Climate Change & Anthropocene Extinction 6: Review & fact check Chasing Coral [EXCELLENT MOVIE – GO WATCH!]

“Over last 30 years 50% of coral has disappeared” “Based on current trends, within the next 30 years annual bleaching will kill most of the world’s coral” Earlier this month a new climate impact documentary was released, called Chasing Coral. … Continue reading

Coral species shift under pressure of climate change

Coral reefAs ocean temperatures rise, some species of corals are likely to succeed at the expense of others, according to a report published online on April 12 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology that details the first large-scale investigation of climate effects on corals.

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Some corals resistant to ocean acidification

With atmospheric and oceanic CO2 levels rising and the consequent acidification of the oceans, marine life has to adapt rapidly if they want to stay around. Especially calcium carbonate skeleton building organisms are affected by the rapidly dwindling seawater pH … Continue reading

Earlier heat stress helps corals overcome climate change

Coral reefA team of international scientists working in the central Pacific has discovered that coral which has survived heat stress in the past is more likely to survive it in the future.

The study, published March 30 in the journal PLoS ONE, paves the way towards an important road map on the impacts of ocean warming, and will help scientists identify the habitats and locations where coral reefs are more likely to adapt to climate change.

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Coral is losing its chemical war with seaweeds

As if anthropogenic pollution and overfishing isn’t damaging enough for coral reefs worldwide, now certain seaweeds seem determined to see the end of reefs as well. These macroalgae produce chemicals that inhibit the growth of reef-building coral or even kill … Continue reading

Reefs took 1.5 million years to reappear after Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction

The Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction was the largest in our planet’s history. Enormous disruptions of the carbon cycle led to climate change, ocean acidification and ocean anoxia – and with an estimated 90 percent of all species dying out Earth almost … Continue reading

Oceans to enter Holocene Mass Extinction

The cumulative effect of environmental threats like climate change, ocean acidification and overfishing, brings the world’s interconnected ocean close to a phase of extinction of marine species that is ‘globally significant’ and unprecedented in human history, an international panel of … Continue reading

Indo-Pacific coral reefs die at pH < 7.7

And already suffer biodiversity losses during the decline from pH 8.1 (preindustrial) to 7.8. That latest number is the expected acidification for the end of this century according to IPCC 4AR, a theoretical scenario and a dangerously often quoted underestimation … Continue reading