Caribbean wins the seaweed Olympics

A UQ study finds that Caribbean seaweeds are ‘Olympic athletes’ compared to their equivalents in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. But this triumph is bad news for Caribbean coral reefs.

The picture-postcard beauty of Caribbean reefs owes much to the living corals that build reefs and contribute startling white sand to beaches.

But a UQ study, published online today, reveals that Caribbean seaweeds are Olympic athletes compared to other coral reef seaweeds.

Researcher and author Dr George Roff of the School of Biological Sciences said seaweeds bloom four times faster in the Caribbean than the Pacific Ocean.

“This helps explain why corals in the Caribbean seem to be such weak competitors against seaweeds,” Dr Roff said.

“The study raises concerns about the future of Caribbean coral reefs. If seaweeds bloom faster, corals are less likely to recover once they have been damaged.”

He said coral reefs might seem to be tranquil environments but in fact a constant battle for space was waged between corals and seaweeds.

Co-author and fellow colleague Professor Peter Mumby said seaweeds were able to bloom due to fertiliser pollution and the overfishing of parrotfish - a keen seaweed-eater.

“We now know that seaweeds will bloom if we give them the slightest chance. This means we should redouble our efforts to control pollution and fishing of parrotfishes,” Professor Mumby said.

The study, entitled Global Disparity in the Resilience of Coral Reefs and published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, cannot yet explain why Caribbean seaweeds are so prolific.

Dr Roff said explanations for the variability in seaweed behaviour would be tested over the next few years.

Media contact: George Roff g.roff@uq.edu.au, +61 0432 931 051, or Peter Mumby p.j.mumby@uq.edu.au, +61 0449811589 - away till 19th June.

Free video clips to illustrate this article available at Peter Mumby's site: www.reefvid.org

The full article is available here.