Toxic algae rapidly kills coral
By Ella Davies, Earth News reporter
8 October 2010 Coral reefs are increasingly under threat from environmental stress in the form of climate change, coastal development, overfishing, and pollution. Climate change is suspected of causing a number of coral bleaching events, as rising sea temperatures stress coral communities. But the latest study, published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, suggests that algal blooms could pose another significant threat. Researchers from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health undertook studies of coral reef environments at two locations in the Gulf of Oman. After their initial study, a large-scale algae bloom measuring over 500 square kilometres occurred in the area. When the researchers returned three weeks later they found the coral beneath the bloom had been almost completely destroyed. In one area, cauliflower (Pocillopora damicornis) and table top (Acropora arabensis) corals died off completely. The sudden loss of the reef habitat had a knock on effect for the fish communities living there. …
