{"id":336527,"date":"2024-07-15T13:25:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T11:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=336527"},"modified":"2024-07-15T13:25:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T11:25:24","slug":"the-coral-endures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=336527","title":{"rendered":"The Coral Endures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I keep reading endless hype about the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) getting bleached out of existence. So let\u2019s start with some facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, coral is not a single organism. Coral is a curious critter. Coral is a symbiotic partnership between an animal from the Anthozoa group and a microbial alga called Symbiodinium. The microbial algae use photosynthesis to create sugar, and the Anthozoa polyps feed off the sugar. Here\u2019s a description from the USGS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Figure 1.\u00a0<\/em>Description from the\u00a0USGS article<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cThe hard skeleton of coral is formed by the secretion of calcium carbonate by the polyp. The cup-like skeleton deposited by an individual polyp is called a corallite. Polyps gather food particles with the nematocysts (stinging, venomous cells) in their tentacles, and feed from sugars produced by photosynthesizing zooxanthellae, a type of algae. The coral tissue protects these algae from herbivorous grazers, and the algae in turn use many of the polyps\u2019 waste products such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Illustration by Laura Torresan, USGS<\/em>\u201c<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next, modern-type warm-water shallow coral reefs have been around for about half a billion years \u2026 so obviously, they must be resistant to temperature changes, including the large temperature swings in the transitions between the glacial periods and the interglacial times such as the current Holocene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, \u201cbleaching\u201d. Bleaching is the natural response of coral to excessively warm or excessively cool temperatures<\/strong>. Or to pollution. Or to siltation. Or to toxic chemicals. Or to the death of the parrotfish<\/a> or other grazers that keep the coral from being overgrown by other plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the symbiotic relationship comes under pressure due to any of those stressors, the algae may leave the coral\u2019s tissue. And if the stress is due to pollution, siltation, or the lack of parrotfish, then the reef may die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if the bleaching is from unusual temperatures, the reef doesn\u2019t usually die. Instead, something entirely different happens. The usual outcome of bleaching due to temperature change is that after the algae die and are expelled by the coral, a different strain of algae that is adapted to the new temperature takes up residence in the bleached coral skeleton.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy for the new algae to colonize the coral\u2014at that point the coral is like an apartment house where the tenants have all moved out. The new algae can colonize the coral without having to build up the structure. So the reef usually comes back to full health quite quickly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I know this stuff? Hours and hours of scuba and snorkel diving on coral reefs, plus four years living on a coral atoll. I\u2019ve seen the bleaching and watched the reef recover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as I mentioned at the top of the post, there\u2019s all kinds of hype about what might happen to the GBR, or to the reefs off of Florida and the Keys for that matter, if the ocean warms up and doesn\u2019t cool back down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, what most folks don\u2019t know is that a) coral reefs like warm water, the warmer the better, and b) the GBR and the Florida reefs are at the coldest end of the temperatures where shallow-water corals reefs can grow. (And yes, I know there are deep cold-water corals<\/a> \u2026 but we\u2019re not talking about those, are we?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s start with the location of the GBR. It\u2019s on the northeast coast of Australia, shown in the map below.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Figure 2. Location of the Great Barrier Reef<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And where is that in relation to the rest of the world\u2019s coral reefs? Well, very few coral reefs exist where the year-round water temperature is less than 23\u00b0C (73\u00b0F). And here\u2019s a map of that region.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Figure 3. Temperature range where corals thrive (colored areas), and the area where most corals live (red box).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So \u2026 as you can see, both the Florida reefs and the GBR are in the coldest part of the temperature range where corals are happy. And most coral reefs are in the warmest ocean waters. So we know that there are plenty of warmer-water-adapted algae and warmer-water coral reefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And of course, this means that if the ocean in those areas of the GBR and Florida reefs gets and stays warmer \u2026 all that will happen is that some reefs will bleach, warmer-water-adapted algae will recolonize the reefs, and finally, because of the warmer waters, the reefs will be able to expand polewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A final note. Almost nowhere is the open ocean\u2019s annual average temperature warmer than ~30\u00b0C. And as the ocean\u2019s temperature overall has warmed, the warmest waters have stayed the same temperature. So a warming ocean is no threat to corals growing in the warmest ocean waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TL;DR version? <\/strong>While humans threaten coral reefs via pollution, pesticides, and siltation, corals like warm water. They are happiest where the water is warmest. Corals have survived radical changes in the temperature of oceans over geological time. Bleaching is the natural way that corals adapt to changing water temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as a result \u2026 all of the hype about the corals and \u201cglobal warming\u201d is just another part of the climate alarmism scam. They\u2019re not under any kind of threat from warming oceans. Or to misquote Mark Twain, \u201cThe rumors of coral\u2019s death are greatly exaggerated\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

w.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLEASE NOTE:<\/strong> When you comment, quote the exact words you are referring to. I can defend my own words. I can\u2019t defend your interpretation of my words. Thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First, coral is not a single organism. Coral is a curious critter. Coral is a symbiotic partnership between an animal from the Anthozoa group and a microbial alga called Symbiodinium. The microbial algae use photosynthesis to create sugar, and the Anthozoa polyps feed off the sugar. Here\u2019s a description from the USGS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":336537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819377,691820471,691822484,691820424],"class_list":{"0":"post-336527","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-coral","9":"tag-coral-bleaching","10":"tag-great-barrier-reef-gbr","11":"tag-temperatures","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00turtle-great-barrier-reef-1-2048x1357-1.jpg?fit=2048%2C1357&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1pxR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":364009,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=364009","url_meta":{"origin":336527,"position":0},"title":"Truths about Coral Bleaching: CO2 Warming vs Reduced Clouds Cover?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/01\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The coral that now form our modern reefs evolved 240 million years ago during the Age of Dinosaurs when coral formed a marvelously fluid symbiotic relationship with symbiodinium algae. 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Bleaching does not mean coral mortality.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"climate propaganda\"","block_context":{"text":"climate propaganda","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-propaganda"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00GACXB-HbYAI6XZF.jpeg?fit=874%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00GACXB-HbYAI6XZF.jpeg?fit=874%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00GACXB-HbYAI6XZF.jpeg?fit=874%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00GACXB-HbYAI6XZF.jpeg?fit=874%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":309090,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=309090","url_meta":{"origin":336527,"position":5},"title":"Coral Growth at the Great Barrier Reef has \u201cExploded\u201d in Recent Years","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/03\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Almost constant scares are raised by activist scientists and journalists about bleaching events including a nonsense story recently published by the\u00a0Daily Mail\u00a0and Reuters that suggested the GBR was in\u00a0danger of disappearing.","rel":"","context":"In \"climate alarmism\"","block_context":{"text":"climate alarmism","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-alarmism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0iTeVjlN.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0iTeVjlN.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0iTeVjlN.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0iTeVjlN.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0iTeVjlN.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=336527"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":336539,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336527\/revisions\/336539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/336537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=336527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=336527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=336527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}