A 宅男导航 study finds that Caribbean seaweeds are 鈥極lympic athletes鈥� compared to their equivalents in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. But this triumph is bad news for Caribbean coral reefs.
The picture-postcard beauty of Caribbean reefs owes much to the living corals that build reefs and contribute startling white sand to beaches.
But a 宅男导航 study, published online today, reveals that Caribbean seaweeds are Olympic athletes compared to other coral reef seaweeds.
Researcher and author Dr George Roff of the said seaweeds bloom four times faster in the Caribbean than the Pacific Ocean.
鈥淭his helps explain why corals in the Caribbean seem to be such weak competitors against seaweeds,鈥� Dr Roff said.
鈥淭he study raises concerns about the future of Caribbean coral reefs. If seaweeds bloom faster, corals are less likely to recover once they have been damaged.鈥�
He said coral reefs might seem to be tranquil environments but in fact a constant battle for space was waged between corals and seaweeds.
Co-author and fellow colleague Professor Peter Mumby said seaweeds were able to bloom due to fertiliser pollution and the overfishing of parrotfish - a keen seaweed-eater.
鈥淲e now know that seaweeds will bloom if we give them the slightest chance. This means we should redouble our efforts to control pollution and fishing of parrotfishes,鈥� Professor Mumby said.
The study, entitled Global Disparity in the Resilience of Coral Reefs and published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, cannot yet explain why Caribbean seaweeds are so prolific.
Dr Roff said explanations for the variability in seaweed behaviour would be tested over the next few years.
Media contact: George Roff g.roff@uq.edu.au, +61 0432 931 051, or Peter Mumby p.j.mumby@uq.edu.au, +61 0449811589 - away till 19th June.
Free video clips to illustrate this article available at Peter Mumby's site: www.reefvid.org
The full article is available .
