Rewilding could help vulnerable islands keep pace with rising seas
Seabirds, native plants, and healthy reefs can help atolls build as seas rise.
Coral-fringed tropical atolls face significant threats from global warming, yet they possess a potential superpower, according to an international team of scientists. Healthy ecosystems on these islands may help them adapt to rising sea levels. Nick Graham, a marine ecologist at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom and the leader of the study published in Science Advances, explained that atoll islands with native vegetation and thriving seabird populations are "naturally active systems that can change and adapt to their environmental conditions if they are allowed to do so."
The research, conducted across 28 atoll islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans, reveals that restoring atoll ecosystems strengthens their growth. Seabirds transport nutrients from the open ocean to the atolls through guano, which nourishes land plants, marine life, and coral growth. This process generates more material for reef building, as parrotfish and other reef feeders convert dead coral into sand to maintain beaches.
Additionally, native plants with extensive root networks stabilize sediments, providing further resilience to the islands.
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