Barbados Coral Being Damaged

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: There’s concern that corals in Barbados are among those being damaged by the same warm seas that have fuelled Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

That’s the news from global conservation group, WorldWide Fund for Nature.

According to the group, corals off Barbados, as well as off Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Cuba seem to be undergoing the worst damage. 

Chief climate change scientist at the WorldWide Fund for Nature, Lara Hansen, says the heat causing the hurricanes is also resulting in the bleaching of coral. Bleaching occurs when warm temperatures kill algae that live alongside the coral and then if left exposed and the water remains hot, the coral dies. 

Temperatures in the Caribbean have been around 29-33 degrees Celsius, (which is about 84-86 degrees) high enough to cause damage to corals and she says reports from government and scientists around the Caribbean have included information which shows that off Barbados, temperatures of 31-32 degrees Celsius were recorded at depths down to 60 feet, causing widespread damage to the coral.

by Dawne Bennett
Caribbean Net News Barbados Correspondent
Thursday, September 29, 2005