Corals thrive under very
specific conditions. For this reason climate change and ocean acidification threaten
coral fitness and health. Coastal development also introduces stresses to the
coral reef environment. These include pollution, destructive fishing and
boating practices, and over fishing. The confluence of these many factors makes
corals less fit and more susceptible to disease. One of the research goals of
this expedition is to better characterize disease in healthy populations in
order to better understand disease in stressed populations.
Disease is present in all
populations of animals, but as you might expect, when a population is already stressed
an opportunity is created for disease to gain a stronger foothold and destroy that
population. One example is that of the Caribbean.
Before the 1970’s the Caribbean
coral reef was flourishing. However, overfishing removed almost all the herbivorous
(vegetarian) fish. The lack of herbivorous
fish to crop back algae (like seaweed) creates an opportunity for algae to outcompete
the coral for space. At the time, there were still lots of urchins around to
eat the algae. Unfortunately, as coastal development continued and additional
stresses accumulated, a disease outbreak devastated the urchin population. This
tipped the balance in favor of algae, and the algae progressively smothered the
corals. If you visit the Caribbean
today, most of what you see is algae and dead coral. There are still some live
corals, but they are very different from the types of coral than once lived
there.
Although the general story of
the Caribbean is a sad one, we do find hope for Caribbean corals in the
reserves. These small reserves demonstrate that, with proper management and
conservation, the coral reefs can recover to some extent.
The next goal is to create measures
to also protect Hawaiian coral reefs, which are presently following the
destructive path that we saw in the Caribbean.
These measures include managing fishing and pollution, and monitoring
and treating coral disease. Fortunately, scientists, like those on this ship,
are discovering more about what diseases are present in healthy and stressed
populations, and are developing ways to treat them. Their research will go
toward preserving coral reefs in US waters and worldwide.
Interesting that it was only in 1970 that the coral reefs were flourishing. It was such a short time ago yet so much pollution has affected the growth. I loved what you had to write. It is very interesting and the photo is just beautiful. Love, MOM
ReplyDeleteCoral cancer! Wow, what an interesting photo that brings the point home about coral disease. It's hard to picture inanimate objects having disease but this does it well. Glad to be able to read about your experiences over there!
ReplyDeleteI think the picture of the tumor is really intersting. I was surprised that it wasn't very ugly. But, you could definitely tell it was tumor or an unusual appendage. Is it hard like coral? Do you guys break them off and sample them too? Would it be of value to you to know how long the tumor has been growing and at what rate? Love you tons. Inquisitive New Mexican
ReplyDeleteTonga 6.1 Earthquake, 17 Nov 2012 05:12:56 UTC.
ReplyDeleteDon't know where exactly you are but doubt you felt it.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000du43#summary
Nope, we didn't feel it up here in Micronesia. Finished the cruise with a week in Pohnpei, and just returned to the desk. Need to enter one or two more entries to wrap up the story. How was Bali?
ReplyDeleteNever went ... Obama's visit took over here, and now there's another Thai crisis brewing, so busy here.
ReplyDeleteThought you might be interested in this though, lol. South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist' - BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20442487
Sort of 'reverse' exploration. lol
Cheers.