Coral heading for disaster warn Zoological Society

Coral reef survival is balancing on a knife edge as the effects of ocean acidification and warming threaten to push reefs to the brink of extinction this century, warns a meeting of leading scientists.

Corals may be on a path to extinction within a matter of decades

Organised by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) and the Royal Society, the meeting identified the level of atmospheric CO2 predicted to result in the demise of coral reefs.

At anticipated rates of emission increase, it is expected that 450ppm CO2 will be reached before 2050. At that point, corals may be on a path to extinction within a matter of decades. “The safe level of CO2 that we should strive for is 320 ppm - 360 is now known to be the level at which reefs cease to be viable in the long term,” said coral reef specialist Professor John E.N. Veron.

At today’s CO2 level of 387ppm, repeated cycles of coral death from mass bleaching have already sent most coral reefs into serious decline. By 2050, the remaining coral reefs could fall victim to ocean acidification. Such a catastrophe would not be confined to reefs, but could start a domino-like sequence of the fall of other marine ecosystems.
Sir David Attenborough who co-chaired the meeting said: “We must do all that is necessary to protect the key components of the life of our planet as the consequences of decisions made now will likely be forever as far as humanity is concerned”.

Evidence shows that we have long passed the point at which the marine environment offers reefs a guaranteed future. “The kitchen is on fire and it’s spreading round the house. If we act quickly and decisively we may be able to put it out before the damage becomes irreversible. That is where corals are now,” said Dr Alex Rogers of IPSO and the Zoological Society of London.