasy land.

[pitrevie]

These nutters that come out of the woodwork at times such these saying, I've researched it, it's not a problem, it's all normal, they ignore the worlds leading scientists who are increasingly raising the alarm and saying things like, we can't explain this! It reminds me strongly of those Brexit guys, living in fantasy land.

And mostly you find its the same people.

[MockingJay]

[SgtRock]

If the scientific community and the world's governments can't come together to address

Let me finish that sentence.

.... the overpopulation of the planet and the rising destruction of natural resources, mankind will become extinct.

Over to the scientists. What is your solution ?

[Pinot]

Oh no.... not more of the Gore Bull Warming crap. We're still in an Ice Age folks..... and we just came out of the "Little Ice Age" circa 1850.

If you like it cooler and not warmer, then why in the world did you move to the tropics and not the Polar region ? ?

22,000 years ago there was an ice sheet more than a mile thick sitting where Toronto, Canada is now...

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--HA0nHmJS--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/18rbae924hi05png.png

Climate change denial. 98 out of 100 scientists agree about climate change. The deniers have another agenda, they love all the conspiracy theories. They live in the Wingnuttia bubble where they have their own facts. Tin foil hats and kool aid parties every night.

Usually there is some connection to the coal industry with these people.

Most of Donald Trump's low-info minions deny climate change.

I think we have about 5 years left to see coral. I've seen the devastation all over SE Asia.

Here in Phuket, yes it's climate change but constant dumping of untreated sewage is half the problem. I haven't seen a single beach that you can see undamaged coral.

Nothing is going to change. Thais never do anything till they have to or it's too late.

Edited June 20, 2016 by Pinot

[RickBradford]

^^^

Do you really have so little imagination?

Coal industry ... blah blah blah ... Donald Trump ... blah blah blah .. deniers ... blah blah blah .. low-info .... blah blah blah .. conspiracy theories ... blah blah blah .. wingnuttia ... blah blah blah ... tinfoil hats...

It's meaningless drivel that has all been written hundreds of times, and doesn't gain in power by repetition.

The Green/Left. Long on infantile rage, short on originality and common sense..

[Chicog]

^^^

Do you really have so little imagination?

Coal industry ... blah blah blah ... Donald Trump ... blah blah blah .. deniers ... blah blah blah .. low-info .... blah blah blah .. conspiracy theories ... blah blah blah .. wingnuttia ... blah blah blah ... tinfoil hats...

It's meaningless drivel that has all been written hundreds of times, and doesn't gain in power by repetition.

The Green/Left. Long on infantile rage, short on originality and common sense..

The climate change deniers:

Completely devoid of fact and substance.