[Coral-List] Reefs in the Anthropocene . . .

Steve Mussman sealab at earthlink.net
Mon May 1 14:20:35 EDT 2017


   Dear Magnus,

   It seems that the 50 Reefs Initiative ([1]https://50reefs.org/theplan/) is
   already taking on the approach that you suggest. As with any innovative plan
   of action there are likely to be a number of legitimate reasons for concern
   - like those you have pointed out. That said, it still may be the best
   strategy put forward to date. At this point there is so much "meddling"
   going on that it is difficult to determine where the boundaries are or even
   where they should be. However, as the initiative's website points out,
   existing conservation efforts should continue to be supported and clearly
   those addressing rising ocean temperatures are likely to remain high atop
   that list.

   Regards,

   Steve
   Sent from my iPad

   On Apr 28, 2017, at 11:55 AM, Magnus L Johnson <[2]M.Johnson at hull.ac.uk>
   wrote:

   Fellow polyps,
   At what point do we just have to recognise that it's too late to do anything
   to stop the Anthropocene juggernaut we have set in motion and start to think
   of remedial/mitigating actions that will save what we can?  I think many
   conservationists  don’t  like  this suggestion because it 1) Smacks of
   defeatism and 2) Suggests that MPAs/leaving things alone so that nature can
   rebalance (the erroneous equilibrium paradigm) are not "the answer".
   Do we need to start capitalising on technological/clever interventions that
   can rescue what is rescuable rather than wringing our collective hands in
   despair while we watch reefs dissolve around us?  The problem is of course
   is that we are ignorant of the myriad of connections in tropical (or any)
   ecosystems and we could do a lot of damage with our meddling but what other
   answer is there?
   Best wishes, Magnus
   -----Original Message-----
   From: Douglas Fenner [[3]mailto:douglasfennertassi at gmail.com]
   Sent: 28 April 2017 01:13
   To: Ulf Erlingsson <[4]ceo at lindorm.com>
   Cc: [5]coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; Bruno, John <[6]jbruno at unc.edu>
   Subject:  Re: [Coral-List] Evidence that ocean warming has caused most
   Caribbean coral loss
   Ulf,
      My understanding is that climate science data supports the view that the
   rapid increases in world temperature in recent decades has been caused
   mostly by human emissions, while earlier, more gradual temperature increases
   were caused mostly by natural processes (in spite of claims that we are in
   the beginning of a new ice age).  Both of these were present in the graph
   John presented in his essay.  However, it seems unlikely to me that corals
   either understand the causes of temperature increases, or care what those
   causes are.  Corals are impacted by temperature increases, whatever the
   causes of those temperatures are, surely.  That includes turning up the heat
   in  aquaria  in  experiments.   So it seems to me that John's graph of
   increasing temperatures IS relevant to the question of whether corals in the
   Caribbean have been impacted by temperature increases or not, and I don't
   see the relevance of the question of what caused the temperature increases,
   at least to the question of impacts on corals.  The effect of increasing
   temperatures on corals is a mechanistic thing, higher temperatures stress or
   kill corals.  Cause of temperature increase is irrelevant for that.
       That  said,  it is good to remind us of the broader processes over
   geological time.  That could include the fact that present temperature
   increases exceed those that have happened in a very long period of time,
   well beyond the range of time you've referred to.
   Cheers,  Doug

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References

   1. https://50reefs.org/theplan/
   2. mailto:M.Johnson at hull.ac.uk
   3. mailto:douglasfennertassi at gmail.com
   4. mailto:ceo at lindorm.com
   5. mailto:coral-list at coral..aoml.noaa.gov
   6. mailto:jbruno at unc.edu
   7. http://www2.hull.ac.uk/legal/disclaimer.aspx
   8. mailto:Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
   9. http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list


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