[Coral-List] Dendrogyra

Wed Jun 2 18:40:26 UTC 2021

I didn't say anything about giving up.  I'm suggesting that some places may
have to face a near-term reality that none of us would wish on anyone.
Failure of ecosystem services.  It doesn't help them in the short term if
we overlook that possibility.  While long-term solutions are obviously
needed soon, I'm suggesting we also need to prepare for significant changes
on much shorter time frames.

On Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 1:06 PM Steve Mussman via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

>
> . . . “I think it would help to consider a world where failure actually IS
> an option”.
>
> I’m still trying to wrap my head around this concept.
>
> How can we possibly continue to envision or even maintain any hope for
> implementing the changes needed to save coral reefs from the continued
> downward spiral if coral scientists have given up and moved on to “instead
> recognize that with impending disaster comes opportunity, whether financial
> or otherwise”.
>
> So, what does this say about the prospects of “saving” what remains of the
> world’s coral reefs?
>
> Oh, right, that’s where recognizing opportunity comes into play.
>
> Steve
>
> On 5/31/21, 12:46 PM, Steve Gittings - NOAA Federal via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> Bill,
>
> We each have opinions and concerns about political will and the likelihood
>
> of seeing changes on the scale needed to save reefs from continued loss.
>
> But while people valiantly try to turn things around using existing
>
> socio-political approaches, I think it would help to consider a world where
>
> failure actually IS an option.
>
> Let's objectively imagine a collective future when people and economies
>
> that now depend on reefs have none. The science community knows the
>
> resource and ecosystem service consequences, and I think we would agree
>
> that it is our role to make sure those are clearly communicated - as you
>
> say, "speak with one voice." But to make progress with those whose work
>
> has changed the world during past crises, including corporations,
>
> philanthropists, and yes, politicians, we need to resist ascribing blame
>
> (that's not directed at your message, which did not do that). Few are
>
> motivated by being blamed. Problem-solvers - even those that may have some
>
> culpability - instead recognize that with impending disaster comes
>
> opportunity, whether financial or otherwise. I believe our priority as
>
> scientists should be to empower them with awareness, constructive
>
> information, and advice.
>
> As reefs disappear, new food production, distribution, and financing
>
> systems will be needed to support the importation of protein, construction
>
> of coastal and offshore aquaculture facilities and artificial reefs, and
>
> perhaps expansion and diversification of terrestrial agriculture. New
>
> infrastructure will be needed to deal with nuisance flooding,
>
> increased coastal erosion, transportation safety, utilities, energy
>
> production, and disaster response. And training will have to be supported
>
> and promoted to prepare people with new skills that synchronize with the
>
> transition. We need corporate and government leaders and philanthropists
>
> to recognize that these needs are not only opportunities that could bolster
>
> tourism-based economies, but alternatively, could support the transition
>
> away from them. Effective diversification planning could accomplish both.
>
> Few coral reef scientists work directly in these areas, but we know how we
>
> got here and how ecosystems might respond to many of the changes. So,
>
> while none of us prefer a future without coral reefs, and while we continue
>
> to fight for other solutions, we have a responsibility to consider our role
>
> if we fail to protect or restore coral reefs.
>
> Steve
>
> On Mon, May 31, 2021 at 9:17 AM William Precht via Coral-List <
>
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> > To be blunt - my point was while we are bickering about whether
>
> > *Dendrogyra* was
>
> > or not it was an important reef builder and the importance of losing
>
> > individual species even if they were always rare - we are missing the
>
> > bigger picture. In the last four decades we have watched reef after reef
>
> > go up in flames. Some due to local causes but most to to
>
> > overarching regional and global issues associated with global climate
>
> > change. *Dendrogyra cylindrus* is nothing more than a bellwether species
>
> > that is giving us a glimpse of the future. .Dendrogyra is a
>
> > beautiful iconic species and seeing a giant colony on a dive is awe
>
> > inspiring. I remember making a dive in the Florida Keys to a site known
> as
>
> > the "Pillar Forest." There were over 200 columns at this one site! They
>
> > are now ALL gone - dead from a variety of causes - but the main and final
>
> > blow was from SCTLD.
