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Subscribe to RSSCoral reefs aren't just pretty, they're also vital to marine species and island communities. But they're also facing threats from warming seas. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
More than half of 82 species of coral being evaluated for inclusion under the Endangered Species Act "more likely than not" would go extinct by 2100 if climate policies and technologies remain the same, federal scientists concluded.
The experts cited "anthropogenic," or manmade, releases of carbon dioxide as a key driver of warming seas and oceans absorbing more CO2, in turn making waters more acidic.
"The combined direct and indirect effects of rising temperature, including increased incidence of disease and ocean acidification, both resulting primarily from anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2, are likely to represent the greatest risks of extinction to all or most of the candidate coral species over the next century," the experts concluded in a report released Friday by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The report was part of a process to determine which species, if any, merit protection. The Center for Biological Diversity in 2009 had petitioned for the review of 82 species it considered in jeopardy.
Of the 82 species, all of which are in U.S. waters, 46 are "more likely than not" to face extinction by 2100, while 10 are "likely," the report stated.
The authors did note that the limited science of corals meant that "the overall uncertainty was high."
The fisheries service will next seek public comment as it considers the petition for listing.
The Center for Biological Diversity, which in 2006 petitioned and got protection for staghorn and elkhorn corals, said conditions have only worsened for corals.
"Coral reefs are home to 25 percent of marine life and play a vital function in ocean ecosystems," the center said in a statement. "Since the 1990s, coral growth has grown sluggish in some areas due to ocean acidification, and mass bleaching events are increasingly frequent."
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Good old Human know how,, know how to destroy and consume like maggots,,,
This affects 25% of the ecosystem, which in turn impacts the rest in a downward spiral. If your favorite fish dinner likes to eat what hides in the reef, what will happen to them? What else likes to eat the coral and the critters that will diminish also? What will happen to the seaweed that grows near it - when it is what generates a high % of the oxygen we breathe?
The coral reefs affect water motion and currents. Without our reefs, what will happen with the next earthquake generated series of tsunamis? Will they will come in faster and wash in further on the coast you may happen to be sunning yourself on? Will you have coral to check out on your next snorkeling vacation? Will you get to see all those stunning fish that live there if the reef is gone?
This impacts all of us. Big surprise that cultures that have no respect for mother nature are trying to take over places that care because all they know is destruction. There is a balance in being aware of everything that negatively impacts the world.
This is a perfect example of why they shouldn't ban collection for the aquarium trade. Sadly, it looks like most of these species will be extinct. If they allow collection now, the aquarium hobby can keep the species and maybe some day it can be reintroduced into the wild if the human population pulls its head out of its ass and blames what is truly responsible for the dying off, which is pollution caused by humans, not the aquarium collection trade. I'm looking at you Hawaii!
There are tons of Freshwater Species that are extinct in the wild, but are still around because they are bred by the aquarium hobby. You see those Red Tailed Sharks (black fish with red tail) at Walmart for $5.99, well they are extinct in the wild due to humans changing the habitat during the mid 70's
A great author and active hobbyist that covers this issue is Matt Pedersen. I highly recommend anyone who has an interest in this to read his articles or if he's speaking at an event near go see him.
The answer is not to have species only in tanks anymore than to have animals in zoo's. It's man that needs to stop polluting and breeding. Why does everyone think they need to have 8 kids, 3 cars and 5 T.V.'s ? But since man is at the top of the food chain ( for now ), nothing will ever change. Everything will eventually go extinct and man will follow.
I agree it isn't the answer, but if we want to preserve these species for future generations, this is about the only way that it can happen because change will not come soon enough to save these species.
''There is a balance in being aware of everything that negatively impacts the world.' you mean like america? unfortunately a favorite getting kicked off DWTS is about as aware as most are here. gonna be some waking up soon however.
Interesting prediction 88 years from now! As the earth has adapted for millions of years to different and changing climates maybe the corals also adapt and change?
Can Corals "Adapt" ? Can humans "Adapt" and never die from Cancer ! Not everything can Adapt. Corals are more fragile you think.
