14 DAY TRIAL // A severe rise in the surface temperatures in Indonesian waters triggered a large-scale coral bleaching that is devastating for coral populations, announced the Wildlife Conservation Society yesterday.
The “bleaching” of corals is the whitening phenomenon that occurs when the algae that live within coral tissues are rejected, as a consequence of stress caused by environmental causes like temperature changes.
Marine biologists from the WCS's Indonesia Program “Rapid Response Unit” were sent to study the bleaching of the corals, that was reported in May in Indonesian province Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island and their initial survey reported that 60 percent of corals were affected.
Another study completed earlier this month by marine ecologists from WCS, James Cook University (Australia), and Syiah Kuala University (Indonesia), revealed the fastest coral mortality evolution ever recorded, as 80 percent of certain species have died since the initial estimation and in the next few months more colonies are expected to perish.
This massive coral extinction is due to the rise in sea surface temperatures in the Andaman Sea, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Hotspots website, recorded peak temperatures in late May of 34 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees more than long term averages for the area.
The Andaman Sea area includes the coasts of Thailand, Myanmar, the Andaman and Nicobar Island, and northwestern Indonesia.
The intriguing thing is that these same corals resisted to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and ever since March 2005, when WCS and JCU started working in the area, this is the most severe recording of coral destruction.
Indonesian reefs were affected before the tsunami by poor land use and destructive fishing but the improved government and community management succeeded in maintaining fish biomass and allowing the reef to regenerate.
This year's bleaching and mortality phenomena will have a serious effect on reef fisheries and the even more concerning fact is that the NOAA website has recorded sea surface temperature anomalies at such a large scale that it affected the Andaman sea and beyond.
This year, similar bleaching events have been recorded in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and many regions of Indonesia.
Dr. Andrew Baird of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at JCU said that “if a similar degree of mortality is apparent at other sites in the Andaman Sea this will be the worst bleaching event ever recorded in the region.”
WCS Marine Program Director Dr. Caleb McClennen explained that “this is a tragedy not only for some of the world's most biodiverse coral reefs, but also for people in the region, many of whom are extremely impoverished and depend on these reefs for their food and livelihoods.
“Immediate and intensive management will be required to try and help these reefs, their fisheries and the entire ecosystem recover and adapt, however, coral reefs cannot be protected from the warming ocean temperatures brought on by a changing climate by local actions alone,” he added.
“This is another unfortunate reminder that international efforts to curb the causes and effects of climate change must be made if these sensitive ecosystems and the vulnerable human communities around the world that depend on them are to adapt and endure.”