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While climate change caused by man causes a rise in sea temperature, coral reefs have felt his anger. Scientists are struggling to save the world's reefs, half of which are already dead, from rising carbon emissions and seabed. A researcher thinks that the immediate solution does not lie in the man, but in the coral itself.
Immunizing corals against pollution and rising climates could restore the health of dying populations and reintroduce dead ones, says Caroline Palmer, professor of marine science. published Monday in Nature & # 39; s Communications Biology . The selected corals are able to tolerate the stressors that threaten them depending on their ecological system and the microorganisms with which they interact, to help the corals resist future damage.
"Long-term survival, understanding of coral immunology can" buy enough time to keep enough corals, "she writes. There is no doubt that climate change is devastating coral reef systems. "" But if we want to conserve or restore them, we must understand the health of corals. "
Climate change causes a cycle of underwater destruction in reefs As carbon emissions and greenhouse gases invade more and more l & # 39 atmosphere, temperatures also rise in the water of the Earth, about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. When sea temperatures warm up, the coral expels the algae that live there and becomes white and brittle. This phenomenon, called coral bleaching, decimated half of the Great Barrier Reef, more than 67,000 miles of dead coral.
Reefs with higher presence of microorganisms have a higher damage threshold. wrote. They can eventually trigger an immune response to prevent death – or at least prolong it.
Global warming is expected to eliminate 90% of the remaining corals by 2050, causing concern, said biologist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. She called coral reefs the "fabric of the ecosystem" that supports the people who cause her disintegration
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"You do not could not be more stupid to erode the only thing on which life depends – the ecosystem – and hope that you will benefit from it, "she told Independent.
But some reefs are learning to adapt to damage conditions. A June study found that some pockets of reefs are more resilient to the effects of warmer water and pollution than their neighbors. These sections in the reefs, called oases, were able to produce calcium carbonate structures to withstand nearby disturbances, and some even repaired.
Some reefs located in deeper pits of water are healthier since they can avoid surface storms and litter, and others are biologically regulated to rebuild themselves after damage . But the selected survivors do not spell the victory of the ravaged cnidarians.
"This glimmer of hope does not mean that we can rely on the severity of the crisis that strikes most of the world's coral reefs," said lead author James Guest. statement
Reef deterioration could trigger hidden difficulties for habitat-dependent humans. Corals are home to between 1 and 9 million species, most of which have not been discovered, as well as fish that are estimated to be one billion people depend on, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The reefs protect the shores against powerful storm surges by breaking them before they can erode the coast or flood the land.
At least one-seventh of the world's population benefits from reefs and there is evidence that humans can repair the relationship: In June, the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve is no longer considered to be on the way disappearance after government initiatives banned oil drilling in nearby waters. David Vaughan, head of the coral restoration program at the Mote Tropical Research Laboratory, said reef restoration is already practiced in coral reefs around the world as scientists raise climate-resistant corals in laboratories to transplant them in decimated reefs. We have made great progress in coral restoration that I would have never thought possible ten years ago, "he told Vice's motherboard. "There is definitely hope."
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