Reef Ramblings

On September 13^th the Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal petition with the US National Marine Fisheries Service seeking Endangered Species Act protection for the Percula clownfish, Amphiprion percula, and seven similarly coral-dependent damselfish threatened by climate change, ocean acidification and the marine aquarium trade.

© G.R. Allen.

The eight Pomacentrid species covered by the petition are:

• Amphiprion percula, Orange or Percula clownfish.
• Chromis atripectoralis, Black-axil Chromis.
• Chromis viridis, Blue-green damselfish.
• Dascyllus albisella, Hawaiian damselfish.
• Dascyllus reticulates, Reticulate damselfish or Two-stripe damselfish.
• Microspathodon chrysurus, Yellowtail damselfish or Jewel damselfish.
• Plectroglyphidodon dickii, Blackbar devil or Dick’s damselfish.
• Plectroglyphidodon johnstonianus, Blue-eye damselfish.

Arguably only four of these species are desirable aquarium fish:

• Amphiprion percula, Orange or Percula clownfish.
• Chromis atripectoralis, Black-axil Chromis.
• Chromis viridis, Blue-green damselfish.
• Dascyllus reticulates, Reticulate damselfish or Two-stripe damselfish.

The other four species can be aggressive and, in the case of the two Plectroglyphidodon species, difficult to feed in the aquarium, having a coral based diet. None of these four fish feature to any extent in the UK hobby.

How threatened are these fishes?

An examination of the IUCN Red List revealed that none of these species has yet been evaluated. A search of FishBase revealed that with the exception of two of the species these fish are rated as having a high resilience and low vulnerability, with a minimum population doubling time of less than 15 months.

The exceptions were:

Plectroglyphidodon johnstonianus, which was rated as having a high resilience with a minimum population doubling time of less than 15 months, but a vulnerability of low to moderate

 and

Microspathodon chrysurus, rated as having a medium resilience with a minimum population doubling time of 1.4 – 4.4 years and vulnerability of low to moderate.

FishBase lists 385 species of Anemonefishes and Damselfishes in the family Pomacentridae. It is difficult to see why these eight species in particular have been picked for this petition when much of the reasoning behind them being considered endangered applies to the entire family.

To see the petition in full, Clownfish-and-damselfish-petition-2012.

To learn more about the Centre for Biological Diversity, click here.

If the petition were to be granted it would prevent collection of these eight species from US waters and would also prevent them from being traded in the US regardless of their geographical origin.

Captive breeding.

Of the eight listed species only Amphiprion percula, the Orange or Percula clownfish, has been successfully bred and commercially raised in captivity. It may be argued that if we can breed a species in captivity that it may no longer be appropriate to collect it from the wild.

Previous petitions affecting the reef aquarium hobby.

It’s worth noting that the Center for Biological Diversity has a history of seeking Endangered Species status for organisms trade in the reef aquarium industry.

In 2009 the Center petitioned to protect 83 species of stony corals in the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Indo-Pacific. The National Marine Fisheries Service determined that 56 of these corals are likely to go extinct by the end of the century, primarily because of ocean warming, ocean acidification and disease. The Service will decide whether these corals merit protection under the Endangered Species Act in December 2012. See, ‘The Beginning of the End for Stony Corals in the Reef Aquarium Hobby‘

In April 2011 the Centre also petitioned to list the Dwarf Seahorse, Hippocampus zosterae, as a threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. See, ‘Center for Biological Diversity Seeks Endangered Species Act Protection for the Dwarf Seahorse’

See also: US May Ban 66 Stony Coral Species.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

To learn all the latest on how climate change is affecting coral reefs take a look at the ‘Marine Climate Change, Impacts & Adaptation Report Card, Australia 2012’

The 2012 Report Card shows how climate change is affecting Australia’s oceans and marine ecosystems. Changes since the 2009 Report Card include evidence of a southward movement of tropical fish and plankton species in southeast Australia, a decline in the abundance of temperate species, and the first signs of the effect of ocean acidification on marine molluscs.

