CAPE CORAL, Fla. — According to NOAA, every coral reef in the state of Florida has experienced bleaching this summer, and this could be just the tip of the iceberg ahead of a global bleaching event.
NOAA has already seen confirmed bleaching events in fuve countries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and seven countries and territories in the Atlantic; including Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“This is a real gut punch... to all of us at MOTE that are very involved in the active restoration of these coral reefs,” said Dr. Michael P. Crosby, CEO and President of MOTE Marine Laboratory.
Dr. Crosby said although we see bleaching events every year, this year was different.
“The scale and the speed in which, and the intensity of the increasing water temperature, was quite different than anything that I can remember,” said Dr. Crosby.
Those increased water temperatures — in some places reaching into the 100s — caused the coral to 'bleach,' or turn white or pale.
Bleaching happens when corals expel the algae that live within them and give them their colors. That algae also feeds the coral. Going without algae for extended periods can cause the coral to starve and die.
While record temperatures in the Gulf and Florida Keys are a major contributor to the ongoing bleaching, Dr. Crosby said salinity is also a factor, especially in the Florida Bay.
“We are seeing preliminary results that indicate coral reefs in proximity to the Florida Bay... actually has higher level of mortality than coral reefs that weren’t, even though they experienced similar temperatures,” said Dr. Crosby.
Depending on the scale of bleaching, it can have wide impacts to the whole reef system.
“It is not only the physical foundation, the structural habitat, but a living structure as well, that is the basis of an entire food web and all the organisms that dependent on that.”
Dr. Crosby said the science community will do everything in its power to save our coral reefs. If we were to lose them, it would have cascade effects outside of biodiversity.
“The basis of protecting shorelines,” said Dr. Crosby. “Mother nature’s natural coastal resiliency as well as the basis of an incredible wealth of cultural connections and economical foundations.”
When this crisis began, MOTE sprang into action, spending nearly a half a million dollars to evacuate hundreds of vulnerable corals. Dr. Crosby said these corals will be replanted this winter to help regrow the reefs.
MOTE is also researching ways to introduce corals that are better adapted against bleaching, and is already seeing positive results on our reefs.
“The approach of genetic resiliency combined with mircofragmention reskinning, that accelerates growth rates by 40 to 50 times their natural growth rates,” said Dr. Crosby. “That is a winning approach for restoring these corals in face of these dramatic bleaching events.”
NOAA says the full scale of damage to the reefs won’t be revealed until this winter and spring, when they can survey the reefs and see what reefs were able to recover from the heat stress.
