Florida’s record high temperatures cause coral bleaching

By Lauren Do Nascimento and Milani Wetjen •

Rileigh Gonzalez, sophomore marine biology major, works with the Coral Restoration Foundation, an organization that supports the recovery of coral reefs.

“They actually grow their own coral in coral nurseries and then they outtake it and plant it into other struggling coral habitats and plant it out there,” Gonzalez said.

This summer set the record for the hottest summer to date. South Florida waters are heating up, and these warm waters are not ideal living conditions for coral reefs.

“It has profound effects on our nearshore ecosystems here in South Florida. The corals are an important component of the organisms that live on the bottom,” said Joshua Feingold, Ph.D., professor in the department of Marine Sciences and Environmental Sciences.

When stressed, the coral expels zooxanthellae, microscopic algae living in its tissues, causing it to bleach and turn white. Coral can get stressed when a significant change in temperature occurs or with a chemical change in the water due to pollution.

Because most of the coral reefs in the Florida Keys are in shallow waters, it results in higher sun exposure than reefs in deeper waters. The heat along with pollution is causing a fast decline in corals, Feingold said.

“It affects the marine ecosystem negatively because the corals are a major source of habitat and food for the surrounding animals,” Gonzalez said. “So if you lose that, you lose the ability for those animals to get the habitat that they need or the food.”

Coral Kovac, sophomore environmental science major, feels that learning about coral bleaching is very important.

“I feel strongly about this topic because I love nature and I want to preserve it for as long as possible. Learning about it is so important because we need to inform ourselves to be able to preserve it for as long as possible,” Kovac said.

Feingold suggested several ways people can prevent coral bleaching.

“Having a smaller home, keeping your air conditioning at a slightly warmer temperature during summer, driving less, flying less.

These are all things you can personally do to stop some of the issues we are facing globally,” Feingold said. “Here at the university, there are several research units that are working on monitoring the situation and offering a solution.”

Feingold is concerned about how long coral bleaching has been occurring. He hopes it can be resolved in the future.

“My biggest concern is that we’ve known about this problem for decades and nothing has been substantially done about it,” Feingold said. “Until we start prioritizing ecosystems over economic benefits from various industries, we will be sitting in this same issue for the foreseeable future.”