This report has been compiled by more than 80 of Australia’s leading marine scientists from 34 universities and research organisations. It is a comprehensive document covering marine climate and marine biodiversity, broken down into 19 sections as below:

Marine Climate

• Temperature
• Ocean Acidification
• Sea Level
• El Nino-Southern Oscillation
• East Australian Current
• Leeuwin Current

Marine Biodiversity

• Tidal Wetlands
• Seagrass
• Marine Mammals
• Microbes
• Macroalgae
• Phytoplankton
• Zooplankton
• Coral Reefs
• Tropical Fish
• Temperate Fish
• Pelagic Fish
• Marine Reptiles
• Seabirds

Each section contains information on what is happening and what may happen in the future, and describes the actions underway to prepare and adapt to climate change.

You can either download the entire document as a PDF or browse each subject online.

It looks like at least a couple of week’s reading, once I’ve had the chance to digest the subjects relevant to reefkeeping and the future of the reefs I hope to come back with a few observations on possible implications for the hobby.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

2^ndAugust 2012

An intriguing piece of news about the discovery of the world’s most northern coral reef is something of an antidote to all the pessimistic reef news of the past few months.

Hiroya Yamano, a researcher at Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies, announced the discovery of the reef off the coast of Japan’s Tsushima Island in the journal Geology.

Located off Japan at 34°25′N and 129°20′E the reef is 43 miles (70 km) north of the Iki Island reef, discovered by Yamano’s team in 2001, up until now the northernmost known coral reef, placing it 217 miles (350 km) north of most others in the region.

This reef is very different to the tropical coral reefs that are usually accepted as existing between 30˚N and 30˚S in water with a temperature range 20 to 29˚C. Although reefs in the Persian Gulf have adapted to temperatures of 13 °C (55 °F) in winter and 38 °C (100 °F) in summer it is rare to find corals surviving below 18˚C.

The Tsushima reefs experience temperatures as low as 13˚C in winter along with turbid water conditions restricting the amount of light to reach the corals. The reef is composed of Favia species, brown in colour, and growing in what is termed a massive form, the hemispherical shape that we are familiar with from brain corals.

“Most reefs are made up of corals from the genus Acropora, which can be a variety of colours and grow in branching or plate like forms. Favia species tend to tolerate cold, turbid waters better than Acropora do”, Yamano said.

The team isn’t sure, but think that the Tsushima Warm Current, a stream of warm water flowing along the north western coast of Japan, probably helped transport coral larvae northward into the turbid inner bays of Iki and Tsushima islands and that there may be many more undiscovered reefs in similar settings throughout the region.

Although the Tsushima and Iki reefs both formed in cold waters and predominantly house Favia coral species, Acropora corals have begun settling near the reefs over the last 20 years. Comparing coral species in older parts of the reef to newly arrived corals might help scientists determine how climate change and warming waters are affecting these reef ecosystems.

The Acropora species that have been recorded as settling over the past 20 years may indicate a trend towards a northward movement, perhaps as a mechanism to cope with the higher temperatures that corals are experiencing in their natural range owing to climate change.

From an aquarium perspective I find this interesting as under reef aquarium conditions Favia species are hardy corals and were one of the earliest species known to have spawned  and settled in captivity.

Note: Although the term ‘most northern coral reef’ is used early in the article it should be clear that we are discussing the photosynthetic or zooxanthellate shallow water corals that comprise tropical reefs, there are many deep-water, azooxanthellate corals living at greater depths and in colder temperatures at higher latitudes, as far north as Norway.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

27th July 2012

At the time of writing the UK is going through a period of very warm weather so it’s a good time to remind you about the danger that overheating can present to your reef tank. At this time of year reef aquaria can often reach potentially dangerous temperatures, bringing with it two distinct problems: heat induced coral bleaching and depleted oxygen levels.

