Warmer oceans may hurt coral reefs
South Florida’s coral reefs face an increased risk of bleaching in the next few months, a life-threatening condition in which they expel the algae that provides them with color and nutrition, according to federal marine scientists.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday that unusually warm ocean temperatures are likely to produce increased coral bleaching through October in the northern hemisphere, “potentially leading to the death of corals over a wide area and affecting the long-term supply of fish and shellfish.”
South Florida’s coral reefs, the only ones in the continental United States, stretch from the Florida Keys through Martin County, providing habitat for a vast range of marine life and accounting for significant economic activity through fishing, diving and snorkeling.
Dave Gilliam, assistant professor at Nova Southeastern University’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, said evidence of bleaching can Florida coast.
“We’re already starting to see some signs of stress offshore,” he said. “We’re seeing some paling, we’re having a disease event off north MiamiDade.”
Bleaching events in the past few years have hit hardest in the Florida Keys, he said, where the water is warmer and clearer, which allows more sunlight through. A group of Nova scientists were diving off Fort Lauderdale Monday to check on the
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