Tooth decay and coral reef death

Corals can be damaged by a process similar to human decay.

(Artwork: islandsbusiness) Under normal conditions, corals live in symbiosis with unicellular algae, but when environmental pollution occurs, a large algae can thrive throughout the reef and cause serious problems.

Recent research by Tennifer Smith, Santa Barbara of the University of California indicates that some large algae diffuse sugar into corals, increasing the activity of pathogenic bacteria and indirectly causing coral death.

Tennifer and colleagues carried out experiments on coral reefs and algae in the North Pacific Line Islands. Corals and experimental water samples are placed in interconnected jars and separated by 0.02 Micrometer membrane which allows trap substances to change without the passing of bacteria and viruses. At this time, water samples that are lethal to corals are determined by the diffusion of sugars from reservoirs of water samples to coral reservoirs, stimulating the development of coral microbes available in its structure. Parallel experiments were performed with the addition of ampicillin-a comprehensive bacterial inhibitor and as a result all corals survived.

The results of the study have just been published at the 'International Reef Researchers' Association, Bremen-Germany.

Peter Mumby of the University of Exeter-UK predicts: 'Another potential risk is that there is a high possibility that coral dominance can be replaced by the persistent dominance of large algae, due to the downhill of coral reefs'.

Nguyen Huu Hoang