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Coral reefs are considered one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet and are dying at alarming rates around the world. Scientists attribute coral bleaching and ultimately massive coral death to a number of environmental stressors, in particular, warming water temperatures due to climate change.
A study published in the international journal Marine Biology, reveals what's really killing coral reefs. With 30 years of unique data from Looe Key Reef in the lower Florida Keys, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and collaborators have discovered that the problem of coral bleaching is not just due to a warming planet, but also a planet that is simultaneously being enriched with reactive nitrogen from multiple sources.
Improperly treated sewage, fertilizers and top soil are elevating nitrogen levels, which are causing phosphorus starvation in the corals, reducing their temperature threshold for "bleaching." These coral reefs were dying off long before they were impacted by rising water temperatures. This study represents the longest record of reactive nutrients and algae concentrations for coral reefs anywhere in the world.
"Our results provide compelling evidence that nitrogen loading from the Florida Keys and greater Everglades ecosystem caused by humans, rather than warming temperatures, is the primary driver of coral reef degradation at Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area during our long-term study," said Brian Lapointe, Ph.D., senior author and a research professor at FAU's Harbor Branch.
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-years-unique-reveal-coral-reefs.html
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Brian E. Lapointe et al. Nitrogen enrichment, altered stoichiometry, and coral reef decline at Looe Key, Florida Keys, USA: a 3-decade study, Marine Biology (2019). DOI: 10.1007/s00227-019-3538-9
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday July 17 2019, @01:36PM (5 children)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday July 17 2019, @03:30PM (4 children)
Can you recognize a subtle climate change denial piece when it's put in front of you?
Coral bleaching is a global phenomenon, both in connection with Nitrogen runoff, and without.
Sure, Looe Key reef is positioned in extremely close proximity to heavy fertilizer runoff sources - not surprising that that is a prime driver in that location, and if we could wean the Everglades' economy off of Big Sugar things would improve dramatically.
However, explaining away one highly runoff contaminated reef's bleaching as "mostly not caused by warming" doesn't explain the rest of the bleached reefs around the globe.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 17 2019, @07:48PM (2 children)
Well, then YOU explain the multitude of UNbleached reefs in this world. Start with those in warmer waters than the ones that bleached.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 17 2019, @08:10PM (1 child)
Citations needed, and even if there are multiple sites where coral is doing fine you would then need to have ocean temp measurements for those areas to see if they are experiencing the same increases.
But knowing this site's user base you are probably just a denying jackass.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @11:26AM
I do not observe ANY of your congregation posting ANY hard data in this whole discussion; only tired, rote, inept insults. Besides, rubbing your snout in search engine output is useless in any case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True-believer_syndrome [wikipedia.org] is incurable as far as current science knows.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 18 2019, @01:33AM
Sure. But your post isn't that subtle. For example, you don't even bother to present evidence that we're anywhere near a subtle climate change denial piece. It's an insinuation you make and drop.
Sure. And it would be, even if we were in the hypothetical situation where there was no global warming or nitrogen runoff.
But it might explain most changes in frequency and severity of coral bleaching from say a few centuries ago. At some point, we're going to need evidence to go with that conjecture you've been introducing.