Saving Troubled Coral Reefs
(Inside Science TV) -- Coral reefs have existed for more than 50 million years. But today, these living habitats that millions of species call home are in danger of dying out.
“Coral reefs are often thought of as the rainforest of the sea,” said Andrew Baker, a marine biologist at the University of Miami in Florida.
Coral reefs provide food to ocean life and shield some beach communities from storms. “Without them, the waves would come right to shore,” Baker said.
Some scientists who study coral claim they could harbor clues to new medical insights. About 25 percent of all ocean species depend on reefs for food and shelter.
But over 20 percent of the world’s coral reef population has died in the last 20 years.
“We are at risk of losing the most bio-diverse ecosystem on the planet,” said Baker.
Climate change and soil runoff have disrupted the coral ecosystem. Coral has a symbiotic – or interdependent – relationship with algae that is usually beneficial to both the coral and the algae. Now scientists have learned that too much algae in warm water can be harmful.
“Coral actually expel the algae causing them to turn white,” said Ross Cunning, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Miami .
This effect – called bleaching – can be deadly. Some algae protect the coral, but too much algae produces toxins. The coral’s defense against the toxic algae is to get rid of it.
Cunning said, “What actually causes corals to bleach is a disruption of the photosynthesis that takes place in the algae.”
Now, scientists use a new test to count the algae in coral, which helps scientists identify which corals are most at risk.
“We’ll be able to say if a certain coral may be more susceptible to bleaching or not,” said Cunning.
They believe the keys to saving the coral from bleaching is to treat waste water before it enters the ocean, and minimize polluted runoff.
Cunning said, “By minimizing stressors that actually increase the algae in corals, we can actually help them be less susceptible to bleaching.”
