[Coral-List] Fwd: Conservation versus restoration of coral reefs
Thomas Goreau
goreau at bestweb.net
Sun Feb 17 18:38:37 EST 2008
Dear Bill,
Your statements about controls and replicates in our project are
completely incorrect. I guess you have not seen them yourself? One
electric reef structure (roughly 5 m high, 4 m wide at the base) on
the fore reef slope had about 16 times higher survival than
surrounding reefs, three more smaller projects (each about 3 m high,
and 2x2 meters base) in the same habitat had similar results, and one
structure on the reef flat (50 m long, 1.5 m high, about 5 m wide)
had about 50 times higher survival than surrounding reefs. The larger
projects had many hundreds of corals on them, not just a few.
Another large project was done after bleaching, and so has on bearing
on bleaching survival. For controls we compared thousands of corals
that had previously been cemented on to concrete blocks and dead
reef. Even though they were all doing well prior to bleaching, every
single one of the control coral transplanted using conventional
methods died, i.e. 100% mortality and 0% survival, compared to around
1-5% survival of natural corals on the nearby reef, and 50-80 percent
survival on the electric reefs. We have hundreds of photographs and
around 50 hours of digital video transects of the electric reefs,
natural reefs, and control transplants taken before and after
bleaching that document these results. Typical video of all three
before during and after were presented at ICRI.
I'm not sure if the artificial reef project by the World Bank you are
referring to was done before or after the bleaching? If after it has
no bearing on survival from bleaching. The only other reef
restoration project I looked at in North Male Atoll, was where a
couple of hundred meters of concrete superhighway roadbed was laid on
a dead reef. Thousands of corals had been cemented to it, but
virtually all of them died BEFORE the bleaching. I have video footage
of the entire length of these projects, and the contrast with our
results on the electric reefs couldn't possibly be more dramatic. I
have not had the money to get back to the Maldives for the last 7
years, but since you live there in the same atoll as both of these
projects, you can easily contrast them yourself. I think you will
still find the difference extraordinary and look forward to your
personal observations of the coral and fish abundance on our projects
compared to the concrete planting projects.
Best wishes,
Tom
On Feb 17, 2008, at 6:11 PM, William Allison wrote:
> Dear Tom,
>
> In your message of Feb 2 (repeated Feb 13) you assert that the
> major funding agencies are neglecting your product because they
> have given up on coral reef restoration. Without condoning it, I
> can think of at least one artificial reef project in Maldives
> funded by an arm of the World Bank in recent years. Perhaps there
> is another explanation for your situation.
>
> Despite the extraordinary Maldives bleaching results presented in
> your message, interest may be low because the experimental design
> cannot sustain the conclusions. In this case there was one
> experimental unit (a dome made of steel rod grid to which corals
> were tied and the whole subjected to electrical input). There were
> no replicates, there were no controls. Proceeding from basic
> experimental design principles, valid inferences about an
> experimental effect are not possible from this setup. Perhaps you
> should work on that aspect.
>
> I refer specifically to this segment of your message:
> >> >> There is only one method known that can keep corals alive under
> >> >> high temperatures that would ordinarily kill them. In the
> Maldives
> >> >> in 1998 the corals we were growing with our electrical trickle
> >> >> charging method had 16 to 50 times higher survival than
> >> >> surrounding reefs (Please note that is TIMES higher survival,
> not
> >> >> PERCENT. See T. Goreau, W. Hilbertz, & A. Azeez Hakeem, 2000,
> >> >> Increased Coral and Fish Survival on Mineral Accretion Reef
> >> >> Structures in the Maldives after the 1998 Bleaching Event,
> >> >> International Coral Reef Symposium, abstracts p. 263). Our
> corals
> >> >> bleached too, because they were exposed to the same
> temperatures,
> >> >> but they did not die,
>
> Regards,
>
> Bill Allison
>
> On Feb 15, 2008 10:52 AM, Thomas Goreau <goreau at bestweb.net> wrote:
> > Dear Dee Von,
> >
> > The only thing that really works is to stop algae killing reefs is
> > to stop polluting the water with nutrients, then the weedy algae
> > die back very fast. In one bay in Jamaica that I got cleaned up of
> > nutrient sources 10 years ago the weedy algae have not come back,
> > and elkhorn is growing again! But we also have to cut out the
> > greenhouse gas emissions too and absorb the excess CO2 now in the
> > atmosphere.
