Coral cover of Brazil’s Abrolhos reefs, the most biodiverse coral ecosystem in the South Atlantic, has fallen by around 15% over 18 years due to climate change and human activity, researchers in
Coral cover of Brazil’s Abrolhos reefs, the most biodiverse coral ecosystem in the South Atlantic, has fallen by around 15% over 18 years due to climate change and human activity, researchers in Rio de Janeiro told Reuters.
Marine heatwaves linked to climate change have intensified so-called bleaching events where corals expel the algae that call them home, which permanently undermines coral health, said Rodrigo Leao de Moura, a marine biologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
“With the increasing frequency of heatwaves, corals may regain their color, but they develop necrosis and diseases and continue to die because their health has been compromised,” Moura said.
Coral reefs around the world sustain about a quarter of marine life but are now in an almost irreversible die-off that scientists have described as the first “tipping point” in climate-driven ecosystem collapse.
For reefs to recover, scientists say the world would need to drastically ramp up climate action to bring temperatures down to just 1 degree Celsius above the preindustrial average.
But average global temperatures have already warmed by 1.3 to 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.3 to 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) above the preindustrial average, according to data from U.N. and EU science agencies.
Researchers
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