Fourth Global Mass Coral Bleaching 

Why in news?

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealed the fourth global mass coral bleaching event has started due to ocean temperatures.

About

• The first mass bleaching took place in 1998 in which 20% of the world’s reef areas suffered bleaching-level heat stress.
• The next two global bleaching events occurred in 2010 (35% of reefs affected) and between 2014 and 2017 (56% of reefs affected).
• The fourth global bleaching event is currently underway. Nearly 54 countries, territories and local economies — from Florida, the US, Saudi Arabia to Fiji — have confirmed bleaching.

Reason for Rising Temperature & Bleaching

• The primary reason behind the soaring temperatures is the rising emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs)such as carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. Nearly 90% of the extra heat trapped by GHGs has been absorbed by the oceans.
• The rise in temperature has been exacerbated by El Niño, a weather pattern which is associated with warmer oceans.
• Coral Bleaching could have serious consequences for ocean life and millions of people who rely on reefs for food, jobs, and coastal defence.

What are Coral & Coral Reefs?

• Corals are essentially animals, which are sessile, meaning they permanently attach themselves to the ocean floor.
• Each individual coral animal is known as a polyp and it lives in groups of hundreds to thousands of genetically identical polyps that form a ‘colony’.
• Corals are largely classified as either hard coral or soft coral. It is the hard corals that are the architects of coral reefs.
• Unlike soft corals, hard corals have stony skeletons made out of limestone that are produced by coral polyps. When polyps die, their skeletons are left behind and used as foundations for new polyps.
• Geographical Conditions: Temperature: 20°C- 35°C; Salinity:Between 27% to 40%. Coral reefs grow better in shallow water; less than 50 m.
• Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (World Heritage Site) is the largest in the world, stretching across 2,028 kilometers.
• Coral reefs in India: Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep Island and Malvan.

Coral Bleaching

• Most corals contain algae called zooxanthellae— they are plant-like organisms — in their tissues. Corals and zooxanthellae have a symbiotic relationship. 
• While corals provide zooxanthellae a safe place to live, zooxanthellae provide oxygen and organic products of photosynthesis that help corals to grow and thrive. Zooxanthellae also give bright and unique colours to corals.
• Corals are very sensitive to light and temperature and even a small change in their living conditions can stress them. When stressed, theyexpel zooxanthellae and turn entirely white. This is called coral bleaching.
• Coral bleaching doesn’t immediately lead to the death of corals. Coral bleaching reduces the reproductivity of corals and makes them more vulnerable to fatal diseases.
• Global mass bleaching of coral reefs is when significant coral bleaching is confirmed in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.

Importance of Corals

• Coral reefs, also referred to as “rainforests of the sea”, have existed on the Earth for nearly 450 million years.
• Thousands of marine species can be found living on one reef.
• These massive structures also provide economic goods and services worth about $375 billion each year. More than 500 million people across the world depend on coral reefs for food, income and coastal protection from storms and floods.
• Coral reefs can absorb up to 97% of the energy from waves, storms, and floods, which prevents loss of life, property damage, and soil erosion.

Way Ahead

• To curb global warming to no more than 1.5 degree Celsius, countries need to bring GHG emissions to a net zero by 2050, according to the Paris Agreement.
• Steps  needed in direction of Climate resiliency (Paris agreement,  SDG 8 & 12)
• R & D for heat resistant corals.

Gender Gap in STEM Faculty

Why in news?

• A BiasWatch India study, revealed that only 5% of faculty members across 98 universities and institutes are women.

About

• Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics– collectively termed the STEM fields – continue to be dominated by men.
• The study revealed a significant variation in women’s representation across STEM disciplines.
• Engineering faculties showed the sharpest gender gap, with only 2% female faculty. This contrasts with biology, where  women comprised 25.5% of faculty.

Reasons for low representation

• Social Bias Against Women: Fields like biology are considered soft science and have a higher proportion of women faculty compared to hard sciences like engineering, Physics and Computer Science. This bias discourages women from pursuing these fields in higher education and research.
• Lack of Support During Postdoc to Faculty Transition: The crucial postdoc to faculty transition often coincides with family planning. Societal pressure often prioritizes family over career ambitions for women.
• Discrimination at Workplace Environment: Many senior women leave STEM academia due to being disrespected, lacking access to necessary resources, or facing limited advancement opportunities compared to male colleagues.
• Difficulty Accessing Gender Representation Data: There’s no central database tracking women faculty in STEM across India. This lack of data makes it hard to understand the extent of the gender gap and track progress towards equality.

Government schemes

• The Department of Science and Technology (DST)is implementing a dedicated scheme ‘Women in Science and Engineering-KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN)’to cater women of all walks of life in order to enhance their participation in the field of Science and Technology (S&T)with ultimate goal to bring gender parity.
• The Department of Science and Technology (DST)is implementing a dedicated scheme ‘Women in Science and Engineering-KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN)’to cater women of all walks of life in order to enhance their participation in the field of Science and Technology (S&T)with ultimate goal to bring gender parity.
• Another initiative launched by the DST includes the Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence (CURIE) which aims at assisting the research and development facilities at women’s universities.
• To assist female researchers involved in Research and Development, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)conceived SERB-POWER to provide financial aid in the form of grants and fellowships.
• To provide an avenue for scientifically inclined women researchers and scientists, an initiative called Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WEST) was launched in 2022.

Way Ahead

• The Indian society and the central and state governments need to collaborate to facilitate a gender-equal ecosystem.
• Gender equality or parity will happen only when there is a change in mindset and institutions consider women as assets rather than simply a diversity rectification issue.