> >
> > Best wishes,
> > Tom
> >
> > On Feb 15, 2008, at 10:46 AM, DeeVon Quirolo wrote:
> >
> >> Well stated Tommy--and the current loss of corals to disease
> >> driven by pollution and poor water quality is under-estimated,
> >> with some managers actually mistaking white diseases for bleaching
> >> to compound the problem. If we were to put available resources
> >> into cleaning up the water, coral reefs would be far more
> >> resilient than we ever imagined; above all coral reefs need is
> >> clear, clean, nutrient-free waters to thrive. What a simple
> >> concept; yet millions are being spent looking for other answers
> >> while ignoring this obvious, to paraphrase it, "whale in the
> room".
> >>
> >> All the best, DeeVon Quirolo, Reef Relief
> >>
> >> On Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 2:05 PM, Thomas Goreau
> >> <goreau at bestweb.net> wrote:
> >> >> From: Thomas Goreau <goreau at bestweb.net>
> >> >> Date: February 2, 2008 1:08:20 PM EST
> >> >> To: coral-list coral-list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> >> >> Cc: miguel_castrence at fulbrightweb.org
> >> >> Subject: Conservation versus restoration of coral reefs
> >> >>
> >> >> Dear Miguel,
> >> >>
> >> >> Too true, as pointed out in the New York Times article you
> quote,
> >> >> just letting reefs die as a lost cause is the effective
> result of
> >> >> the largely unspoken consensus of most of the big conservation
> >> >> groups,. governments, and funding agencies. At the UN Climate
> >> >> Change Conference in Bali, the future of coral reefs and low
> lying
> >> >> coasts was deliberately and knowingly sacrificed, by those who
> >> >> simply want to continue business as usual and the profits it
> >> >> brings them.
> >> >>
> >> >> Since the models being used to project future temperature and
> sea
> >> >> level impacts have serious and systematic flaws that cause
> them to
> >> >> under-estimate future impacts of global warming, the
> situation is
> >> >> more dire than they realize. The predictions being made by the
> >> >> models for the impacts on coral reefs are mere guesses, not only
> >> >> do they underestimate the mean rates of increase shown by the
> data
> >> >> (which will certainly accelerate) but also they also ignore the
> >> >> variability of extreme events. An exceptionally hot year or a
> big
> >> >> storm will wipe these areas out LONG before mean temperature
> >> >> change and sea level rise does. No number of papers based on
> >> >> models in Science and Nature or wishful thinking from IYOR can
> >> >> reverse this.
> >> >>
> >> >> The bulk of the "managing resilience" fad now underway has
> nothing
> >> >> in fact to do with real resilience, in the sense of making
> corals
> >> >> more capable of withstanding thermal stress. It is instead a
> >> >> desperate search for those sites that had less stress to begin
> >> >> with, due to local weather or circulation patterns, or had
> already
> >> >> long lost the stress-sensitive species and therefore
> superficially
> >> >> seem to appear more stress-tolerant. As thermal stress
> increases,
> >> >> even those few areas lucky enough to have escaped its serious
> >> >> effects so far will succumb, sooner rather than later, for the
> >> >> reasons stated above. Nevertheless, after the Indian Ocean
> tsunami
> >> >> the World Bank Expert Group on Coral Reef Restoration and the
> >> >> International Coral Reef Initiative told the countries affected
> >> >> that restoration is "neither feasible nor prudent" and that they
> >> >> should do nothing at all, they should just wait and the
> resilient
> >> >> reefs would grow back all by themselves. But almost all of the
> >> >> reefs in these places were already long dead for one reason or
> >> >> another, and had failed to recover!
> >> >>
> >> >> There is only one method known that can keep corals alive under
> >> >> high temperatures that would ordinarily kill them. In the
> Maldives
> >> >> in 1998 the corals we were growing with our electrical trickle
> >> >> charging method had 16 to 50 times higher survival than
> >> >> surrounding reefs (Please note that is TIMES higher survival,
> not
> >> >> PERCENT. See T. Goreau, W. Hilbertz, & A. Azeez Hakeem, 2000,
> >> >> Increased Coral and Fish Survival on Mineral Accretion Reef
> >> >> Structures in the Maldives after the 1998 Bleaching Event,
> >> >> International Coral Reef Symposium, abstracts p. 263). Our
> corals
> >> >> bleached too, because they were exposed to the same
> temperatures,
> >> >> but they did not die, because they had more metabolic energy to
> >> >> resist stress. Therefore there is a proven way to keep reefs
> alive
> >> >> where they would otherwise die, and in our Coral Arks in some 20
> >> >> countries we are now growing more than 80% of all the coral
> genera
> >> >> in the world, despite absolutely no funding whatsoever for
> serious
> >> >> coral reef restoration or adaptation work. This work is entirely
> >> >> being done with very small individual donations and in-kind
> >> >> funding from concerned locals in poor countries who just want to
> >> >> keep their corals and fish alive even though the international
> >> >> community and funding agencies have let them know in the most
> >> >> tangible possible way that they couldn't care less if they die.
