James Cook dinner College Goes Again Excessive International Warming Coral Dying Claims – Watts Up With That?
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h / t Observa; Peter Ridd is right – the Great Barrier Reef is not in immediate danger of dying. James Cook University, Peter Ridd’s opponent in his unjust dismissal case, has only marginally retracted some of its more ridiculous claims about the Great Barrier Reef becoming extinct.
The coral numbers rethink the risk of extinction
Fraser Barton
The global risk of extinction for most coral species is lower than previously thought, scientists in North Queensland claim.
In a world first, researchers from James Cook University have assessed the number of coral colonies in the Pacific and assessed their risk of extinction.
The study measured the population size of more than 300 individual coral species on reefs across the Pacific from Indonesia to French Polynesia.
Using a combination of coral reef habitat maps and the number of coral colonies to estimate species abundance, they estimate about half a trillion corals in the Pacific alone.
Given the enormous size of these coral populations, researchers believe it is very unlikely that they are in immediate danger of extinction.
…
Co-author Professor Terry Hughes stated that while the study results have a huge impact on coral reef management and restoration, they are not a solution to climate change.
“It would take around 250 million adult corals to grow coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef by just one percent.”
…
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/coral-count-rethinks-extinction-risk/ar-BB1e7fD5
The abstract of the study;
The population size and global risk of extinction of coral species that form reefs at a biogeographical level
Andreas Dietzel, Michael Bode, Sean R. Connolly and Terry P. Hughes
abstract
Knowledge of the biodiversity is crucial for assessing the risk of extinction. For the vast majority of wildlife and plant species, however, such data is scarce on a biogeographical level. Here we estimate the total number of reef corals and the population size of more than 300 individual reef species that span the biodiversity gradient of the Pacific Ocean from Indonesia to French Polynesia. Our analysis suggests that roughly half a trillion corals (0.3 × 1012-0.8 × 1012) inhabit these coral reefs, similar to the number of trees in the Amazon. Two-thirds of the species studied have a population size of more than 100 million colonies, and a fifth of the species even have a population size of more than 1 billion colonies. Our results suggest that local impoverishment is an imminent threat that can have ecologically devastating effects on coral reefs, but that the global risk of extinction for most coral species is lower than previously thought.
Read more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01393-4
Professor Terry Hughes, whose name appears on this paper, made official complaints about Peter Ridd and, in my opinion, contributed to Peter Ridd’s dismissal for the crime of law.
On the one hand, it is positive that coral science seems to be moving towards a much-needed correction.
But this slight shift towards Peter Ridd’s position, claiming the Great Barrier Reef is critically endangered, is, in my opinion, grossly exaggerated and puts James Cook University in an even more untenable position.
The sooner James Cook University apologized and settled Peter Ridd’s unjustified dismissal claim, the better it will be for their long journey back to the restoration of James Cooks, which I believe has shattered scientific reputations.
Like this:
Loading…
Comments are closed.