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Alex Wegmann

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Coral reefs are threatened by climate change because warming ocean temperatures are causing corals to bleach (i.e. lose the algae that provides them with the majority of their energy) which can lead to coral starvation and death. Local environmental conditions can contribute to either the resilience or susceptibility of corals to the global stress of climate change. One such factor is the local nutrient input from terrestrial sources. Corals near remote islands with abundant seabird populations have been found to have increased growth rates and are more resilient to bleaching events than corals near islands without seabirds. Seabirds supply the reef with ample nutrients via their guano (seabird excreted waste) and...
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Invasive marine species are well documented but options to manage them are limited. At Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (Central North Pacific), native invasive corallimorpharians, Rhodactis howesii, have smothered live native corals since 2007. Laboratory and field trials were conducted evaluating two control methods to remove R. howesii overgrowing the benthos at Palmyra Atoll (Palmyra): 1) toothpaste mixed with chlorine, citric acid, or sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and 2) hot water. Paste mixed with NaOH had the most efficacious kill in mesocosm trials and resulted in >90% kill over a 98 m2 area three days after treatment. Hot water at 82C was most effective in mesocosms; in the field hot water was less effective...
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