"I set up a seawater system at the Smithsonian station in Bocas del Toro, Panama so that I could test individual components of runoff on live corals. I was very surprised to find that, rather than the usual suspects measured to determine water quality: nitrogen and phosphates, it was simple carbon compounds--too much sugar--that often kills corals indirectly by stimulating bacterial growth."
"Sugars in runoff cause bacteria normally associated with corals to grow out of control. People don't usually even measure carbon when they do water quality studies. They only look at the nutrients found in fertilizers. Nitrogen and phosphates cause algal overgrowth on corals, which also contributes sugars to the system. It is vital to consider the carbon component as we develop conservation strategies for coral reefs."
Kline will present this work as part of the symposium: "The Rising Tide of Ocean Plagues: How humans are Changing the Dynamics of Disease" at the AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Friday, February 17th, 1:45pm-4:45 pm Central Time.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), a unit of the Smithsonian Institution with headquarters in Panama City, Panama, furthers our understanding of tropical nature and its importance to human welfare, trains students to conduct research in the tropics and promotes conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems. www.stri.org