6A the university daily kansan
news
thursday, march 11, 2004
Ocean 'icon' faces troubling future
Bleaching, brought on by global warming, threatens coral reefs
By Becca Evanhoe
eevanhoe@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Coral reefs are a Mardi Gras of colors, admired by snorkelers, aquarium-lovers, and Finding Nemo fans alike. But for the past six years, coral reefs around the world have been turning into stark white, pale skeletons of what they once were.
This process, called "bleaching," was just one of many reasons that University of Kansas researcher Robert Buddemeier said he believed the world's reefs were in trouble.
"Reefs are becoming the same icon that rainforests once were; there are lots of precious resources and natural habitat being destroyed," said Buddemeier, senior scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey.
Buddemeier and his team said that unlike damage to the rainforests, reef damage such as bleaching was a direct result of global warming. According to its report, published last month by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, some reef damage is resulting in economic and environmental impact for ocean critters and mankind alike.
Buddemeier, Joan A. Kleypas of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Richard B. Aronson of Dauphin Island Sea Lab collaborated on their report for the Pew Center, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that tracks global climate change and its implications. Over the past year, the team read hundreds of peer-reviewed articles, and combined their findings with own personal experiences as researchers to analyze the current reef situation.
"What we're talking about here is one of the scarier things that's going on. These major changes all over the world's oceans really say that it's not just theory."
Robert Buddemeier University of Kansas researcher
They've concluded that reef damage was occurring in several different ways: global warming causes bleaching, prevents corals from growing back at a normal rate and makes coral more susceptible to diseases. All of these effects combine with damage being done locally by humans, illustrating a major point of the report: climate change reinforces other types of damage, multiplying both effects.
Bleaching is perhaps the most dramatic change. Corals are made up of tiny animals called polyps that are connected like apartments in a building. Reefbuilding corals also have microscopic plants called algae living in their cells — the "rooms" of the apartment building.
apara "When you look at beautiful colors of a coral reef, you're mostly seeing the pigments of the algae living inside the corals," Buddemeier said.
When the waters surrounding the reefs change in temperature, the change unbalances coral-algae interactions, and the algae and the color move out.
"You're left with a transparent piece of tissue on top of a skeleton made of calcium carbonate," he said — the same stuff chalk is made of.
Bleaching can kill massive amounts of coral. In addition, global warming makes it more difficult for the corals to rebuild themselves.
Global warming is most commonly attributed to increased amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the air. More carbon dioxide in the air means that there's more carbon dioxide dissolved in water, which makes it more acidic.
This is problematic for the corals, which make their "skeletons" out of a specific kind of calcium carbonate, called aragonite. When water is more acidic, calcium compounds dissolve more quickly. The same thing happens when you put a piece of chalk in vinegar, an acid; it bubbles and eats away the chalk. More acidity in seawater makes it harder to build up aragonite skeletons — dangerous for corals.
corals.
With weakened systems and stress from warmer temperatures, coral are more susceptible to diseases in the same way that stress during finals week weakens a college student's immune system.
Recent estimates suggest that 25 percent of reefs today are already damaged by direct human actions alone.
Further damage to the reefs could have tremendous economic impact. A recent estimate put the world's reef's value at $30 billion in net economic benefits.
Some contend that coral reef damage isn't the only indicator that global warming is happening.
However, the analysis of Buddemeier's team may just be another point of debate in the global warming discussion.
"There's no question that there's warming, and no question that there's increased carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere," Steeples said. "One can argue whether the cause and effect is there or not, "said Don Steeples, courtesy professor of physics and astronomy and vice provost.
provises.
Lee Gerhard, principle ecologist at the Kansas Geological Survey, agreed that reef damage was a serious issue, but he said he wouldn't jump to the conclusion the global warming as the cause.
Reef degradation seems to occur every few hundred or thousand years, but Gerhard said global warming probably wasn't the only explanation. Rather, he thinks the die-off of reef and marine animals is more likely due to pathogens.
to pathogen.
"It's very easy to take bandwagon science — it's popular so you run with it and make everything very simple," Gerhard said.
"But natural systems are very complex."
Gerhard and Buddemeier agreed that reef damage was an issue of concern. Reefs act as incubators for a variety of ocean life. In addition, reefs act as barriers that protect coastlines from erosion. If these reefs disappear, coastlines can shrink, too.
"What we're talking about here is one of the scarier things that's going on. These major changes all over the world's oceans really say that it's not just theory," Buddemeier said. "This is pretty serious."
— Edited by Guillaume Doane
ROCK: Show kicks off tonight
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
said he was confident in his cast and said it would be exciting to finally see the culmination of all of its hard work.
"As a director, just putting life into our ideas and seeing them go from paper to actual action is pretty cool," Barnicle said.
Megan Randall, executive producer of Rock Chalk, said one of her favorite aspects of the show was that it demonstrated the impact that college students could have on their local community. The Topeka senior said that in addition to the money the show would raise for the United Way, chapter members also participated in community service within Douglas County as part of their efforts.
"I think the community service aspect is something that gets completely overlooked," Randall said. "This is just one week of a whole year of people's hard work."
Rock Chalk is truly a year-round process, Randali said. Sororites and fraternities began to pair up for this year's production just two or three weeks after last year's show ended.
The participating teams were then chosen last November after completing interviews with a panel of judges comprised of Rock Chalk alumni and individuals with a background in theater or music, Randall said. Even groups that aren't in the show contribute to the community service aspect of Rock Chalk, she said.
"We even have scholarship halls that participate, even though they may not have even tried out for Rock Chalk," Randall said.
Randall said the show had traditionally featured fraternities and sororities, but any living organization recognized by the University was eligible to participate.
Sara Baumgartner was
2004 ROCK CHALK
REVUE GROUPS AND
SHOWS
Kappa Kappa Gamma/Phi Kappa Psi Honev Do
Alpha Chi
Omega/Lambda Chi
Alpha - The Winged
Pintos Take Flight
Pi Beta Phi/Phi Dene
Theta - An Officer and a
Gentle Storm
Chi Omega/Pi Kappa Phi -
Operation
Delta Delta Delta/Sigma Nu - Out of Order
Source: Rock Chalk Revue Advisory Board
"I think the community service aspect is something that gets completely overlooked."
Megan Randall Rock Chalk executive producer
involved in Rock Chalk for three years before becoming the assistant executive director this year. The St. Louis senior said after experiencing Rock Chalk as part of an individual cast, she had liked feeling like a part of the progress of all five casts.
progresso
"I honestly feel like it's my five babies going out into the world on their own now," Baumgartner said. "We sit there, and we're just so proud."
Tickets for the show are still available through Student Union Activities. They are $14 for tonight's show, $18 for tomorrow and $20 for Saturday.
- Edited by Henry C. Jackson