CAS BI 306 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Coral Bleaching, Ocean Acidification, Seaweed
15 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Research has been looking at shifts in means in relation to climate change rather than extreme events (cid:1) Events statistically extreme in magnitude/duration: high magnitude events that push systems past the dynamic equilibrium threshold. How is the event different from what the statistical norm is for that ecosystem: less severe events may alter ecosystem processes/plant competition dynamics. Extreme climate events may be the most imp face of climate change (cid:1) One of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world: 25% worlds fish diversity. 500mil ppl rely on coral reef systems. Declining @ rate 1-2% per year: overexploitation of fish, declining water quality, climate change, ocean acidification. 1 degree c above mean for 4 weeks bleaching. Severe drought/ increased freq of storms can impair water quality and lead to bleaching events. 1997-98 ocean warming event caused mortality of 16% of world"s reef-building corals: could take 25 yrs to recover from mass mortality events. Severe bleaching more detrimental than frequent bleaching.
