Laura Núñez-Pons

Laura Núñez-Pons

May 04, 2015

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Coral Reefs of the Future

Coral Reefs of the Future

Corals are critical animals that make the foundation of a very diverse ecosystem. These habitat building animals are threatened by local stressors such as pollution and overfishing. Corals are also threatened by global stressors including increased seawater temperature and ocean acidification. As scientists we are challenged to predict what the coral reefs of the future will look like if the world continues to change. One of our goals in the Gates' lab is to provide rigorous data that can help to conserve coral reefs for the future.

Present

Future

At some reefs coral cover almost all of the available space. This is considered a healthy reef. But due to nutrient pollution and overfishing many coral reefs are shifting from coral dominated to algal reefs. This reduces habitat for fish and other invertebrates that rely on corals to provide nooks and crannies for homes.

Many reefs adjacent to human development are exposed to terrestrial runoff. Sediment and pollution can smother corals leaving a muddy bottom that cannot support as many organisms.

Currently there are over 600 species of corals that live in tropical reefs. Some of these coral species are rare and susceptible to stressors suggesting that many species will go extinct when exposed to stress. We expect the reefs of the future to be dominated by a few species of corals that are resistant to stress, such as this photo which has extensive coral cover, but only one species.

As global temperatures continue to rise coral bleaching will become more and more frequent. With increased occurrence of bleaching, especially episodes that last longer, we expect that more corals will die as a result. Imagine the reef if all of the corals pictured were dead!

At some places in the world volcanic vents release high concentrations of CO

2
into the water (the bubbles in this photo). These vents give us a window into what future reefs might look like if humans continue to burn CO
2
. This is a photo of a volcanic vent in Papua New Guinea, notice the low cover of corals and the abundance of algae. Even though there are some corals here the reef is not nearly as complex as adjacent reefs.

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About This Project

Last summer, coral reefs in Hawaii turned white when high ocean temperatures caused corals to lose the microbes that normally give them color. These microbes also provide nutrition and disease-protection to corals, and without them, "bleached" corals often die. However, corals can survive—and even adapt—if their healthy microbes come back. Now, we are tracking coral recovery in Hawaii up close to understand how the fate of these corals, and even the future of coral reefs, may depend on microbes.

Blast off!

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