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