Abstract

Coral reef ecosystems worldwide are increasingly threatened by human-induced climate change, which has been identified as one of the top five drivers of biodiversity loss by the Inter-Governmental Science Policy Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Specifically, the rising frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones and elevated sea temperatures directly threaten the survival of coral reef ecosystem and the entire marine biosphere. In 2023, elevated sub-sea temperatures were directly linked to the largest Caribbean bleaching event in recorded history, with some territories recording over 90% loss of live coral tissue in coral nursery systems. The year 2024 has provided no respite, with daily average sub-sea temperatures exceeding what was observed in 2023. Extreme cyclonic events, such as Hurricane Irma (Category 5+++) in 2017, cause extensive physical degradation of marine ecosystems, while the excessive CO2 in the atmosphere traps heat and leads to rises in land and sea temperatures. Despite the largescale negative impacts of excessive cyclonic activity due to Climate Change, they can also have positive impacts as they draw energy away from the marine system, resulting in a reduction in heat stress which can provide benefits to coral reefs and other marine ecosystems.

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