The capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services relied on by millions of people worldwide has declined by half since the 1950s, according to a new University of British Columbia-led study.
The capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services relied on by millions of people worldwide has declined by half since the 1950s, according to a new University of British Columbia-led study.
The study offers the first comprehensive look at what climate change, overfishing, and habitat destruction of coral reefs mean for their ecosystem services, or the ability of the reef to provide essential benefits and services to humans, including food, livelihoods, and protection from storms. Overall, the findings showed that the significant loss in coral reef coverage has led to an equally significant loss in the ability of the reef to provide these services.
Other findings are equally bleak: the authors found that global coverage of living corals had declined by about half since the 1950s and consequently, the diversity of species had also declined, by more than 60 per cent.
Read more at University of British Columbia
Image: Findings from a new study looking at what climate change, overfishing, and habitat destruction of coral reefs mean for their ecosystem services are a call to action, the lead author says. (Credit: UBC)
