The demise of reefs and the efforts to save them
The vibrant colors, massive biodiversity, and endless medical and economic value of coral reefs may vanish much sooner than we imagined. According to a new study by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if carbon emissions are not reduced, we may be waving goodbye to these beautiful ecosystems by 2050. Coral is especially sensitive to rising sea temperatures and with the UN climate report predicting a 2-degree increase in temperature in 32 years, we will see a record high in coral bleaching.
Coral bleaching is the process of coral losing their symbiotic algal partners due to high ocean temperatures. The Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its coral reefs to bleaching and it is expected to continue to deteriorate. While coral reefs cover only 1 percent of the ocean floor, they hold 25% of the ocean’s biodiversity. This means an absence of these reefs is catastrophic to wildlife and to people who depend on them for a source of income. A massive 375 billion dollar industry surrounding reefs is collapsing at the same time, not to mention the countless medical studies that would be ended as a result of coral extinction.
Coral has chemical agencies to defend themselves that are beneficial to creating pharmaceuticals that battle cancer, Alzheimer’s, viruses, and many other diseases that are detrimental to humans. Unfortunately, scientists have only taken the first steps to research these medical benefits, leaving an abundance of additional discoveries that will never be discovered.
Currently, there are some big efforts being taken by scientists to find ways to prevent this catastrophe from occurring within our lifetime through a series of experiments aimed at activating genes to create climate change resistant coral. By examining certain mutations found in “super coral” that exempt them from feeling the full effects of global warming, scientists are working to find genetic indicators to activate this gene in developing coral populations. In essence, by genetically modifying the coral's agal partners, the coral should theoretically be able to resist the heating up and acidification of the ocean. However, there are disputes over whether genetically modified coral should be implemented into reefs because this would inevitably give these habitats a corporate biotech owner.
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