[Coral-List] Toward a New Era of Coral Reef Monitoring
Risk, Michael
riskmj at mcmaster.ca
Fri Apr 21 14:11:42 UTC 2023
Jianna:
Your post is sad, especially as it could well have been written 40
years ago.
This is not a new concern. If you search the archives, you may come
across Tom Tomascik's profane rant 40 years ago about lack of focus on
what is important...I, of course, cannot repeat it here.
It is to the everlasting shame of the coral reef research community
that they have avoided confronting vested interests in favour of
resume-padding. A quick search of Google Scholar finds >a
million-and-a-half citations for "coral growth". For "reefs+sewage"?
50,000. Guess which one is far more important for the continuation of
our favourite ecosystem.
There are some notable exceptions, some really good research on
specific impacts and how to avoid/ameliorate them, but in general we
have kept our heads down and beavered away on small segments that
offend no one.
Of the zillion-odd projects to "restore" coral reefs, I so far have
encountered none, zero, that state "first, clean up the water."
My advice to you? Get out of reef science and into something with a
future.
Mike
__________________________________________________________________
From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> on behalf of
jianna wankel via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2023 8:39 PM
To: Douglas Fenner <douglasfennertassi at gmail.com>
Cc: Amy Apprill <aapprill at whoi.edu>; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Toward a New Era of Coral Reef Monitoring
"Everyone is focusing on restoration but corals will never thrive in
polluted water."
This stood out to me... The coral isn't the problem. It is the water.
We
should be working on *water* restoration. It feels very hopeless. What
can
I do as a young scientist?
Jianna
On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 10:23AM Douglas Fenner via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> Phil,
> THANK YOU!!! You hit the nail on the head. Scientists and
agencies
> want to get attention and funding, and the way to do that is with
shinny
> toys. Preferably expensive. In other words, technology. But the
things
> that must be changed to save reefs require hard work with humans that
don't
> want to change the things they are doing that are destroying the
reefs.
> The big exception is probably global warming, where big technology,
not
> having to do with coral reefs is needed to make the changes. Things
like
> renewable energy, electric cars, etc.
> Cheers, Doug
>
> On Tue, Apr 18, 2023 at 4:59AM Phillip Dustan via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> > Hi Amy,
> > Your team is organizing an amazing array of instrumentation to
dial in
> > coral reef condition. The real question is what is going to be done
> about a
> > degrading reef when it is revealed.
> > In general, when people hear that a reef is being monitored they
think
> some
> > remedial action will be triggered to "fix the problem".
> > As valuable as reefs are to humankind you'd think this might be the
case
> > but in fact, history shows it has not been.
> > Take the Florida Keys for example. This reef system has been under
attack
> > by humans for at least 100 years.
> > John Pennekamp's work got a small section of Key Largo "protected"
which
> > resulted in hoards of divers dissenting upon the reefs.
> > In the 1970's thousands of anchors were ravaging the reefs and it
took
> the
> > work of individuals to create serviceable moorings buoys.
> > The creation of a Marine Sanctuary increased business.
> > But we all knew it was the increasing sewage that was causing the
major
> > problems but
> > Then the major herbivores dropped out and the weeds, fertilized by
> sewage,
> > began to over grow the reef.
> > Individual people started monitoring in the 70's and a Keyswide
> monitoring
> > system was put in place in the mid 1990's
> > The investigators measured a 38 percent loss of coral cover and
400%
> > increase in stations with disease in 4 calendar years.
> > Coral cover on reefs where monitoring had begun in the 1970's was
> showing a
> > 90%+ loss in coral cover.
> > Business continued to BOOM and the reefs continued to die.
> > Now the loss is blamed on climate change whereas, truth be told,
most of
> > the death happened before climate change began to be a factor.
> > The sewer system that was installed is a failure because fresh
wastewater
> > is buoyant.
> > New diseases are so virulent the corals must be placed in rescue
aquaria
> > away from the reef.
> > Everyone is focusing on restoration but corals will never thrive in
> > polluted water.
> > A few years ago I was visiting DIscovery Bay where I had worked
years
> > before.
> > ( see
[1]https://biospherefoundation.org/project/coral-reef-change/)
> > I told Leslie I was interested in how the reef had changed and he
said,
> > "Phil, you don't have to dive to see the reef is dying, just look
out and
> > see it's dark brown when it used to be golden".
