Disaster or Renewal? Tropical Reefs and the Responsibility of the Saltwater Marine Aquarist?

In case you missed it, there was an interesting thread in the forums (under the “Responsible Aquarist” category) this July about reef degradation entitled “Bad News Please Read This”.

“Almost half of the coral reef ecosystems in the United States territory are in poor or fair condition, mostly due to rising ocean temperatures,” wrote the poster citing a 7 July 208 NOAA report. “It does not paint a pretty picture of our world reefs, but it is important reading for all of us.”

But most responders seemed not to agree. To wit:

“If someone is getting paid millions of dollars to write a 569 page report that took 18 months to write, well they better have some bad news for us. The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!"

“As for the elevation of temperatures, it is my humble opinion that many species will adapt to the changing water conditions, others will evolve. Certainly species will be lost. Not that that isn't a concern, it is. The reefs have been around for a very long time though. I am sure that the water conditions are not the same as they once were.”

“This use [sic] to concern me, but not much anymore… If they were that worried about it, they could build as many ‘reefs’ as they wanted, anywhere in the world. If the temps are to [sic] high in one area, move to a cooler location. It's really not as hard as it once seemed. And if we can build the kind of reefs we have in our living rooms, just think of what can be done in the ocean.”

“As others said, nature will balance itself out. Some creatures will adapt, some will go extinct, some will become totally new species. Maybe that will include some culling of the human herd in the process. Some call it disaster. I call it renewal.”

“IMO the global warming, psyco hard environmentalist [sic] just want you to feel bad for being human. Everything is our fault and there is always a new disaster that is just around the corner that is some man made. Anything to scare society so they can grip just a bit tighter and take more control(money) out of the hands of regular citizens.”

Let’s go back a moment to the forum category title—the Responsible Aquarist, and then let’s ask this question to which I think the original poster was alluding:

Should (as in the moral “ought”) the responsible aquarist familiarize oneself with scientific data discussing the health of the ecosystems from which the majority of our animals are collected?

Now before you jump on my back, allow me to clarify—I know that coral for the hobby is not collected in the Caribbean, and I realize the report the original poster cited was about the Caribbean. Nonetheless, the discussion quickly took on a global slant, and that is to what I am referringhere: the health of reef ecosystems worldwide.

So what responsibilities (if any) do we, as (aspiring) responsible aquarists, have to educate ourselves about tropical reef health? Should we be familiar with the reports such as the NOAA report that the original poster asked us to read, or are we too distrustful of “chicken little” environmentalists to give any credence to reports that speak of global climate change, sea surface temperature rise, endangered species, and the like?

I suspect the answer is, as usual, somewhere in the middle. In the name of raising awareness, there are numerous reports (it is the International Year of the Reef after all) discussing the plight of the world’s reefs. Do some of these reports devolve to alarmism? Most certainly yes. But, on the other hand, there are so many reports out there—so much data collected by researchers from different countries, with different politics and as parts of different scientific studies, and nearly all say essentially the same thing:

“The world’s tropical reefs are in trouble and anthropogenic stressors are, at least in part, to blame.”

As responsible marine aquarist, it seems to me we should have a baseline familiarity with the ecosystems we attempt to replicate in our homes.

I’ve already rambled longer that I intended to, but allow me to finish with this suggestion. The original poster may have a political agenda. He (at least I think the poster is a he) may be a tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing crunchy environmentalist. But notice that what he did was to post data (or at least to direct us to a report based on data). Is the NOAA report infallible? Of course not, but why not respond to the data laid out in the NOAA report with data? Not one of the responders attempting to discredit the NOAA report put forth any data to support his or her response. There are plenty of places on the Internet (even in the SWF.com’s forums…lol) to spout off about one’s politics based on anecdotal evidence, and I encourage you to do so, but when a person starts a thread in the Responsible Aquarist forum based on data, why not respond with data?

It is my opinion that such a dialog would help us all, regardless of politics and personal opinions, become better and more responsible aquarists.

Comments

[Ret]

From today's New York Times: "Scientists have understood ocean acidification for a long time. But what they are learning now is how quickly it is increasing, in step with increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide." LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/opinion/12fri4.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

[Ret]

This is an interesting comment, Ross, and it is one I have considered as well. In fact, from 1999 to 2005, I was involved with research on global climate change and tropical glaciers for just this reason. Glaciers can reveal exactly the type of history to which you refer. So what did I learn from that experience? While there is no doubt that the Earth has gone through radical changes in the past (this is very evident when looking at glacier core samples), it is also pretty clear that the acceleration of climate change we are currently experiencing is noteworthy. I think this is what I am most aware of now in relation to global climate change and the world's reefs--that is to say it is the acceleration of change that concerns me.

[Ross]

Its interesting that in the discussions of stress and distruction of coral reefs little if any of the history of coral reefs are made a focal point. The fact is that coral reefs have been in existance for millions of years, maybe even the oldest complex life forms on this planet. Coral reefs have existed through the ice age and climate changes that we could not imagine. We have only made a scientific study of coral reefs over the last hundred years, yet so many reef specialists seem to think that they know all there is to know about it. Its interesting to know that the entire southern half of the state of Florida was a coral reef at one time in earths history. We know this because fossile coral reefs are regularly mined in central Florida. It is true to say that reefs are adversely affected by human activity, run off of agricaulture and other polutants.
Where global warming maybe a consideration, there is far to little historical data to make any real assertion of cause and effect at this point. In my oppinion science should be left to discovery and not for political or personal gain.