[Coral-List] Dendrogyra

[Dennis Hubbard]

Peter:

Well said... and many thanks. But, to play my role as the designated
pessimist, it's going to be hard to get folks worried about the loss of
more species when they still see ads with divers raving about the "beauty"
of the Keys, all against the backdrop of a bottom largely devoid of live
coral.... "Wow, look at all those fish". All that is needed by the folks
attracted by such commercials is warm water and colorful fish, both of
which will remain in the "protected" and warming waters of the Keys. My
worry is that these folks will think, "so, what's the problem here?" Yes,
they may even lament the losses, but they will still keep coming back - and
that will satisfy the local economy and reduce the incentives to a) clean
up the mess, and b) realize that the sport-diving community is damaging the
resource they are paying so dearly to visit.

Denny

On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 9:34 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<http://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
>
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-- 
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*"