CESAM
  • CESAM
    • ¿Quienes somos?
    • Directiva
  • BLOG
  • EVENTOS
    • Conferencias y Talleres >
      • ASLO 2019
      • Charlas Educativas 2018-2019
      • 2016
      • 2013
    • Actividades Recreativas >
      • Buceo
      • Snorkeling
      • Turismo Interno
    • Viajes Institucionales y Simposios >
      • 35th AMLC en Costa Rica
      • 36th AMLC en Jamaica
      • 64th GCFI en México
  • Información Educativa
    • Tortugas Marinas/ Marine Turtles >
      • Carey/ Hawksbill
      • Peje Blanco/ Green Turtle
      • Tinglar/ Leatherback
    • Peces/ Fish >
      • Ángel Francés/ French Angel
      • Ángel Gris/ Grey Angel
      • Chapín/ Trunkfish
      • Pez León/ Lionfish
      • Tiburón Gata/ Nurse Shark
    • Corales/ Corals >
      • Cuerno de Ciervo/ Staghorn
      • Cuerno de Alce/ Elkhorn
      • Tarrito de Venado
      • Coral de Fuego/ Fire Coral
  • Viajes de Campo
    • Costa Rica
    • Cuba
    • Culebra
    • Desecheo
    • Haití
    • Isla de Mona
    • Jamaica
    • México
    • Puerto Rico
    • St. Kitts
    • St. Cruz
  • Contactenos





CAPÍTULO ESTUDIANTIL DE LA SOCIEDAD AMbIENTE MARINO







In Hawaii, a coral reef infection has biologists alarmed

11/27/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Photo by Terry Lilley
By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times

HANALEI, Hawaii — When compiling a list of places that may be described as paradise, Hanalei Bay on the rugged north shore of the island of Kauai surely qualifies.

The perfect crescent bay, rimmed by palm trees, emerald cliffs and stretches of white sand, has always had a dreamy kind of appeal. It was on these shores that sailors in the movie "South Pacific" sang of the exotic but unattainable "Bali Ha'i."

The problem is what lies below the surface of the area's shimmering blue waters.

Since June, a mysterious milky growth has been spreading rapidly across the coral reefs in Hanalei and the surrounding bays of the north shore — so rapidly that biologist Terry Lilley, who has been documenting the phenomenon, says it now affects 5% of all the coral in Hanalei Bay and up to 40% of the coral in nearby Anini Bay. Other areas are "just as bad, if not worse," he said.

The growth, identified by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey as both a cyanobacterial pathogen — a bacteria that grows through photosynthesis — and a fungus, is killing all the coral it strikes, and spreading at the rate of 1 to 3 inches a week on every coral it infects.

"There is nowhere we know of in the entire world where an entire reef system for 60 miles has been compromised in one fell swoop. This bacteria has been killing some of these 50- to 100-year-old corals in less than eight weeks," Lilley said. "Something is causing the entire reef system here in Kauai to lose its immune system."

The discovery of the new coral disease is only one of a number of ailments afflicting nearly all the world's coral reefs, which are threatened by poisonous runoff, rising oceans, increasingly acidic waters and overfishing.

But this one could jeopardize a multibillion-dollar tourist industry in Hawaii, which depends on the stunning displays of color and wildlife for divers and snorkelers. That is especially true along the beaches of Kauai, where the north shore with a few exceptions remains a place of pristine natural beauty.

"It's very alarming," said Wendy Wiltse of the federal Environmental Protection Agency in Honolulu. "All of us are concerned about it. We want to do more. Part of the problem is we don't know what to do, especially in the case of a disease that's spread by a pathogen. It's not like we can put antibiotics in the ocean."

Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey reported last week that the disease had reached epidemic proportions. "This is the first time a cyanobacterial/fungal disease on this scale has been documented in Hawaiian corals," Thierry M. Work, USGS wildlife disease specialist, said in an analysis released Wednesday.

Scientists say there are no signs so far that the bacteria killing the coral are dangerous to humans or wildlife, though they are conducting further tests.

But Lilley, who does not hold a graduate degree but dives daily around the reefs all across the north shore, said he has documented a large number of cases of black-and-white toby fish feeding near diseased corals that turned completely black, lost their fins and died.

