Hiya Richard,
Let me give you a quick response, at least. I've been having several trains of thought related to your excellent post.
Overall, I think I totally agree with your specifics. Maybe that's too strong; but they are great points. The warming thing is something else, as you say.
What strikes me as I read through these lists, are that so many of the effects are caused by humans.
"...the main culprits are such things as changes to agricultural
usage of the coastal areas and especially the estuary and river systems that flush into the coral reef areas plus of course pollution, the transfer of foreign species in ballast water and as attachments to ships, and things that just seem to occur naturally from time to time." -R.
[Retreats of] "African sub tropical glaciers are the result of regional climate change that probably occurred due
to land use changes but certainly occurred well before the Industrial Revolution." -R.
These are LULC (land use/land cover) changes that alter the climate (among other human caused changes that alter the climate/biome).
What about the mass extinction scenario being put forth to describe the current state of the biome? Most of this is also related to human LULC effects.
As for the effects/trends which you describe (rightly) as natural, I agree that reefs will find a niche somewhere, someday, after being wiped out here and now, or by the "massive changes in sea levels, in water salinity and temperatures during the changes between glaciation and interglacial periods;" but reefs (like glaciers) don't rebuild themselves overnight.
So do we just let these changes happen, or do we try to undo or repair things?
Whether the changes are manmade or natural, how do we adapt?
So maybe there's hope?"Changes are already occurring such as the changes in fishing system, the phasing out of reef dynamiting by local populations, the stricter enforcement of pollution in reef areas and reef regeneration has occurred in many parts." -R.
I hope to write more later on the particulars of reefs, glaciers, etc., but for now I'd be interested in hearing what you think about the "current mass extinction" scenario.
Thanks Richard,
G'day ya later,
~SA
