Feb. 23, 2010 — Is it possible for coral reefs
to go extinct? And how important could reefs be anyways? This is a topic that
should not be taken lightly.
“Dr. Simon Donner, who studies the frequency of coral bleaching
events, talked about the vulnerability of coral reefs to climate change due to
higher ocean temperatures. Corals get most of their energy from microscopic
algae that live in their tissue. These algae are colorful and are what gives
corals their vivid hue. When environmental factors go out of the range that
corals are used to (such as warming water), the symbiosis between the coral and
the algae breaks down and corals effectively expel the algae and turn white.
The coral is then deprived of its source of energy, and dies.”
With the climate changing rapidly, it is predicted that the
bleaching of the reefs will increase and, according to Dr. Donner, it doesn’t
look good. Since millions of people who live in the tropics rely heavily on
coral reefs for survival, losing reefs is a serious issue. "Obviously,
there's an aesthetic concern because people see Finding Nemo and they're
worried about what's going to happen to the world's coral reefs, but the key
thing is that there are hundreds of millions of people who depend on them for
their livelihood," says Dr. Donner.
But, the position we are in isn’t entirely bleak. No one is
expecting all coral reefs to disappear. Some will survive, but only in specific
habitats, like shady areas. “The reality is a general loss of coral cover and a
breakdown of the physical structure of reefs.”
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