Coral reefs, a poster child for impacts of climate change, may not be as doomed as we think. With overheated ocean waters cooking reefs year after yearscientists have issued dire warnings that these ecosystems might not survive the century.

But now, a team led by coral reef experts at James Cook University—the same ones who first raised the alarm about the plight of the Great Barrier Reef last year—are adopting a less apocalyptic tone. And we need to accept that the pristine reefs of the past are no more.

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Although they cover less than one percent of the seafloor, coral reefs are bastions of biodiversity, sheltering a quarter to a third of all marine species. But today, overfishing, ship traffic, pollution and climate change have created a crisis for these delicate ecosystems. For the past three years, this crisis has manifested visibly, as reefs around the globe have suffered the longest, most widespread, and most damaging coral bleaching event on record.

The Great Barrier Reef is being hit especially hard, with an estimated 29 percent of its shallow water corals dying from bleaching inaccording to the Australian government.

More coral die-off is expected this year as elevated ocean temperatures cause corals to expel the algae they depend on for food, turn ghostly white, and starve.

But as Hughes and colleagues explore in their paper, this alarmist talk masks a more complex—and hopeful—reality. For instance, while the colorful, branching Acropora corals that dominate the northern Great Barrier Reef have been hit hard by bleachingslower growing, dome-shaped corals appear resilient.

Corals are diverse organisms can i make money selling avon 2016 a range of environmental tolerances, and top 100 forex brokers temperatures rise, we can expect natural selection to favor those that can take the heat.

In fact, scientists are already observing changes at the genetic level that appear to be associated with heat tolerance in certain species.

And while rising temperatures are generally considered a bad thing for reefs, a warmer world could cause the habitat range of certain corals to expand north and south of the equator. In the short term, range expansion may even help offset another climate-related threat: Likewise, lab experiments simulating the effects of ocean acidification typically assume a doubling of atmospheric CO2 over present levels, from to parts per million.

The researchers say studies that simulate more moderate levels of warming and acidification are urgently needed to understand climate change impacts on these complex ecosystems.

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But ultimately, Hughes and his colleagues conclude, we need to get the climate under control to give coral reefs a fighting chance. Fx barrier option rebate Hughes noted, reefs in the Caribbean will never again resemble those of the pre-Columbian era, thanks to the disappearance of key megafauna like sea turtles and manatees, and the introduction of predatory lion fish.

With coral reefs as with land-based ecosystems, Hughes says conservations have to embrace the fact that change is inevitable.

Hughes and his colleagues say we also need to rethink management of reefs, and that humans are going to have to play a much more active role as stewards of these ecosystems in the future.

Active management could include propagating corals in the labre-introducing critical species that have been lost, pumping cold water up from the deep ocean, or tinkering with coral genetics —in addition to dealing with underlying problems of pollution, development, and climate change. Obviously, this will not be easy or cheap. But it may be doable, and Hughes believes that is a message worth communicating.

And we have to deal with the root causes. Video Sploid Paleofuture io9 Science Reviews Field Guide. Why There's Still Hope for the World's Coral Reefs. Edit Promote Share to Kinja Toggle Conversation tools Go to permalink. The Great Barrier Reef Just Suffered the Worst Die-Off Ever Seen. The First Coral Reefs Are Starting to Permanently Dissolve.

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