saltyseaman
Premium Member
Caribbean coral suffers record die-off
- Thread starter saltyseaman
- Start date
hounddog01
Active member
I would say that the water tempature is less of the problem than the polution that is put in the waters by less regulated countrys. Mexico still dumps raw sewage in the ocean. With the growth of India and China the oceans do not stand a chance. Everyone blames the "Global Warming" issues on the US but we will be a very minor player in the next few years as the industrial boom has started in India and China. Anyone noticed the gas prices in the last year?
hounddog01
Active member
What would the normal tempature at 110 feet be? I guess I will need to go and see them soon. I would really hate that the only place to see a colorful coral reef is the IMAX theater.
ostrow
It's Dr. Goodluck Himself
The white plague is not new. This is an old story resurfacing. I snorkeled off St. John two years ago with a NPS researcher writing a dissertation on the die-off of Caribbean brain and boulder corals. The pillar corals were still doing fine as were the soft corals all over the island. That is, except where the hurricane damage had covered parts of the reef in silt from hillside run-off. But those were already coming back.
The question is whether the plague (a disease, bacterial IIRC) is made worse -- bacterial spread faster -- in the warm water. That was the subject of her study. It's an open question.
The worse story is the Great Barrier Reef, which has suffered mass die-off in the last six months documented to have been caused by high temperatures. Of that there is no basis for dispute. You can close your eyes to global warming if you wish, why you would do so based on all the evidence I have no idea, but you can't dispute that the GBR death is from high temps (sustained several weeks over 89deg at one stage on a large stretch of the reef that died).
The question is whether the plague (a disease, bacterial IIRC) is made worse -- bacterial spread faster -- in the warm water. That was the subject of her study. It's an open question.
The worse story is the Great Barrier Reef, which has suffered mass die-off in the last six months documented to have been caused by high temperatures. Of that there is no basis for dispute. You can close your eyes to global warming if you wish, why you would do so based on all the evidence I have no idea, but you can't dispute that the GBR death is from high temps (sustained several weeks over 89deg at one stage on a large stretch of the reef that died).
Similar threads
