Florida (AP) —
The surface water temperature averaged around 33 degrees Celsius last month, well above the 29.5 degrees Celsius average in July. Several areas of coral reefs in the southern Florida Keys have experienced 100% bleaching.
Divers collect the coral scraps and take them to laboratories on land for short-term storage, or to nurseries in deeper water to deal with heat waves.
Reef rescue groups, government agencies and academia have been mobilized to save coral from a historic bleaching process in the Florida Keys that experts say threatens the survival of the world’s third largest stretch of coral reef.
They collected as many specimens as possible ashore following reports that some areas of the coral were nearly completely dead.
Bleaching occurred quickly as water temperatures rose in July, said Michael Echevarria, president of the nonprofit Reef Renewal USA.
“We are devastated that it happened so quickly in the southern Florida Keys. I mean, in a week, normally it takes 30 days for bleaching, (but only) a week, we see bleaching happening there,” he said.
Scientists examine the condition of coral reefs off the coast of Florida that are experiencing bleaching, a result of heat waves caused by climate change.
“Reef Renewal” was among the agencies initially working to move endangered corals to an onshore facility.
Recently, they’ve been working to save corals in some of their own underwater nurseries in shallower waters by moving them to deeper, cooler water.
Not far from the warm waters of Florida Bay, marine biologists inspect dozens of water-filled tanks.
Nestled in carefully guarded seawater at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) lie hundreds of pieces of coral – some pale white from bleaching that threatened to kill them, and others recovered and the bright iodine color that Healthy.
Phanor Montoya-Maya is the restoration program manager for the Coral Restoration Foundation, a non-profit organization for coral reef restoration.
“We have seen 100% bleaching on coral reefs and we have seen 100% mortality in some locations. So that’s devastating. Heartbreaking. The water temperature is rising now and will be even higher next month. So it will get worse,” he lamented.
At the Keys Marine Lab, collected coral fragments are placed in countertop-mounted cooling trays that hold between 40 and 400 gallons of seawater.
In mid-July, surface water temperatures averaged about 91 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) off the coast of the southern Florida Keys, well above the average 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29.5 degrees Celsius), according to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Emily Becker, seawater facility manager at Keys Marine Lab said the conservation community responded quickly. “People jumped into action very quickly, as best they could,” he said
Hot water causes almost 100% bleaching of coral reefs, causing corals to lose what are called zooxanthellae, which are single-celled algae that provide color and food.
If corals cannot recover their zooxanthellae, they will eventually die. (lt/hr)