Coral reefs under siege from acidic oceans

Doyle Rice - 

Ocean acidification, a potentially disastrous consequence of global warming, is threatening the early life cycle of coral reefs near Florida and throughout the Caribbean, according to a new study published Monday.

While other research has looked at how the world's increasingly acidic oceans affect adult coral, this is the first one to document its impact on coral's early life stages.

Coral reefs don't just make pretty screen savers — they provide $30 billion of economic benefit to the USA each year through tourism, diving, coastal protection, commercial fishing and fishing communities, according to study lead author Rebecca Albright of the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Globally, she cites a 2003 study that found the coral reef industry is valued at $375 billion annually.

"There have been very few, if any studies that had looked at the effects on early life-history stages, such as fertilization, larval settlement and recruitment," Albright says. "Recruitment" refers to the process of replacing dead coral with new coral.

Over the next century, the study found that recruitment of new corals could drop by as much as 73%.

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Evan D'Alessandro, University of Miami

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