[Coral-List] Impact of listing 66 coral species on coral research

mtupper mtupper at coastal-resources.org
Tue Dec 11 11:59:54 EST 2012


Hi Gene,

I think we all (biologists and otherwise) understand what you are saying about
the geological record. Corals come and go and reefs die off and recover. All
else being equal, perhaps we need not worry about the latest reef decline.
However, all else is quite obviously not equal. Over the past several decades,
water quality has greatly deteriorated and reefs are facing direct disturbance
(e.g. sedimentation, pollution) from human activities in addition to
climate-related issues. Given that conditions over the past 50 years are nothing
like conditions over the previous 6000 years, how can you assume that what we
are seeing is simply another repetition of the geological record? Are you
certain that under the current (very different) conditions, reefs or coral
species that recovered millennia ago would still be able to do so today?

While there is no doubt that coral reef biologists can learn a great deal from
geology, I think some geologists could learn a lot from biologists, or from
simply looking forward for a change.

Cheers,
Mark

Dr. Mark Tupper, Board of Directors
Coastal Resources Association
207-10822 City Parkway Ave., Surrey, BC, Canada V3T 0C2
www.coastal-resources.org
Email: mtupper at coastal-resources.org
Tel. 1-604-588-1674; Mobile: 1-604-961-2022

Philippines Office:
Poblacion, Sagay, Camiguin, Philippines 9103
Tel. 63-927-921-9915


On December 10, 2012 at 12:31 PM Eugene Shinn <eshinn at marine.usf.edu> wrote:>
Dear Listers, I suppose coral biologists and environmentalists will
> never understand/learn what the geology of coral reefs is telling us.
> As pointed out many, many times, about 98 percent of the Florida Keys
> reefs are no less than a meter thick yet they have been underwater at
> least 6,000 years. Acropora has come and gone several times during
> that period long before all the current hysteria about
> Co2/warming/alkalinity shift began. Seems likely that if history were
> not repeating itself our reefs would be many meters thicker and
> contain a continuous record of all the species we worry about. Gene
> --
>
>
> No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
> ------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
> E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
> University of South Florida
> College of Marine Science Room 221A
> 140 Seventh Avenue South
> St. Petersburg, FL 33701
> <eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
> Tel 727 553-1158----------------------------------
> -----------------------------------
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