Many species of ocean coral becoming extinct

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
4/16/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Increased acidity in ocean water blamed for diminishing coral

Federal scientists say that more than half of the 82 species of coral being evaluated for inclusion under the Endangered Species Act "more likely than not" would go extinct by 2100 if climate policies and technologies are not addressed. The chief reason is "anthropogenic," or manmade releases of carbon dioxide as a key driver of warming seas and oceans absorbing more CO2, in turn making waters more acidic.

Pillar coral is a distinctive coral that grows in grey-brown or olive cylindrical columns that have a hairy appearance. This species is uncommon, but is found in the western Atlantic across the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Bahamas.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - In a report released last week, experts concluded in a report by the National Marine Fisheries Service that the "combined direct and indirect effects of rising temperature, including increased incidence of disease and ocean acidification, both resulting primarily from anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2, are likely to represent the greatest risks of extinction to all or most of the candidate coral species over the next century."

The report was intended to determine which species of coral merit protection. The Center for Biological Diversity in 2009 had petitioned for the review of 82 species it considers in jeopardy.

Of the 82 species, all of which are in U.S. waters, 46 are described as "more likely than not" to face extinction by 2100, while 10 are "likely," the report stated. Experts noted that the limited science of corals meant that "the overall uncertainty was high."

The fisheries service will next seek public comment as it considers the petition for listing.

The Center for Biological Diversity, which in 2006 petitioned and got protection for staghorn and elkhorn corals say that oceanic conditions have only worsened for corals.

"Coral reefs are home to 25 percent of marine life and play a vital function in ocean ecosystems," the center said in a statement. "Since the 1990s, coral growth has grown sluggish in some areas due to ocean acidification, and mass bleaching events are increasingly frequent."

Coral bleaching occurs when higher ocean temperatures make the coral expel symbiotic algae that lives on it and gives it most of its energy through photosynthesis. Without the algae, the corals are given a white bleached look, and if the sea temperatures stay high they don't recover.

Ocean acidification is another major threat to all coral. It occurs when the ocean's pH decreases due to uptake of excessive carbon dioxide, normally as a result of our burning fossil fuels. The coral then finds it much more difficult to grow its skeletons and structures.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Keywords: Corals, ocean acidity, extinction, conservation

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1 - 1 of 1 Comments

J.Bob
1 year ago
Before one get to excited about so call human caused (CO2) global warming, it might be worth while to look at the longest set of recorded temperature. This was from Central England, started in 1659.

http://www.climate4you.com/images/CentralEnglandTempSince1659%20880pixel.gif

Looking at the annual, center graph, have been many ups & downs, it would be hard to prove that any changes in the last 150 years, are much different then the other times in it's history.

If one were to draw a trend line, the warming trend started long before the industrial age. So it would have to be something other then CO2.

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