Reef Survey - NOAA Estimates Warming, Pollution Have Wiped Out 98% Of FL's Original Coral Cover
The United States’ coral reefs are in fair condition, according to a recent reef condition status report, but vulnerable to decline. Scientists estimate that along the coast of Florida, where degradation is most severe, perhaps as little as 2% of original coral cover remains.
The report, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (Noaa) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science last week, assesses reefs along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, from the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to Guam, Hawaii and American Samoa. It is the first of its kind to do so using standardized monitoring data on a national scale. Analyzing records from 2012 to 2018, researchers identify ocean warming and acidification, coral disease and fishing as ongoing threats to coral reefs, indicating a “dire outlook” for these ecosystems.
Coral reefs, widely considered the most biologically diverse ecosystem in the ocean, help to support over 25% of all marine life. They also provide shoreline protection against hurricanes and tropical storms, and economic benefit through commercial fishing, tourism and recreation.
Unlike years past, when experts credited ocean pollution with worsening coral reefs’ outlook, Noaa researchers now name climate change as the primary cause of reef degradation. “It used to be mostly water quality … but now it’s pretty well accepted that it’s predominantly climate change,” says Jennifer Koss, director of Noaa’s coral reef conservation program. The twin threats of temperature-related bleaching and increased ocean acidification, both caused by climate change, can destroy coral reef ecosystems regardless of their location or proximity to human populations. And along the Florida coast, additional stressors of water pollution, new development, overfishing and disease outbreaks mean that even remaining coral cover is inadequate and unhealthy.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/18/coral-reefs-florida-dire-outlook