[Coral-List] eDNA can be used to measure coral cover
Phillip Dustan
phil.dustan at gmail.com
Wed Jun 9 12:01:04 UTC 2021
Humans are the pathogens of the coral reef crisis pandemic.
On Wed, Jun 9, 2021 at 7:55 AM Bill Allison <allison.billiam at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hi, Mike,
> By way of illustrating your second point, consider these "eco-friendly"
> resort developments catering to the rich in Maldives (see link).
> The islands were created by suction dredging (verify it on Google Earth),
> which has a large carbon footprint and additional high environmental cost
> by way of sediment loading.
> The islands were and are being most likely vegetated by taking trees from
> other islands. Soil too is probably being taken from other islands and soil
> takes a very long time to accumulate on atoll islands. Then there is the
> fossil fuel burned to fly guests in, transport them to the islands, power
> air-conditioning and reverse osmosis plants, not to mention supply them
> with food and drink. Waste disposal is also an issue.
> The good news, and the apparent basis for calling them eco-friendly, is
> that they have a coral gardening project and the kids play room is solar
> powered.
>
> https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2021/06/05/want-spare-no-expense-luxury-and-an-eco-conscience-a-gorgeous-new-maldives-resort-promises-both.html
>
> Cheers,
> Bill
>
> On Wed, Jun 9, 2021 at 7:38 AM Risk, Michael via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
>> Phil:
>>
>> This is funny-not funny. You are right on the money-a lot of reef
>> research these days is resume-padding which will in no way help the
>> reefs.
>>
>> I think maybe 20 years ago, on this site, I said that the world's reefs
>> would have a rosier future of all the "reef scientists" quit and taught
>> elementary school.
>>
>> I disagree strongly with your overpopulation angle, and draw your
>> attention to "A September 2020 [1]report by Oxfam found that from 1990
>> to 2015 -- a critical 25-year period during which humans doubled the
>> amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere -- the wealthiest 1 percent
>> of the world's population accounted for more than twice as much carbon
>> pollution as the 3.1 billion people who made up the poorest half of
>> humanity."
>>
>> It's not the little brown people who are the problem, it's the big rich
>> white ones.
>>
>> Mike
>> __________________________________________________________________
>>
>> From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> on behalf of
>> Phillip Dustan via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 8:29 AM
>> To: Douglas Fenner <douglasfennertassi at gmail.com>
>> Cc: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] eDNA can be used to measure coral cover
>>
>> Once again, Western Science has figured out another way to apply
>> advanced
>> technological tools to measure the loss of coral reefs. I will bet
>> anyone a
>> case of beer that most people who rely on reefs in their daily lives
>> could
>> not tell you what 50% of the nouns in this paper are, let alone why
>> they
>> might be relevant. Leslie Watkins, the longtime gardener at Discovery
>> Bay
>> Marine Lab once told me," Phil, you don't even have to visit the reef
>> to
>> see it is dying. From here (the DBML breezway) you can see it is dark
>> brown, no longer golden and alive."
>> Every new paper about reefs now begins with "..... the most threatened
>> ecosystems in the sea or on the planet....." and then goes about saying
>> how
>> this offering will make a difference. When are we going to realise that
>> our
>> behavior is enabling the continued destruction of reefs? None of the
>> normal
>> reasons add up anymore. Rees do not need us to invent new techniques to
>> monitor their demise. Reefs don't NEED funds to keep our laboratories
>> chock
>> full of new state-of-the-art PCR machines, 50mb cameras, or
>> supercomputers. I think the coral reef science community is stuck
>> chasing
>> its tail in an ever decreasing circle.
>> My last post asked if we were ready to really do something meaningful.
>> That
>> begins at home, the lab, the institution, and society.
>> Alina is spot on correct. Overpopulation is the driver of our demise.
>> Maybe
>> we should begin to recognize it, popularize it, work towards solutions,
>> and
>> stop trying to hide behind technology............
>> There are over 10,000 people who monitor the Coral_List. Steve Gitting
>> suggests the list is "only for discussion" and we all know it is
>> overseen
>> by an agency embedded in the US Commerce Department. So why can't it be
>> a
>> priority for us all to work towards a day when natural infrastructure
>> is
>> valued over economic growth. Nations can always print more money but,
>> as we
>> discuss on this platform, we really can't make more reefs, or other
>> ecosystems, or even a planet without the appropriate natural
>> infrastructure. Watching it die with an ever finer resolving
>> "microscope"
>> might be intellectually satisfying but sadly ineffective...............
