STRICT EMBARGO: 12pm Australian EST, November 25, 2010
New research highlighting coastal locations where coral can better withstand rising sea temperatures, a leading cause of stress to coral reefs, may guide efforts to conserve the largest living structures on Earth.
The findings hold promise for an estimated 100 million people living along the coasts of tropical developing countries whose livelihoods and welfare depend directly on coral reefs, but are currently under threat from climate change.
In a report published in an online edition of Ecology Letters today, scientists from Australia, the UK, Mexico and the US, mapped coral stress across the Bahamas in the Caribbean and found that sea temperatures, which strongly influence coral health, caused less stress to reefs in certain areas.
This discovery was borne out in the second half of the study, during which the researchers designed marine reserves best-suited to four possible scenarios of how coral would respond to further sea temperature rises.
In each hypothetical scenario, 15 per cent of the locations in the Bahamas were consistently selected.
The study鈥檚 lead author is Professor Peter J. Mumby, from 宅男导航鈥檚 Global Change Institute and the 宅男导航 School of Biological Sciences.
He said while the research complicated current understanding of marine reserve design, the findings could help make the best use of the limited resources available for coral reef conservation.
鈥淒esigning marine reserves for the long-term is more difficult than we thought,鈥� Professor Mumby said.
鈥淭he responses of coral to the impacts of climate change are relatively unknown at this stage.
"Yet the good news is that some geographic locations were consistently selected in the generated scenarios, regardless of how corals might adapt to warmer temperatures.
鈥淭hese areas are great contenders for early conservation no matter what the future holds.鈥�
Professor Mumby said that the research found good locations for protecting corals.
"We are providing this information to conservation partners in the Bahamas to help them in their efforts to work with local communities and establish new reserves.鈥�
Professor Mumby says the response of coral to climate change is an ongoing focus for scientists and conservation advice will be updated regularly to reflect new research findings.
He says the world鈥檚 oceans are becoming warmer due to the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels.
A rise in sea temperature by as little as 1掳C caused stress to corals and could lead to coral bleaching, where corals lost their internal symbiotic algae that helped them grow, and could result in vast areas of dead coral.
Scientists expect that warming sea temperatures could cause coral to die in large numbers.
The destruction of coral reef ecosystems will expose people in coastal areas of developing
countries to flooding, coastal erosion and the loss of food and income from reef-based fisheries and tourism.
The project was funded by the Coral Reef Targeted Research & Capacity Building for Management (CRTR) Program, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, National Environment Research Council, European Space Agency and the EU Seventh Framework Programme.
About the CRTR
The CRTR is a leading international coral reef research initiative that provides a coordinated approach to credible, factual and scientifically proven knowledge for improved coral reef management.
The CRTR Program is a partnership between the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, 宅男导航 (Australia), the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and approximately 40 research institutes and other third-parties around the world.
About the Global Change Institute
The Global Change Institute at 宅男导航, Brisbane, Australia, investigates complex, interconnected, large-scale global issues in innovative ways, in order to contribute evidence-based, progressive solutions to the major problems of a rapidly-changing world.
The Global Change Institute is a vehicle for collaborative research, learning, engagement and advocacy. It seeks to partner with third-parties and achieve multi-disciplinary, integrated solutions to global change issues within the existing and projected frameworks of those problems: political, environmental, social, economic and technological.
Further information:
Professor Peter J. Mumby
ARC Laureate Fellow, Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation
School of Biological Sciences & Global Change Institute
University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane Qld 4072 Australia
p.j.mumby@uq.edu.au Tel: +61 7 3365 1686 Mob: +61 449 811 589 Skype: pete_mumby
www.marinespatialecologylab.org ,
Free video clips of coral reefs:
Media: Robert Mackay-Wood, Communications Manager, Global Change Institute (r.mackaywood@uq.edu.au, , +61 7 3346 9041 or +61 410 491 159
