Pierre-Louis, Kendra. (2019, October 21). The Return of the ‘Blob’: Hawaii’s Reefs Threatened by Marine Heat Wave. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive /2019/10/21/climate/hawaii-coral-bleaching.html
The “Blob” refers to massive, unexpected heat waves in the ocean, most notably in waters surrounding Hawaii. Coral that was previously healthy became stressed by the extreme temperatures and shed the plants that gave them color and provided oxygen (thus the ‘bleached’ appearance) and died- Hawaii’s corals experienced a 50% loss in 2015, when the “Blob” struck before. Satellite observation and a network of sensors has let scientists know where the coral bleaching is the worst, although the article didn’t confirm what they would do with this data.
Climate change’s relation to environmental science includes how it alters entire ecosystems, causing lasting problems that a significant number of species have trouble adapting to. Not mentioned in the abstract, but an impactful segment of the article, talked about what happens to the coral structures after they are bleached; Algae start to grow on the reefs, but the warming waters trigger the release a neurotoxin called domoic acid from the algae. The shellfish that eat the algae transfer it to seabirds or other animals that consume the shellfish, who then get sick and die. During Hawaii’s “Blob” attack, “tens of thousands of dead seabirds” washed up on the shores, all due to warming waters. The article wasn’t very encouraging, it offered no solutions or ideas for possibly addressing the problem in the future, which I thought was a bit depressing.
I didn’t know about the neurotoxin released by the algae, that’s really interesting, also how the toxin travels up the food change is also really interseting. It’s really sad to read about “thousands of dead seabirds” and coral reefs eating destroyed, especially since they take so long to grow. Since the article didn’t offer any solutions do you have any ideas? I think it would be interesting to see if any bacteria can consume the “Blob” and not affect the ecosystems around.
Hey, thanks for reading my review! I really liked your idea about possibly introducing an algae that could combat it, but then again, we might end up with more invasive species shenanigans resulting in even bigger problems (although it’s somewhat hard to imagine). I can’t seem to find any potential solutions out there, but hopefully something will come up sometime soon.