Saturday, 2 November 2013

Coral reefs: why they are wonderful, and why they are withering


Coral reefs are familiar biodiversity hotspots – sites of unusually high species diversity, under severe threat from human activities. We have all seen the explosion of coloured corals and reef fish on television – some cute, some weird, some bizarre, some breathtakingly beautiful. The second part of the definition has only come to our attention in the past decades, but research has shown that coral reefs have been degrading over hundreds of years, since the beginning of the industrial era. Yet, with the recent outbreaks of coral diseases and bleaching induced by climate change, the coral reefs are in greater danger than anyone could have imagined. 



Coral reefs are teeming with productive corals and active fish. 

Coral reefs are among the largest life-created (biogenic) natural structures on Earth, and make up their own ecosystems. Most are concentrated near the coasts of warm tropical waters, but some coral reefs exist in the deep oceans. Making up only about 0.1 % of the total ocean surface, they still sustain 25 % of all marine species, of all sorts of types.


The array of fish living in coral reefs is stunning. 

Corals make up the bulk of the reefs. They are anthozoans, members of the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes jellyfish on the other end (yes, corals are animals!). Cnidarians basically have two main body forms: the medusoid – free-swimming – and polypoid – attached to a surface. Jellyfish are medusoid, corals are polypoid. Now, the funny thing about cnidarians is that the same species can have both medusoid and polypoid stages in their life cycle: for example, many corals have a medusoid larval stage, which swims around and, when it finds a suitable site, it drops an egg that hatches into a special type of larva (a planula larva), which attaches to the bottom and transforms into a polypoid. This is not very different from how seed plants reproduce.


The Cnidaria. Top left: jellyfish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jelly_cc11.jpg), 
bottom left: a completely different type of coral (http://www.mbgnet.net/salt/coral/animals/cnidar.htm), 
bottom right: another completely different coral form (http://1234dive.com/gallery.html#!prettyPhoto[2]/8/).




The simplified, general cnidarian life cycle. Diagram from: http://www.oceanlink.info/biodiversity/ask/cnidaria.html

Corals produce hard external skeletons by secreting calcium carbonate, which solidifies and hardens. Since corals are colonial animals, and the calcium carbonate is not recycled soon after the animal has dies, the new corals grow on top of the hard remains of their predecessors, thus building up a reef.

Many modern corals live in symbiosis (mutually advantageous association) with photosynthetic microbial algae (i.e. single-celled organisms that grow on a surface and produce organic molecules using sunlight in photosynthesis). These algae are colloquially called zooxanthellae (yup, that’s a colloquial word all right…). They live in very tight partnership with corals, which provide living space (surface to grow on) and protection (from grazing fish or other plant-eaters). In return, the zooxanthellae share the nutrients they produce from photosynthesis with the corals, helping them grow. Both win!


Transparent corals showing the symbiotic algae growing inside them. 

This symbiotic relationship means that coral reefs need sunlight, and therefore thrive best in shallow waters, where there light can reach. The corals living in deeper waters do not have symbiotic algae, so they are less restricted in their choice of habitat – yet, they are less productive. It is the symbiosis of corals and zooxanthellae that make coastal reefs the most productive marine habitat on Earth.

But the really amazing thing about coral reefs, from an ecological point of view, is that they seem to thrive in nutrient-poor waters! And yet, they are teeming with life, of great abundance and variety.

Part of the explanation to how this is possible is that the tight symbiosis with the zooxanthellae helps the coral reefs recycle their nutrients very efficiently, so they make the most of the little they have got.

Also, few of the other inhabitants actually feed on the corals; rather, they use them as sites to live, hide or reproduce. So, the corals are mostly left alone. (Tropical storms, however, are a different story!)

Another factor is probably the sheer diversity of organisms, which will depend on different resources, meaning that there is less risk of one or a few resources running low and becoming a limiting factor. So, instead of asking how these nutrient-poor ecosystems can sustain high diversity, perhaps we should consider the diversity a crucial factor allowing these ecosystems to function at all under these conditions. If we lose this diversity, the reef systems are likely to collapse!

In addition, various types of organisms may help sustain the corals, and the ecosystem as a whole. Some fish eat unwanted algae that grow on top of the corals, which would be blocking sunlight for the zooxanthellae. Other fish, and sea urchins (echinoids), feed on seaweed, which would otherwise crow tall and also block sunlight. Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) can fixate nitrogen from compounds in the water, and thus provide the ecosystem with organic nitrogen, a crucial component in proteins. Sponges help recycle nutrients, by filtering organic material produced by corals and algae and converting this into tiny food particles that the corals and algae later eat. Corals are filter-feeding animals, usually eating plankton or suspended food particles in the water, which they combine with the nutrients given by the zooxanthellae; with two main sources of nutrients, it might not be as difficult as one would think to subsist in an overall nutrient-poor environment.

Finally, the main reason why the coastal coral reefs are not found in nutrient-rich waters, along the American and African west coasts, is not a matter of competition, as I first imagined. The thing is that corals are very sensitive to changes in water temperature, mainly because their production of calcium carbonate depends strongly on temperature.

The most nutrient-heavy waters are found at the depths, because that is where most of the decomposing organisms live, and where most dead organisms sink to. The nutrients are therefore released to the near-bottom waters.