>
> >
>
> > People have been talking about reefs as being like "canaries in a coal
>
> > mine" - well that canary has a very bad case of COPD and it's getting
> worse
>
> > day by day. This week the average CO2 concentration at the Mauna Loa
>
> > Observatory was 419.02 ppm. In 2009 Veron et al. wrote a manuscript of
> the
>
> > need to maintain CO2 concentrations below 350 ppm for the future survival
>
> > of coral reef ecosystems. That number came from a quote by Dr.
>
> > James Hansen during testimony to the US Congress where he stated “If
>
> > humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which
> civilization
>
> > developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence
> and
>
> > ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced … to at
>
> > most 350 ppm.” The math is pretty simple - we are going in the wrong
>
> > direction. We all know what we must do - the question is do we have the
>
> > political will to make the changes necessary. My note was a call to the
>
> > 10,000 people that are as passionate as coral reefs as I am that exchange
>
> > ideas on this Coral-List serve. It's time to speak with one voice. We
> need
>
> > to be heard. We can make a difference. The alternative - failing (which
> we
>
> > are doing quite admirably) - is not an option.
>
> >
>
> > WFP
>
> >
>
> > Veron, J.E., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Lenton, T.M., Lough, J.M., Obura, D.O.,
>
> > Pearce-Kelly, P.A.U.L., Sheppard, C.R., Spalding, M., Stafford-Smith,
> M.G.
>
> > and Rogers, A.D., 2009. The coral reef crisis: The critical importance
> of<
>
> > 350 ppm CO2. *Marine pollution bulletin*, *58*(10), pp.1428-1436.
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > On Sat, May 29, 2021 at 9:38 AM Dennis Hubbard > >
>
> > wrote:
>
> >
>
> > > Bill makes excellent points, but we always return to the same issue....
>
> > is
>
> > > the loss of "species X "the problem to be addressed or just the
> symptom.
>
> > > Yes, this is a unique species, and saving it is a worthwhile endeavor
> for
>
> > > this and many other reasons. Having agreed, I remain concerned that
>
> > success
>
> > > on this front will lead some to be satisfied.
>
> > >
>
> > > Denny
>
> > >
>
> > > On Fri, May 28, 2021 at 12:36 PM William Precht via Coral-List <
>
> > > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> > >
>
> > >> The manuscript that started this thread on the coral- list was an
>
> > >> excellent, open-access manuscript by Neely et al. Rapid Population
>
> > >> Decline of the Pillar Coral Dendrogyra cylindrus Along the Florida
> Reef
>
> > >> Tract
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Front. Mar. Sci. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.656515
>
> > >>
>
> > >> It should be read by all There are two main punch lines. The first is
>
> > >> that this species has been rendered functionally extinct (extirpated)
>
> > >> throughout Florida. The second is that the main cause was stony coral
>
> > >> tissue loss disease (SCTLD). This species is highly susceptible to
> this
>
> > >> emergent disease as are the three other genera in its family - the
>
> > >> Meandrinidae. All species in this family and are highly susceptible to
>
> > >> SCTLD. On many reefs where the disease has run it course you can’t
>
> > find a
>
> > >> single member of this family. No Meandrina, no Dendrogyra, no
>
> > >> Dichocoenia,
>
> > >> no Eusmilia. So the story goes much further than just pillar coral. We
>
> > >> may be looking at the loss of an entire coral family in a short
> window -
>
> > >> and this coral family is only extant in the Caribbean.
>
> > >>
>
> > >> If this doesn’t serve as a wake-up call I don’t know what will.
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Clearly losing more than 50% of the corals on the GBR due to mass
>
> > >> bleaching
>
> > >> events in 2015-2016 did not cause a sea change in policy - not in
>
> > >> Australia
>
> > >> - not globally. For most it’s been business as usual.
>
> > >>
>
> > >> I’m getting sick and tired of writing and reading coral obituaries. In
>
> > my
>
> > >> 40+ years of studying coral reefs I have watched my three favorite
> reefs
>
> > >> burn before my very eyes and the reefs that lie at the door step of
>
> > where
>
> > >> I
>
> > >> live are suffering the same fate.
