Surprisingly, however, by 2010 the spread of coral reefs around the world was slowing down until 1998. “That’s good news,” says Souter. “Although the rocks were dropped, they came back.” When “old” coral reefs are broken down, new ones often become fast-growing, eroded species (as is the case with trees after a forest fire), says Souter. It is nice to have this size, they say, but these gemstones are often at risk of disease, heat, and storms.
Global decline has been the trend since 2010, dropping corals below the 1998 average. This is largely due to two other global events, in 2010 and 2015-2017, when corals were not given adequate opportunities. There has been a slight rise, 2 percent in live coral since 2019, though it will soon say whether it will continue. “If you were a pregnant woman you could say this happened even though the temperature was high, then maybe we are seeing a change,” says Souter.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, long, stable and healthy, gemstones accounted for about 30 per cent of hard corals and 15 per cent of macroalgae such as grass and turf. That is twice as much coral as algae. Since 2009, that number has dropped to 1.5 when coastal macroalgae have increased by 20 percent. Although seagrass also boosts ecosystems, it is far different from the rock-mass, and it is beneficial for a variety of fish.
Encouragingly, Coral Triangle in East Asia is a bold contrast. This area contains about one third of the world’s coral reefs, which is impressive More stay strong coral and Less macroalgae today more than in the early 1980s, although water temperatures are rising. It is considered a thank you different types of genes among the 600 species of rock in the region, which help the corals adapt to the warm water. “Perhaps diversity has protected us,” says Souter, as healthy grass-fed fish and urchins diminish seaweed.
Three other major coral reefs — the Pacific, which account for one-fourth of the world’s total; In Australia, it is 16 percent; and in the Caribbean, 10 percent — all of which today have less rock form than ever before. “The Caribbean Islands are a tragic and tragic experience,” says Voolstra, which has only 50 species of rocks and corals. new diseases to clear them.
It could all be bad, Souter adds. “In rocks maybe, almost, they’re better than I think,” he says. “The fact that the rocks can come back, it’s amazing.”
In the face of retribution, conservationists around the world are working hard to prevent the rocks from becoming polluted and to restore them as soon as possible. One recent research, under the direction of Lisa Boström-Einarsson of James Cook University in Australia, explored the literature and found more than 360 gemstones in 56 countries. going to difficult places, or “plowing” newborn corals in storage and planting. They also include new initiatives such as using electricity speed up the calculation of artificial rocks (an old but still controversial concept), and use a diamond blade to cut small particles of small coral reefs.