Oh I would bet something like the corals will exist in the far-off future all right. We're just going to wipe out everything that's here now.
Liberals are just mad because they can't control every aspect of human life...like the climate.
pudding proof-death is certainly a change.
There is an expert bush and plant relocation team in Caliornia that would be happy to solve your predicament.
We all know that these are the end times so why should we be concerned by our polluting of the Earth? It is surprising though that God made the Earth so beautiful if he just wanted us to trash it.
So what? If all 53 species went extinct tomorrow, would it matter?
DeeJay....You should change your name to DUHjay.
How narrow minded you are ! I guess according to you, what would it matter if every living thing on the planet went extinct, OH, of course except for you. God forbid you should ever bite the dust. Your the kind of person that never worries about tomorrow or cares about anyone or anything but himself. I'll bet your a Obama supporter too. That way you can get more free crap that us working people, who care, pay for.
Hey, Corn @40.1 - Which faction believes in science and learning more, and which just wants to give the polluters the gift of deregulation?
It's amazing how many people still think the planets in great shape and everything bad is a lie and made up. No doubt some things are untrue, as with ANY subject. As for Coral Reefs, i'm shocked there are any left at all. Unused Prescription Drugs, Illegal Drugs and anything else that will go down a toilet gets flushed every day all over the globe. All of this eventually ends up one way or another in the Oceans and in the ground water. Soil and animal manure gets carried into creeks, then into rivers and finally the Oceans from spills and floods. Pollution from every possible source makes it's way down to the Oceans. It's sad to think that even if every living thing in all the worlds Oceans died tomorrow, some people would still not believe it. I think the "Turning back" point is almost over for us.
Can tell by the "huge" debate on newsvine that people aren't buying this crap anymore, at least the smart ones.
Derrrr... me smart. Me no believe in science. Derrr.....
What science are you referring to sullynes...a "consensus" of opinion based on a few biased computer models is science?
"a "consensus" of opinion based on a few biased computer models is science?" You don't need a computer to see the devastation that is currently going on to the coral reefs.
I thought the oceans were becoming acidic from farm runoff primarily from china, not co2 in the air. Also, there is still no proof that humans are releasing more co2 than nature. There is only measurements of how much humans are releasing, but no accurate numbers concerning how much nature is releasing, why? Because human beings dont actually know very much about how nature works, most of human knowledge concerning nature is assumption than actual knowledge. Yet we are being pressured to reduce our quality of life based on assumptions and incomplete knowledge, ya real smart. To me there is real danger that we reduce our quality of life only to realize that the main problem is nature and that reducing our quality of life will in fact not even slow down let alone stop the changes.
The vast majority of the acidification is from CO2 we are adding to the atmosphere.
It's easy to calculate the CO2 we are releasing and the amount that it is being added to the atmosphere. It's also easy to measure the change in pH.
For each ton of CO2 we emit, about 1/2 stays in the air, and the change in oceanic pH indicates about 1/4 is absorbed by the oceans. The remaining 1/4 is by inference used by plants.
But plants are rapidly approaching the point at which they can't use any more since higher temperatures, floods, and drought limit their growth, so should expect the atmosphere and ocean to take up a larger percentage in the future.
It is kind of funny that for those who don't know what this........writer is talking about would say he is right. But for those who work in and around the waters, you know that these corals that are "having a problem" are not. They go through, like anything in the world, a cycle. And they grow and then die, the grow. The thing in this is as plain as the nose on your face. You take you regrow, as simple as that. The corals are very simple to help grow, so don't say they will die and be gone.......
enjoy the world, joust don't be stupid about i.
outdoorsman253 : Love your last sentence : "joust don't be stupid about i" !! Brilliant !! I'm sure you know all about Coral. Too bad you "Kan't lern how to spel".
Also you say "you take you regrow", as simple as that. WOW. Do you think this article is talking about growing Corn ? You should not spew out ignorant comments like your a science Professor. You should stick to catchin them thare Catfish or Crawdaddies or whatever you do on the water and leave the rest to the smart ones.
