Vancouver Sun discusses how climate change threatens glass sponge reefs unique to Pacific Northwest. The results of the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, show the effects of climate change on ocean waters could seriously harm the sponges, which haven’t been found anywhere else except off the coasts of B.C. and Alaska. [No link provided.]
Warming ocean temperatures and acidification caused by climate change are threatening the survival of glass sponge reefs unique to the waters of the Pacific Northwest, a study by UBC researchers has found. The study’s lead author, Angela Stevenson, likens the sponges to “living dinosaurs.” They’re made of silica, the compound that makes up sand and glass, and the creatures grow on top of the skeletons of previous generations.
The findings, published in Scientific Reports, indicate that ongoing climate change could have serious, irreversible impacts on the sprawling glass sponge reefs of the Pacific Northwest and their associated marine life—the only known reefs of their kind in the world.
The Guardian discusses a podcast on whether it’s too late to save the Great Barrier Reef. This summer, the world’s largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef, suffered the worst mass bleaching outbreak ever witnessed. Graham Readfearn looks at whether people are ready to accept the reality that at least 70% of the world’s coral reefs will soon be lost.