News
Remote Indian Ocean reefs bounce back quickly after bleaching
Coral reefs in remote or protected areas can recover quickly after mass coral bleaching events, new research shows.
University of Exeter researchers are investigating “reef carbonate budgets” — the net production or erosion of reef structure over time, said a report published by Science Daily
To study the impacts of climate change on reef functions, they examined 12 reefs in the remote Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean before and after the global coral bleaching event in 2015/16.
In 2018, the formerly thriving reefs were “shrinking,” with coral cover and carbonate production down by more than 70% and erosion processes exceeding new coral growth.
When the researchers returned in 2021, all reefs were on a trajectory of recovery, although the speed varied from place to place.
Where key coral species returned quickly and the underlying physical reef structure had stayed intact, reefs showed a rapid transition back to positive growth only six years after the bleaching event.
Bleaching is caused by warmer water temperatures, which can trigger corals to expel their symbiotic algae and turn white. Corals can survive this, but an extreme heat wave causes large-scale mortality.
The speed of subsequent recovery is an important indicator of a reef’s health and resilience.
“Such high rates of coral recruitment and the rapid restoration of reef functions are a very nice surprise and imply that this location is showing some resilience, thus far, to ongoing ocean warming,” said lead author Dr Ines Lange, a postdoctoral research fellow in a multi-institutional project funded by the Bertarelli Program in Marine Science.
“A full recovery of reefs across the Chagos Archipelago over the next few years is likely if the region is spared from reoccurring marine heating events.”
Dr Lange added: “The study shows that in remote and protected areas without local impacts such as fishing or pollution from land, coral reefs and the important functions they provide are able to recover relatively quickly, even after large-scale disturbances.
“Proximity to healthy coral populations and the maintenance of a complex reef structure seems to boost recovery speed, which may help to manage reefs under the threat of increasing frequency of bleaching events predicted for the near future.”
Co-author Professor Chris Perry, from the University of Exeter, developed the census-based ReefBudget method to quantify reef carbonate budgets.
These carbonate budgets are important indicators of a reef’s ability to provide habitat to marine life, protect shorelines from wave energy and help reef islands to keep up with future sea level rise.
Over the last years, Prof Perry and Dr Lange optimised the method for the central Indian Ocean by quantifying and integrating local rates of coral growth and parrotfish erosion.
A group of Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) members, including its Leader Mano Ganesan, met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Thursday (02) morning at the Presidential Secretariat.
Extensive discussions were held on the issues faced by the Malayagam communities, particularly in relation to education, housing and land, as well as on the urgent measures required to address these concerns. The President paid special attention to all these matters.
Attention was also drawn to the recruitment of qualified Tamil-medium teachers to address the teacher shortage in estate sector schools and this too was discussed at length.
Members of Parliament P. Digambaram and V. Radhakrishnan, along with several other party members, were present at the meeting.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vijitha Herath, held talks with Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Andrey Rudenko at the Foreign Ministry, in Colombo, on Thursday (02), with both sides reaffirming their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations.
The Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the visiting Russian Deputy Minister noted that Russia regarded Sri Lanka as a long-standing friend.
Rudenko assured that Russia stood ready to support Sri Lanka when required, including in the swift supply of Russian oil to help address the current energy challenges, encouraging Russian investors to explore new opportunities in the country and promoting increased tourist arrivals.
He also expressed Russia’s readiness to provide compensation for Sri Lankan war veterans who had lost their lives in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Minister Herath welcomed Russia’s willingness to assist, emphasising that Sri Lanka valued the support extended by its “old friend”, particularly at a time when the country was facing pressing energy needs.
He noted that the two countries shared nearly seven decades of diplomatic relations and said the present moment provided an opportunity to further strengthen ties, including through long-term trade agreements.
The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in the fields of energy, investment, tourism and diplomacy, with both sides reiterating their commitment to further deepen the longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and Russia.
Police yesterday arrested 157 foreign nationals in connection with an alleged organised online financial scam, conducted from a hotel in the Iranawila area in Chilaw.
The suspects were taken into custody during a raid carried out by the Police while they were staying at the hotel in Iranawila.
Police said the arrested group included 143 nationals from China, 13 from Bangladesh and one from Vietnam.
Investigators suspect the group had been involved in a coordinated online financial scam, targeting victims through digital platforms.
The suspects are being detained for further questioning while investigations are continuing to determine the full extent of the operation and whether additional individuals were involved.Police said further inquiries are underway.
By Norman Palihawadane
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