He has also videotaped a sea turtle, seen feeding on seaweed growing out of an infected coral, whose eyes seemed to have rotted away. When Lilley saw it, the creature was bumping blindly into the reef in an attempt to find food.

The disease was first spotted around Hanalei in 2004, but "at very low levels," and is the fourth coral disease outbreak documented in the state since 2009, said Greta Aeby, a coral expert with the University of Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology who has been working with Lilley to document the phenomenon.

"Hawaii's reefs are in decline. They are faced with the chronic stressors of land-based pollution, overfishing and human use. The reefs have been dealing with these problems for years, and are starting to show the signs," she said. "We need to help people understand the seriousness of the situation before it is too late."

Lilley said the rapid growth of the coral disease this year followed two years of heavy sedimentation traveling down the Hanalei River, which he believes could be traced to development upstream and heavy rains.

Thick mud often coated the corals, he said, and studies paid for by a community group showed high levels of heavy metals in the water — studies that were dismissed by the state Department of Health, which said such metals were natural to the volcanic soil of Hawaii.

Wiltse said other studies had shown high levels of sewage-related bacteria in the Hanalei River, probably because the town of Hanalei has no sewer system and homes are connected to cesspools and septic systems.

"There have also been some studies of sediment and nutrients, primarily in Hanalei River, and during rain events, there is excessive suspended sediment in the river, exceeding water quality standards," she said. "I've seen plumes extending into the ocean. I've seen sediment settling on corals."

But is that what led to the recent outbreak of a bacterial infection? No one can say. Lilley theorizes that pollution could have weakened the coral and made it more susceptible to a bacterial outbreak, but can't be certain.

In a preliminary review in September, the USGS said the general health of coral reefs along Kauai's north shore was poor. "The overall picture was one of a severely degraded reef impacted by sediments and turf algae," the agency's report said, with symptoms of "chronic stress."

Work, the USGS scientist, said the loss of coral meant a danger of losing the fish, turtles and various invertebrates that depend on it for sustenance and shelter.

"A lot of people come to Hawaii in part because it is a beautiful place both on land and in the water, so coral reefs are a resource with tangible economic value," he said. "Like it or not, ecosystem health is closely intertwined with human and animal health."

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hanalei-bay-20121127,0,4893429.story

