Bleached corals on reefs at Lord Howe Island, March 2019. Corals under stress react by expelling the zooxanthellae algae living symbiotically in their.
According to a new study performed by the Southern Cross University, if the trend of dwindling coral growth continues at the present rate, the coral reefs in the world may stop calcifying by around 2054.
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IMAGE: Dr. Kay Davis conducts a benthic survey on a flat reef at Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia in December 2020. Below her, the coral has healthy, bleached, and dead. view more
Credit: Ashly McMahon
If the trend of declining coral growth continues at the current rate, the world s coral reefs may cease calcifying around 2054, a new Southern Cross University study has found.
Drawing on research from the late 1960s until now, the paper published in
Communications & Environment reveals the global spatiotemporal trends and drivers of coral reef ecosystem growth (known as calcification).
One hundred and sixteen studies from 53 published papers were analysed.
Ashly McMahon
The world’s coral reefs could start to disappear by the middle of the century as stress induced by climate change erodes their skeletons faster than they can regenerate.
Corals build their skeletons using calcium and carbonate ions in seawater, a process known as calcification. Climate change is making calcification harder by driving ocean acidification, which reduces the concentration of carbonate ions in the water. It is also causing more severe weather events like heatwaves and cyclones, which stress corals and deplete their energy for growth.
To see how this is affecting global reef health, Kay Davis at Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia, and her colleagues analysed data from 36 coral reef sites in 11 countries, including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Shiraho Reef in Japan.
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