When the pH drops too much, various kinds of calcium carbonate such as aragonite dissolve. Corals cannot cope with that and simply go extinct.
At the current rate of acidification, many species of shellfish will no longer be able to create their shells after about 2050.
Time magazine did call for the 2nd ICE AGE in 1974, still waiting for that to happen.
That's what you get for listening to journalism majors instead of scientists. The scientists were warning about global warming back then.
Who gives a @!$%# about this issue and the greenies who perpetuate it with there bad science. Global warming has already been debunked but they still try to advance this agenda. These groups of people are freaks and on the fringe of society but the liberal media has made it look as though they're the reasonable ones.
Noguilt? You need serious Psychological attention.
Is that the best you can come up with raven...can't you come up with real scientific proof of what you say is true.
It's been debunked!!??? Guess I missed that week or so that it was all over the news, internet, radio, and newspaper!!
And, Wally, what "scientific proof" have YOU come up with besides pointless and nonsensical rebuttals?? Kinda thought so...
The earth will correct everything man has done to it. It is only a matter of time.
Humankind will be gone in a couple more thousand years, and the earth can go back to just being itself.
How many species will be created because of the change?
In the short run (centuries) very few -- probably zero. Over the course of several million years, probably about as many as will be lost.
Aren't theses the same scientists that tell us that Earth went throught two differnet ice ages? What caused that devistation and yet the Earth bounced back? We are not big enough to cause such catastrophies. It takes meteors and volcanoes, hurricanes. floods to do such. The Earth has been spewing tar for what they say is billions of years. Ever hear of the La Brea tar pits? No one dug those. They just existed. They've found such pits all around the World.
We don't impact the weather of this world. It impacts us.
pollution is our doing like mercury in oceans, pesticides etc... also the fast pace at which we are impacting the environment is pretty fast. yes catastrophes have occurred naturally before and the earth will recover and evolve, but maybe not with us on it.
Hopefully!
Dan, the earth has gone through large changes in the past, but that doesn' t mean we can't cause equally large changes now. Forest fires used to be caused by lightning, etc. but we can also cause them with matches.
It is crystal clear from basic physics and from the geologic record that adding CO2 to the atmosphere will raise the surface temperature on earth.
For the past few million years, the earth has been in an ice age with low levels of CO2, during which time all of human civilization has developed. Now we are releasing enough CO2 to raise it to the levels it last had millions of years ago. In the past, this has always been associated with much warmer temperatures and there is zero reason to expect things will be different this time.
Dean, the Earth has gone through several ice-age events, but we weren't here when those took place. If we were we more than likely wouldn't be here now. There are many reasons for those events that took place. Anything from comet/asteroid impact, large or very long volcanic eruptions, and plate tectonics are the main culprits.
Not sure what tar pits have to do with anything, but ok. As with anything, if you add something to something else for long enough it will eventually change the original into what your adding to it. Hence, we are adding BILLIONS of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year which in turn has been proven to warm up the planet. Look at the planet Venus, it's a greenhouse effect gone mad. The atmosphere is mostly CO2 because of planet wide vulcanism. I'm not saying that's going to happen to Earth, only showing what CO2 is capable of if left unchecked.
Who cares? The greedy have already turned the world into a $hithole for all the rest of us anyway. Without the ability to pursue life, liberty, and happiness what's the friggin point? A few lowlifes have already destroyed life on earth for all the rest of us anyhow. Beware the man who has nothing left to lose!
Oh dear...another 1% hater.
Corals are very revealing about the state of our environment. they are very sensitive to pollution, yet very necessary for fish habitat and protection of our shores. we have a world problem in our hands bigger than terrorism . it is reversible if we work at it to protect our reefs. but it really would take a worldwide Human race effort to be fully successful: impossible? no. likely? no. we most likely can only do so much in our own backyard.
the global killer is not coming from outer space: it lives among us.
The most likely thing to happen is we humans render the environment unlivable for ourselves and extinct ourselves, meanwhile nature will replace the species we have made extinct and both nature and the earth will carry on without us. I seriously doubt we humans are powerful enough to kill off either nature or the planet.
