“Terrible Prospects”: Scientists Say Florida Reefs Have Lost Nearly 98% of Corals | Environment

Coral reefs in the United States are in fair condition, according to a recent report on the state of coral reefs, but vulnerable to decline. Scientists estimate that perhaps only 2% of the original coral cover remains along the Florida coast, where degradation is most severe.

The report, released last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (Noaa) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, evaluates coral reefs along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to Guam, Hawaii and American Samoa. . It is the first of its kind to do so using nationally standardized monitoring data. Analyzing records from 2012 to 2018, researchers identify ocean warming and acidification, coral disease and fisheries as continuing threats to coral reefs, pointing to a “dire prospect” for these ecosystems.

Coral reefs, widely considered the ocean’s most biologically diverse ecosystem, help support more than 25% of all marine life. They also provide shoreline protection against hurricanes and tropical storms and economic benefits through commercial fishing, tourism and recreation.

Unlike in years past, when experts blamed ocean pollution for worsening coral reef prospects, the Noaa researchers now call climate change the root cause of reef degradation.

“In the past it was mainly water quality … but now it’s pretty well accepted that it’s mostly climate change,” says Jennifer Koss, director of the Noaa Reef Conservation Program.

The twin threats of temperature bleaching and increased ocean acidification, both caused by climate change, can destroy coral reef ecosystems regardless of their location or proximity to human populations. And along the Florida coast, additional water pollution stressors, new developments, overfishing and disease outbreaks mean that remaining coral cover is also inadequate and unhealthy.

“Many of the corals that are left are what we call more weed species,” says Erinn Muller, who specializes in coral health and disease at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. “They are resistant to many threats, but they are not the main species that build coral reefs and they are not the species that are important to the high levels of biodiversity … they function on a very different scale than they should be.”

The potential impacts are not just environmental. Muller says Florida’s coral reef is estimated to be worth at least $ 8 billion to the state economy, providing support for more than 70,000 local jobs; A recent report by the United States Geological Survey estimated that coral reefs provide nearly $ 600 million in infrastructure to the peninsula and over $ 75 million to the Florida Keys annually.

In response to the threat of potential future decline, scientists are working to raise awareness and restore coral growth. Past efforts to replant coral reefs have been used in response to acute damage such as a ship strike or storm – now, researchers are using the same knowledge to help reverse the effect that climate change has had on coral reef populations.

“If for any reason a forest is clear,” says Koss, referring to the practice of cutting down or removing trees, “or damaged by a fire or tornado, no one thinks twice about going back and replanting what there was. We’re really taking the same approach. “

National solutions may also be on the way. The Restoring Resilient Reefs Act, introduced by lawmakers last year, would establish a federal task force on coral protection and a number of national coral reef management and restoration strategies. It was co-sponsored by lawmakers from Hawaii and Florida, where coral reefs are a key part of the state’s ecology and economy.

“We are at a critical point, [but] the trajectory can be reversed, “says Koss.” We are not naive enough to think that we can take all coral reefs to where they were pre-industrial development … we are doing everything we can to buy coral some time, so that they can assimilate and acclimatize to their new conditions. “

In the long run, says Muller, scientific responses must include not only local restoration efforts but also address the global impact of the climate crisis on water quality and the ecosystems that depend on it to survive.

It emphasizes the need to be proactive in preserving marine life, rather than simply reacting to each new blow from the climate crisis. “We won’t be able to climate-proof these ecosystems forever.”