By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

CLIMATE change is causing heat that threatens the existence of coral reefs in the Bahamas.

Dr Adelle Thomas, a senior fellow at the University of The Bahamas’ Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Research Centre, said the summer temperatures that have frustrated residents have also been abnormally high for the country’s marine ecosystem.

Many Bahamian coral reefs have been affected by the stony coral tissue loss disease in recent years. Climate change poses an additional threat.

“Coral reefs are very sensitive to changes in temperature,” Dr Thomas said. “And so, this marine heatwave which is actually the most extreme heatwave that they’ve been tracking, at least in South Florida’s waters, which is very similar to ours, is absolutely having an affect on our coral reefs.”

“When coral reefs are exposed to heat, it causes them to bleach, which means that they lose all of their colour. And if they are in high temperatures for a long period of time, then they can also die off eventually.”

“We will be experiencing more of these marine heat waves in the future, as climate change increases. So it’s something that increasingly will need to be on the government’s radar to monitor how the coral reefs are faring and then also to put in place measures afterwards if we do have high levels of coral mortality.”

Dr Thomas said the country lacks the tools to provide contemporary assessments of the heat’s impact on reefs. However, people could learn much from what researchers observe among Florida’s reefs.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that water temperatures in Florida have been as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit recently, disturbing experts.