NationStates Jolt Archive

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A one-two punch of bleaching from record hot water followed by disease has killed ancient and delicate coral in the biggest loss of reefs scientists have ever seen in Caribbean waters.

Researchers from around the globe are scrambling to figure out the extent of the loss. Early conservative estimates from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands find that about one-third of the coral in official monitoring sites has recently died.

"It's an unprecedented die-off," said National Park Service fisheries biologist Jeff Miller, who last week checked 40 stations in the Virgin Islands.

"The mortality that we're seeing now is of the extremely slow-growing reef-building corals. These are corals that are the foundation of the reef ... We're talking colonies that were here when Columbus came by have died in the past three to four months."

Some of the devastated coral can never be replaced because it only grows the width of one dime a year, Miller said.

I gotta go see these things. The rainforests, too. It'll all be gone soon.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/03/31/coral.death.ap/index.html

This is news to you?

This is news to you?
Not that habitat is disappearing, but if you read the story you'll see that the rate coral reefs have been bleaching over the last several months is surprising even to people who have been monitoring reefs for years.

Good thing I'm going to the Caribbean this summer!

another thing that's damaging the coral reefs are tourists. they tend to walk around on the reefs (yes, some do) and they also tend to leave a lot of litter.

another thing that's damaging the coral reefs are tourists. they tend to walk around on the reefs (yes, some do) and they also tend to leave a lot of litter.

They've been pretty careful about that the past few years, especially Belize. They are very careful to protect their reefs.

They've been pretty careful about that the past few years, especially Belize. They are very careful to protect their reefs.
that and the damage done by tourists tend to hurt the fish and wildlife and not the reef itself. just a generic reminder... that's all.

They've been pretty careful about that the past few years, especially Belize. They are very careful to protect their reefs.
Doesn't look like it's going to matter.

There might be some reefs on Europa.