[Coral-List] Coral mortality in a warmer and acidified ocean

Risk, Michael riskmj at mcmaster.ca
Sat Feb 4 09:15:12 EST 2017


   Good day.

   Please excuse me if I sound somewhat testy-as I said, these are perilous
   times, when we scientists should all be on our best behaviour. Not only will
   we thereby gain merit-some of you living in that nation which is about to be
   made great again (or not) need to realise there are people looking over your
   shoulder, searching for excuses.

   Don’t shoot the messenger. Do not allow your opinion of the messenger to
   cloud your appraisal of the message.

   Read  the freakin paper. It is free access. It clearly states Acropora
   “...has not only survived these environmental changes, but has maintained
   its distinct skeletal biomineralization pattern for at least 40 My.” Those
   environmental changes involved large swings in temperature and pH.

   Arguments that the present rate of change is more rapid than those that came
   before are valid, but irrelevant to what I think is the central message: how
   did we get here?

   If we really want to save the reefs of today, we must be able to say-from
   what? As a group, we have probably been aware that the most important thing
   we could possibly do is identify and prioritise the threats to reefs.

   We have yet to do this, which is a signal failure of the group. I realise
   that absorbing the results of this work may shake some shibboleths, but that
   is how science advances.

   Instructions  outlining  how  to  emigrate  to  Canada  may  be  found
   at [1]http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGlish/immigrate/index.asp

   Mike

   On Feb 3, 2017, at 6:52 PM, Steve Mussman <[2]sealab at earthlink.net> wrote:

   As  a scientifically literate non-scientist, the first thing I do when
   examining new information is consider the source(s).  So while in this case
   I don't advocate shooting the messenger, I certainly have the right to
   question his motives especially considering the fact that this isn't the
   first time he has chosen to cite a source which you have described as having
   questionable credibility.  By accepting such sources we begin to legitimize
   them. Next thing you know "alternative science" will creep into our lexicon
   right along with "alternative facts".
   Regards,
   Steve
   Sent from my iPad
   Sent from my iPad

     On Feb 2, 2017, at 1:05 PM, Risk, Michael <[3]riskmj at mcmaster.ca> wrote:
     Hi Pedro (Doug, Gene).
     These are perilous times, with science seemingly under threat from all
     sides
     and societies increasingly polarized. This is especially true of the US.
     It is increasingly important to all of us on this list that we stick to
     the
     science. Gene's scientific credentials should need no repeating to anyone
     on
     this list. He also performs a valuable although sometimes annoying service
     by posting items that cause us to think, or cause our hair to catch on
     fire.
     This recent exchange I think can be used as a microcosm to formulate our
     proper  responses.  We  must not fall into the trap of shooting the
     messenger.
     It is true that Gene's posting came from a website that some of us would
     not
     deem as credible. Nonetheless, however, the description of the science
     itself was accurate. Gracious behaviour on our part would be to thank Gene
     for bringing this to our attention.
     Lost in the noise is the essential conclusion of this piece of science,
     and
     I am disappointed that this seems not to have been absorbed. We as a group
     need to accept that one of our major genera of reef building corals has
     sailed through previous climate changes with its skeletal architecture
     intact. We either have to  accept that the recent declines are due to
     local
     stresses,  or  we need to devise experiments to challenge the original
     findings.
     Mike
     On    Feb    1,    2017,   at   3:00   PM,   Pedro   H.   Rodríguez
     <[1][4]phernanrod at yahoo.com>
     wrote:
     Doug,
     Thanks  for  checking the references provided to the list to support a
     counter-argument.  An  apparent need for attention has, once again,
     disguised
     as  someone's  "pushing the boundary" of the science with a fact-based
     argument. This is a huge disservice to the List- many people not have the
     time to check every claim that poses as a scientifically-based argument.
     As
     a defense mechanism, some of us pay special attention to claims made by
     frequently debunked offenders.
     Best,Pedro
     Message: 1
     Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2017 11:20:08 -0500
     From: Douglas Fenner <[2][5]douglasfennertassi at gmail.com>
     Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Coral mortality in a warmer and acidified
        ocean
     To: Nicole Crane <[3][6]nicrane at cabrillo.edu>
     Cc: Eugene Shinn <[4][7]eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu>,
        "[5][8]coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov"
     <[6][9]coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
     Message-ID:
        <[7][10]CAOEmEkF34OUZHy2WWtY6=3opq5eX3TLhj+eybY4YJUun6ZODNw at mail.gmail.
     com>
     Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
     Well,  all  of the wording in Gene's message other than the article
     reference
     was from the "CO2 Science" website, except where it quotes the article...
     _______________________________________________
     Coral-List mailing list
     [8][11]Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
     [12]http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
     Risk, Michael
     [9][13]riskmj at mcmaster.ca
     References
     1. [14]mailto:phernanrod at yahoo.com
     2. [15]mailto:douglasfennertassi at gmail.com
     3. [16]mailto:nicrane at cabrillo.edu
     4. [17]mailto:eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu
     5. [18]mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
     6. [19]mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
     7. [20]mailto:CAOEmEkF34OUZHy2WWtY6=3opq5eX3TLhj+eybY4YJUun6ZODNw at mail.gma
     il.com
     8. [21]mailto:Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
     9. [22]mailto:riskmj at mcmaster.ca
     _______________________________________________
     Coral-List mailing list
     [23]Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
     [24]http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

   Risk, Michael
   [25]riskmj at mcmaster.ca

References

   1. http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGlish/immigrate/index.asp
   2. mailto:sealab at earthlink.net
   3. mailto:riskmj at mcmaster.ca
   4. mailto:phernanrod at yahoo.com
   5. mailto:douglasfennertassi at gmail.com
   6. mailto:nicrane at cabrillo.edu
   7. mailto:eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu
   8. mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
   9. mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
  10. mailto:CAOEmEkF34OUZHy2WWtY6=3opq5eX3TLhj+eybY4YJUun6ZODNw at mail.gmail.com
  11. mailto:Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
  12. http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
  13. mailto:riskmj at mcmaster.ca
  14. mailto:phernanrod at yahoo.com
  15. mailto:douglasfennertassi at gmail.com
  16. mailto:nicrane at cabrillo.edu
  17. mailto:eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu
  18. mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
  19. mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
  20. mailto:CAOEmEkF34OUZHy2WWtY6=3opq5eX3TLhj+eybY4YJUun6ZODNw at mail.gmail.com
  21. mailto:Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
  22. mailto:riskmj at mcmaster.ca
  23. mailto:Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
  24. http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
  25. mailto:riskmj at mcmaster.ca


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