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Impact of Climate Change on Coral Reefs
Background: Scientists have expressed a great deal of concern over the potential impact of climate change on coral reef ecosystems. Both increasingly levels of acidity, which reduce the ability of coral to generate their main structural material, and higher sea temperatures, which can cause "bleaching" or expulsion of the symbiotic algae that enable corals to feed, are cited as the primary risks to reefs in a world of higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Some research suggests that as much as 95 percent of the corals on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could die by 2050 should temperatures rise by 2 ocean temperatures increase by the 1.5 degrees Celsius projected by climate scientists. Despite the bleak outlook, it appears that some corals may be able to adjust to changing conditions. The end result is that reefs 50 years from now may be quite different than reefs of the present.
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