Warmer seas 'flattens' reefs

Published Date: 10 June 2009

GLOBAL warming has "flattened" Caribbean coral reefs over the past 40 years, it was claimed yesterday.
The collapse of the reef structure has serious implications for biodiversity and coastal defences, say experts.The trend was revealed after scientists analysed 500 surveys conducted between 1969 and 2008. They found 75 per cent of the reefs were now largely "flat", against 20 per cent in the 1970s.Disease and warming sea temperatures cause levelling and flattening of coral reefs.Study leader Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, from the University of East Anglia, said: "For many organisms, the complex structure of reefs provides refuge from predators. "This drastic loss of architectural complexity is clearly driving substantial declines in biodiversity, which will in turn affect coastal fishing communities."