Coral Bleaching: Politics and Culture

            In addition to their influence on sea life, corals also have a major impact upon human life. They play a substantial role in protecting the shores from damage and erosion that results from severe tropical storms. This serves as a benefit to humans living along the shores, who may otherwise be subjected to the devastation affiliated with the damage that such natural occurrences initiate.

Coral and coral reefs serve as a primary factor in terms of their economic value to humans, as they provide humans with jobs as well as the benefits elicited by tourism, fishing, and other means of oceanic recreation (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011). The aesthetic beauty demonstrated by these coral colonies attract millions of tourists to the tropical regions of the Earth every year. In addition, because the coral serves as a habitat for various species of fish, they also attract fishermen, who may fish for fun or are licensed to catch fish to sell for food and other means, such as aquariums.

 Furthermore, corals and coral reefs also provide biomedical researchers with the means to explore new sources of medicine to utilize for various ailments endured by humans (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011). Before resorting to engineered means of medication, genuine researchers in the medical field like to first turn to natural resources that may potentially serve this purpose. This way, they reduce the risk of harming the humans who will be treated with synthetic materials.

Finally, these organisms are a very important part of various cultures practiced by humans around the world, such as Polynesians (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011). According to C. Wilkinson of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (2008), "Coral reef declines will have alarming consequences for approximately 500 million people who depend on coral reefs for food, coastal protection, building materials, and income from tourism. This includes 30 million who are virtually totally dependent on coral reefs for their livelihoods or for the land they live on (atolls)."

            Thus, climate and global warming pose a significant influence upon the bleaching endured by corals and coral reefs. Increased sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) associated with climate change/global warming have caused bleaching in scleractinian corals (the loss of obligate symbiotic zooxanthellae) on a global basis, resulting in mass mortality of corals and decimation of reefs” (Sammarco and Strychar, 2009). This suggests that corals are a proficient indicator of climate changes that occur, thereby allowing humans to determine potential means of preventing the negative consequences of global warming from occurring and affecting them.

In turn, humans may also be able to prevent the detrimental effects that climate change and global warming have on the coral species, thereby allowing themselves to continue to enjoy the economic and health services provided by the species. According to Haslun et al. (2011), “Coral exposed to short periods of temperature stress (1.0°C above mean monthly maximum) and/or increased frequencies of high temperatures may bolster resilience to global warming associated with climate change.” With this notion taken into consideration, humans may be able to decide which tropical areas would be the best in which to utilize the resources provided by corals and coral reefs. Specifically, according to the study conducted by Haslun et al. (2011), areas in which corals have been exposed to global warming or changes in global climate the most are much more likely to resiliate after undergoing bleaching as a result of such incidences. Therefore, living in these areas and using the corals that exist within them would prove to allow humans to utilized the resources to their fullest potential.

Referenced Links:

http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/values/

http://www.environmentalindicatorsjournal.net/Journal/DisplayArticle/tabid/57/ArticleId/106/Effects-of-Climate-Change-Global-Warming-on-Coral-Reefs-Adaptation-Exaptation-in-Corals-Evolution-in.aspx

Coral Bleaching: Research

            Throughout history, studies have continued to demonstrate the numerous dangers elicited by the effects of global warming. The negative aspects of these effects have proven to harm the living organisms of the earth. While the influence of these effects is most primarily noted in terms of the health and safety of human beings, researchers have also determined how they pertain to the nature of coral

reefs. Specifically, the instance of coral bleaching was studied, which involves a negative reaction to the imposition of stress upon the coral. This stress, in turn, results in further detrimental effects if the bleaching period is prolonged. Coral is a significant element of sea life, as it provides many important ecosystem services to both humans and organisms residing within the ocean. One researcher who has conducted several studies in terms of coral bleaching and the way it is affected by global climate change is Joshua A. Haslun.

