[Coral-List] Call to Action Re: New paper on coral bleaching in Science

Nohora Galvis icri.colombia at gmail.com
Thu Jan 11 16:40:51 EST 2018


Dear All,

Kathy,I agree totally with you, that is why you were one of our first
invited speakers at the  Symposium of Coral Reef Conservation
Effectiveness in Cartagena #ICCB2017. The best way to contribute to
the solutions is to have clear that scientists should support
publically  the drastic reduction of local and global threats. As I
illustrated during the symposium  allowing the destruction of
resilient coral reefs with promises that restoration based on breaking
and pasting coral colonies will not bring soon the 400 years old
healthy coral colonies as reported for the Case Study
#VaraderoColombia

I also agree with Sarah when she pointed out high penalties to
polluters (e.g. dredging), It is also relevant to demostrate with
economic valuations that it is more expensive (higher environmental
costs and oportunity costs) to destroy a coral reef than to protect
it. Scientists should make VERY difficult the development of
unsustainable projects on coral reef areas. I recommended according to
Galvis (1999) to estimate Real Restoration Costs to plan Real Recovery
including the time needed to reach ecosystem integrity. For instance
years that will allow slow growing colonies to reach original sizes 4
meters in diameter #CoralesBahiaCartagena  If estimates are adjusted
to this fact, developers will think about other (CHEAPER)
alternatives.

There is a current scenario that favors the calls for actions for the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals #SDGs #SDG14
#SDG13 #SDG17 #IYOR2018 #OceanAction14819

