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Press Release
Destruction of underwater forests - Researchers
demand starving of calcareous red algae
Vienna (FWF) – Calcareous red algae originally lived in peaceful
co-existence with corals.
Their rapid spread, however, has now rendered them the greatest threat
to coral reefs. In his new project, which is supported by the Austrian
Science Fund (FWF), Arnfried Antonius from the Institute of Palaeontology
at Vienna University investigates the reasons for the rapid increase of
these reef inhabitants in tropical seas. His research
results show the main reasons for this development to be ocean pollution
and global warming.
Coral reefs are the oases of the oceans. They best thrive in low-nutrient
water, thus creating habitats for countless ocean inhabitants. Most reefs,
however, are threatened with extinction - in Central America alone, half
of the Caribbean reefs have become deserted in the past 20 years.
Antonius' investigations show that the calcareous red algae, an old reef
inhabitant, is to blame for a large percentage of the destroyed reefs.
The scientist holds human-induced environmental changes
responsible for the fact that these algae have turned into a truly dangerous
threat to the reefs in recent years: "Calcareous red algae thrive
in times of food surplus. Additional environmental pollution and warming
of the oceans destroy the ecological balance in the reef, and the algae
spread like wildfire." The algae completely overgrow the reef corals
like a second skin, prevent the supply of food and light and destroy any
live tissue.
There is no doubt that fertilisers and untreated effluent are the main
food sources of the algae, while toxic industrial waste water destroys
the corals' defences. If the environmental pollution of the world's oceans
is not stopped immediately, this could mean the definite end to the offshore
coral reefs. Antonius comments: "We are currently witnessing the
extinction of all offshore corals in the western Atlantic and we are also
seeing the start of this development in the Indo-Pacific. If we do not
react immediately and rigorously deprive the calcareous red algae of their
food source, there will be no future for offshore coral reefs!" The
destruction of the reefs would have unpredictable consequences for the
entire ecosystem of our oceans.
Contact:
Dr. Arnfried Antonius
Institute of Palaeontology
Vienna University
Phone: + 43 1 4277 53534
e-mail: arnfried.antonius@univie.ac.at
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