Coral Monitoring, Coral Bleaching and Climate Change

Why Monitor Coral Reefs?
Very little is known about the trends of coral bleaching on a global scale. There are many questions that need to be answered regarding patterns of bleaching and recovery as well as the severity and duration of bleaching events. CoralWatch volunteers will contribute data to help answer many of these questions.
Dive and snorkel volunteers make it possible to measure small natural fluctuations in the coloration of healthy corals to immediately identify changes outside of the normal range. With your support it’s also possible to monitor coral health throughout the year, not just during bleaching events, and help determine factors that influence coral health.
*What is climate change?
Earth is surrounded by a blanket of gases that keep the surface warm and helps make life possible. This blanket is currently getting thicker largely due to greenhouse gas release caused by burning fossil fuels and deforestation. As the blanket gets thicker more heat is retained underneath, which alters the climate. Because the ocean comprises nearly 70 percent of the earth’s surface, it is not only crucial to influencing the global climate, but also harbors some of the most diverse and important ecosystems. In addition, research currently indicates that climate change will increasingly challenge coastal and marine ecosystems in the next century. If current trends continue temperatures may increase 2.5 – 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1.4 – 5.8 degrees Celsius) by 2100.

What can you do?
Some changes are inevitable – even if gas emission stops today, the gases already released will have an effect in the future. This means that it is essential to do everything to avoid further changes. The good news is that because everyday activities also contribute to climate change there are many ways to tackle the issue on an individual level and as a diver. Here are 10 easy things you can do:

1. Switch off your lights and electric appliances when not needed
2. Choose energy saving appliances
3. Use a line to air dry clothing instead of a dryer
4. Use lids when cooking (water heats quicker with the lid on)
5. Use energy saving light bulbs and recycle
6. Walk or cycle when traveling short distances
7. Use rechargeable batteries
8. Share your concern with your local politicians
9. Become educated and inform friends and family on climate change issues
10. Contribute to awareness's and help with data collection by participating in coral monitoring activities

For more information on the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems, you can go to the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre's Biodiversity and Climate Change Programme website or the online Climate Change Communication Initiative.

**Coral Bleaching

Couresy of CoralWatch, example of bleached coral	Couresy of CoralWatch, example of healthy coral

Increases in ocean temperatures contribute to coral bleaching episodes – a process whereby corals lose symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), living inside their tissue supplying coral with energy. This loss leaves coral transparent and reveals the white coral skeleton underneath. This potentially fatal process yields the “bleached” appearance.
Although corals can slowly recover from brief bleaching episodes, coral death is common when high temperatures are sustained for long periods. And once bleached, coral is even more susceptible to additional pressures including pollution, overfishing and disease that often lead to coral mortality. Although the effects of bleaching range from moderate to severe, experts agree that bleaching episodes have become much more severe in the past few decades. And they are likely to reoccur in the future with increased frequency.


Coral Monitoring, Coral Bleaching and Climate Change

OceanNEnvironment

OceanNEnvironment only undertake projects that yield measurable goals and objectives.

Our positional statements are:

• 
  
  The single MOST important reason why coral reefs are dying is that there are too many people on this planet. We believe that if the focuses of our conservation efforts are directed to benefit the local people, like feeding them, or providing them with resources to benefit from the eco - tourism, the reef will save itself.
• If long-term conservation is to take place - it is dependent on our capacity to persuade local people that they will be ‘better off’ protecting the natural system than degrading it, by creation of markets for goods and services in an environmentally manner.
• If local people gain from sustainable use of the coral reef through tourism, they will protect this asset and may even invest future resources into it. Marine parks and reserves cannot survive without the support of the local people.
• We believe that understanding, appreciation and love begets preservation and protection people can only protect and preserve what they love therefore it is important that they have affinity and connection to the environment. In this aspect OceanNEnvironment actively support marine research and educational programs with financial grants

See : OceanNEnvironment

Reef A Photographic Journey

“We feel a deep sense of connection with the ocean and its reefs and with that connection comes responsibility. Although we have lost almost a quarter of the planet’s reefs, those we see in this book still thrive — we are capable of saving them.” – Sylvia A. Earle, from the foreword to Reef

Following in the steps of DK’s highly acclaimed Rainforest , Reef is a vibrant full-color photographic celebration of the world’s “rainforests of the sea” that pictorially progresses through an ecological chain that goes from algae, sponges, and mollusks, to the thousands of fishes that make their homes there, while showcasing coral reefs as one of nature's most magnificent creations. This vivid collection of photographs with accompanying DVD from underwater photography collective Scubazoo, reveals reefs and the thousands of unique and valuable plants that inhabit them as they’ve never been seen before!