All the best,

2018-01-10 11:26 GMT-05:00, Cummings, Katy <Katy.Cummings at myfwc.com>:
> Hi Sarah,
>
>
> Thanks for the call to arms! I am a supporter of coral reef restoration, but
> don't see how putting coral restoration first is the solution here. The
> first step in restoring an ecosystem is to remove the stressors - which we
> haven't done for coral reefs. How can we 'restore' a reef in a degraded
> environment that is no longer conducive to them? You are right in saying we
> need to stop burning fossil fuels at the rate we do (and stop pollution,
> coastal development, restore herbivore populations, etc. etc. etc) - and
> those are the things we need to do first before moving on to restoration.
> There have been few studies looking at the long-term success of outplanting
> projects, but with all the tens of thousands (possibly hundreds of
> thousands?) of corals outplanted on to the Florida Reef Tract in the past
> couple decades I would expect to see the reef recovering... it is not. Most
> of the Acropora I've seen planted just become damselfish nests in a few
> years. And even if these outplanted corals spawn, they're not successfully
> recruiting to the reef.
>
>
> I am more hopeful about all the work being done to select for phenotypes
> that are more resistant to certain stressors. But if we still have a
> recruitment problem, I fear we're going to end up having to continually
> replant the reef until (if?) we solve the overarching problems.
>
>
> On that note, I've also spoken to quite a few people down in the Keys about
> the status of Florida's coral. Many of them thought the reefs were doing
> great because of all the restoration happening on them. That's a pretty
> dangerous outlook - it lets people think we have solved the problem and they
> don't need to change anything about their own lives or be more active in
> speaking up on behalf of the reef. I know there's a balance between making
> people feel hopeful about the future and not depressing them to the point
> where they feel like it's hopeless to act further, but restoration needs to
> be clearer to the public about what it can and can not do. I feel that all
> restoration is doing at this point is maybe buying the reef some time so
> that we can solve the actual problems. Is that correct? Or are we trying to
> selectively breed coral to create a reef that is resilient in the face of
> everything humans throw at them?
>
> Those are my concerns and questions about restoration, and I look forward to
> seeing responses!  As far as best strategies, I almost feel like it would be
> better to drastically improve our science communication to the public. I
> think there are still far too many people out there who either don't know
> the issue exists (or think the reefs are doing well), don't know what they
> can do, or know what they can do but think it's hopeless anyways so why
> bother acting. If we can get a lot of the public on our side, we have their
> power as consumers and voters to help us in begging the legislature to
> listen to our science.
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Katy
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml..noaa.gov> on behalf of Sarah Frias-Torres
> <sfrias_torres at hotmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 9, 2018 11:08 AM
> To: Mark Eakin - NOAA Federal; Coral Listserver
> Subject: [Coral-List] Call to Action Re: New paper on coral bleaching in
> Science
>
> As Pogo says, "We have met the enemy, and he is us"
>
>
> The recent Science paper (Hughes et al 2018;
> http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6371/80) shows a bleak global
> picture for coral reefs. We must stop burning fossil fuels if we want a
> future for coral reefs as we know them.
>
>
> At this crossroads, we can either give up or keep fighting.
>
>
> I choose to fight.
>
>
> This is a Call to Action to those who still want to fight, against all odds,
> so coral reefs will have a future.
>
>
> We have many strategies on the table. It's uncertain which strategy is going
> to work.
>
>
> From the angle of coral reef restoration, I call on the restoration
> community to work together, to share failures and successes and move towards
> large-scale restoration.
>
>
> To the critics of coral reef restoration, I ask you to work with us. Don't
> just say: "this won't work". Give us constructive criticism, share your
> concerns with us. Is it a failure of the scientific process (validity of
> hypothesis testing) or is it an engineering concern (bringing the process to
> scale)?. The solution is very different in each case.
>
>
> For everyone on this list, let's find ways to work together, from science to
> implementation, to communication, to everything in between.
>
>
> It's all hands on deck now.
>
>
> Sarah Frias-Torres, PhD
>
> Twitter: @GrouperDoc
> Science Blog: https://grouperluna.com/
> Art Blog: https://oceanbestiary.com/
> [https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg]<https://oceanbestiary.com/>
>
> Ocean Bestiary<https://oceanbestiary.com/>
> oceanbestiary.com
> She was a clone. Not unique, not original, unable to make a difference.
> Inside her… it was growing. The precious cargo released only once every
> year, at the same ...
>
>
>
> https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Frias-Torres
> [https://c5.rgstatic.net/m/437738464651637/images/template/default/profile/profile_default_xl.jpg]<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Frias-Torres>
>
> Sarah Frias-Torres | Smithsonian Institution, DC | on
> ...<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Frias-Torres>
> www.researchgate.net
> Sarah Frias-Torres of Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. with
> expertise in Evolutionary Biology, Biology is on ResearchGate. Read 25
> publications, 1 question ...
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml...noaa.gov> on behalf of Mark Eakin - NOAA
> Federal <mark.eakin at noaa.gov>
> Sent: Friday, January 5, 2018 12:07 PM
> To: Coral Listserver
> Subject: [Coral-List] New paper on coral bleaching in Science
>
> For the first time, an international team of researchers has measured the
> escalating rate of coral bleaching at locations throughout the tropics over
> the past four decades. The study documents a dramatic shortening of the gap
> between pairs of bleaching events, threatening the future existence of
> these iconic ecosystems and the livelihoods of many millions of people.
>
> "The time between bleaching events at each location has diminished
> five-fold in the past 3-4 decades, from once every 25-30 years in the early
> 1980s to an average of just once every six years since 2010," says lead
> author
> Prof Terry Hughes, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef
> Studies (Coral CoE).
>
> “Reefs have entered a distinctive human-dominated era – the Anthropocene,”
> said co-author, Dr C. Mark Eakin of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric
> Administration, USA. "The climate has warmed rapidly in the past 50 years,
> first making El NinÞos dangerous for corals, and now we're seeing the
> emergence of bleaching in every hot summer."
> For more, see the full paper at:
> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.sciencemag.org%2Fcontent%2F359%2F6371%2F80&data=02%7C01%7C%7C28c288a0e1314412a06d08d554606f2c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636507695516397420&sdata=%2FOiYD4VTlVb%2BnUWgRfXbfPnwRT6ZA80OXJ48dtqH0Aw%3D&reserved=0
>
> Cheers,
> Mark
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D.
> Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch
> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
> Center for Satellite Applications and Research
> Satellite Oceanography & Climate Division
> e-mail: mark.eakin at noaa.gov
> url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
> Twitter: @CoralReefWatch FB: Coral Reef Watch
>
> NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP)
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>
> “You would have to reject the “greenhouse effect” outright to conclude that
> human activities pumping millions of tons of CO2 and other greenhouse
> gases into the atmosphere every year are having little or no impact on the
> earth’s climate. That is simply not a tenable position."
> William K. Reilly, EPA Administrator under President George H.W. Bush,
> June 18 2014
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-- 
Cordial saludo,

Nohora Galvis

Directora Observatorio Pro Arrecifes
Fundación ICRI Colombia
Coordinadora Red Internacional de Observadores Voluntarios del Arrecife

Facebook.com/ICRI.COLOMBIA
Twitter @ArrecifesCoral e @ICRIcolombia


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