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More than a third of Guam’s coral reefs were killed by bleaching between 2013 and 2017, according to researchers at the University of Guam. At a press conference held yesterday (July 30), the team discussed results of a study published last month (June 25) in Coral Reefs, which found that rising ocean temperatures and extreme low tides had led to the death of 34 percent of all the island’s reefs, and the disappearance of about 60 percent of reefs along the east coast of Guam.
“Never in our history of looking at reefs, have we seen something this severe,” study coauthor Laurie Raymundo told reporters, Pacific Daily News reports, adding, “The highest temperatures we’ve ever recorded in Guam happened in 2017.”
The researchers write in their paper that the data suggest several species of corals are at high risk of local extinction in Guam’s waters, and ...