Sales of this book support the Coral Reef Alliance.

Email from Peter about Google and Shark Finning: Shark Fin Ads on Google

Just recieved this from the Coral list email, quite encouraging that Google's "Don't be evil" extends to the oceans of our world as well.

Stuart

====================================================

From: Pete Faulkner
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 9:53 PM
Subject: [Coral-List] Shark Fin Ads on Google

Dear Listers

Following on from my post some time ago regarding Google Adwords for a shark fin supplier....

Having had numerous email conversations with Google (not an easy task in itself!) I have finally had a response from them suggesting that the posting of advertising for shark fins violates their advertising standards. We can therefore expect the removal of the offending advertisement in the near future.

I know that many of you also wrote to Google to express your concerns so I thought you would like to know that we have collectively had some success.

Cheers
Pete Faulkner

--
Pete Faulkner

Conus Dive Training        Partner
Mission : awareness        Presenter
Coral Cay Conservation  Chairman
PADI Master Instructor    #615745
Reef Check Australia      Trainer

www.conusdivetcs.com.au
www.coralcay.org
_______________________________________________
Coral-List mailing list
Coral-List@coral.aoml.noaa.gov
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

Can Coral Reefs Survive Global Warming? - Undercurrent, January 2007

Can Coral Reefs Survive Global Warming? - Undercurrent, January 2007:

from the January, 2007 issue of Undercurrent

In just the last year, the scientific community produced a plethora of studies that have quashed any lingering doubt - global warming is here, and it is damaging the ocean.

This just confirms what many divers have seen with their own eyes. Bleached-out corals used to be a rarity. Now the ghostly white skeletons of dead or dying corals are a common sight in the Florida Keys, throughout the Bahamas and the Caribbean, around Pacific Island and even in the most remote Pacific coral atolls. Last summer, hot water caused the worst coral bleaching ever observed in reefs from Florida to Panama.

For more information about what you can do to save the reefs, contact these organizations:

Environmental Defense:
www.environmentaldefense.org
www.fightglobalwarming.com

Global Warming Undo It: www.undoit.org
Stop Global Warming: www.stopglobalwarming.org
Coral Reef Alliance: www.coral.org
Reef Relief: www.reefrelief.org
Seacology: www.seacology.org

Long strands of dull, gray-green algae and seaweeds now dominate reefs once alive with colorful corals and other organisms that build the structures that have supported reefs for thousands of years. Corals and the many other reef species"

Can Coral Reefs Survive Global Warming? - Undercurrent, January 2007:

Asia-Pacific Coral Reef Program

Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Indonesia : Asia-Pacific Coral Reef Program

Coral reefs of the Asia-Pacific region contain the most diverse concentrations of life on the planet. Indonesia and Papua New Guinea form two sides of the renowned diversity hotspot know as the “coral triangle,” while Fiji, diverse in its own right, is famous for its spectacularly colorful coral communities and array of endemic species. WCS operates a marine project in each of these countries, integrating ecological and socioeconomic research to provide novel approaches to conservation and management while meeting community needs.

The Human Aspect
The majority of coastal communities throughout Indonesia, PNG, and Fiji rely heavily upon marine resources for sustenance and income. With coastal populations rapidly expanding, and a move towards more modern, efficient and damaging fishing methods, many reefs in the Asia-Pacific region are facing threats of overexploitation and destruction. This in turn is affecting the livelihoods of the communities that are so heavily dependent upon the marine environment. Achieving marine conservation in the region requires finding a balance between conserving biological wealth and maintaining the livelihoods of the communities dependent upon the marine environments.

Threats
The most significant threats facing coral reefs in this region are overfishing, destructive fishing practices, and coral bleaching. The generally long life spans of targeted reef species, as well as the relatively low productivity of reef ecosystems, makes reef fishery stocks particularly susceptible to overfishing. Furthermore, a number of fishing methods commonly employed in the region, including dynamite and cyanide fishing and the use of monofilament nets, not only deplete fisheries stocks at an alarming rate, but also damage or destroy essential reef habitats. The bleaching of corals from elevated sea temperatures is also significantly changing reef habitats, and the long-term impacts of this phenomenon are still largely unknown.

WCS Activities
WCS uses an integrated natural and social science approach to identify which types of management are successful in maintaining or improving reef ecosystem condition and which socioeconomic factors are responsible for this success. So far, WCS has found that management systems that are most responsive to the needs and priorities of local communities achieve the best compliance with management regulations and subsequently achieve the greatest conservation success. WCS is now beginning to implement identified successful management strategies in receptive communities. In PNG and Fiji, existing systems of customary marine tenure (community ownership of reefs) will be used as an avenue to implement and enforce management strategies, while in Indonesia, alternative systems of management will be implemented and tested within the framework of national park zoning plans.

