Anthropocene. (July 17, 2019). Protecting seabirds could help protect coral reefs from climate change. Retrieved July 17, 2019, from http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2019/07/ seabirds-coral-reefs/

Seabird populations have been on the decline recently, roughly by two-thirds since the start of the 20th century, making seabird conservation a pressing issue. However, by restoring seabird populations, we might not just be saving the birds- but the corals they live near. In earlier research, researchers studied how seabird feces, which contained nitrogen and phosphorus from fish caught at sea, helped support communities of invertebrates and fish. Without those nutrients, reefs were notably depopulated in comparison. Even though the seabirds can’t help with coral bleaching, they still promoted the coral’s recovery from the actual bleaching. 

Seabird feces isn’t really the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about saving coral reefs, but it appears to be surprisingly effective. By helping restore seabird numbers, it’s addressing two problems at once, which is a pretty exciting idea. Similarly to the last article, I think that this would be a bit more exciting to the rest of the world, but then again, there’s so many problems that it seems that we have to fix that this probably wouldn’t be the most pressing solution. 

Mongabay. (July 17, 2019). U.S. Virgin Islands bans coral-damaging sunscreen. Retrieved July 17, 2019, from https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/u-s-virgin-islands-bans-coral-damagi ng-sunscreens/

On June 25, lawmakers in the U.S. Virgin Islands voted to ban sunscreen that contained chemicals that were damaging to coral reefs. It’s the first ban of its kind to occur in the United States, and Hawaii and Key West, Florida will be following suit. The banned chemicals are oxybenzone, octocrylene, and octinoxate, which are found in most commercial sunscreens and have been proven to cause damage to coral reefs. A ban on imports of sunscreens containing the chemicals will ensue afterwards, as well as a ban on their sale. 

I think it’s good that lawmakers are making steps towards addressing coral reef destruction, and essentially climate change as a whole. However, as the article mentions, it’s “‘low hanging fruit’ when it comes to addressing threats to fragile reef ecosystems”. Meaning, there’s still a lot more that needs to be done, and that banning certain sunscreens is a relatively easy thing to do, especially in comparison to the overwhelming nature of climate change as a whole.  

Science Daily. (July 9, 2019). Coral reefs shifting away from equator. Retrieved July 17, 2019, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190709160136.htm

Coral reefs are moving away from waters at the equator and are establishing new reefs in more temperate regions. It’s been a very consistent trend, and has also been seen in the habits of marine animals. The migration is composed of drifting corals, only some of which can actually travel far enough to reach a notably different water temperature. Researchers noticed that the movement was almost perfectly mirrored on either side of the equator, making the trend especially notable. 

I found it fascinating how the corals are adapting to the environment around them in order to survive. The fact that their migration is mirrored on either side of the equator is equally intriguing, and it makes me think of how nature will continue to survive practically no matter whatever happens to it. I’m surprised that I hadn’t heard about this until I actually tried to look into it further, it feels as though it would be a more notable occurrence, which leads me to wonder if it’s because people don’t care quite so much, or if climate change has been normalized.

The Guardian. (July 11, 2019). Great Barrier Reef hard coral cover close to record lows. Retrieved July 17, 2019, from  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/11/ great-barrier-reef-hard-coral-cover-close-to-record-lows

A report card by the Australian Institute of Marine Science showed that the hard coral cover in the northern region above Cooktown is 14%, which, although it is a slight increase from last year, is still at the lowest since 1985, when monitoring first began. However, several individual reefs were found to have growing communities and young corals, which gives hope for the future and indicates some resilience. Still, coral bleaching, as well as severe outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish have had devastating effects, and in some areas north of the evaluated area have even less than 14% coral coverage. 

Although the article had some positive aspects, like having several coral reefs that were doing surprisingly well, the negatives outweigh them immensely. It’s a lot more pessimistic than the last article, offering no potential solutions to the sobering reality of the coral reefs. I think that the main solution at this point is to have someone in power who takes the initiative to take measures to solve the problem.

NPR. (July 16, 2019). Florida’s Corals Are Dying Off, But It’s Not All Due To Climate Change, Study Says. Retrieved July 17, 2019, from https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/742050975/ floridas-corals-are-dying-off-but-it-s-not-all-due-to-climate-change-study-says

Over the past 20 years, half of Florida’s corals have died off. Brian Lapoint, a research professor who has been studying the corals for the last 30 years, expected to see that warming waters had played the largest role in their death, but was surprised to discover that increased nitrogen levels were actually the largest factor. The nitrogen comes from poorly treated wastewater and runoff from fertilizer and gardening topsoil. It causes algae blooms, which block the light that corals need, and disrupts the nutrient balance in the water: which makes the coral unhealthy, more prone to disease, undergo coral bleaching, and eventually die. Based on this evidence, it makes it easier for humans to slow the rate of coral deaths by managing stormwater and sewage better, and the average person can regulate their lawn fertilizer to have an impact as well.   

I found this article quite uplifting, as it showed how the vast immensity of global warming could occasionally be overlooked, at least for this issue. Whenever something is blamed entirely on climate change, it immediately seems a lot more difficult to fix, so the fact that the cause was actually things that seem a lot more minor in comparison made the solution seem more achievable. By addressing these by revising wastewater treatment programs, or making conscious decisions about gardening products (and their usage), it’s entirely possible that we can save coral reefs.