The health of coral reefs continues to be a focus for marine biologists and researchers in Hawai‘i and around the world. A team in Australia has just returned with an update on the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef. HPR’s Bill Dorman has details in today’s Asia Minute.
The survey’s lead scientist says coral bleaching in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef is changing it forever. A team from James Cook University examined 520 reefs in the area, only 4 showed no evidence of bleaching.
Coral turns white, or “bleaches” when it expels the algae living in its tissues. One trigger is rising ocean temperatures. Bleached coral is still alive…but it is under extreme stress.
Team leader and coral expert Terry Hughes told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he expects “half of those corals to die in the coming month or so.” The Australian Institute of Marine Science says evidence going back 400 years shows no sign of extreme coral bleaching before the late 20th century.
Since 1998, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared three “global coral bleaching events”…including one that started last fall. The coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program says “coral bleaching and disease brought on by climate change and coupled with events like El Nino are the largest and most pervasive threats to coral reefs around the world.” You can learn more about coral reefs in Hawai‘i from the online Coral Health Atlas…put together by the research team at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.
