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The Fate of the Coral Reefs

The Fate of the Coral Reefs. Global Warming’s Effect on Ocean Ecosystem By: Pat Wise. www.divegallery.com. http://liveandletdive.googlepages.com/dreamstimeweb_7417461_reef.JPG/dreamstimeweb_7417461_reef-full.jpg. http://spy- spider.com/skull_and_crossbones.png.

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The Fate of the Coral Reefs

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  1. The Fate of the Coral Reefs Global Warming’s Effect on Ocean Ecosystem By: Pat Wise www.divegallery.com

  2. http://liveandletdive.googlepages.com/dreamstimeweb_7417461_reef.JPG/dreamstimeweb_7417461_reef-full.jpghttp://liveandletdive.googlepages.com/dreamstimeweb_7417461_reef.JPG/dreamstimeweb_7417461_reef-full.jpg http://spy-spider.com/skull_and_crossbones.png http://www.australiaone.com.au/images/public/Great-Barrier-Reef-QLD.jpg

  3. What is Coral Mate? • Phylum - Cnidaria • Class - Anthozoa • Reef building secrete CaCO3 skeletons • Neritic Zone of Ocean (Shallow) • Sunlight and warm water! • Cnidocytes http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Coral/sciclasscr.html

  4. Sweet Place to Live • Home to 9 million Species • Maximum Production! • One of Four • Sick Hiding Spots www.apple.com

  5. Symbiosis WOAH! Awesome! • Photosynthetic Dinoflagellates • Zooxantheallae – Nitrogenous waste, CO2, and a Home • Coral – Photosynthetic capability and increased CaCO3 production • Pigmented algae produce colorful coral http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/photos/corals.html http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/coral3.htm

  6. Global Warming (In Case You Forgot) http://www.younggreens.ie/main/?p=89

  7. Coral Bleaching… Not Cool • Increased Water Temperature • Zooxantheallae don’t pull their weight • Algae expelled from Coral • Leaves white coral behind www.abc.net.au/reslib/ 200704/r135574_457949.jpg

  8. Coral Bleaching… is Ugly • Coral Death leads to algae and soft coral overgrowth • Marine “Weeds” www.gbrmpa.gov.au http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/image_full/international/photosvideos/photos/bleached-coral-great-barrier

  9. Damage Done – Great Barrier Reef • 42% of Great Barrier Reef bleached in 1998 • 18% suffered permanent damage • El Niño in 2002 warmed water temperatures affecting 60% of GBR • Killed 90% of reef forming corals on some inshore reefs

  10. Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). Climate Change, Coral Bleaching and the Future of the World's Coral Reefs. Mar. Freshw. Res.

  11. The Future • CO2 increases will lead to further water temp. increases • Dr. Terry Done – “1° increase in global temperature = 82% reef bleaching, 2° increase = 97%, 3° = Total devastation” • Graph – Temp increase/bleaching threshold vs. Time • Increasing CO2 levels in ocean (acidification) hurts coral’s ability to generate CaC)3 reef structures. http://www.sciencemag.org/

  12. Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). Climate Change, Coral Bleaching and the Future of the World's Coral Reefs. Mar. Freshw. Res.

  13. Effects on Fish • Lose Habitat • Massive Extinctions • GobiodonSpecies C • Biodiversity Loss • Food Production www.mahonia.org

  14. Red Tides • 1998 El Niño results in massive burning of Indonesian Rainforests • Iron rich smog develops • Toxin producing Dinoflagellates (red in color) produce red tide • Devastating effect – carcinogens (Kareniabrevis) wildcoast.blog.com

  15. Red Tides… Even Worse • 2002 – El Niño produces smog over Southeast Asia • Size of the United States • Cut sunlight by 10% • Heated lower atmosphere and Ocean • Hundreds of Millions of dollars worth of aquaculture damaged • Southeastern Coral Reefs may be permanently damaged

  16. A New Hope? • Symbiodinium • 50/400 = F- • No Complexity • Migration • To Where? Google.images.com

  17. What to Do??? • Lower CO2 Emissions • Stop Overfishing • Protect Reefs from non-water warming harm (Tourism, Boating, Overfishing) • Stop El Niño!

  18. More Simple Solutions • Turn off the Lights! • Eat less meat • Turn down your thermostat • Use electricity over natural gas • Use the fireplace! • Ride your bike • Make daily sacrifices to Gukumatz (Very Important) http://www.yovendomicasa.es/images/dibujoserpientecols2.jpg

  19. Hughes, T.P. et al. 2003. Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs. Science 301, pp. 929-33 • Freeman, Scott. Biological Science. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2004. • Flannery, Tim. The Weather Makers, Our Changing Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2005. 104-13. • Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). Climate Change, Coral Bleaching and the Future of the World's Coral Reefs. Mar. Freshw. Res. • Donner, S., Skirving, W. J., Little, C. M., Oppenheimer, M. and Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2005). Global assessment of coral bleaching and required rates of adaptation under climate change. Glob. Chan. Biol. • "Garden Sprinklers May Save Reef from Bleaching." ABC News. 15 June 2007. ABC. 10 Nov. 2008 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/15/1951896.htm>.

  20. Facebook.com

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