Saltwater has a lower capacity for carrying dissolved oxygen than freshwater, as temperatures increase this carrying capacity reduces, in a reef with poor gas exchange the level of oxygen in the water can easily drop low enough for animals such as fishes and mobile invertebrates to asphyxiate.

I’d suggest checking that all pumps are working properly and efficiently and making provision for increasing your water movement in case of a prolonged period of hot weather. Making sure that the surface of the water is sufficiently agitated will both enhance gas exchange and aid temperature control via evaporative cooling. I’m currently recommending around a centimetre of “wave height” on the surface of the water, you’ll find that this will also enhance the effect of glitter lines, especially in an aquarium lit with fluorescent lamps.

Although you can mitigate the effects of high temperature induced oxygen depletion by increasing gas exchange, this will only go part way to helping corals to survive. This additional water movement can greatly enhance your corals chances of survival at higher temperatures and may be all that’s needed in some reefs, but ultimately you need to control the upper temperature reached in your aquarium.
It’s unfortunate that the cost of cooling a reef can often be as great, if not greater, than the cost of lighting it. Some reefs may need some form of cooling for the best part of the year owing to the way they’re lit. Your choice of methods of temperature control includes: refrigerant based chillers, evaporative cooling chillers, fans, air conditioners, and extractor fans.

Refrigerant based chillers and evaporative cooling chillers are the most expensive options.

Air conditioners are also expensive but they do have the bonus of controlling room temperature, which you and your family may well appreciate (it may also be a selling point to ”the significant other”, who may well have objected to the purchase of that expensive aquarium chiller!).

Extractor fans are useful to a degree but may make little difference once the room temperature is the same as outside.

Fans can be usefully employed to blow along the surface of the water to promote evaporative cooling, they’re cheap but do remember to take care in their placement as the last thing you want is a mains fan ending up in the aquarium! If possible choose a low voltage fan for safety.

Fans can also be extremely useful with enclosed aquariums and may improve how the tank runs on a daily basis, rather than just at times of high temperature, by improving gas exchange at the surface.

Don’t be tempted to turn aquarium heaters down or off as this will have no influence on water temperature during a warm period, indeed it can be detrimental to your reef when normal temperatures resume if you forget to turn them back on; if you see that a heater is turning on when your tank is running at an elevated temperature it is faulty and needs to be replaced.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

20 July 2012

Healthy coral.

The past week or so has seen an interesting discussion about the future of the reefs in the online pages of the New York Times.

It started off on July12th with an op-ed piece from Roger Bradbury, an ecologist doing research in resource management at Australian National University, entitled ‘A World Without Coral Reefs’ that painted a very bleak picture of the future of the reefs, a view with which, to a certain extent, I concur.

This was followed up by two articles in the ‘Dot Earth’ section of the online New York Times, on July 14^th ‘Reefs in the Anthropocene – Zombie Ecology?’ and on July 16^th ‘More on Coral Reefs and Resilience or Ruination’ both by Andrew C. Revkin.

These articles are well worth the attention of reefkeepers everywhere, laying out as they do, the future of the environment that forms the basis of our hobby, I urge you to read these articles.

Bleached coral

Earlier I said that, to a certain extent, I concur with Bradbury’s piece. Let me explain.

Firstly, it is the reef environment that we have known for the past couple of centuries that we are going to lose, there will still be some form of ‘reef’ system in years to come and it will be home to many wonderful creatures but it will be different to the reef environment we known. This is change, not loss.

Central to this change will be the eventual loss of the Scleractinians, the reef building stony corals. This will then lead to the loss of certain reef fishes, the fishes that rely on the reef structure for shelter and for food. Some fishes will adapt to a changed environment (after all, many fish species readily adapt to the reef aquarium environment) others won’t. It might be a question of nutrition – think obligate corallivores such as Butterflyfishes without their food source of coral polyps. It might be the question of habitat degradation and how the loss of the habitat previously provided by absent stony corals makes juvenile fish vulnerable to predators (coincidental to the discussion at the New York Times, research has been published this week illustrating how habitat loss can affect juvenile fishes see, ‘Lethal effects of habitat degradation on fishes through changing competitive advantage’ by Mark I. McCormick of James Cook University.

