survival of coral reefs depends on pollution cuts
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Survival of coral reefs depends on pollution cuts

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Survival of coral reefs depends on pollution cuts

Fish swim near a healthy coral reef in the Indian ocean's channel off Pate island in the Lamu archipelago.
Miami - Arab Today

Some corals may naturally adapt to climate change, but their ability to survive could be outpaced by global warming unless cuts are made to greenhouse gas emissions, researchers said Wednesday.

Coral reefs carry an annual global economic value of $375 billion per year because they provide shelter for fish and marine life, protect shorelines and draw tourism to coastal areas.

But climate change, pollution, storms, bleaching and disease are endangering reefs worldwide, and up to 90 percent are in danger of dying off by mid-century, scientists have warned.

The study in the journal Science Advances looked at a kind of cool-water coral species known as tabletop corals (Acropora hyacinthus) in the South Pacific's Cook Islands.

Some of these corals have genetic variants that make them naturally able to tolerate heat and rising temperatures.

But researchers discovered that their capacity is limited.

"These corals aren't going to adapt at an unlimited rate," said lead author Rachael Bay, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Davis.

"Keeping these reefs around requires curbing emissions."

The study relied on computer models that simulated corals' ability to survive under four different greenhouse gas concentration levels -- or Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) -- put out by the UN Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change.

If little to nothing is done to curb carbon emissions in the next century and temperatures rise seven degrees Fahrenheit (3.7 degrees Celsius) or more, tabletop corals will die off and risk going extinct, the study found.

"Under more severe scenarios, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5, adaptation was not rapid enough to prevent extinction," it said.

Under the other two more mild scenarios, which foresee that warming either does not exceed two degrees Celsius by 2100, or that emissions increase for a few decades but then decline by 2040, researchers found the coral would likely adapt and survive.

"Many existing coral populations have a bank of adaptations that has been evolving for a long time," said co-author Steve Palumbi from Stanford University.

"Those existing adaptations are an asset for them to survive longer and for us humans to benefit longer."

More research is needed to determine how other coral species would react to various warming scenarios.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

survival of coral reefs depends on pollution cuts survival of coral reefs depends on pollution cuts

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

survival of coral reefs depends on pollution cuts survival of coral reefs depends on pollution cuts

 



GMT 16:22 2018 Friday ,07 December

UAE exhibition Numaish back with 70 designers

GMT 16:16 2017 Saturday ,11 February

Turkey recalls imams accused of spying in Germany

GMT 06:00 2017 Wednesday ,28 June

Actress Dina happy for success of her series

GMT 07:53 2017 Thursday ,06 April

Non-profit sector a new focus for Saudi Arabia

GMT 11:03 2017 Monday ,17 April

HH the Emir Meets Ethiopian President

GMT 11:10 2016 Thursday ,11 August

Egyptian Olympic medallist blazes trail for women

GMT 19:02 2018 Thursday ,18 October

Islamic State takes over 700 hostages in Syria

GMT 23:32 2013 Monday ,11 March

JICA delegation visits Amman Municipality

GMT 17:38 2018 Friday ,19 January

Hamdan bin Zayed visits Rashid Al Nuaimi

GMT 08:53 2018 Monday ,08 January

Syria regime forces push towards Idlib airbase

GMT 14:20 2017 Saturday ,12 August

Malawi President Dies
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday