“Ancient Black Coral in the Gulf of Mexico”

According to Andy Soos, of the Environmental News Network, most recently, scientists have finally been able to discover the age of the deep-sea black coral population in the Gulf of Mexico. These 2,000 year-old animals growing approximately 8 to 2 micrometers per year (200 times slower than human fingernails) are critical to understanding environmental change. Scientists can use these black corals as “natural archives” through age dating to peer into an “unprecedented window into past environmental conditions.” Besides being able to provide this enlightening data to scientists and researches, the black coral ecosystems are important for other reasons such as being “among the most diverse and productive communities on Earth, providing shelter and feeding grounds for commercial and non-commercial fish species and their prey, as well as breeding and nursery areas.” These creatures are also highly sensitive in the fact that even though they live over 980 feet under water, they rely on what is happening at the seas surface because they feed on the organic matter that sinks down to the ocean floor. Both environmental changes as well as human factors such as commercial fishing, can impact these ecosystems.

This article relates to our class in many different areas. 1) It addresses the population growth of one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. 2) The article touches upon how events in the natural world are all interconnected. For example, if fishermen start to catch the fish that normally reside in these coral reefs, these reefs will without a doubt be affected. 3) In class we also discussed coral reefs in a little more detail learning that thousands of different species live among them, specifically, 25% of marine species live in these systems, and that temperature, light, and salinity all effect coral reef growth and survival.

What I liked most about this article was how I learned that this special type of coral that lives deep below the surface of the ocean is a gateway to a better understanding of the environment and its changes over decades. Also, it was interesting to learn how new techniques such as “sampling skeletal material with a laser can determine its chemical composition, enabling scientists to reconstruct environmental conditions in time slices smaller than a decade over the last 1,000 to 2,000 years.” This innovative technology and others like it, will continue to aid researchers, scientists, and ultimately us, in understanding the complexities and intricacies of the environment in which we live.

Blog By: Kaitlyn McHugh

Article & picture source: Andy Soos, Environmental News Network – April 1, 2011

http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/42539