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archivos

    August 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categorías

    All
    Actividades Culturales
    Actividades En UPR Rio Piedras
    Acuicultura
    Adaptación Del Cefalopodo
    AEE Pagará $205 Millones A Windmar
    Aquaculture
    Arrecife Isla Verde
    Arrestado Por Matar Tinglar
    Atipur En Ocean Park
    Australia Largest Amp
    Bahia Bioluminiscente
    Barnacles
    Blanket Octopus
    Bumphead Parrotfish Rivals
    Buque Isla De Mona
    Cambio Climático
    Caparazón De Una Tortuga Marina
    Caribbean Coral Reefs
    Caribe
    Carnivorous Sponge
    Catastrofe En Mona
    Cave Diving
    CESAM
    Charlas
    Cigarette Butts
    Climate Change
    Conversaciones De Ostras
    Coral Adaptation To Global Change
    Coral For Sunscreen
    Coral Reefs Vs Climate Change
    Corals
    Corals Benefit
    Costa Rica Tortugas
    Crustaceo Venenoso
    Cuba
    Cueva Ventana
    Culebra
    Daño Ambiental
    Deforestación En Culebra
    Delfinario Del Escambrón
    Delfines
    Deshielo En Ártico
    Designación Reserva Isla Verde
    Diseases Outbreak
    Dorado Conservación
    Dunas
    Eat Lionfish?
    Ecoturismo
    El Carey
    Electricity On Corals
    Emergencia Ambiental En Italia
    En Peligro Palominito
    Ensuciando El Orgullo Pr
    Erosión En Rincón
    Especies Invasivas
    Estrellas De Mar
    Estuario: Vertedero Ecologico
    Festival Del Tinglar
    Forosocial En Brazil
    Fósil Marino Antiguo
    [[\\\"Four Tracks\\\"]] En Bosque Seco De Guanica?
    Global Warming In 26 Sec
    Gran Barrera De Australia
    Hawaii Bans Plastic Bags
    Hawksbill Tracking
    Heat Effect On Sea-turtle Egg
    Huracán
    Huracán
    Impacto Del Desarrollo Costero En Pr
    Impacto Del Snorkeling Y Buceo
    Incineradora En Arecibo
    Invasive Starfish
    Jellyfish Scourge Threatens Israel
    Jireh En Mona
    Kayakeando Por El Caribe
    Kony 2012
    Leatherback
    Leatherbacks Crushed
    Ley Del Cen
    Limitaciones A La Pesca
    Limpieza De Costa
    Lionfish
    Lluvias Fuertes En Pr
    Manatee
    Manatíes En Peligro
    Mangroves As Filters
    Maricultura
    Mesa Informativa
    Mesophotic Reefs
    Mpa
    Muere Manati En Guayama
    Multa Por Basura
    Multa Por Tirar Basura
    Nieve En El Mar
    Nivel Del Mar
    Noche De San Juan
    Northeast Ecological Corridor
    Northeast Reserve Pr
    Observadores En El Embassy
    Overfishing
    Palau
    Parrotfish
    Penguins From Space
    Perspectiva Ambiental Del Candidato Santorum
    Pesca De Tiburones
    Pez Con Cancer563d9b013c
    Pitcairn
    Playa Isla Verde
    Playas Puerto Rico
    Pollution
    Praderas Submarinas
    Protección De Corales
    Puerto Rico
    Reserva Isla Verde
    Reserva Natura Culebra
    Samuel Suleiman
    Sea Turtle
    Sea Urchin
    Seaweed
    Seria Amenaza Al Cen
    Sharks
    Shark Trade Restrictions
    Tiburón Blanco
    Tiburones Del Pacifico
    Tinglar
    Tourism Marine
    Transgenicos
    Triunfo Del Arrecife Isla Verde
    Tuna
    Underwater Mystery Solved
    Varamientos
    Viajes De Campo
    Victoria Culebrense
    Vida Marina En Antartida
    Vieques
    White Marlin Pr

    Fuentes/
    Sources


    -Noticias Ambientales
    -Mi PR Verde
    -BBC Mundo
    -El Nuevo Día
    -Diálogo
    -Sea Grant Puerto Rico
    -
    NOAA Science Blog
    -TELESUR
    -NotiCel
    -Índice
    -The Atlantic
    - ScienceDaily
    -The Guardian
    -Compass Caiman
    -La Nación
    -ThinkProgress.Org
    - Greenerideal
    -Mi Nación
    -News.mongabay.com
    -CIELUPRM
    -
    Phys.org
    -
    Goedenshark.blogspot.com
    -Conservationmagazine.org/

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • CESAM
    • ¿Quienes somos?
    • Directiva
  • BLOG
  • EVENTOS
    • Conferencias y Talleres >
      • ASLO 2019
      • Charlas Educativas 2018-2019
      • 2016
      • 2013
    • Actividades Recreativas >
      • Buceo
      • Snorkeling
      • Turismo Interno
    • Viajes Institucionales y Simposios >
      • 35th AMLC en Costa Rica
      • 36th AMLC en Jamaica
      • 64th GCFI en México
  • Información Educativa
    • Tortugas Marinas/ Marine Turtles >
      • Carey/ Hawksbill
      • Peje Blanco/ Green Turtle
      • Tinglar/ Leatherback
    • Peces/ Fish >
      • Ángel Francés/ French Angel
      • Ángel Gris/ Grey Angel
      • Chapín/ Trunkfish
      • Pez León/ Lionfish
      • Tiburón Gata/ Nurse Shark
    • Corales/ Corals >
      • Cuerno de Ciervo/ Staghorn
      • Cuerno de Alce/ Elkhorn
      • Tarrito de Venado
      • Coral de Fuego/ Fire Coral
  • Viajes de Campo
    • Costa Rica
    • Cuba
    • Culebra
    • Desecheo
    • Haití
    • Isla de Mona
    • Jamaica
    • México
    • Puerto Rico
    • St. Kitts
    • St. Cruz
  • Contactenos