News_

Coral bleaching solution could be just beneath the surface

24 May 2016
A 'lifeboat' for coral reefs could lie in deeper mesophotic coral ecosystems.

A United Nations report edited by the University of Sydney's UNESCO Chair in Marine Science offers a glimmer of hope to those managing the impact of bleaching on the world's coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef. 

MCEs explored

Source: Association of Marine Exploration    

They aren’t a silver bullet but they may be able to resist the most immediate impacts of climate change.
Professor Elaine Baker.

In shallow waters, the Caribbean coral Montastraea cavernosa exhibits a boulder-like morphology, shown at 5m. Credit: John Reed.

Shallow coral reefs up to 40 metres deep are the tip of the iceberg that comprises the ocean’s extensive coral ecosystem. Now, a United Nations report co-authored by the University of Sydney’s UNESCO Chair in Marine Science provides a glimmer of hope for those managing the impact of bleaching on the world’s coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef.

Coral bleaching has affected virtually the entire Great Barrier Reef and many other coral reef systems globally, a result of the continuing rise in global temperatures and exacerbated by the summer’s major El Niño event. The 35 authors of the United Nations Environmental Programme report launched today – including the University’s Professor Elaine Baker in the School of Geosciences – say the deeper, mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) may act as a lifeboat for shallow coral reefs.

MCEs are intermediate depth reefs starting at about 40 metres depth and continuing to around 150 metres.  The report – Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems A lifeboat for coral reefs?  looks at the role MCEs could play in the preservation of shallower reefs.

The report asks if MCEs can provide a refuge for the species under threat in shallower reef ecosystems and whether they can provide the stock to re-populate shallow reefs if they continue to decline.

“More research needs to be done to firmly establish the role of MCEs in preserving our reefs,” said Professor Baker. “They aren’t a silver bullet but they may be able to resist the most immediate impacts of climate change and help replenish destroyed surface reef and fish populations.

“It may be that the cooler, deeper water in MCEs could be more hospitable to many species than the warmer surface water,” she said. “They also are less prone to waves and turbulence, therefore potentially offering a more stable environment in which to replenish coral.

The review brought together information on the geology, biology, distribution and socio-economic aspects of mesophotic reefs in order to examine their potential resilience. It found some deep mesophotic coral ecosystems may be immune from the most extreme ocean warming, but other ecosystems are just as vulnerable as their shallow counterparts and cannot be relied on to act as life boats.

Vivienne Reiner

PhD Candidate and Casual Academic
Address
  • Integrated Sustainability Analysis,

Related articles

20 November 2024

Study raises concerns about the climate change and global conflict crises

As a lawyer Luisa Bedoya Taborda worked with rural communities forced off their land by armed groups in Colombia, South America. Now, she is doing a PhD at the University of Sydney on the impact of climate change in communities affected by conflict and has found that many countries most impacted by these crises are being overlooked.
14 November 2024

Largest prime number ever found is an astonishing 41-million-digits long

Euclid proved there are an infinite number of primes millennia ago. Professor John Voight looks at the most recent discovery of a Mersenne prime number, the largest yet found, and ponders the beauty of the infinite, with practical uses in cryptography.
12 November 2024

8 Sydney academics receive ARC Linkage grants

Eight University of Sydney researchers have received funding under two of the Australian Research Council's (ARC) prestigious Linkage programs: the Linkage Project scheme and the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) scheme.
12 November 2024

'Sleepy cannabis': first objective study to show cannabinol increases sleep

Research at the University of Sydney Lambert Initiative shows that cannabinol increases both REM and non-REM sleep in rats. Human trials are now under way.