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

Douglas Fenner douglasfennertassi at gmail.com
Fri Jan 12 16:56:56 EST 2018


      When I was reading Sara's message, it suddenly struck me.  Some reefs
have recovered from almost complete coral mortality (much worse that the
northern Great Barrier Reef, more like 90% mortality instead of 33%), and
other reefs haven't.  People working on modelling phase shifts have been
saying for some time that reefs usually have a "hysteresis" effect, by
which it is more difficult to get recovery than to maintain a reef.  One
possible cause of that is that there are so few corals left alive to
produce larvae to repopulate the reef.  Sounds like Sara's project provided
the nudge needed for a reef to get over that barrier and start the process
of recovery, increasing recruitment to the point that it can start
repopulating the reef.  That alone would be worth doing the replanting
work.  The reef is in a healthy enough local situation, but apparently
doesn't have enough live corals for natural recruitment for the reef to
recover.  So give it a head start.  Could make all the difference for those
reefs.
     I'd also point out that the recent paper from the Palumbi lab
concluded that corals have enough genetic variation to evolve temperature
tolerance if future emissions and global warming follow either of the two
lower IPPC scenarios, but not if temperatures follow any of the higher
scenarios.  The lower two scenarios would require significant reductions in
emissions.     Cheers,  Doug

Bay et al. 2017.  Genomic models predict successful coral adaptation if
future ocean warming rates are reduced.  Science Advances 3: e1701413

On Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 10:40 AM, Nohora Galvis <icri.colombia at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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/d
> efault/profile/profile_default_xl.jpg]<https://www.researchg
> ate.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%7C84df9e7fe9f
> 640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%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)
> > 5830 University Research Ct., E/RA32
> > College Park, MD 20740
> > Office: (301) 683-3320     Fax: (301) 683-3301
> > Mobile: (301) 502-8608    SOCD Office: (301) 683-3300
> >
> > “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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>



-- 
Douglas Fenner
Contractor for NOAA NMFS Protected Species, and consultant
PO Box 7390
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA

New online open-access field guide to 300 coral species in Chagos, Indian
Ocean
http://chagosinformationportal.org/corals

Coral reefs are bleaching too frequently to recover
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/01/the-glob
al-scourge-on-coral-reefs/549713/?utm_source=atlfb


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