LANDOVER, Md., May 22, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Scientists with the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans
Foundation (KSLOF) witnessed a massive coral bleaching event in the
British Indian Ocean Territory
(BIOT). They were there conducting research on the Chagos
Archipelago for the world's largest coral reef survey and
high-resolution mapping expedition, the Global Reef Expedition.
This is the first reported bleaching in the Indian Ocean this year,
which NOAA predicts will be a bad year for coral bleaching around
the world.
During a period of warm weather and calm seas, corals became
stressed and began to bleach. When the research mission
started the corals appeared to be healthy, but within two weeks a
dramatic transformation occurred and the corals began to bleach.
The bleaching occurred quickly. Andrew
Bruckner, Chief Scientist of KSLOF said he "never expected
it to happen that fast." The scientists saw some corals turning
bright white, while others turned cotton-candy shades of pink and
blue in the process of loosing their symbiotic algae.
Long-term monitoring equipment indicates there have been high
temperatures on the reefs in the past, for example in 1998. The
team saw corals that were several hundred years old, which means
that if they had previously bleached they have since recovered. As
well as being able to tolerate these temperature fluctuations it
appears that the corals are adapting to the rising sea temperature.
Before the current bleaching event started the scientists saw
healthy coral living in water that was warmer than the water that
caused the mass bleaching in 1998.
But there could be even more to the adaptation. The spatial
variability of the bleaching led the scientists to believe that a
combination of light and temperature stress caused the mass
bleaching. Some coral colonies did not bleach at all, scientists
think that how they deal with the amount of light they are exposed
to is the key to understanding their survival. "The symbiotic algae
that live in the tissue are photosynthesizing - just like a plant
does on land," Dr. Bruckner said. "If there is too much light,
their photo systems break down and they produce these oxygen
compounds that cause stress to the coral animal." In fact there is
evidence that the corals that survive are now hosting more light
tolerant varieties of their symbiotic algae.
The coral reefs of BIOT are extremely valuable and are "some of
the healthiest coral reefs on the planet," says Professor
Charles Sheppard, Chairman of the
Chagos Conservation Trust. "They are one of the world's last,
intact reference sites as to what a coral reef should and could
look like."
Despite the severity and extent of the bleaching in BIOT, there
is hope for a rapid recovery. Dr. Sheppard believes the reefs will
recover quickly from bleaching because they haven't suffered from
the stresses of overfishing, pollution, or any other significant
human impact for the past 40 years. "Chagos is affected by warming
episodes, and indeed is doing so right now, but without all the
other local impacts, hopes are high that this large and magnificent
archipelago will pull through."
About the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation:
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is conducting the
world's largest coral reef survey and high resolution mapping
expedition, the Global Reef Expedition. The Expedition is helping
the Foundation realize its mission to provide science-based
solutions to protect and restore ocean health. As part of its
commitment to Science Without BordersĀ®, Living Oceans Foundation
provides data and information to organizations, governments,
scientists, and local communities so that they can use knowledge to
work toward sustainable ocean protection. For more information
visit www.livingoceansfoundation.org.
More Information on Bleaching in
BIOT:
http://www.livingoceansfoundation.org/coral-bleaching-colors-biot/
Photos:
https://plus.google.com/b/110696928046500236491/photos/+LivingoceansfoundationOrg/albums/6143943941572543617
Photo credit: Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150522/218066
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SOURCE Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation