Everything’s Coming Up Coral

Coral reefs are some of the most biodiverse and beautiful ecosystems on the planet. These underwater treasures contain over 25% of all marine life and support over 1 billion people globally. However, in recent decades, coral reefs have been under severe threat due to climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, unsustainable fishing practices, and more. The decline of coral reefs would be catastrophic, leading to the collapse of food chains and ocean ecosystems.

Fortunately, there is hope on the horizon. From new technological innovations to global conservation efforts, everything’s coming up coral when it comes to protecting and restoring these precious resources. Here’s an in-depth look at the threats facing coral reefs and the many reasons why everything’s coming up coral in terms of saving these vibrant underwater havens.

The Threats Facing Coral Reefs

Coral reefs face a variety of anthropogenic (human-caused) threats that have led to substantial declines in coral cover and diversity worldwide. Some of the major threats include:

Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

• Greenhouse gas emissions leading to warming oceans and ocean acidification are severely stressing corals. Mass bleaching events triggered by marine heatwaves are occurring more frequently, causing widespread coral mortality.
• Ocean acidification reduces seawater pH levels, impacting coral’s ability to build their calcium carbonate skeletons. Acidification also alters reef habitats.

Pollution and Water Quality Degradation

• Runoff containing sediment, nutrients, toxins, and other pollutants reduces water quality, contributing to disease and hindering coral growth.
• Plastic pollution and marine debris are increasingly impacting reefs through abrasions, shading, and toxin contamination as plastics break down.

Overfishing and Destructive Fishing Practices

• Overfishing key reef species alters food webs and depletes herbivores that keep algae growth in check. This allows macroalgae to overwhelm and outcompete coral.
• Blast fishing, cyanide fishing, bottom trawling all directly damage coral structures and fragment reef habitats.

Disease Outbreaks

• Bleaching, poor water quality, and stress increase coral susceptibility to infectious diseases like white band disease. Disease outbreaks can rapidly decimate coral colonies.

Coastal Development and Runoff

• Dredging, drilling, and coastal infrastructure directly destroy or alter delicate reef formations. Sediment-laden runoff from land also smothers corals.
• Nutrient pollution from sewage and fertilizers contributes to algal blooms and reef degradation.

Reasons for Hope: Everything’s Coming Up Coral

Despite the growing threats, there are many promising developments indicating a brighter future for coral reef conservation. Here’s how everything’s coming up coral:

Expanding Marine Protected Areas

• Marine protected areas (MPAs) help safeguard corals from exploitation while building ecological resilience. MPAs cover over 15% of U.S. coral reefs.
• Global efforts are ongoing to expand MPAs further and improve management strategies. Expanding protected areas offers coral safe havens to regenerate.

Improving Fishing Practices

• Transitioning to sustainable fishing gear like circle hooks and banning destructive practices like dynamite fishing takes pressure off fragile reefs.
• Catch limits, size restrictions, and quotas maintain fish biomass. And protecting herbivorous fish promotes algae control.
• Community-based fishery reforms provide incentives for local stakeholders to sustainably manage their nearby reef resources.

Innovative Restoration Techniques

• Coral farming and larval reseeding re-establish coral colonies in damaged areas faster than natural recovery.
• Acoustic enhancement uses underwater speakers broadcasting reef sounds to attract young corals during spawning.
• Microfragmenting corals into tiny pieces spreads clones over damaged regions quickly as fragments reattach and grow.

Reduction of Local Stressors

• Improving water quality through wastewater treatment, reducing fertilizer runoff, and litter cleanup alleviates local reef stresses.
• Removing invasive species like lionfish relieves pressure on native fish. Protection of keystone grazers like parrotfish and sea urchins also helps.
• Eco-tourism policies limiting reef access, mooring buoys, and sustainable diving practices prevent direct damage from tourism.

Increased Public Awareness and Support

• Films and media exposure are enhancing public understanding of coral conservation issues. Hashtag activism like #SaveOurReefs helps.
• Community volunteer programs, reef cleanups, and NGO adoption drives channel public interest into tangible conservation action.
• Foundations, grants, and private/public partnerships are expanding funding for large-scale reef restoration and protection initiatives.

Key Threats Driving Coral Declines

Let’s take a more detailed look at some of the most severe threats contributing to global coral reef declines:

The Heat Is On: Marine Heatwaves and Coral Bleaching

One of the most widespread threats to coral reefs is marine heatwaves caused by climate change. Abnormally hot ocean temperatures disrupt coral’s symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae algae. In response, corals expel their algal partners, causing the coral to turn completely white. This phenomenon is known as coral bleaching.

While bleached corals can sometimes recover, extreme or prolonged heat stress leads to widespread mortality. Mass bleaching episodes are occurring more frequently, often decimating reefs before they can fully recover. The back-to-back bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 and 2017 impacted over two-thirds of the reef system.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and controlling global temperature rise is critical to give coral a chance to adapt to warming seas. In the meantime, identifying heat-tolerant corals and expanding reef protections can help buy time while the climate crisis is addressed.

An Acid Test for Reefs: The Impacts of Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification poses another climate-driven threat to coral survival. Approximately 30–40% of human-generated CO2 emissions are absorbed by the oceans. As seawater reacts with CO2, pH levels decline, and water becomes more acidic.

Lower pH impedes corals’ ability to form their calcium carbonate skeletons. It also depletes carbonate ions crucial for shell-building marine organisms. Acidification wears away the reef framework and fragments the habitat.

While adaptation potential exists, acidification particularly threatens deep-water calcifying corals. Reducing CO2 emissions and local stressors, in tandem with identifying acidification-tolerant species, can help protect corals against declining ocean pH.

Choking Light: How Sedimentation Smothers Coral Reefs

When soil runoff containing sediments and nutrients enters the ocean, it reduces water clarity and quality. This runoff often originates from dredging and coastal development or increased erosion on deforested lands. Declining water clarity stresses light-dependent corals.

Thick sediment accumulation also physically smothers corals. Muddy particles cling to corals, blocking their access to sunlight needed for photosynthesis. Sediment blobs limit gas and nutrient exchange through coral tissues as well. Chronic sedimentation buries and slowly starves affected colonies.

Improving land use practices and erosion control, along with preventing coastal dredging near reefs, can reduce sediment runoff. Buffer zones of mangroves and wetlands help filter out land-based sediments before they reach fragile corals offshore.

A Cascade of Dysfunction: How Overfishing Destabilizes Reefs

Overfishing predators and herbivores on coral reefs destabilizes the entire ecological community. Removing too many grazing fish and invertebrates allows macroalgae and cyanobacteria to proliferate, overgrowing and shading corals.

In addition, the loss of keystone species like parrotfish and sea urchins further hampers algae control. These vital grazers scrape and mow down algae that would otherwise smother corals. When their numbers decline, runaway algae growth often ensues, suppressing coral recovery.

Banning destructive fishing gear like dynamite and cyanide along with catch limits and protected areas helps manage reef fisheries sustainably. This maintains balance while supplying food and livelihoods for local communities dependent on the reef system.

A Microscopic Enemy: How Disease Impacts Reef Ecosystems

Increased environmental stresses leave corals more susceptible to infectious disease outbreaks. Pathogens like bacteria, fungi, and viruses all contribute to coral diseases. Common examples include black band disease, white syndrome, white pox, and rapid wasting syndrome.

Stress factors like warmer water, toxins, and sedimentation impair corals’ natural immune defenses. This enables diseases to spread rapidly across colonies and entire reef systems. Outbreaks can decimate coral cover in mere months or weeks.

Monitoring for disease hotspots, identifying resilient corals, reducing local pollution sources, and strategically fragmenting corals may help curb the severity and spread of reef diseases in the future. But ultimately, controlling climate change remains key to coral’s disease resistance.

New Innovations Brightening Reef Restoration Efforts

Scientists and conservationists are continually pioneering new innovations and technologies to give coral restoration a vital boost. Here are some emerging techniques that have everything coming up coral:

Enhancing Reproduction with “Coral IVF”

• Breakthrough lab techniques now allow coral larvae cultivation, seeding, and sexual reproduction in ex-situ facilities, akin to IVF for humans.
• Larval rearing and cryopreservation allow genetic diversity to be maintained and larvae banked for future reef restoration initiatives.
• Seeding coral spawn slicks during mass spawning events can enhance fertilization success and recovery rates.

Employing Robots and Drones

• Automated subsea drones carefully clean corals of harmful algae and survey reefs with minimal disturbance to marine life.
• Underwater robots precisely apply chemical treatments to remove invasive species and control disease transmission between coral fragments.
• Artificial intelligence helps track reef changes over time and model future growth patterns to optimize restoration planning.

