[Coral-List] Evidence that ocean warming has caused most Caribbean coral loss

[Thomas Le Berre]

Dear Ulf,

It is possible that in the Caribbean, pollution has been the biggest 
stress causing the demise of the corals, but, this is particular to the 
Caribbean. In many other coral reef areas, with a lesser coastal 
population density, further from the continents, rivers,  run off 
etc...this is not the case. My opinion is that if the Caribbean had 
experienced less pollution previously, it would not necessarily be in a 
better shape now due to the warming, and at the rate things are 
evolving, in a few years, there will not be a difference between a reef 
that never experienced much pollution and the others...Even though we 
should definitely control pollution, warming is the bigger immediate 
threat, the one that will be crucial in the next 20 years.  I can 
foresee that coral reefs will again be in great shape in a few hundred 
years, when the human population has been reduced to half a billion 
through famines and wars.

Best,

Thomas