Climate change is threatening the world’s corals, but removing seaweed—like weeding a garden—can give some reefs a boost
in 2021 estimated that half the world’s coral have died since the 1950s. Removing seaweed from reefs is labor intensive but not complicated, making it an ideal project for citizen scientists eager to help restore degraded reefs.
“We’re connecting people to the critical issue of our time—climate change,” she says. “Action is the antidote to this almost existential crisis.”Magnetic Island—nicknamed Maggie—is 19 square miles of island national park, floating in the Coral Sea five miles from the coast of Queensland. Across from Maggie on the mainland sits the city of Townsville, at the end of a river and home to a major port.
To test whether removing seaweed cover made any meaningful difference to the reef, Smith and her colleagues applied their weeding process at 12 underwater plots of about 270 square feet each, ranging from nine to 16 feet deep. On average, volunteer snorkelers and scuba divers removed more than 190 pounds of seaweed, comprising 90 percent of the large algae growing over the reef plots.
But now, “It’s all looking really positive for the reef,” she says, adding that not-yet-published data show that new coral continues to increase. “I think you could really look at the reefs in Florida as almost a window into the future of the Great Barrier Reef,” says Jason Spadaro, a coral reef ecologist at the MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Florida, who was not involved with the Queensland coastal study.
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
The IPCC Climate Change 2022 Impacts Report: Why it matters | National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationThe IPCC Climate Change 2022 Impacts Report comes out early next week. Find out why this international, large-scale report is so important: ClimateChange Research IPCC_CH NOAAResearch
Baca lebih lajut »
Guillermo del Toro Explains Why Spielberg's West Side Story Gym Scene Is GeniusGuillermo del Toro explains why he thinks the gym scene in Steven Spielberg's WestSideStory is genius.
Baca lebih lajut »
Why Some People Are Better at Assessing Risk Than OthersWhile many people hem and haw over decisions, KennySkager argues that much of human's decision-making goes on outside the realm of consciousness
Baca lebih lajut »
Opinion | Why experts were alarmed by Putin's radical, disturbing Ukraine speechPutin's distortion of Ukrainian history provides a window into why he's acting the way he is and what he might do if he begins a full-fledged war.
Baca lebih lajut »