> > So while we can build better gizzies to follow the dying reefs in
ever
> > greater detail, unless we generate the political will to act it is
all in
> > vain.
> > Maybe we should spend our energies and ever decreasing budgets on
> altering
> > human behaviors instead of building newer, faster, better resolving
> > platforms to watch the war in ever greater detail.
> > Most nations do not have the resources of a Wood's Hole or Scripps
> > Institute of Oceanography, or the need for nextgen monitoring
platforms.
> > They need help with food, healthcare, sewage treatment, and
education.
> > My friends and colleagues know I love technology and was one of the
first
> > to monitor coral reefs using lines,video, and even satellites, but
this
> is
> > not going to help the reefs anymore.
> > They are way past needing monitoring.
> > They need simple help: clean water, reduced pollution, reduced
fishing
> > pressure, less tourists, and a cooler, higher pH ocean.
> > So congrats on developing a nexgen monitoring system but you may be
> wasting
> > your energy on something that is necessarily over complex and will
not
> > accomplish what is needed.
> > Simply put, the very adaptations that have enabled coral reefs to
thrive
> in
> > the clear, nutrient poor tropical seas makes them vulnerable to
human
> > activities.
> > They are complex processes operating at levels of ecological
efficiency
> > humans should strive to emulate- That would be true
sustainability!
> > But, sadly, coral reefs will probably not thrive again until humans
are
> > gone.
> > Phil
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Leslie, the retire gardener and I were sitting in the
> > breezeway reliving old times
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Apr 15, 2023 at 9:19AM Amy Apprill via Coral-List <
> > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >
> > > Hello Coral List,
> > >
> > > Our team is pleased to share a new open-access perspective paper
titled
> > > `Towards a New Era of Coral Reef Monitoring' published in
Environmental
> > > Science & Technology (2023, 57, 5117-5124).
> > >
> > > Link: [2]https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.2c05369
> > >
> > > Abstract: Coral reefs host some of the highest concentrations of
> > > biodiversity and economic value in the oceans, yet these
ecosystems are
> > > under threat due to climate change and other human impacts. Reef
> > monitoring
> > > is routinely used to help
> > > prioritize reefs for conservation and evaluate the success of
> > intervention
> > > efforts. Reef status and health are most frequently characterized
using
> > > diver-based surveys, but the inherent limitations of these
methods mean
> > > there is a growing need for
> > > advanced, standardized, and automated reef techniques that
capture the
> > > complex nature of the ecosystem. Here we draw on experiences from
our
> own
> > > interdisciplinary research programs to describe advances in in
situ
> > > diver-based and autonomous reef monitoring. We present our vision
for
> > > integrating interdisciplinary measurements for select
"case-study"
> reefs
> > > worldwide and for
> > > learning patterns within the biological, physical, and chemical
reef
> > > components and their interactions. Ultimately, these efforts
could
> > support
> > > the development of a scalable and standardized suite of sensors
that
> > > capture and relay key data to assist in categorizing reef health.
This
> > > framework has the potential to provide stakeholders with the
> information
> > > necessary to assess reef health during an unprecedented time of
reef
> > change
> > > as well as restoration and intervention activities.
> > >
> > > Best wishes,
> > > Amy Apprill, Yogesh Girdhar, T. Aran Mooney, Colleen M. Hansel,
Matthew
> > H.
> > > Long, Yaqin Liu, W. Gordon Zhang, Jason Kapit, Konrad Hughen,
Jeff
> > Coogan,
> > > and Austin Green
> > > Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Coral-List mailing list
> > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > > [3]https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> >
> > Phillip Dustan PhD
> > Charleston SC 29424
> > 843-953-8086 office
> > 843-224-3321 (mobile)
> >
> > "When we try to pick out anything by itself
> > we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords
> > that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. "
> > * John Muir 1869*
> >
> > *A Swim Through TIme on Carysfort Reef*
> > [4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
> > *Raja Ampat Sustainability Project video*
> >
> >
>
[5]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6
LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
> > *Bali Coral Bleaching 2016 video*
> >
> > *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
> > <[6]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo>*
> > TEDx Charleston on saving coral reefs
> > [7]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
> > Google Scholar Citations:
> > [8]https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ
> > _______________________________________________
> > Coral-List mailing list
> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > [9]https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [10]https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
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References
1. https://biospherefoundation.org/project/coral-reef-change/)
2. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.2c05369
3. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
8. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ
9. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
10. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
11. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
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