Based on anthropogenic climate change, I would expect more episodes similar to the El Niño incident in the late nineties, and more often, perhaps even annually. These instances will further increase water temperatures and increase the rate of coral stress and therefore bleaching. This increase in temperature will also decrease the phytoplankton population, which will starve reef life in the foreseeable future if anthropogenic climate change is not curbed. The overfishing (commercial, recreational, and sustenance) which I do not see ending will also further hurt the biodiversity of the reefs which currently support a great deal of endemic species and thousands of non endemic species of marine life. However, based on the resilience that the reef has demonstrated in the past, I would not say that the Great Barrier Reef is necessarily doomed. For example, some fish may blossom in the wake of the influx of nutrients, and when the fish experience a boom, the coral will too.
[http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/great-barrier-reef/values.html]
No comments:
Post a Comment