This nutrient-rich water goes up to the surface during upwelling, which occurs when currents circulate the bottom water to replace the surface waters, and vice versa. Proper upwelling occurs only in certain coastal zones, where strong winds blow parallel to the coastline. Upwelling typically leads to massive algal blooms, which I first suspected would be the reason why coral reefs would not do well in such regions: the algae would cloud the waters so much that the corals below wouldn’t get the sunlight.

However, the real problem is that the bottom water is much colder than the surface layer. Therefore, upwelling causes a surge of cold – a rapid change in temperature, which the corals would not cope with. This is probably the big, decisive reason for finding coral reefs in the nutrient-poor coastal waters.

On a side note, I guess the deep-living corals can live in the deep bottoms because there are plenty of nutrients in the water, so they do not need symbiotic microbes.

However, to understand the ecology of coral reefs, one should also look at the surrounding habitats. For example, nearby sea grass meadows and mangrove forests can help provide nutrients, especially since many fish species move between the two habitat types, usually foraging for food among the sea grass, and coming to the reefs for protection against predators. This help is mutual: the coral reefs can help their surroundings by protecting them from waves and currents, or by providing sediment where the plants can root.


A sea grass meadow near the edge of a coral reef (I think…). 

I think we can now appreciate what a wonderfully rich and complex ecosystem a coral reef is, and understand that this complexity is part of what makes their richness possible, just as much as the richness is needed to achieve this complexity. It is a beautiful interplay between these main components, and I hope it is clear how removing one will undermine the other as well.

Today, it is not radical to state that all coral reefs are threatened, and most have been in steep decline since before the 1900s. Most likely, the main cause is overfishing. As we have seen, fish are important in ‘cleaning’ the reefs, maintaining a healthy environment. Pollution is probably a large contributing factor, disturbing the delicate ocean chemistry and inhibiting carbonate secretion, if not directly poisoning the metabolisms of reef animals.

It seems to me that these factors are inhibiting coral growth and development rather than directly killing them, which, when you think about it, is a much bigger problem! If human activities were only killing corals, more would appear to replace them, as long as there are enough corals left to produce sufficient offspring. But if you undermine their ability to reproduce and grow, they will soon die of natural causes without being replaced by new, fresh corals.

Cnidarians are capable of regenerating destroyed body parts, so, in natural conditions, coral reefs are able to self-repair after catastrophic events, such as tropical storms, and maybe even from destructive commercial fishing methods, such as trawling and dredging. However, human activities interfere with their self-recovery, meaning that these catastrophes will leave permanent damage, accelerating the decline of coral reefs.

However, these effects, and the overall degradation of coral reefs was barely noticed, until the relatively recent onset of wide-spread coral diseases and coral bleaching, which have devastated many reef communities. I have not read much in-depth about these, but the term coral disease is rather self-explanatory, and I can imagine they are caused by pollution or the introduction of non-native species. Coral bleaching is the loss of zooxanthellae, due to conditions rendering the corals unable to retain them. These symbionts are what give the corals their remarkable colours, which is why the corals appear bleached when they are lost. Factors causing bleaching include changes in water temperature, chemistry and/or salinity, starvation (due to disruptions of the food chain), excessive sedimentation (blocking sunlight and/or filtration pores), and changes in sea level (which affects how much sunlight reaches down through the water to the algae ).



I would claim that, overall, the big big issue with coral reefs, as with the vast majority of ecosystems today, is the loss of biodiversity. Ecosystems with plenty of diversity are in general more resistant to any kind of disturbances, simply because if a part of the system gets knocked out, there is an abundance of organisms to replace that lost connection. The Great Barrier Reef, the most well-protected reef community, still has a decent amount of biodiversity preserved, albeit still substantially reduced. On the other hand, many coral reefs in the Caribbean sea have been so degraded by human activities, overfishing and pollution in particular, that many critical ecosystem functions are fulfilled by only a handful of species, leaving very little room for replacement if any should fail.

A well-known example of such a scenario is the demise of the echinoid Diadema antillarum, the single species of echinoid in charge of keeping seaweeds in check. When a disease wiped them out in the early 1980s, there was nothing that effectively grazed on seaweed, which bloomed rapidly, resulting in a complete ecosystem shift. And they still persist today.


Diadema antillarum, a.k.a. the long-spined sea urchin, or the black sea urchin. Image from: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Pix%20Of%20The%20Day%20Marine/POTD%20SW%20Arch%20300-329/swpotdarch317.htm

Normally, herbivorous fish would be able to take on the role of controlling seaweed growth, but overfishing had depleted fish population to such an extent that they were unable to help.

I wrote this post based on my basic research on coral reef degradation and conservation. It was partly for my own sake, to summarise the information and my thoughts in a way that (hopefully) makes sense, and partly to inspire you to appreciate the beauty – and frailty – of these incredibly rich and diverse ecosystems.

And, I hope you understand why I personally try my hardest not to buy commercially fished seafood: because that is the main thing that is destroying these unique and fantastic sites, where life can thrive in spite of the adversity of scarce nutrients. This is why I strive to always buy MSC-certified seafood, and I hope you will now have that goal too!

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