This article discusses the problems facing coral reefs – Corals, algae don’t acclimatise to more acidic seas.
Coral and algae species subjected to more acidic seawater showed no acclimatisation to the new conditions for over a year, a new study has found, suggesting that vulnerable reefs may not be able adapt fast enough to cope with climate change.
With oceans absorbing about 22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere a day, seas have already become about 30 per cent more acidic over the past two centuries.
A separate study by AIMS researchers, meanwhile, has found the relatively pristine and remote coral reefs of Western Australia are increasingly being affected by heat stress and coral bleaching.