Divers have noted in recent years that Gorgonians, also known as the Sea Fans and Whips, seem to be proliferating in certain areas of the Caribbean, even as their stony counterparts struggle. Often overlooked in favour of stony corals, these flexible, tree-like species can form impressive ‘underwater forests’, offering a canopy beneath which small fish and aquatic life of all kinds can thrive. Now, in a new $1 million project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Scientists from the California State University, Northridge and University at Buffalo will examine 27 years of photographs from reefs off the Caribbean island of St. John to determine how gorgonian numbers have changed, and run field experiments to see how competition with stony corals influences gorgonian growth. The study, which officially started on September 1st, will also document what gorgonian coral populations look like now at St. John (part of the U.S. Virgin Islands), and track future development there. Using the historical data and observations from the field, the scientists hope to model how the reef – and others like it – may look decades from now as Earth’s climate shifts. Of course, understanding coral reefs is critical as they are one of the planet’s most biologically diverse ecosystems. “When you look at these gorgonian corals, it seems that they’re increasing in abundance, and that’s an anecdotal observation that many people have made,” said UB geology professor Howard Lasker, one of three investigators heading the project. “Does this mean that as stony corals continue to decline, we’re going to see reefs transforming into these gorgonian coral-dominated communities? That’s what we’re trying to find out.” More:Could Gorgonians Dominate Reefs Of The Future?… More:
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