On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss the impact of climate change on coral reef ecosystems.
More than 54 percent of reef areas in the global ocean are experiencing bleaching-level heat stress, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch. Coral reefs cover less than one percent of ocean area, but they provide habitat to a quarter of all marine species.
Guests:
Mary Hagedorn, marine biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology
Jennifer Moore, threatened coral recovery coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Resources:
NOAA: NOAA confirms 4th global coral bleaching event
The New York Times: The Widest-Ever Global Coral Crisis Will Hit Within Weeks, Scientists Say
The Washington Post: Can Corals Be Saved?
The Conversation: As climate change and pollution imperil coral reefs, scientists are deep-freezing corals to repopulate future oceans
Vox: The end of coral reefs as we know them
Heated: The only way to save coral reefs