>> So please, do at least one thing every day to help the oceans heal and
>> remember that THE OCEAN BEGINS AT YOUR FRONT DOOR. Take your knowledge
>> outside of your laboratory and the pages of scientific publications.
>> Get
>> political because science in a vacuum is useless.
>> Happy Ocean Week,
>> Phil
>> On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 7:38 AM Douglas Fenner via Coral-List <
>> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>> > Rapid assessment of coral cover from environmental DNA in Hawaii
>> >
>> > [2]https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/edn3.8
>> >
>> > open-access
>> >
>> > To quote from the abstract: "Given its broad applicability and ease
>> of
>> > use..." Yes, everyone on every tiny island nation with coral reefs
>> can do
>> > PCR on their coffee break, it is as easy as using a pencil and paper
>> to
>> > write. No equipment or prior knowledge needed. Obviously the
>> authors have
>> > no idea what the real world is like in other island nations outside
>> their
>> > lab in the giant and well funded first-world University of Hawaii.
>> >
>> > I note that they had to develop primers specific to the corals in
>> > Hawaii. So looks like for other places that would have to be done
>> over,
>> > for much higher diversity, Hawaii has a relatively low coral
>> diversity.
>> >
>> > Please excuse the sarcasm, but really. Cheers, Doug
>> >
>> > --
>> > Douglas Fenner
>> > Lynker Technologies, LLC, Contractor
>> > NOAA Fisheries Service
>> > Pacific Islands Regional Office
>> > Honolulu
>> > and:
>> > Coral Reef Consulting
>> > PO Box 997390
>> > Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799-6298 USA
>> >
>> > Slashing emissions by 2050 isn't enough. We can bring down
>> temperature
>> > now.
>> >
>> >
>> [3]
>> https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/climate-deadlines-super-pollu
>> tants-hfcs-methane/2021/04/15/acb8c612-9d7d-11eb-b7a8-014b14aeb9e4_stor
>> y.html
>> >
>> > Humans have destroyed 97% of earth's ecosystems
>> > (well, more like only 3% are fully intact)
>> > [4]https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB1fH7DT?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
>> >
>> > Study: One-third of plant and animal species could be gone in 50
>> years.
>> > (but 2-4 times worse in tropics)
>> > [5]https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/uoa-soo021220.php
>> > [6]https://www.pnas.org/content/117/8/4211
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Coral-List mailing list
>> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > [7]https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> >
>> --
>> Phillip Dustan PhD
>> Charleston SC 29424
>> 843-953-8086 office
>> 843-224-3321 (mobile)
>> "When we try to pick out anything by itself
>> we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords
>> that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. "
>> * John Muir 1869*
>> *A Swim Through TIme on Carysfort Reef*
>> [8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
>> *Raja Ampat Sustainability Project video*
>> [9]
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6
>> LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
>> *Bali Coral Bleaching 2016 video*
>> *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
>> <[10]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo>*
>> TEDx Charleston on saving coral reefs
>> [11]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
>> Google Scholar Citations:
>> [12]https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> [13]https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>> References
>>
>> 1.
>> https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/carbon-emissions-richest-1-percent-more-double-emissions-poorest-half-humanity&referrer=vox.com&sref=https://www.vox.com/22456663/arizona-environment-immigration-climate-change-right-wing&xcust=___vx__p_22220704__m_climate.ad.20210608__s_email_
>> 2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/edn3.8
>> 3.
>> https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/climate-deadlines-super-pollutants-hfcs-methane/2021/04/15/acb8c612-9d7d-11eb-b7a8-014b14aeb9e4_story.html
>> 4. https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB1fH7DT?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
>> 5. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/uoa-soo021220.php
>> 6. https://www.pnas.org/content/117/8/4211
>> 7. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
>> 9.
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
>> 10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
>> 11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
>> 12. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ
>> 13. 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
>>
>
--
Phillip Dustan PhD
Charleston SC 29424
843-953-8086 office
843-224-3321 (mobile)
"When we try to pick out anything by itself
we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords
that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. "
* John Muir 1869*
*A Swim Through TIme on Carysfort Reef*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
*Raja Ampat Sustainability Project video*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
*Bali Coral Bleaching 2016 video*
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo>*
TEDx Charleston on saving coral reefs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
Google Scholar Citations:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ
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