> >> >>
> >> >> Our work has been widely ridiculed as a futile waste of time by
> >> >> those tossing around the big bucks. They say: if you can't
> save it
> >> >> all, what's the point? Our response is: if we don't save all we
> >> >> possibly can, what will we have left? They say: it is very
> >> >> dangerous to tell people you can restore reefs because then you
> >> >> are encouraging them to go and destroy reefs! We respond:
> that is
> >> >> like accusing tree planters of causing rainforest destruction!
> >> >>
> >> >> What we can't seem to get these folks to understand is very
> >> >> simple. We are already way past the point where conservation
> alone
> >> >> of what is left can maintain the ecosystem services of coral
> >> >> reefs. Every Marine Protected Area I've seen is full of dead and
> >> >> dying corals, and no matter how much money is spent setting them
> >> >> up and managing them, they are powerless to stop the decline,
> much
> >> >> less reverse it. If we don't start large scale restoration we
> can
> >> >> kiss our marine biodiversity, fisheries, tourism,beaches, and
> >> >> shore protection goodbye. Large scale restoration is now our
> only
> >> >> hope. But no decision makers or funders seem to get it. Nor will
> >> >> those who predictably respond to this message saying that marine
> >> >> protected areas and international campaigns to encourage
> >> >> resilience are the answer.
> >> >>
> >> >> Best wishes,
> >> >> Tom
> >> >>
> >> >> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
> >> >> President
> >> >> Global Coral Reef Alliance
> >> >> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
> >> >> 617-864-4226
> >> >> goreau at bestweb.net
> >> >> http://www.globalcoral.org
> >> >>
> >> >> On Feb 2, 2008, at 12:00 PM, coral-list-
> >> >> request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >>> Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:31:04 -1000
> >> >>> From: Miguel Castrence <miguel_castrence at fulbrightweb.org>
> >> >>> Subject: [Coral-List] The Preservation Predicament
> >> >>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >> >>>
> >> >>> This recent NY Times article caught my attention, especially
> this
> >> >>> provocative statement:
> >> >>>
> >> >>> "Some conservationists advocate triage, accepting that some
> >> >>> ecosystems, like coral reefs, may not survive in a warmer
> >> world, and
> >> >>> putting their efforts elsewhere."
> >> >>>
> >> >>> I wonder if such statements could be damaging for our
> endeavors.
> >> >>> --
> >> >>> Miguel Castrence
> >> >>> PhD Student | UH-Manoa Geography | www.geography.hawaii.edu
> >> >>> Graduate Degree Fellow | East-West Center | eastwestcenter.org
> >> >>> Research Assistant | Hawai`i Institute of Marine Biology |
> >> >>> www.himb.hawaii.edu
> >> >>>
> >> >>> Coral-List mailing list
> >> >>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >> >>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >> >>>
> >> >>> End of Coral-List Digest, Vol 56, Issue 3
> >> >>> *****************************************
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> > Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
> >> > President
> >> > Global Coral Reef Alliance
> >> > 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
> >> > 617-864-4226
> >> > goreau at bestweb.net
> >> > http://www.globalcoral.org
> >> >
> >>
> >> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
> >> President
> >> Global Coral Reef Alliance
> >> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
> >> 617-864-4226
> >> goreau at bestweb.net
> >> http://www.globalcoral.org
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Coral-List mailing list
> >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> DeeVon Quirolo, executive director, Reef Relief
> >>
> >> NOTE: This is a new email address; please change your records.
> >>
> >> Reef Relief, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to
> >> protecting coral reefs (305) 294-3100 fax (305 293-9515
> >> www.reefrelief.org Mailing address: Reef Relief, Post Office
> >> Box430, Key West, Florida 33041-0430. Key West Headquarters/
> >> Environmental Center, 631 Greene Street, Key West, Florida.
> >> Bahamas: Captain Roland Roberts House Environmental Center,
> >> Parliament Street, New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
> >> tel/fax (242) 365-4014.
> >>
> >> Do you want to make a difference? With the stroke of your
> >> keyboard, you can. Join Reef Relief's free online community at
> >> www.reefrelief.org and begin receiving regular updates on coral
> >> reef news and opportunities to get involved and take action.
> >
> > Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
> > President
> > Global Coral Reef Alliance
> > 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
> > 617-864-4226
> > goreau at bestweb.net
> > http://www.globalcoral.org
> >
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
> President
> Global Coral Reef Alliance
> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
> 617-864-4226
> goreau at bestweb.net
> http://www.globalcoral.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
President
Global Coral Reef Alliance
37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
617-864-4226
goreau at bestweb.net
http://www.globalcoral.org
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