[Coral-List] More Good News from down under.
Gene Shinn
eshinn at marine.usf.edu
Mon Jan 5 15:52:16 EST 2009
Just returned from the Florida Keys and read the
ad hominem attacks on the writer of the news
article. Interesting no one refuted what he said.
So what is the bottom line? Are the reefs there
better? unchanged? or worse? The article also
stimulated yet another round of what can be
called, "how can we get the word out?" responses.
So today I received yet another article from Down
Under that relates to getting the word out.
Journalism at its best!
Sydney Morning Herald, AU, January 2, 2009 - 3:18PM
Scientists fear the already declining growth rate
of the Great Barrier Reef's corals will stop
completely by 2050, killing off the reef and
making way for algae.
A new report shows the most robust corals on the
reef have slowed in growth by more than 14 per
cent since the "tipping point" in 1990.
The paper, published in the international journal
Science and written by scientists Dr Glenn
De'ath, Dr Janice Lough and Dr Katharina
Fabricius, shows evidence of a decline in the
calcification rates in the Great Barrier Reef
corals.
The Australian Institute of Science paper claims
the decline has been caused by a combination of
rising sea surface temperatures and ocean
acidification.
Calcification refers to how much skeleton the coral forms each year.
When large amounts of carbon dioxide enter the
seawater, the resulting chemical change reduces a
marine organism's ability to form skeletons and
protect itself against the environment.
Dr Lough said the evidence was alarming.
"It is cause for extreme concern that such
changes are already evident, with the relatively
modest climate changes observed to date," she
said.
Dr De'ath said according to the trends, coral
would stop growing altogether by 2050 and be
replaced by algae, to the detriment of
biodiversity in the area.
"The data suggest that this severe and sudden
decline in calcification is unprecedented in at
least 400 years," he said.
The situation would create a devastating chain
reaction for species in the area, Dr De'ath said.
"Algae will take over the area, small fish will
lose their habitat, then the larger fish that eat
the small fish will starve," he said.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said she was
worried by increasing scientific evidence of the
state of the reef.
The government has announced it will this year
begin regulating chemical run-off from farming or
agricultural activities into the reef for the
first time.
"I know there is not a lot of farmers who are
happy with my decision ... but we have a special
responsibility to look after it, and 2009 will
see new laws that will further protect the Great
Barrier Reef," Ms Bligh said.
© 2009 AAP
Bottom line: Is the word is getting out? Guess it
depends a lot on whose word and which "tipping
points". Now what about those long nosed puffer
fish? Gene
--
No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
Marine Science Center (room 204)
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
Tel 727
553-1158----------------------------------
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