Hank49
Contributor
paolov:
That's really interesting. Has the water warmed up more than usual? Or is ther runoff from some agriculture of some other stress that may have weakened the corals? You say it's the west wall....how is the other side?
NASTY COTs
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That's really interesting. Has the water warmed up more than usual? Or is ther runoff from some agriculture of some other stress that may have weakened the corals? You say it's the west wall....how is the other side?
OP
Hank49:
OH YES THE WATER has warmed up, temp here in manila is a SOARING 37.9 Centigrade, thats already a fever temp.
the water at ligpo area was at 27 to 28 Centigrade at 60 ft. temp at 5ft reaches 29 centigrade at around 2pm with no wind.
the other side, thats EL capitan side, we were informed early on about two months ago that there was infestation on EL Capitan side, that's the Cavern Ligpo site. we haven't been there since. i guess its pretty nasty too.
Hank49
Contributor
paolov:
27-28C shouldn't be killing the coral. What's doing it? I always believed that the COTs were opportunistic and the huge numbers of them represented a weakened reef. Maybe not. Man, that's too bad paolov. Good luck harvesting them. Hank
OP
Hank49:
it could really lead to the reduction of the predators of COTs, the snails . last year i always see snails on every dive, this year very seldom do i see one. ANd MAN could be the culprit.
The triton snails are the predator right? Is there any agency (public or private) that looks into this?
OP
Axua:
they are nowhere to be seen in the area. but i see them in tourists shops and malls.
Matthew
Contributor
paolov:
I saw the COTs at Pinnacle for myself last weekend, some of them are as deep as 90-100 ft. Several groups of divers are doing collection dives, but the site being a wall, as well as the depth, makes the the job difficult and progress is very slow. The infestation on the El Capitan side was more manageable because it was shallower. Yes it's nasty, you see the bleached coral everywhere, although hopefully the area will be able to recover.
BTW my computer showed a temperature of 84 F (about 29 C) at about 35 ft last Saturday around noontime. First time I felt uncomfortably warm underwater.
OP
Matthew:
tsk tsk tsk 29C at 35ft. this would even catalyse the growth of COTS further.
Hank49
Contributor
Matthew:
This was my experience in West Malaysia in 98. The water at 20 meters was too warm (29-30C) to wear even a 2 mm shortie. And that coincided with bleaching coral. Soon after (jan 99) I went to Boracay for a year and that was when the COTs heavily infested the west side. As of the end of 99 it was barely starting to recover. New, little corals were starting to show up. Anyone been there recently? How is Friday's Rock? Lobster Rock? Is the coral coming back?
Watch the chain of events at El Capitan. After the COTs went through Boracay, the calcium carbonate skeletons of coral were covered with a "veil" of greenish and violet colored "cobweb" like organism. It will get worse before it gets better unfortunately.
But, These COTs have been around for a while. Maybe there is an important role they play in the big picture. Kind of like Smeagal in the Lord of the Rings :martian: .
OP
Hank49:
oh yes i agree, they are a precursor of things to come due to human exploitation of resources and abuse. But until something drastically happens that affect the local community nothing will be done.
When they are teribbly affected then they will look for other sources to blame and earn from. then they will collect fees and rely on these fees for their own gains second to the coastal health.
sad isn't it. hence it needs national attention. however ....... and the excuses goes on.... divers will be blamed for the disappearance of species ..... :thinkingo
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