Coral Bleaching in Hawaii

Coral Bleaching in Hawai'i

Discussion/Conclusion

Findings

• Resilient or not, the coral reefs are predicted to decline if nothing changes and temperatures continue to rise.
• Mass coral bleaching events are only predicted, to get worse and more severe.
• Scientists are trying to study the more "resilient" coral to see what traits make them able to survive in warmer climates.

• The damage of mass coral bleaching events are becoming more and more severe as the time goes by.
• The mass coral bleaching event in June 2017 was the largest and longest event that has occurred throughout our history (Couch, Courtney S.)
• Although predictions show there will be more mortality of reefs as the years go by, there are several corals that are more resilient.
• Coral is very diverse so it is understandable that some can tolerate an increase in temperature better than others (Schiffman, Richard)

Results

Using the NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW), you can see the temperature drastically increases in 2014-2015 which is the same time Hawaii had one of their most damaging bleaching events

Through coral surveys, it shows that as the weeks go by during the 2014 heatwave, the proportion of bleached coral colonies increase.

(Couch, Courtney S., et al., 2017)

By looking at the past mass bleaching events, scientists predict the amount of coral coverage in the future.

These are predictions are based on looking at coral types that have been know to be "less resilient".

Here are the predictions of the amount of coral coverage in the future for the coral that is known to be more resilient to temperature change.

The amount of coverage decreases slower than the "less resilient" coral, but there is still an obvious decline.

(Hoeke, Ron K., et al., 2011)

Introduction

http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/reefresponse/2014/10/06/latest-info-coral-bleaching/

healthy reef

Research Problem

Is coral bleaching taking over Hawaii's coral reefs? How much damage is already done and what damage is predicted for the future?

What is coral bleaching?

Coral bleaching occurs when the temperature of sea water increases causing the algae to detach itself from the coral, leaving just an exoskeleton. This causes the coral to turn white.

When coral is bleached it is weak and is more likely to die off, but there is still a chance that it can survive the bleaching (Couch, Courtney S.).

Shannon Mahoney

ENG 100-002

23 April 2018

Dying reef

Research Question Method

Hypothesis

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/Coral-Reef-Bleaching-Around-the-World-416027573.html

• To examine the research question, I conducted a content analysis, in order to study several peer- reviewed articles to see if there is a pattern in coral bleaching damage.
• I used the database, Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost), where I typed in phrases "coral bleaching" and "Hawaii" to collect my articles.

If the temperature of the sea surface water increases, then coral reefs are more likely to undergo a bleaching event.

Works Cited

Couch, Courtney S., et al. “Mass Coral Bleaching Due to Unprecedented Marine

Heatwave in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands).” Plos ONE, Vol. 12, Issue 9., 2017, pp. 1-27. Academic Search Complete, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185121. Accessed 2 March 2018.

Hoeke, Ron K., et al. “Projected Changes to Growth and Mortality Hawaiian Corals

Over the Next 100 Years.” PLoS ONE, Vol. 6, Issue 3., 2011, pp. 1-13. Academic Search Complete, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018038. Accessed 16 March 2018.

Schiffman, Richard. “Reefs Stricken. On Hawaii’s Coconut Island, Scientist Are

Engineering Coral to Survive the Deadly Effects of Climate Change.” Newsweek Global, Vol. 166, Issue 21., 2016, pp. 48-51. Academic Search Complete, http://cletus.uhh.hawaii.edu:2240/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=c1a9df5f-1c72-44f6-b111-5ae59e1cb97d%40pdc-v-sessmgr01. Accessed 16 March 2018.