[Coral-List] IPCC and coral reefs
Jean-Pierre Gattuso
gattuso2 at obs-vlfr.fr
Thu May 8 04:06:35 EDT 2014
Listers,
IPCC has been recently mentioned on the list. Coral reefs are covered in
chapters 5, 6 and 30 of the Contribution of WGII to the IPCC report.
These chapters can be downloaded here:
http://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/report/final-drafts/
There is also a cross-chapter box covering coral reefs:
Gattuso J.-P., Hoegh-Guldberg O. & Pörtner H.-O., in press. Coral
Reefs. In: Field C. et al. (Eds.), Climate Change 2014: Impacts,
Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the
Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
There is also a cross-chapter box on ocean acidification in which coral
reefs are mentioned:
Gattuso J.-P., Brewer P., Hoegh-Guldberg O., Kleypas J. A., Pörtner
H.-O. & Schmidt D., 2014. Ocean acidification. In: Field C. & et al.
(Eds.), Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.
Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeCambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Both boxes are included in the three chapters above and can be also
downloaded here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3098160/ipcc_coral_reef_box.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3098160/ipcc_ocean_acidification_box.pdf
Finally, coral reefs are mentioned in the Technical Summary and twice in
the Summary for Policy Makers (same link as the one above for the
individual chapters):
- Unique and threatened systems: Some unique and threatened systems,
including ecosystems and cultures, are already at risk from climate
change (high confidence). The number of such systems at risk of severe
consequences is higher with additional warming of around 1°C. Many
species and systems with limited adaptive capacity are subject to very
high risks with additional warming of 2°C, particularly Arctic-sea-ice
and coral-reef systems.
- For medium- to high-emission scenarios (RCP4.5, 6.0, and 8.5), ocean
acidification poses substantial risks to marine ecosystems, especially
polar ecosystems and coral reefs, associated with impacts on the
physiology, behavior, and population dynamics of individual species from
phytoplankton to animals (medium to high confidence). Highly calcified
mollusks, echinoderms, and reef-building corals are more sensitive than
crustaceans (high confidence) and fishes (low confidence), with
potentially detrimental consequences for fisheries and livelihoods. See
Figure SPM.6B. Ocean acidification acts together with other global
changes (e.g., warming, decreasing oxygen levels) and with local changes
(e.g., pollution, eutrophication) (high confidence). Simultaneous
drivers, such as warming and ocean acidification, can lead to
interactive, complex, and amplified impacts for species and ecosystems.
I hope this helps.
---
Jean-Pierre Gattuso
INSU-CNRS-UPMC
Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche
06230 Villefranche-sur-mer
France
T: +33 4 93 76 38 59 | http://www.obs-vlfr.fr/~gattuso
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