via the UN
Coral reefs are in decline, but their collapse can still be avoided with local and global action.
That’s according to findings reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on May 9 based on an analysis that combines the latest science on reef dynamics with the latest climate models.
“People benefit by reefs’ having a complex structure—a little like a Manhattan skyline, but underwater,” said Peter Mumby of The University of Queensland and University of Exeter. “Structurally complex reefs provide nooks and crannies for thousands of species and provide the habitat needed to sustain productive reef fisheries. They’re also great fun to visit as a snorkeler or diver. If we carry on the way we have been, the ability of reefs to provide benefits to people will seriously decline.”
To predict the reefs’ future, the researchers spent two years constructing a computer model of how reefs work, building on hundreds of studies conducted over the last 40 years. They then combined their reef model with climate models to make predictions about the balance between forces that will allow reefs to continue growing their complex calcium carbonate structures and those such as hurricanes and erosion that will shrink them.
Ideally, Mumby said, the goal is a carbonate budget that remains in the black for the next century at least. Such a future is possible, the researchers’ model shows, but only with effective local protection and assertive action on greenhouse gases.
“Business as usual isn’t going to cut it,” he said. “The good news is that it does seem possible to maintain reefs—we just have to be serious about doing something. It also means that local reef management—efforts to curb pollution and overfishing—are absolutely justified. Some have claimed that the climate change problem is so great that local management is futile. We show that this viewpoint is wrongheaded.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Coral reefs
- Super Efficient Jellyfish-Inspired Robot Could Become a Restorer of Coral Reefson January 22, 2021 at 5:42 pm
A robot inspired by the shape and delicate underwater movements of a jellyfish, allowing it to safely explore endangered coral reefs, was unveiled by British scientists on Wednesday.
- Resilient Reefs launches first economic valuation at Ningaloo Coaston January 22, 2021 at 9:03 am
The World Heritage Listed Ningaloo Coast generates more than 1000 jobs for its local community and contributes over AU$100 million to the economy of Western Australia. The economic valuation is the ...
- Scientists discover how the potentially oldest coral reefs in the Mediterranean developedon January 21, 2021 at 12:16 pm
A new study from the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC, Spain) and the National Oceanography Centre brings unprecedented insights into the environmental constraints and climatic events that ...
- “Coral Hospital” Tool Could Help Safeguard Reefs Facing Climate Changeon January 20, 2021 at 6:16 pm
Stressed Corals Researchers have found a novel way to identify heat-stressed corals, which could help scientists pinpoint the coral species that need protection from warming ocean waters linked to ...
- Robot jellyfish could be used to save coral reefson January 20, 2021 at 11:03 am
The robot moves more efficiently than propeller-powered craft and could be safely used close to delicate coral or shipwrecks ...
- Jellyfish-inspired robot that mimics the animal's efficient movement through the water could be used to explore coral reefs and archaeological siteson January 20, 2021 at 11:00 am
Engineers from Southampton and Edinburgh built a robot that has proven to be around 10-50 times more efficient that its propeller-driven peers.
- Half of Taiwan’s Reefs Have Been Bleached and a Third Are Dying: Reporton January 19, 2021 at 5:28 pm
Half of all reefs off the coast of Taiwan have been bleached due to warming seas, with a third damaged so profoundly they cannot be saved, according to a new report. The report, published on Jan. 13 ...
- Feds triple the size of the Gulf of Mexico's largest coral sanctuaryon January 19, 2021 at 4:03 pm
The Gulf of Mexico’s largest coral sanctuary just got a lot bigger. The federal government on Tuesday formally approved the expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, increasing ...
- Robot 'jellyfish' to protect endangered coral reefson January 19, 2021 at 4:00 pm
A robot inspired by the shape and delicate underwater movements of a jellyfish, allowing it to safely explore endangered coral reefs, was unveiled by British scientists on Wednesday.
- Coastal communities help restore Bali’s coral reefon January 18, 2021 at 4:00 pm
A project to create a coral reef garden in Bali’s coastal areas provides a lifeline to pandemic-hit workers on the resort island while seizing a change to improve the coastal ecosystem.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Coral reefs
The Latest Bing News on:
Coral reef decline
- Warming Trends: A Catastrophe for Monarchs, ‘Science Moms’ and Greta’s Cheeky Farewell to Trumpon January 23, 2021 at 2:16 am
Monarchs Near Collapse Fewer than 2,000 monarch butterflies were counted overwintering this year along the California coast—a staggering drop from the 30,000 last winter and a 99.9 percent decline ...
- Explained: How climate change is reducing numbers of humpback whale calves in the north-west Atlanticon January 21, 2021 at 8:51 pm
By Joanna Kershaw for The Conversation.Climate change is having a serious impact on the world's oceans in various ways, ranging from its devastating effects on tropical coral reefs to melting polar ...
- How climate change is reducing numbers of humpback whale calves in the north-west Atlanticon January 21, 2021 at 9:22 am
Climate change is affecting the whole ecosystem that humpback whales depend on for food, which is making it harder for females to sustain pregnancies.
- Indonesia - Coastal Communities Help Restore Bali’s Coral Reefon January 20, 2021 at 5:22 pm
Bali’s Statistics Indonesia office disclosed that Bali, Indonesia's main tourist destination, had experienced a 87 percent decline in foreign tourist visits between April and June 2020. A survey of ...
- Coastal communities help restore Bali’s coral reefon January 18, 2021 at 4:00 pm
A project to create a coral reef garden in Bali’s coastal areas provides a lifeline to pandemic-hit workers on the resort island while seizing a change to improve the coastal ecosystem.
- Draft UN biodiversity plan risks another lost decade for natureon January 17, 2021 at 5:47 pm
WWF paper, published today, shows that the draft plan can be strengthened to address our global nature crisis. Governments must urgently raise their level of ambition in their deliberation of the ...
- Investing in health of UK seas could create 100,000 jobs and give £50 billion boost to economyon January 14, 2021 at 5:52 am
New report warns urgent government action is needed to save our seas . Restoring the UK’s seas could pump billions of pounds into the economy by 2050, bringing thousands of new ...
- Group sues over marine reserve, fishingon January 13, 2021 at 5:55 am
The National Parks Conservation Association is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service for not protecting Biscayne National Park’s coral reef ecosystem ...
- Sharks are being born smaller, undernourished due to climate change: studyon January 12, 2021 at 7:12 am
A new study has found that warming oceans are causing sharks to be born smaller and undernourished, making it difficult for them to survive.
- Oceans are becoming too warm for sharks to survive in, study findson January 12, 2021 at 7:12 am
A new study has found that warming oceans are causing sharks to be born smaller and undernourished, making it difficult for them to survive.
