[Coral-List] coral reefs shifting away from the equator

[Douglas Fenner]

Agreed.  "We need reefs more than reefs need us."  In the sense that
eventually, some sort of life will once again build reefs.  Maybe a few
corals that survive.  Maybe a mollusc (oysters?).  Maybe sponges or worms.
Problem is, meantime, we're going to lose ecosystem services, coral reef
ecosystems will become algae beds (here comes the slime!) and the surviving
corals may be vastly less diverse than what we have now, which will take at
least the length of time that the modern human species has existed or more
to evolve diversity comparable to what we have now.  So very long term,
they'll be fine.  But on the scale of the likely future existence of our
species, they and thus we, will be far poorer for their loss.  Even if we
don't lose many species, we are sure to lose a huge amount of ecosystem
services, maybe one of the largest being food for a few hundred million
people living along coasts in the tropics.
Cheers, Doug

On Fri, Jul 12, 2019 at 11:30 AM Dennis Hubbard <dennis.hubbard at oberlin.edu>
wrote:

> This also happened in the Cetaceous when super-molluscs (rudists) took
> over and corals moved to the sub-tropics. The good news for reefs was that
> a giant asteroid hit near Alacran and wiped everything out, including the
> offending agents of corals' relegation to the suburbs.
>
> But, the reefs came back to become the reef systems we are presently
> mourning. Can we possibly raise the ante on this one and create a scenario
> in which reefs won't come back? To paraphrase George Carlin in a way that
> is suitable for the list-serve, "the planet will do fine; we're the ones on
> the way out - like fleas on dogs". I'm not arguing that we shouldn't worry
> about our impacts (hopefully we have more cognitive power than fleas).
> However, we'll get ours in the end and reefs have survived worse - if
> geologic history tells us anything.
>
> Dennis
>
> On Thu, Jul 11, 2019 at 4:48 PM Douglas Fenner via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
>> Coral reefs shifting away from equator, new study finds.
>>
>>
>> http://www.washington.edu/news/2019/07/09/coral-reefs-shifting-away-from-equator-new-study-finds/?utm_source=UW+News+Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=UW_Today&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTXpVeE4yTTRORFkzT1dZMyIsInQiOiJ2ZGdjS3h1Z0xqRG1QYm5Qajl4XC9QdUh4RmYxaGUzVjRZZ1g0NzJCZDhLVE9KM2NwelZHS3hyN1hXR1VDQ1NxY2xLVEhRZTJUY0hTaFZsTEZFWDM4aERYXC9HUU03c1p3dk1qTkFXd2l4emVpenZUR3pqa2t0c1phdWloRllPVkdVIn0%3D
>>
>>
>> Open-access.
>>
>> Global biogeography of coral recruitment: tropical decline and subtropical
>> increase.
>>
>>  https://www.int-res.com/articles/feature/m621p001.pdf
>>
>> Open-access
>>
>> Cheers, Doug
>> --
>> Douglas Fenner
>> Ocean Associates, Inc. Contractor
>> NOAA Fisheries Service
>> Pacific Islands Regional Office
>> Honolulu
>> and:
>> Consultant
>> PO Box 7390
>> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA
>>
>> A call to climate action  (Science editorial)
>>
>> https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6443/807?utm_campaign=toc_sci-mag_2019-05-30&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=2840296
>>
>> New book "The Uninhabitable Earth"  First sentence: "It is much, much
>> worse
>> than you think."
>> Read first (short) chapter open access:
>>
>> https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/read-a-chapter-from-the-uninhabitable-earth-a-dire-warning-on-climate-change
>>
>> Want a Green New Deal?  Here's a better one.
>>
>> https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/want-a-green-new-deal-heres-a-better-one/2019/02/24/2d7e491c-36d2-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html?utm_term=.a3fc8337cbf8
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
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>>
>
>
> --
> Dennis Hubbard
> Chair, Dept of Geology-Oberlin College Oberlin OH 44074
> (440) 775-8346
>
> * "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong stop"*
>  Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"
>


-- 
Douglas Fenner
Ocean Associates, Inc. Contractor
NOAA Fisheries Service
Pacific Islands Regional Office
Honolulu
and:
Consultant
PO Box 7390
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA

A call to climate action  (Science editorial)
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6443/807?utm_campaign=toc_sci-mag_2019-05-30&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=2840296

New book "The Uninhabitable Earth"  First sentence: "It is much, much worse
than you think."
Read first (short) chapter open access:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/read-a-chapter-from-the-uninhabitable-earth-a-dire-warning-on-climate-change

Want a Green New Deal?  Here's a better one.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/want-a-green-new-deal-heres-a-better-one/2019/02/24/2d7e491c-36d2-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html?utm_term=.a3fc8337cbf8