In the short term responsible reefkeepers should consider themselves ambassadors for the reefs, showing off the wonderful animals resident in their reef aquariums to those outside the hobby, showing them the organisms that we are at risk of losing through climate change. By doing this we can create a greater awareness of what we risk losing and, perhaps, help slow or reduce the expected losses.

We cannot conserve the reefs as we know them without some fantastic technical fix that can prevent further deterioration almost instantly. We cannot maintain the diversity of species that we have known without this technical fix going further and reversing conditions on the reef back to those before mankind’s negative influence.

Long term, hobbyists in years to come should still have access to many wonderful fishes and invertebrates; it’s just that they will be representatives of an ecosystem different to the one with which we are familiar.

If you fancy joining this discussion from a reefkeepers point of view, please send your comments to me here at Reef Ramblings.

31 July 2012

Further to this subject, see ‘Are Coral Reefs really doomed? on the Independent website.

Photos courtesy ICRS 2012

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

24/6/2012

An intriguing new theory suggests that seagrass growing in the immediate vicinity of a coral reef may be able to mitigate ocean acidification.

Research

Research due to be published as a paper in the Open Access Environmental Research Letters journal, found that the high photosynthetic rates of seagrass meadows can make seawater less acidic and potentially enhance the growth of nearby corals, helping to preserve the world’s most beautiful and fragile coral reefs from extinction due to ocean acidification.

The research was conducted by Dr Richard Unsworth, Research Officer at the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, College of Science, Swansea University in collaboration with scientists at the University of Oxford, the Northern Fisheries Centre, Australia, and James Cook University in Australia.

Explaining the background to the study Dr Unsworth said: “Highly productive tropical seagrasses often live adjacent to or among coral reefs and photosynthesise at such rates you can see the oxygen they produce practically bubbling away. We wanted to understand whether this could be a major local influence on seawater and the problems of ocean acidification.”

Seagrass meadow

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, primarily from human fossil fuel combustion, reduces ocean pH and causes wholesale shifts in seawater carbonate chemistry. Over long-term timescales, this change in seawater carbonate chemistry is likely to cause coral reefs to start to disappear as the rate of erosion starts to exceed growth rates. Coral reefs house thousands of unique species that are found nowhere else on the planet. They provide physical protection for small island communities, and provide food for millions of people globally. Losing these reefs would have serious negative economic and food security consequences.

Dr Unsworth explained that their research models have shown remarkable results. He said: “Our analyses show that in shallow water reef environments coral calcification downstream of seagrass has the potential to be 18% greater than in an environment without seagrass. It illustrates the importance of keeping seagrass meadows healthy and offers a potential tool in marine park management to offset the impacts of ocean acidification (depending on local conditions and habitats)”. He added “Not only are seagrass meadows important to hundreds of millions of people worldwide who are dependent upon the food resources that they supply, our novel study suggests that they could potentially, in the long-term, have the added benefit of enhancing the growth of coral reefs under threat of extinction”.

Adapted from material on the Swansea University website.

A Poor Show from the BBC

The BBC is normally excellent when reporting science stories, but when covering this story managed to miss-describe corals as being, “… worm-like creatures of around a centimetre length which live in colonies numbering millions…”

In the Reef Aquarium

The rise in pH described by the researchers can also occur under aquarium conditions. If macro algae start to proliferate to the extent that it grows out of control it can result in pH increasing values of 9 and higher. Remember that the pH scale is logarithmic so a reading of say 9.2 is ten times more alkaline than the more usual reef aquarium value of 8.2. The higher the pH value, the greater the toxicity of any free ammonia that’s present. To correct this problem add CO2 to the system until the pH drops to the correct value. The various CO2 reactors designed for CO2 fertilization in the freshwater-planted aquarium are ideal for this purpose. Follow this up by harvesting excess macro algae until balance is restored and CO2 is no longer needed.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

16^th June 2012.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.

