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

Sat Jan 13 19:25:50 EST 2018

“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.”

Response: 
I agree with what you say about Coral Restoration and it not being a solution and a possible vector for complacency (people feeling that they don’t need to change their lives drastically to better the planet).  However people need to see that it is possible for direct human intervention to assist in recovery.  

I would like to add however that you are more than correct with regards to the science community adopting different communication methods.  It’s a shame that most people who want to study coral reef science need a minimum of 3.5 GPA or better to even have a shot at being accepted to a school.  It’s not all about how much you know, or how well you take tests.  Much of what today’s generation relates to is social media platforms.  If coral science wants to make an impact they need to step their game up on platforms that people actually care about, not whine about reef degradation to their fellow peers on a server that speaks only to one group of people.  I see little to no effort from the science community to venture out into different fields.  How is it that only last year “Chasing Coral” was the first major media publication to highlight the destruction of coral reefs.  And even so, sadly that hype came and went within a week.  Great movie, great message, short fuse.

The coral science community is an aging group, with predominantly elder scientists running the show.  This group will die alongside the coral reefs if new tools for restoration are not adopted.  It is a shame how universities select for students based on their GPA and how well they apply for scholarships, and fail to look at what that applicant has physically done with their time to better the planet.  And that doesn’t mean what research they helped conduct, but what impact they truly made on the world... on their own, without piggybacking on professors work. What type of new skills these kids can bring to the table with their own imagination. Because frankly, everything that has been done up to date is not working, and it’s just bothering the heck out of all of us, causing us to battle and bicker against ourselves rather than the real problem.

Personally, I have resentments towards universities because I have been turned down for higher education countless times for my GPA of 2.8. I know my part in this, I messed around in college like a lot of my peers.  But guess what, my peers didn’t need 3.5 GPAs to go on to higher education.  They also didn’t need higher education to even get a worthwhile job, or receive grant money which is the marine science communities Holy Grail.  What universities really don’t understand however, is the ability for some of us to think outside the box.  A company I created to educate my peers in a way they can respect and relate to has raised funds, awareness, and respect for Coral reefs and Active restoration. Currently “Reefined Arts” has raised thousands of dollars for NGOs, Planted thousands of Corals, employed locals, and tapped into an entirely new market, and generated a self sufficient ever growing social media presence.  

Do universities or any of you care about this? Probably not, and that’s the real issue.  Few of you see the power of those who think outside the box.  And ever more of you fail to see that science alone will not save our planet.  Adapting to new markets, and new trends is what will make the most impact.  Enough said. 

Warm Regards,
Damien Beri

Founder: Reefined Arts
B.S. Biology
The college of Charleston 
Coral/Aquarium Specialist

> On Jan 10, 2018, at 9:26 AM, Cummings, Katy <Katy.Cummings at MyFWC.com> wrote:
> 
> 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
> 
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> 
> 
> ________________________________
> 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 Niños 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
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> earth’s climate. That is simply not a tenable position."
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> June 18 2014
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