11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

25.1125
In Hot Water: Rising Ocean Temperatures and Coral Reefs
Lillian O'CONNELL* 1
1 University of Central Florida, Coral Springs, FL
Poster Mini-Symposium 25: Predicting Reef Futures in the Context of Climate Change
This paper seeks to define a relationship between global sea surface temperature
increases and the declining health of coral reefs worldwide. The author believes that the
most pressing of the numerous threats to coral reefs is in fact rising ocean temperatures, a
direct result of anthropogenic global climate change. The author begins with an overview
of the life of a coral reef and the increasing number of threats to them that can cause coral
bleaching, a potentially fatal reaction to stress. Using past El Nino cycle information, the
author establishes a relationship between sea surface temperature increases and coral
bleaching. The author explains that bleaching caused by coral disease is easy to
distinguish from bleaching for other reasons. Using ArcGIS mapping software, the
author displays point data for 10,000 charted coral reefs to compare reefs bleached for
various reasons. The author follows by demonstrating the economic and intrinsic value
of coral reefs. Current policy is evaluated, and the author expresses the difficulty in
protecting them because of the large number of threats they face as well as their inability
to be isolated. The author concludes that the only policies that will help protect and
preserve coral reefs must be policies that fight global climate change.
25.1126
Effects Of Climate Change On Coral Reefs
Adekunle OKE* 1 ,
1 environmental Protection And Agricultural Food Production, Stuttgart, Germany
Climate is changing - this is a known fact, its impacts are enormous and devastating on
factually everything on earth, in which coral reefs of the world are not an exception. The
climate change which has been attributed to human activities over the years due to the
increase in the emission rate of greenhouse gases (especially CO2) has profound effects
on the global temperature; this in turn has catastrophic impacts on coral reefs.
Coral reefs remain most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, providing habitat to
nearly 25 percent of marine species. These also provide economic benefits through
tourism and fisheries. Nevertheless, it has been estimated that human activities including
development in coastal areas, fishing, and pollution have contributed to a global loss of
over 10 percent of these valuable ecosystems. An additional 15 percent have been lost
due to warming of the surface ocean, and climate change will further contribute to coral
reef degradation in the decades ahead resulted into the coral bleaching , non recovery as
well as limitation to the growth of the coral due to changes in ocean chemistry, and also
environmental stress.
There should be better practice to reduce or stabilize the concentrations of the greenhouse
gases in the upper atmosphere, this will reduce the impacts on the environment and will
also result into the preservation of the coral reefs.
25.1127
Ocean Warming -The Seasonal And Long-Term Variation Of The Mixed Layer Depth in
The Coral Sea And Its Impact On The Great Barrier Reef
Jasmine JAFFRÉS* 1
1 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
The present study investigates the seasonal and long-term variability and trends of the mixed
layer depth (MLD) within the Coral Sea, including the Queensland continental shelf on its
western border, and discusses impacts of future shallowing of the MLD on the Great Barrier
Reef (GBR). MLD data reviewed in this study is derived from conductivity-temperature-depth
(CTD) profiles collected by other research teams from various ship cruises and from output
obtained from several ocean general circulation models. A distinct seasonality in the mixed
layer depth was found throughout the Coral Sea, but was generally more pronounced in higher
latitudes as a result of greater seasonality in sea surface temperature (SST) and wind stress.
Austral winter MLDs, which tend to be much deeper than summer MLDs throughout the Coral
Sea, display a shallowing trend over the last two decades, whereas the average summer MLD
remains relatively constant. The trend towards a shallower MLD could have dire consequences
for the GBR as SST is expected to increase more rapidly within a shallow mixed layer, thus
likely resulting in more severe and more frequent coral bleaching events. Further CTD profiling
is required throughout the entire Coral Sea in order to accurately determine the long-term trends
in the mixed layer depth.
25.1128
Temperature Dependant Respiration Rate Increase Measured By In-Situ Underwater
Respirometer
Yutaka TATEDA* 1 , Yuri MASUMITSU 2 , Kenji IWAO 3 , Minoru TAMURA 3
1 Environmental Science Research Laboratory, CRIEPI, Abiko Chiba, Japan, 2 Tokyo College of
Medico-Pharmaco Technology, Tokyo, Japan, 3 Akajima Marine Science Laboratory, Zamami,
Japan
Using underwater instrument composed of plastic chamber with water exchange pump, data
logger, sensors of light, DO, salinity, temperature and turbidity, respiration change of coral
under filed environment condition was measured in coral reef at Okinawa, Japan. The
production and respiration rates of several corals estimated by this underwater instrument
indicated that preliminary estimated respiration of coral in reef lagoon was high during summer
high temperature. Under assumption that temperature dependant respiration is limiting factor of
coral survival under the condition of water temperature anomaly, high productive symbiotic
algae will be necessary to resist stress of high water temperature causing bleaching in the future
global warming condition.
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