The long-term success of conservation strategies in the region will also rely heavily upon a strong local scientific staff to implement, monitor, and adapt management strategies. One of the major objectives of this program is to build the capacity of young local marine scientists to carry out research and monitoring within each country. WCS’ activities to achieve this objective include marine training courses, supervision of postgraduate projects, and one-on-one mentoring of interns working with the program. It is hoped that through these activities, WCS can build a strong local scientific contingent to continue conservation efforts in the Asia-Pacific region well into the future.

Important Next Steps

• Continue to identify the most effective management strategies.
• Develop optimal management strategies tailored to local social, cultural, and economic conditions.
• Implement optimal management strategies in receptive communities as part of a locally managed marine area network.
• Monitor, evaluate, and adapt management strategies to ensure their long-term effectiveness.
• Train young scientists, conservation practitioners, and managers to be able to implement and adapt management strategies and to train others in marine research and monitoring techniques.

Scuba Diving Fiji: Scientists go hi-tech to save coral

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Scientists go hi-tech to save coral:

Scientists go hi-tech to save coral

At cold depths, the rate of growth is very slow

Less is known about the floor of the world's oceans than the surface of the Moon.

It is only in the past few decades that technology allowing humans to peer into the previously uncharted depths has become available to scientists.

Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and manned submersible craft have opened up to exploration a whole new world of deep marine ecosystems.

One of the most startling discoveries has been the number of coral reefs living hundreds of metres beneath the surface, in temperatures ranging from 4-13C (39-55F).

The existence of cold-water corals has been known since the 18th Century, but the vast number of reefs found in the deeper reaches of the world's waters has amazed researchers.

Yet just as scientists are beginning to understand the significance of the coral to the surrounding environment, they are also witnessing destruction.

'Glacial' growth

Environmentalists point the finger of blame at the fishing industry and the practice of bottom-trawling with drag nets.

This method of fishing involves scouring the sea bed with huge nets that are some 60m-wide; they are held apart by two huge metal plates weighing up to five tonnes.

Submersibles have brought a revolution in understanding

"It's heavy gear, and the reefs and the coral colonies are very fragile and easily damaged," Jan Helge Fossa, chief scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, tells TVE's Earth Report programme for BBC World.

"So it was quite obvious that this was an activity that couldn't go on," he adds.

Cold corals are very slow growing. Some individuals are estimated to be up to 1,800 years old, and many reefs began forming at the end of the last Ice Age.

Damage inflicted by bottom-trawling can result in catastrophic consequences for the species living amid the reefs.

Onboard the institute's research vessel, Dr Helge Fossa is leading a survey for cold corals off the northern coast of Norway.

Robot eyes

The Institute provides advice on the marine environment to the Norwegian government, which is one of the few nations that have introduced laws to protect cold-water corals.

After performing a multibeam sonar sweep that provides a real-time map of the search area, the team launches a ROV through the side of the ship.

I have never heard a person in Norway, after looking at the videos, who objects to protection Dr Jan Helge Fossa, Norwegian marine scientist

Once the vehicle reaches the site 200m below the surface, its four powerful lights allow the onboard camera to beam pictures back to the scientists on the surface.

"What we see here is only coral rubble, and it's trawled out to small pieces," Dr Helge Fossa observes. "We have so far seen no live coral."

It is not long before the prime suspect is located: discarded trawling equipment. Closer inspection reveals that the nets and gear are likely to be about 20 years old.

Norway's Coral Act 1999 protects all coral reefs in the nation's waters from intentional damage, and bottom-trawling has been completely banned in areas surrounding five specific reefs.

However, the country has the longest coastline in Europe, making monitoring and policing the region a tough task.

Video campaign

To date, there have been no prosecutions from data gathered by the space-borne Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), but Dr Helge Fossa's team hopes images obtained by its high-definition submersible-camera system will help change that.

The Norwegian expedition finds evidence of discarded gear

"We know that it is important to get our results out, not only to the government but also to the public," he says. "That's why we use a lot of videos, it tells more than a thousand words."

He said it made people understand why the complex ecosystems needed protecting: "I have never heard a person in Norway, after looking at the videos, who objects to protection."

Some scientists believe that other nations should adopt similar protection measures as Norway, otherwise many more deep cold-water reefs will resemble a lunar surface.

The Television Trust for the Environment's (TVE) Earth Report - Cold Corals Deep will be broadcast on BBC World on 21 and 23 October 2006. Please check schedules for further details

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/6067806.stm

Published: 2006/10/20 12:17:05 GMT

© BBC MMVII