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World coral reefs to die by 2050, scientist warns

 

Thursday, September 06, 2001

By Ed Cropley, Reuters

 

 

GLASGOW, Scotland & #8212; The world's coral reefs will be dead within 50 years

because of global warming, and there is nothing we can do to save them, a

scientist warned Wednesday.

" It is hard to avoid the conclusion that most coral in most areas will be lost, "

Rupert Ormond, a marine biologist from Glasgow University, told a science

conference. " We are looking at a loss which is equivalent to the tropical rain

forests. "

 

Only the coral reefs in nontropical regions such as Egypt stand any chance of

lasting beyond 2050, Ormond said, but even the days of the stunning marine parks

of the Red Sea are numbered as sea temperatures continue to creep up.

 

In the past, reefs have suffered from sediment buildup and the coral-eating

crown-of-thorns starfish, whose numbers have exploded due to the over-fishing of

their predators.

 

Now the main threat to the delicate structures that harbor some of nature's most

stunning creations comes from warmer seas, which cause coral bleaching.

 

Microscopic algae that support the coral polyps cannot live in the warmer water,

and the polyps, the tiny creatures who actually create the reefs, die off within

weeks.

 

Scientists agree the world's oceans are now warming at a rate of between one and

two degrees Celsius every 100 years due to the increased amounts of greenhouse

gases in the atmosphere which trap the sun's rays.

 

But even if humans stopped pumping out greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide

tomorrow in a bid to halt the process, it would still be too late to save the

reefs, Ormond said. " I don't know what can be done, given that there's a 50-year

time lag between trying to limit carbon dioxide levels and any effect on ocean

temperature, " he told the conference, held by the British Association for the

Advancement of Science.

 

The implications stretch far beyond the death of the colorful coral structures

themselves. The weird and wonderful eels and fish which inhabit the nooks and

crannies will become homeless, and many species will die out. " We are looking at

a gradual running down of the whole system. Over time, the diversity of coral

fish will die, " Ormond said.

 

Humankind will also suffer directly as the dead reefs are eroded and shorelines

that have been protected for the last 10,000 years face the wrath of the oceans

without their natural defenses.

 

In an age of relatively cheap scuba-diving holidays, this also means many

developing countries in the tropics, such as Kenya or those in the Caribbean,

face losing a major source of revenue.

 

The only cause for optimism was that new coral reefs could start to emerge in

colder waters such as the north Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

 

 

Copyright 2001, Reuters