[Coral-List] pumice raft will not save the Great Barrier Reef

Tue Sep 3 19:33:29 UTC 2019

> “If significant progress is going to be made in addressing the decline of
> the GBR then we need to approach the problem in a holistic way, and not on
> a threat-by-threat basis”.

 Ideally that would be the best way to approach the problem,  but considering the magnitude of the crisis at hand, perhaps a threat by threat approach would be more prudent. As with triage, in the case of life-threatening injuries threats are to be addressed by priority. Many have surmised that the very breadth and magnitude of the problems affecting the GBR (and other reefs world-wide) contributes to inaction. How can we expect societies to address problem A, B and C when problem A in and of itself seems almost insurmountable? While we are on the subject, under these circumstances there is little benefit (beyond making us temporarily feel good) to shift focus to less threatening problems D, E and F just because they are easier fixes. 

I believe that we should focus on climate change not only because it is the #1 stressor/threat, but because IF we can win people over to accepting that reality it will become easier to adjust mindsets to go on to address water quality, over-fishing and all the rest. Put another way, I’m afraid that expecting societies to take on a multitude of critical threats-all at one time-is simply asking too much.  

As to why consensus statements haven’t been more fully embraced, perhaps it is because mobilizing the scientific community is, as others have said, like herding cats!  I expected the 2012 ICRS consensus statement (http://www.icrs2012.com/Consensus_Statement.htm) to have major impacts and bring about fundamental change, but it too appears to have quickly faded from our collective memories.

Regards,
Steve Mussman

Sent from my iPad

> 
> 
> -------- Original message --------
> From: Tomas via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Date: 9/2/19 9:13 AM (GMT-05:00)
> To: Douglas Fenner <douglasfennertassi at gmail.com>
> Cc: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] pumice raft will not save the Great Barrier Reef
> 
> The media tries to sensationalize just about everything these days, so it
> is good to see that some media outlets are trying to keep it realistic.
> But, even the CBC.ca article is based on too few facts. It is frustrating
> to keep reading stuff like
> 
> "The two main problems facing the Great Barrier Reef — which are
> elevated temperatures and lower pH…….,",
> 
> when we know that the reasons for the decline in the health of the GBR
> over the decades are much more complex.
> 
> In their 2017 Scientific Consensus Statement Waterhouse et al (2017)
> stated the overarching consensus is that:
> 
> "Key Great Barrier Reef ecosystems continue to be in poor condition. This
> is largely due to the collective impact of land run-off associated with
> past and ongoing catchment development, coastal development activities,
> extreme weather events and climate change impacts such as the 2016 and
> 2017 coral bleaching events."
> 
> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319735304_2017_Scientific_Consensus_Statement_A_synthesis_of_the_science_of_land-based_water_quality_impacts_on_the_Great_Barrier_Reef_Chapter_5_Overview_of_key_findings_management_implications_and_knowledge_ga
> 
> This report (Chapter 5 of the 2017 Scientific Consensus Statement)
> reflects what has been known as far back as 1990 through Peter Bell’s
> work
> 
> (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004313549290228V)
> 
> on the eutrophication of the GBR as a result of land-based development. A
> 2016 article in “The Conversation” stated the following:
> 
> “Poor water quality – along with climate change, fishing, coastal
> development – is one of the major threats to the reef. Due to the
> cumulative impacts of these threats, the condition of the Great Barrier
> Reef has deteriorated over past decades.”
> 
> http://theconversation.com/great-barrier-reef-pollution-controls-are-not-enough-heres-what-we-can-do-52861
> 
> If significant progress is going to be made in addressing the decline of
> the GBR then we need to approach the problem in a holistic way, and not on
> a threat-by-threat basis. Yes we must keep addressing the climate change,
> but if we forget the more proximate causes for the GBR decline our climate
> change solutions will probably not matter much. I would like to point out
> that the Scientific Consensus Statement report was published in 2017, and
> yet 2 years later I have not found a single reference to this report in
> coral reef papers published in scientific journals on this topic. WHY?
> 
> Tomas
> 
> 
>> No, this island of pumice will not help save the Great Barrier Reef
>> 
>> https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/great-barrier-reef-pumice-raft-1.5261123
>> 
>> (Among other things, the raft would have to be near a coral reef just at
>> the right time for spawning to occur for it to get many coral larvae to
>> attach to the pumice.  Which is very unlikely.  There is documentation
>> that
>> corals can attach to the larger pieces of pumice and be carried over long
>> distances.  If you look along the stranding line on beaches in Australia
>> you can find such pumice even when we don't know of any such rafts.  When
>> I
>> did it, all I could find were small pieces of pumice a few cm diameter or
>> less, and I never found a single one with a coral attached.  Granted I
>> didn't spend a lot of time looking, and I searched maybe 100 m at most, of
>> beaches which stretch for perhaps 3500 km.  Plus, in order to seed any
>> larvae on the reef, a piece of pumice would have to be large enough and
>> have floated long enough for the coral to have grown to reproductive size
>> without having sunk the pumice from its weight, and would have to be close
>> enough to a reef during spawning season to have larvae from the colony on
>> the pumice settle on the reef.  (or to happen to reach the exact size
>> needed to sink the pumice right when it was over the reef, instead of
>> somewhere else in the vast ocean).  Far more likely to be floating way out
>> at sea or hard up on the stranding line on the beach dead from
>> desiccation.  It was a nice idea, but the number of new corals brought to
>> the reef by pumice is likely to be infinitesimal compared to the size of
>> the reef.  Enough, however, to at some point in a long period of time,
>> possibly carry a coral to a new location outside its former range.  But
>> that's very different from reseeding a huge population on a vast reef
>> system.)
>> 
>> Jokiel, P.L.  1989.  Rafting of reef organisms and other organisms at
>> Kwajelein Atoll.  Marine Biology 101: 483-493.
>> 
>> Jokiel PL  (1990)  Long-distance dispersal by rafting: re-emergence of an
>> old hypothesis.  Endeavour 14: 66-73.
>> 
>> Jokiel, P.L. and Martinelli, F.J.  1992.  The vortex model of coral reef
>> biogeography.  Journal of Biogeography 449-458.
>> 
>> Cheers, Doug
>> --
>> Douglas Fenner
>> Ocean Associates, Inc. Contractor
>> NOAA Fisheries Service
>> Pacific Islands Regional Office
>> Honolulu
>> and:
>> Consultant
>> PO Box 7390
>> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA
>> 
>> A call to climate action  (Science editorial)
>> https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6443/807?utm_campaign=toc_sci-mag_2019-05-30&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=2840296
>> 
>> New book "The Uninhabitable Earth"  First sentence: "It is much, much
>> worse
>> than you think."
>> Read first (short) chapter open access:
>> https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/read-a-chapter-from-the-uninhabitable-earth-a-dire-warning-on-climate-change
>> 
>> Want a Green New Deal?  Here's a better one.
>> https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/want-a-green-new-deal-heres-a-better-one/2019/02/24/2d7e491c-36d2-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html?utm_term=.a3fc8337cbf8
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list