Stop Worshipping the created things and start Worshipping The Creator. "I will utterly consume All things from off the land says The Lord. I will consume man and beast. I will consume the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea and the stumbling blocks with the wicked." Zephaniah 1:2-3 There is going to be an End of this Age and the Beginning of a New One. Thank GOD!
It's less than 1% of the known coral species that are "threatened", in a world where 99.9% of all species have become extinct throughout history. Keep those 'research' grants coming! The environmentalists can thank Al Gore for inventing 'global warming', once he was through inventing the internet. He's only made in excess of $100,000,000 from it, but it's the evil corporations that are destroying the planet. This quote from Robert Heinlein sums it up quite nicely:
There are hidden contradictions in the minds of people who "love Nature" while deploring the 'artificialities' with which "Man has spoiled 'Nature'." The obvious contradiction lies in their choice of words, which imply that Man and his artifacts are not part of 'Nature' - but beavers and their dams are. But the contradictions go deeper than this prima-facie absurdity. In declaring his love for a beaver dam (erected by beavers for beavers' purposes) and his hatred for dams erected by men (for the purposes of men) the 'Naturist' reveals his hatred for his own race - i.e., his own self-hatred.
In the case of 'Naturists' such self-hatred is understandable; they are such a sorry lot. But hatred is too strong an emotion to feel toward them; pity and comtempt are the most they rate.
As for me, willy-nilly I am a man, not a beaver, and H. sapiens is the only race I have or can have. Fortunately for me, I like being part of a race made up of men and women - it strikes me as a fine arrangement and perfectly 'natural.'
And we will survive as a species...or not. At any rate I will not around to witness nor worry about it.
definatly sad
Aren't we at the end of the " Little Ice Age" that began several thousands of years ago?The end of the last ice age resulted in the seas rising 40-50 feet.Temperatures rose 8-10 degrees! Man seems to have survive that run,what's the issue today? We're talking a very slight increase in average temperature worldwide.If that happens,according to what I have read, there will a slight increase in the Oceans level and some slight changes in the weather!Nothing to so alarmed over ! Just more reasons for enviromentalist to demand the government step and control more of our lives than they currently do! Environmentalist fit in the same cubbyhole as the peta folks!
The truth is...the oceans have risen little since the end of the Little Ice Age about 150 years ago. There has been no recorded oceanwise increase in acidity in that time period. All this drama amounts to is scary "what ifs".
I'll agree with both of you on weather change, ocean levels etc.. but mercury and other substances as well as nuclear radiation in the oceans are bound to have consequences as they accumulate to higher and higher levels. Look for birth defects and cancer stats going up.
The last major glaciation ended about 10,000 years ago and temperatures rose rapidly until about 6,000 years ago, but then stabilized. All of human civilization has developed since the temperature and climate entered that very stable pattern.
The "little ice age" you refer to was a minor cooling from about 1350 to 1850. It's also not at all clear that it was a global phenomenon and the worst of it may have been localized to parts of the northern hemisphere.
The temperature increases we are about to experience are far beyond anything we've seen since the first mud huts were built and people started farming.
I know that I am pissing into the wind by trying to talk fact and reason to the bloggers on this site, but TV sucks so I'll waste my time anyway. Yes, there are natural climatic cycles. Yes, man is polluting the earth. There is a problem and the attitudes expressed in the blogs will accomplish nothing except to cause hard feelings and make people on both sides dig their heels in rather than have intelligent constuctive discussions. Can man change the environment? Google Dust Bowl 1930s and read.
That period was hot and dry...as much or more so than today...and the problem exacerbated by bad farming practices and lack of erosion control. Climate change/global warming is quite a larger problem that has no realistic or affordable solutions.
Wrong, Wally. The bad farming practices are what changed the local climate and started the drought that exacerbated the situation. There had been relatively suffice amounts of regular rainfall up until they plowed all the natural grasses which adsorbed moisture then returned it to the atmosphere helping to create rain. In short, man can indeed change the environment and has done so in the past and is doing so currently.