It’s 50 years ago today, 16^th June 1962, that Silent Spring by Rachel Carson first appeared in print as a three-part serialization in The New Yorker magazine. The book itself was published later the same year on the 27^th of September and then in October was chosen by the Book of the Month Club as the featured book for the month, greatly increasing its accessibility to the public

While Silent Spring is widely credited with the launch of the Environmental or Green movement it must be remembered that the idea of nature conservation came about nearly 100 years previously with events such as the creation of the Yellowstone National Park in 1872 the first US national park and possibly the World’s first national park. In the UK Charles Rothschild is regarded as a pioneer of nature conservation, credited with establishing the UK’s first nature reserve Wicken Fen, near Ely, in 1899.

Nevertheless Silent Spring had a significant affect in popularising the idea that mankind could have a seriously detrimental influence on the world around us, perhaps the first time that ideas such as this were received by such a large audience.

The title of the book alludes to the consequences on the environment of continued use of persistent pesticides evoking a spring season in which no bird songs could be heard, as they had all perished.

During the fifties Rachel Carson, a marine biologist, had previously published a trilogy of best selling books exploring ocean life: The Sea Around Us, Under the Sea Wind, and The Edge of the Sea.

A long-standing interest into the damaging affects of DDT, an artificial pesticide, on wildlife and human health led to 4 years of research, culminating in the publication of Silent Spring. The following year, 1963, President Kennedy ordered his Science Advisory Committee to investigate the book’s claims with the result that the committee issued a report supporting Rachel Carson’s thesis. This led to an eventual ban on the use of DDT.

The book argued that uncontrolled and unexamined use of pesticide was not only harming and killing birds and animals, but also affecting human health.

For more on Rachel Carson, see the Independent series, ‘The Green Movement at 50‘

Rio +20

It is ironic that Rio +20 is set to commence just a few days after this anniversary. For those concerned with the state of the oceans, particularly in the context of ocean warming and acidification, a writer could be tempted to go with the title, ‘Empty Seas’ for a comparable book written about the oceans today.

I make no excuses for the length of the following quote from the Rio 2012 Issues Brief 4 – Oceans, but for the short version skip to the end:

‘In addition, key commitments with regard to the sustainable development and use of the oceans were agreed as part of the outcomes of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly on the programme for the further implementation of Agenda 21, the 2000 Millennium Summit of the United Nations, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 2010 High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals. Several conventions, as for example the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), mention oceans and their marine resources and even establish ocean related targets.

Despite these efforts, the WSSD target to restore fish stocks to their maximum sustainable yields by 2015 is likely to be unmet as are other targets including the reversal of biodiversity loss in the oceans and the elimination of destructive fishing practices.

The Secretary-General report on oceans and law of the sea A/66/70/Add.1 identified gaps regarding the implementation of the legal and institutional framework for the sustainable development of oceans and seas as well as with regard to adequate and comprehensive knowledge and scientific research. The report was the focus at the twelfth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, which took place in June 2011 in New York. Several delegations were of the view that, in achieving sustainable development, fragmentation of the law of the sea should be avoided. They recalled that activities in the oceans were governed by the law of the sea as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the integrity of which should be preserved. As of May 2011 there were 162 state parties under the Convention. It was recalled that ratification of the Convention was a very significant action a State could take towards sustainable development. The need to harmonize the vision of the international community and develop synergies in order to promote the sustainable management of the oceans was emphasized.

Many delegations noted with concern the gap between the adoption of commitments and their implementation. They noted that many of the commitments made at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and subscribed in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Millennium Development Goals, especially relating to coastal developing States and small island developing States, had not been met. A number of delegations emphasized the need for greater efforts in the implementation of existing agreements and commitments, particularly at the national level, in order to advance the sustainable development agenda.

