[Coral-List] Listing Criteria Observation

Jon Skrapits jon at treasurecoastcorals.com
Tue Dec 18 10:24:13 EST 2012


I looked over the criteria the best I could. I apologize if I misunderstood
but it seems as though the driving factor for determining the listing of a
coral is by counting the number of animals distributed in an ecosystem.
Then many different hypotheses are thrown out to state a personal case or
blame a general global phenomenon or "problem." I never heard more specific
questions such as these.

What does an acropora(or other corals) look like when it is subjected to
low pH?
How about inadequate flow?(How can a fragmentation survive if you place it
improperly?)
How about elevated levels of nitrates?(does it even affect them?)
Phosphates?
Insufficient calcium levels?
What about the overall chemistry of seawater when Magnesium is low?
Temp fluctuations?
Effects of a changing ecosystem causing a lack of food for corals?
Do corals really need fish or is it the other way around?( I have many
systems w/out fish and pleny of corals)

These and many other questions must be answered every hour in aquaculture
and guessing wrong causes mass deaths in some cases. Much can be learned
from this.


On a side note.... If limiting actions that deplete the ocean such as
harvesting coral to grow it, then why aren't we destroying parrot fish that
eat the coral? I blame them for the destruction of the reefs.

As I have said many times, gov. regulation will only kill the reefs. Making
it a profitable venture will save them. Educate not regulate. If we can't
agree on what is killing the reefs and change our habits, the ocean will
not improve and the corals will sit on the reef awaiting their demise. Are
the oceans improving? What are we doing to improve that? Just ban
havesting? That is the answer? I will collect as many species as possible
to have a genetic pool of hearty corals that have been through fluctuations
and hopefully one day I can help or my kids can help to replant the ocean.
I will watch the rest of mankind squabble over what they think is the
problem as it worsens. Maybe we will knock off parrot fish as a last resort
if they are still alive.


-- 
Thanks,


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