Climate change blamed for Caribbean coral deaths

Reuters: Climate change has contributed to a flattening of the complex, multi-layered architecture of Caribbean coral reefs, compromising their role as a nursery for fish stocks and a buffer against tropical storms, a study shows. The analysis of 500 surveys of 200 reefs, conducted between 1969 and 2008, showed the most complex types of reef had been virtually wiped out across the entire Caribbean.

Such reefs -- typified by Table Corals of over 1 metre across and huge antler-shaped Staghorn Corals -- act as a sanctuary for local fish stocks and a hunting ground for larger, commercially fished species. Many have been replaced with the flattest types of rubble-strewn reef, which now cover about three quarters of the Caribbean's reef area, up from about a fifth in the 1970s, said the study, published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

The biggest impact has occurred in the last decade, said the report by researchers from Britain's University of East Anglia and Canada's Simon Fraser University. "Lack of ... refuges for species with commercial importance, such as lobsters and large fishes may compromise the long-term sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities," the report said. Flatter reefs are also less effective in protecting coastal homes and villages from storm swells and tidal surges….

Staghorn coral forest, shot by Nhobgood Nick Hobgood, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License