W. Up To 90% Of FL Keys Elkhorn, Staghorn Corals Collapsing, Gov. Considers Protection Plan

[hatrack]

As pyramids rose in the Nile valley and the monuments of Greece and Rome went up and fell into ruin, two species of coral patiently built reefs off the coasts of Florida and the Caribbean islands.

These vast undersea structures, often compared to tropical rain forests, support a rainbow of fish, crabs and other creatures. But in the past few decades, elkhorn and staghorn coral have declined in many areas 90 percent because of global warming, ship groundings, storm damage, pollution and overfishing.

The federal government is now proposing to declare an extensive protected area for the two species from the coasts of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties through the Florida Keys to the U.S. islands of the Caribbean. Designation of the 4,931-square-mile area could affect plans for beach-widening, port expansions, sewage discharges, ship anchoring and other coastal activities. Although it is unlikely to halt them, it would add a layer of scrutiny that could force changes or relocations to avoid harming the corals, said Sarah Heberling, natural resource specialist for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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Miyoko Sakashita, attorney for the group, said, "I think they did a good job identifying the areas, and it's great that they're contiguous areas. Species with critical habitat are twice as likely to recover as species without it." But she criticized the proposal for failing to address global warming. Higher ocean temperatures cause coral bleaching, an often fatal condition in which corals expel the photosynthetic algae with which they have a symbiotic relationship. Heberling said the government recognizes the significance of global warming in the decline of corals but that the critical habitat designation focused on local threats to the rocky, ocean bottom favorable for coral growth. The fisheries service is working on a recovery plan and other protection measures, she said, where it would be more appropriate to address global warming.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-221coral,0,5237484.story

[phantom power]

1. I guess it might delay the inevitable.

Sakashita can "criticize" them for not dealing with warming, acidification, etc, but really what are they going to do? Hysteresis will seal their fate, even assuming there was some pony-plan that could be implemented to halt CO2 emissions quickly.

[hatrack]

2. Band-aid on a sucking chest GSW

nt