The Caribbean Coral Reefs Dying

http://news.yahoo.com/climate-change-pays-visit-caribbean-coral-reefs-suffer-052038813.html

The Caribbean coral reefs are a very beautiful sight and very important to the ecosystem of the local ocean and islands. But scientists believe Climate change is slowly killing these magnificent reefs. Recent tests show that only 8% of the reef area has live coral, the rest is dead. The same test was taken almost 40 years ago and resulted in 50% of live coral cover. The drastic drop from such a little period of time has scientist worried that if they do not act now, the Caribbean coral reefs will eventually cease. The International Coral Reef Initiative states that this rapid dying of coral reefs is not only confined to the Caribbean, but is happening all across the world. If these coral reefs die then millions of people will be affected by it. Many Caribbean countries depend on the reefs for fishing and tourism. If the Caribbean Coral reef dies then many locals will lose their jobs and part of their food source. Even though many reefs are slowly decaying due to climate change, The ICRI says all is not lost. Some reefs will adapt to the slow heating of the oceans and eventually thrive once again. Actions must be taken to protect the coral reefs because of their important role in the ecosystem and not to mention their beauty. It seems the only thing we can to stop the decay of the coral reefs is to slow global warming or let some reefs die and others adapt.