Julian Sprung's email.

[Jonathan Kelsey]

Coral Listers,
I am very interested further discussion of these theories raised in Mr.
Sprung's email:

1.) "Mass coral bleaching and subsequent coral death has nothing whatsoever to
do with starvation. Nor is water pollution a factor. It is simply hot water and
light that combined do the damage. The corals in a hot spot may bleach and die
in a matter of just a few days. Corals don't starve so quickly."

2.) "Also, when you find survivors of bleaching events they tend to be in more
polluted (nutrient rich) habitats. That can be explained at least partly by the
fact that these habitats have lower light penetration due to turbidity and may
also have shading caused by growths of macroalgae."

-Are these generally accepted concepts?
-Can one accurately assess coral mortality rates associated with a bleaching
event after "a matter of just a few days"?
-Are there quantitative studies showing that there is a greater bleaching
survival rate among corals in polluted waters versus those in non-polluted
water?
-Any comments and/or further discussion would be greatly appreciated.