26 - Sunday, July 14, 1985 - North Shore News Coral reefs TWO THOUSAND miles of Pacific coral reefs, extending from Baja California to Panama, are dying. Dr. Michael Risk, a geologist at McMaster Univer- sity, says the reefs suffered a large dieback apparently caus- ed by the occurrence of an unusually warm current, call- ed El Nino, off the west coast of South America in late 1982. While the coral is trying to recover, it is also being attack- ed by sponges burrowing into its foundations. The coral now seems to be losing the battle. Dr. Risk predicts the reefs may vanish within five to ten years, ‘‘as if they had never existed.”? The disappearance of the reefs, a unique biological community, would also be serious for the fishing industries of the Central American coastal countries, since most of the fish live near the reefs. The reefs also pro- tect the coastline from erosion. The warm current EI Nino occurs only eight to ten times a century. A chain of events, related to changes in the inten- sity of the Southeast Tradewinds, heats water in the central Pacific warmer than usual.. The warm water is car- ried to the South American coast by the Pacific Current, and then northwards past Central America. Scientists cannot predict which years Ef Nino will hap- pen, although it invariably strikes during the Christmas season — hence its Spanish name meaning ‘Little Boy Child’. : Ecosystems in the Pacific region generally suffer disrup- tion from the recurring cur- rent. Marine life is very sen- sitive; many species are af- fected by sudden, even slight, temperature changes. In one area near Costa Rica the normal water temperature ranges from 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. The unusally severe 1982-83 El Nino, a symptom of the year’s unusual weather world-wide, raised the temperature to 3%" degrees. Coral suffers r:om such temperature chat:ges and also because warm water has less oxygen and nutrients. Corals not only get their oxygen from water, they also feed by filter- ing tiny organic particles from it. Dr. Risk first found out about the disaster to the reef while diving off the reef near Costa Rica in the spring of . °84. He did not find out earlier because there are very few ex- perts dealing with these par- ticular reefs. The difference between liv- ing and dead coral, Dr. Risk says, ‘is night and day. When we went out there the coral was all bleached white and covered with algae. The small amount of live coral I saw was a spectacular sight — brilliant green with huge orange pat- ches.’? The orange paiches were sponges. The sponges, a variety call- ed Cliona, burrow into the reef structure for protection, using the holes they,make as a kind of shell. The burrow- ing causes the reefs to weaken and consequently crumble. The sponges normally bur- row, but problems arise when there is an imbalance between the number of sponges and the amount of coral, Dr, Risk says. When there are too many sponges or, 2s in this case, not enough coral, Cliona becomes a threat. Cliona also suffered high mortality from El Nino, but since it recovers five to ten times more quickly than cor- al, the reef has little chance to catch up. In addition, more sponges may have come up from deeper, cooler waters after the current passed, enhancing the imbalance. So far, nothing will get rid of the sponges without harming the coral. One possible solution would be a ‘reforestation’ project. Coral heads, large chunks of reef with living coral, could be brought in from other regions — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef or the Great Bahama Bank, for instance. The heads could be an- chored to the sea floor where they would then naturally ce- ment themselves. Coral would grow with little difficulty and help restore the proper coral- sponge ratio. Reforestation is both technologically feasible and scientifically simple, Dr. Risk says. But he is pessimistic about being able to get funds for such a large project. So far there has been relatively little interest. Dr. Risk and two colleagues, one from the University of Costa Rica, are apparently the only experts working on this pro- ject. One reason is that the “reefs are pretty remote and are not great tourist attrac- tions,"’ Dr. Risk says. Should the reefs go, coastal countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia will probably suffer great losses to their fishing industries. About 80 per cent of the fish caught from the Pacific coast live around the coral reefs and related structures. many of the fish live in coastal mangrove swamps and lagoons which would quickly ENJOY TODAY'S MOST ADVANCED CALLING FEATURES ON YOUR HOME PHONE. Custom Calling has arrived! Futuristic features that can make the phone you have right now do same remarkable things. It's exciting. Fun. And surprisingly inexpensive. 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Any organic matter caught was heated and underwent great amounts of pressure, becom- ing oil after millions of years. The oil would have been forced from the shale and in- to the more porous limestone remains of the ancient reefs, whence it is drilled today. So modern reefs might give clues for searching out the ancient See Dying Page 36 Nadia Pavilion at sney Productions in Corele Vision 360 EXPO <3) Have you been looking for us? rs 148 West 15th N. Vancouver CALL ALERT How many times has it happened? You miss an important call—from a friend, rela- tive, business associate or someone far away — because you're already on the phone. Call Alert tefls you that another call is wait- ing and lets you switch back and forth between two calls. Only $3 per month (in addition to regular monthly phone charges). CALL FORWARDING Waiting by the phone for an important call is time-wasting, tedious, frustrating and now, unnecessary! 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