THE BLOG I FORGOT: NATURE OR NURTURE, THE CONCLUSION.

Prior to starting this blog I had made a plan of where I wanted to go with it, with ideas for each blog.  Despite this remarkable organisation on my part it would appear I have forgotten to draw my own conclusions for the series of blogs titled CURRENT DAY THREATS TO CORAL REEFS: NATURE OR NUTURE? So, as the saying goes, better late than never!!!

This series looked at the threats faced by coral reefs and broadly split them into two categories nature (natural environmental change) and anthropogenic inputs (nurture). 

Climate change is a very natural process that has occurred throughout the earth’s history. Both extremes (warm and cold) have been experience; they have been both abrupt and long lived in terms of formation and duration. However despite this corals have survived previous episodes of climate change. 

In my opinion the risk of extinction and threat to modern day corals is not a result of natural climate change.  Yes, climate change plays a role but it is the added anthropogenic factor which is ultimately the biggest threat to corals.  In previous warm periods Corals and their mutualistic zooxanthellae have acclimatised, however research suggests that at the present rate of climate change they are not acclimatising quick enough. So what is different this time round ......

.....the anthropogenic factors.  Industrialisation and subsequent population growth have exacerbated the natural climate change with an increase in carbon dioxide and thus sea surface temperatures and increasing ocean acidification and bleaching events. Coral are also threatened directly by human activities e.g. over fishing, destructive fishing practices, tourism and introduction of invasive species.