[Coral-List] Could foreign coral save dying reefs?

[Damien Beri]

Steve,

How do we stop the deterioration in time? Just by sitting here and typing
on this computer, we acknowledge that the lifestyle we have chosen to live
with contradicts global reef wellbeing. E.g. manufacturing ever faster,
cheaper, computers. Building new internet infrastructure, servers, cables,
plastic, metals, etc you get my point. I love corals with all my heart and
want them to live pristine for 1000000000 more years, but deep down we need
to get a new iPhone in 2 years our is too slow and can't take a 50mp
picture. Also, AI will save coral reefs too ;)......

I think it may be good to start the research on trans-oceanic introductions
primarily for coralivore issues and disease.

On Tue, Jan 16, 2024 at 6:04 AM Steve Mussman via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

>
> Hi Doug,
>
> Can foreign corals save a dying reef?
>
> I would suggest that the simple answer to that question is an emphatic
> “NO”.
>
> One of the scientists in the Nature article is quoted as lamenting “How
> far do you go? When do we just give up?” she says. “I don’t know.”
>
> All this angst leads me to pose a responsive question.
>
> When will the coral sciences stop focusing on trying to find or develop
> corals that can survive in increasingly adverse conditions and finally
> realize that the only real solution is to address causation?
>
> Stop wringing your hands and focus on what we all know are the central
> issues at play; water quality, over-fishing and climate change.
>
> Such an approach might not create as many exciting opportunities to
> experiment with the manipulation the natural world, but it is becoming
> increasingly obvious that it is the last best chance we have to save it.
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve Mussman
>
> Sent from EarthLink Mobile mail
>
> On 1/15/24, 8:16 PM, Douglas Fenner via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> "Scientists are considering a desperate attempt to use non-native coral to
>
> restore long-struggling reefs in the Caribbean that were devastated by last
>
> year’s heatwave. It’s a controversial proposal
>
> that
>
> comes after efforts to rescue reefs with native corals have failed. Certain
>
> Indo-Pacific coral species easily colonize reefs, and might be able to
>
> survive pollution, heat extremes and diseases. But they could also disturb
>
> the local ecology in unpredictable ways. “It’s an 11th-hour solution,” says
>
> coral geneticist Mikhail Matz, who presented the idea at a conference. “And
>
> it is now 11:45.”" Nature Briefing
>
> Radical idea sparks debate
>
> https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00102-y
>
> open-access
>
> Cheers, Doug
>
> 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
>
> Costanza, R. 2023. To build a better world, stop chasing economic growth.
>
> Nature 624: 519-521. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-04029-8
>
> Fossil fuel air pollution kills 5 million people world-wide per year
>
>
> https://www.yahoo.com/news/research-shows-disturbing-between-millions-200000257.html
>
> World's richest 1% emit as much as 5 billion people
>
> https://makerichpolluterspay.org/climate-equality-report/
>
> Huge expansion of fossil fuels planned, will be very destructive
>
>
> https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/08/insanity-petrostates-planning-huge-expansion-of-fossil-fuels-says-un-report
>
> "without policy changes, the world will heat up enough by the end of the
>
> century that more than 2 billion people will live in life-threatening hot
>
> climates" Will you be in that area???
>
>
> https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-sounding-alarm-dangerous-problem-123000792.html
>
> World subsidies for fossil fuels reached an all-time high of over $1
>
> TRILLION in 2022, the last year for which data is available. The subsidies
>
> MUST end.
>
>
> https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/fossil-fuel-subsidies-must-end/
>
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>
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>
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