[Coral-List] Decline of Red Sea coral reefs

[International Coral Reef Observatory]

Thanks Joseph for the video. There is no doubt about climate change's
effect on coral reefs of the world. However, the Red Sea also has high
traffic for maritime navigation and unsustainable development (Ports
enlargement, oil transportation, etc). We have verified reports from
different scuba diving operators who have been monitoring the coral reefs
of the Red Sea for years even in protected areas and also
noticing degradation.

Just by clicking on google the potential causes you will find explanations
as the following: "Human populations along the coasts of the Red Sea use
the sea as a resource (fishing, transportation, bioactive materials,
tourism, etc.), but often overexploit it or misuse it, resulting in compromised
coral health and lower resistance to global disturbances (such as warming
and acidification)".

Also e.g. of scientific citations: Cumulative Effects of Nutrient
Enrichment and Elevated Temperature Compromise the Early Life History
Stages of the Coral *Acropora tenuis*

   - Adriana Humanes,
   - Sam H. C. Noonan,
   - Bette L. Willis,
   - Katharina E. Fabricius,
   - Andrew P. Negr

 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0161616

*Overview of diseases affecting corals in the Red Sea*

   - Black band disease (BBD). ...
   - White syndromes (WS). ...
   - Endolithic hypermycosis (EH). ...
   - Skeletal eroding band (SEB). ...
   - Growth anomalies (GA). ...
   - Focal bleached patches. ...
   - Histology shows healthy tissues compromised and presence of CAMAs. ...
   - Coral taxa differ in disease susceptibility.


https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246854

Recently a "new" war: “The Red Sea has become a hotspot of geopolitical
tension due to Houthi militants targeting commercial vessels, with over 33
attacks reported since 19 November 2023. These disruptions threaten a key
maritime route essential for a significant share of global container
traffic and over $1 trillion in annual merchandise". 12/21/2023 | 5m 47s |
One of the world's top trading routes, the Suez Canal, is essentially
closed for business to many shipping companies. That's because Houthi
rebels in Yemen have been attacking ships in response to Israel's war in
Gaza".

All the best,

Nohora Galvis
International Coral Reef Observatory, ICRO
DOALOS Expert on cumulative effects affecting coral reefs
Former ICRS WORLD REEF AWARD
Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/ICRObservatory/
Twitter https://twitter.com/ICR_Observatory/
Instagram.com/ICR_Observatory and Youtube ICR_Observatory

El vie, 23 feb 2024 a las 9:51, Pawlik, Joseph via Coral-List (<
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>) escribió:

> Greetings, list,
>
> More sad news about which you may not be aware: Red Sea coral reefs are
> rapidly losing coral cover from south to north because of summer high
> temperature events and unprecedented storms. Some of us had hoped that
> these reefs were resistant to climate change impacts, but evidently not.
>
> Here is a video that shows the dramatic change in coral cover between 2019
> and 2023 (effects of 5 summers) on reefs south of Marsa Alam, Egypt.
>
> https://youtu.be/_-v7s4eBok0
>
> Note the recently dead and toppled Porites lutea - many of these heads are
> hundreds, if not thousands of years old.
> The video also shows dead reefs south of Al Lith on the Saudi Arabian side
> of the Red Sea - this is further south of the Egyptian reefs in the first
> part of the video, and these reefs died before 2017.
>
> Important relative to recent discussions on this list is that these tragic
> losses are due entirely to high temperature events - these reefs are not
> impacted by human settlements or sources of pollution, nor is there
> evidence of disease events.
>
> Regards,
>
> Joe
>
> **************************************************************
>
> Joseph R. Pawlik
>
> Frank Hawkins Kenan Distinguished Professor of Marine Biology
>
> Dept. of Biology and Marine Biology
>
> UNCW Center for Marine Science
>
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>
> Wilmington, NC  28409
>
> Office:(910)962-2377; Cell:(910)232-3579
>
> Website: http://people.uncw.edu/pawlikj/index.html
>
> PDFs: http://people.uncw.edu/pawlikj/pubs2.html
>
> Video Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/skndiver011
>
> **************************************************************
>
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