>
> > >>
>
> > >> The coral-list has a voice of 10,000 people that love coral reefs -
>
> > let’s
>
> > >> use that voice to make a difference. Time really is running out.
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Bill
>
> > >>
>
> > >>
>
> > >>
>
> > >> On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 9:38 PM Peter Sale via Coral-List <
>
> > >> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> > >>
>
> > >> > Hi listers,
>
> > >> > I've been following the comments re the essential extirpation of
>
> > >> > Dendrogyra in Florida waters. The fact that this is not a major reef
>
> > >> > builder (Gene is correct) is beside the point from my perspective.
>
> > >> Here is
>
> > >> > a monotypic species that looks like it may be on the way out
>
> > throughout
>
> > >> its
>
> > >> > range, and certainly in a large portion of it. (I'm being
> pessimistic
>
> > >> but
>
> > >> > perhaps realistic in predicting total extinction.) The biodiversity
>
> > >> loss
>
> > >> > is great. This is a coral (and I am definitely NOT a coral expert)
>
> > >> that is
>
> > >> > phenotypically quite distinctive. It has one of, if not the most
>
> > >> > well-connected nerve nets leading to a conspicuous flash when all
> the
>
> > >> > polyps retract in unison following a disturbance. God only knows
> what
>
> > >> > other special skills it has tucked amongst its tentacles. From an
>
> > >> > evolutionary point of view, its loss is a greater loss than the loss
>
> > of
>
> > >> > many other coral species. My fear is that we are going to have to
>
> > >> become
>
> > >> > used to such losses. Let's a) strive not to let the losses becom
>
> > >> > e un-noticed and routine, and b) use such losses to highlight, and
>
> > make
>
> > >> > 'personal', what it means for a reef to gradually lose its species
> and
>
> > >> > cease to be a reef. Getting people to relate to what is happening,
> to
>
> > >> > actually feel what is happening, may be the only way to rescue
>
> > humanity
>
> > >> > from turning the planet into a wasteland, starting with the reefs.
>
> > >> >
>
> > >> > Peter Sale
>
> > >> > www.petersalebooks.com
>
> > >> > @PeterSale3
>
> > >> >
>
> > >> > See my latest book at
>
> > >> >
>
> > >>
>
> >
> https://www.amazon.com/Coral-Reefs-Majestic-Realms-under/dp/0300253834/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=coral+reefs+peter+sale&qid=1622149307&sr=8-1
>
> > >> >
>
> > >> > _______________________________________________
>
> > >> > Coral-List mailing list
>
> > >> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>
> > >> > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
> > >> >
>
> > >> --
>
> > >> William F. Precht
>
> > >>
>
> > >> “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only
>
> > choice
>
> > >> you have”
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Bob Marley
>
> > >>
>
> > >>
>
> > >> "Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you
>
> > >> don't
>
> > >> have the strength."
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Theodore Roosevelt
>
> > >> _______________________________________________
>
> > >> Coral-List mailing list
>
> > >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>
> > >> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
> > >
>
> > >
>
> > >
>
> > > --
>
> > > Dennis Hubbard - Emeritus Professor: Dept of Geology-Oberlin College
>
> > > Oberlin OH 44074
>
> > > (440) 935-4014
>
> > >
>
> > > * "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong stop"*
>
> > > Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > --
>
> > William F. Precht
>
> >
>
> > “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice
>
> > you have”
>
> >
>
> > Bob Marley
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > "Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you
> don't
>
> > have the strength."
>
> >
>
> > Theodore Roosevelt
>
> > _______________________________________________
>
> > Coral-List mailing list
>
> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>
> > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
> --
>
> Dr. Steve Gittings, Science Coordinator
>
> NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
>
> 1305 East West Hwy., N/ORM62
>
> Silver Spring, MD 20910
>
> (240) 533-0708 (w), (301) 529-1854 (c1), (301) 821-0857 (c2)
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-- 
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