A major new assessment by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) has reported a dramatic decline in hard coral populations across the Caribbean.
About Hard Corals:
Hard corals, also known as stony corals, are marine animals that build the limestone frameworks upon which reefs form.
They grow in colonies and are often referred to as “reef-building corals.”
Key Features of Hard Corals
They composed of thousands of tiny polyps that secrete calcium carbonate.
Hard corals create skeletons out of calcium carbonate, a hard substance that eventually becomes rock.
Overtime, this rock builds up to form the foundation of a coral reef and provides a structure upon which baby corals can settle.
These corals depend upon tiny algae called zooxanthellae that live inside them.
Together, they share a symbiotic relationship (the corals provide the zooxanthellae with shelter, and in return, the zooxanthellae provide the corals with food).
Threats to Hard Corals:
Bleaching events driven by extreme heat.
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease: It is spread across 30 countries which is causing unprecedented mortality of corals.
Losses of key herbivores such as the Diadema sea urchin have fuelled an 85% surge in macroalgae.
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