Growing Reefs in Nurseries

• Offshore coral tree nurseries provide protected structures for fragments to grow into hardy juveniles before being transplanted.
• Nursery-raised corals have higher survival rates and quickly recolonize damaged areas as they mature.
• Nurseries are genetically diverse coral banks that can reseed surrounding reefs for accelerated ecosystem recovery.

Bringing Back Lost Reefs

• Biorock technology uses low voltage electricity to accrete minerals and regenerate depleted reef frameworks.
• 3D printed terraces and reef balls made of specialized concrete offer new hard surfaces for corals to settle and attach.
• Sinking ships can create artificial reef structures, though care must be taken to avoid contamination.

Filling Gaps with “Coral Gardening”

• Coral gardening networks cultivate coral fragments in ocean plots before transplanting them to restore depleted areas.
• Branching corals are suspended on lines to grow into healthy, hardy transplants with accelerated growth rates.
• Networks allow local communities to steward and revitalize their adjacent reefs via active restoration.

Global Efforts To Protect and Conserve Coral Reefs

Realizing the threats facing coral reefs, scientists, governments, NGOs, and local stakeholders are banding together like never before to conserve these invaluable ecosystems. Here are some of the larger initiatives offering hope and driving positive change for coral reefs worldwide:

Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative

• Unites governments, NGOs, and businesses across Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras to develop sustainable tourism frameworks to prevent reef damage.

The Coral Triangle Initiative

• Partners Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands to sustainably manage the “Amazon of the Seas,” the world’s most biodiverse coral region.

U.S. Coral Reef Task Force

• Established in 1998 to lead U.S. efforts to map, monitor, research, and restore coral reefs in Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific territories. Has helped protect over 34% of U.S. coral reefs.

50 Reefs Initiative

• Marshalled over $100 million in philanthropic funding to enhance protections for the 50 most climate-resilient reefs, buying time for broader conservation actions to take effect.

The Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment

• Assessed condition of over 100 reefs across Florida, Caribbean, Bermuda, and Gulf of Mexico to identify resilient reefs and gaps for strategic conservation planning.

100 Island Challenge

• Encourages 100 island governments and communities to develop commitments and partnerships for sustainable development emphasizing reef protections by 2030.

United Nations Decade of Ocean Science

• Rallied international support and funding for a 10-year Science Action plan to generate knowledge and solutions for ocean management, including coral conservation.

What You Can Do To Support Coral Reef Conservation

The future of the world’s coral ultimately lies in the hands of individuals. Here are some impactful steps you can take in everyday life to join the movement protecting these endangered underwater rainforests:

• Reduce your carbon footprint by minimizing energy usage, taking public transport, reducing air travel, and making climate-conscious purchasing choices.
• Never purchase souvenirs or jewelry made from coral or other marine species. Their extraction damages fragile reefs.
• Participate in local beach, reef, or underwater cleanups to reduce plastic pollution entering marine habitats.
• Choose reef-safe sunscreens that are mineral-based, oxybenzone free, and environmentally friendly. Many chemicals leach onto coral reefs.
• Contact your representatives and vote for leaders who prioritize climate action and ocean conservation to spur systemic change.
• Reduce daily product consumption and waste, and properly dispose of all trash and chemicals to prevent runoff pollution.
• Visit reefs responsibly by choosing licensed tour operators, respecting all marine preserve rules, and never touching or taking corals. Pay fees that support reef management.
• Support NGOs conducting coral restoration, education, and conservation programs through donations or volunteering.
• Talk to family and friends to raise awareness about threats facing coral and the small steps we can all take to lighten our footprint on these fragile ecosystems.

Reasons for Optimism: Everything’s Coming Up Coral

Coral reefs represent the frontlines in many ways of the growing climate crisis. But they also symbolize humanity’s chance for redemption if we act decisively to change course. From inspiring innovations to expanding collaboration worldwide, everything’s coming up coral when it comes to safeguarding these fragile ecosystems for future generations.

We have an immense opportunity to transition to a sustainable future that no longer jeopardizes the survival of coral reefs and other threatened habitats. If we can come together to accomplish this shared goal, just think of the thriving, vibrant coral gardens our children may one day explore as our living legacy. We owe it to the million marvelous species that coral reefs support, and to ourselves, to make sure that everything’s coming up coral before it’s too late.