            Joshua A. Haslun is a biological researcher and professor at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. The history of his published works with regards to coral bleaching as it is influenced by global climate changes is not very extensive. However, the publications that Professor Haslun is accredited for are highly beneficial to the studies associated with this topic, as his experiments and research has contributed a great deal to those of other modern-day researchers who are studying the same field and topic. One of Haslun’s publications includes a 2011 journal article, which was published in the Journal of Marine Biology. This article demonstrates Haslun’s efforts with his research team during an experiment that they were conducting with regards to the susceptibility of corals to the bleaching process, and how short-term prior exposure to excessively high temperatures affects or influences this susceptibility.

According to Haslun et al. (2011), “Coral exposed to short periods of temperature stress (1.0°C above mean monthly maximum) and/or increased frequencies of high temperatures may bolster resilience to global warming associated with climate change.” With this contribution taken into consideration, it can be determined that humans may be able to decide which tropical areas would be the best in which to utilize the resources provided by corals and coral reefs. Specifically, according to the study conducted by Haslun et al. (2011), areas in which corals have been exposed to global warming or changes in global climate the most are much more likely to resiliate after undergoing bleaching as a result of such incidences. Therefore, living in these areas and using the corals that exist within them would prove to allow humans to utilized the resources to their fullest potential.

Aside from the aforementioned research experimental study conducted by Joshua A. Haslun, the professor has also been partially creditedd for two other research or scholarly journal articles. The first other article was published a year after the aforementioned article - in the year 2012 - in Volume 102, Issue 2 of the journal, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. Specifically, the article was about the researchers’ introduction of a new marine syndrome, which they had acknowledged and referred to as Ulcerated Yellow Spot Syndrome, which had been “affecting the soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi. To identify bacteria associated with tissue lesions, tissue and mucus samples were taken during a 2009 Indo-Pacific research expedition near the Wakatobi Island chain, Indonesia” (Cervino et al., 2012). After conducting this research experiment, Haslun and his research affiliates came to the conclusion that, based on their results and findings, “the presence of known aquaculture pathogens in lesioned soft coral” could be verified, and may therefore serve as “a concern with respect to cross-species epizootics in the tropics” (Cervino et al., 2012). In addition to this research study, Haslun was also a part of a third study, which was published in a 2011 article found in Volume 6, Issue 10 of the Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE). Specifically, the study concerned the “development of gene expression markers of acute heat-light stress in reef-building Corals of the genus porites” (Kenkel et al., 2011).

Referenced Links:

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jmb/2011/406812/

http://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?eid=2-s2.0-84872177487&origin=inward&txGid=281BEDBDFD58248EE59ED00FCF8E12B5.Vdktg6RVtMfaQJ4pNTCQ%3a8

http://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?eid=2-s2.0-80055027572&origin=inward&txGid=281BEDBDFD58248EE59ED00FCF8E12B5.Vdktg6RVtMfaQJ4pNTCQ%3a5

Coral Bleaching: Current Event

            On June 3rd, 2014, Science Daily reported findings that were conducted by researchers at the University of Georgia in terms of what really happens to corals during periods of unusually high oceanic temperatures. The details of the study were published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography. Specifically, the researchers focused in incredible detail on an instance of coral bleaching that had occurred in the Caribbean, as well as how this instance had negatively affected the algae that surrounded the coral.

            Single-celled algae that lives in, on, and around coral reefs serves as the corals’ source of nourishment. The algae is also responsible for maintaining the corals’ color, which is stripped away from the organism during the process of coral bleaching. The article states, “many species of these algae are highly sensitive to temperature, and are unable to survive as ocean waters warm. The coral can expel these algae when the water temperature grows too high, a phenomenon known as coral bleaching” (University of Georgia, 2014). In essence, when algae are exposed to the unusually high water temperatures, they die out and lose their function, thereby negatively affecting the lives of the corals that they inhabit.

            Since the year 2007, Dustin Kemp, “a postdoctoral associate in the UGA Odum School of Ecology,” studied the occurrence of coral bleaching by routinely examining samples “from six colonies of Orbicella faveolata, also known as mountainous star coral, and their associated symbiotic algae” (University of Georgia, 2014). The studies lead by Kemp occurred progressively over the course of two years, during which he and his team took samples from corals found in all six of the aforementioned colonies. The researchers took samples from corals that had both retained their color as well as those that looked as though they had undergone coral bleaching. Because the studies went on for two years, the researchers were able to observe and analyze coral samples from organisms before bleaching, during the bleaching process, and after the bleaching process was over (University of Georgia, 2014).

            The results of the study showed that, during the process of coral bleaching, the heat-sensitive algae had died out, while the heat-tolerant algae remained consistent in number. Two months later, the “heat-tolerant algae had taken over the parts of the coral formerly occupied by the heat-sensitive algae” (University of Georgia, 2014). Kemp noted that the corals eventually recovered from the bleaching event, but that “there could be potential trade-offs associated with the shift to heat-tolerant algae,” such as the possibility that “some heat-tolerant algae may provide less food than those they might replace” (University of Georgia, 2014). However, the article suggests that the researchers are conducting further research in order to learn more about these potential trade-offs. Specifically, it notes, “Kemp is currently conducting research at reefs in the Caribbean and Pacific, looking at how heat-tolerant algae affect corals in areas where corals have been documented to have stable, long-term associations with heat-tolerant algae” (University of Georgia, 2014).

Referenced Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140603135827.htm

Coral Bleaching: Introduction

            The topic that I chose concerns the effects of global warming and/or climate change on the notion of coral bleaching. Coral is a significant element of sea life, as it provides many important ecosystem services to both humans and organisms residing within the ocean. These qualities are severely threatened by the effects of global warming and climate change. The effects of coral bleaching are severely influenced by global climate change and global warming. During bleaching, a coral experiences discoloration, and the white of the coral skeleton is exposed. Coral bleaching imposes several detrimental effects upon the lives of the corals affected. Such effects include reduced skeletal growth and reproductive activity, as well as a lowered capacity to shed sediments (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011). In addition, it diminishes the coral’s ability to resist the invasions of competing species and diseases. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011).

image from google.com

As a result of these effects, the afflicted corals endure massive mortality rates and severe destruction of collective reefs. The significance of this issue lies primarily within the concern of the threats imposed upon the vital services that these corals and coral reefs provide to the ecosystem, including health and economic value. They serve as a source of food for a numerous amount of species and organisms - including humans - and provide a habitat for various species of sea life to reside within. In addition, corals and coral reefs provide a safe place for significant fish species to give birth and raise their young.

In addition to their influence on sea life, corals also have a major impact upon human life. They play a substantial role in protecting the shores from damage and erosion that results from severe tropical storms. This serves as a benefit to humans living along the shores, who may otherwise be subjected to the devastation affiliated with the damage that such natural occurrences initiate.

Coral and coral reefs serve as a primary factor in terms of their economic value to humans, as they provide humans with jobs as well as the benefits elicited by tourism, fishing, and other means of oceanic recreation. The aesthetic beauty demonstrated by these coral colonies attract millions of tourists to the tropical regions of the Earth every year. In addition, because the coral serves as a habitat for various species of fish, they also attract fishermen, who may fish for fun or are licensed to catch fish to sell for food and other means, such as aquariums.

Furthermore, corals and coral reefs also provide biomedical researchers with the means to explore new sources of medicine to utilize for various ailments endured by humans (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011). Before resorting to engineered means of medication, genuine researchers in the medical field like to first turn to natural resources that may potentially serve this purpose. This way, they reduce the risk of harming the humans who will be treated with synthetic materials. Finally, these organisms are a very important part of various cultures practiced by humans around the world, such as Polynesians.

Thus, studying the topic of how global warming affects coral bleaching is significant. Hence, in turn, it is equally important to determine what humans have already done to prevent global warming. It is also significant to determine what humans can do to further protect the coral colonies from the negative effects it imposes upon them.

Referenced Link: http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/values/