4. Challenges and emerging issues

Regardless of the significant economic, social and environmental benefits of oceans, there are countless challenges in preserving and maintaining them for future generations. Some of the problems plaguing the oceans are overfishing and destructive fishing, loss of biodiversity, including the serious decline and/or depletion of certain fish stocks (e.g. tuna, cod, haddock, flounder, halibut and red hake), ocean acidification (among others causing coral bleaching), ocean warming, coral reef destruction, watershed-based and marine-based pollution (runoff and debris), including accidental oil spills and radioactive water from nuclear accidents as well as invasive species from ballast water.

Studies have shown that since the beginning of the industrial revolution, oceans have become 30 per cent more acidic and predictions show that, by 2050, ocean acidity could even increase by 150 per cent. This would give marine ecosystems a very small period of time for adaptation, as it would represent a rate of increase that is 100 times faster than that of any ocean acidity change experienced over the last 20 million years.

Tropical coral reefs offer habitat to 25 per cent of all known marine species while constituting only less than one tenth of 1 per cent of the marine environment. About one fifth of the global coral reefs have already been damaged beyond repair and it is predicted that 90 per cent of coral reefs will be threatened by 2030 and all coral reefs will be threatened by 2050, if no protective measures are taken. A recent study assessing the world’s oceans, including the deep sea, highlighted the significant damage caused by pollution, resource exploitation and climate change.

According to the Secretary-General report on oceans and law of the sea A/66/70/Add.1, other challenges identified by member states include maritime delimitation, implementation and enforcement, capacity-building, integrated management of oceans and seas, environmental vulnerability of Small Island and Developing States (SIDS), vulnerable marine ecosystems and ecologically or biologically significant areas, and crimes at sea.

Important emerging issues identified include marine genetic resources, coral reefs management, marine debris, nutrient over-enrichment and eutrophication, geo-engineering, ocean noise, renewable energy and environmental data exchange.

At the twelfth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, several delegations noted that the challenges affecting sustainable development were interlinked and could not be addressed in isolation. Many delegations re-emphasized the environmental vulnerability and isolation of Small Island developing States, whose culture, livelihoods and economies were being threatened by unsustainable uses of marine resources and by climate change.

Potential economic, social and environmental impacts of these challenges are enormous, which highlights the urgency of taking action to ensure the sustainable management and use of oceans and their marine resources.

5. Way forward

The approaching United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Brazil from 20 to 22 June 2012, will bring together government representatives, civil society, academia, the scientific community and the private sector to discuss sustainable development issues, including the sustainable management and protection of oceans and marine resources. It represents a unique opportunity to speed up implementation and to take action on ocean-related emerging issues. The Conference will coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of UNCLOS.

At the twelfth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea in 2011, several delegations expressed the view that, for the 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development to be a success, it should deliver a strong outcome for oceans, fisheries and biodiversity. Oceans and seas, in the light of their economic, social and environmental significance, should feature prominently in the discussions and outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. The need for setting realistic targets and goals that would be fully implemented was also pointed out.

One of the Rio+20 conference themes is “a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication”. However, the development of this “green economy” will rely in part on the sustainable management and use of oceans and their resources. At the twelfth ICP meeting as well as at the second preparatory committee for Rio+20 held in March 2011, various member states emphasized the importance of sustainable management of oceans and the conservation of ocean resources while referring to a so-called “blue economy” approach, in line with Agenda 21. Many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) specifically called for Rio+20 to provide support for sustainable ocean development and protection of marine resources. Therefore, the topic of oceans is expected to figure prominently at the Conference. Furthermore, there will be several preparatory meetings covering the topic.

The Commission on Sustainable Development, which is tasked to support the achievement of sustainable development, including the preservation of the seas, oceans, islands and coastal areas, is furthermore scheduled to undertake a two-year review of oceans, marine life and SIDS in 2015-2016.‘

Telling phrases include the paragraphs beginning:

‘Many delegations noted with concern the gap between the adoption of commitments and their implementation.’

‘Studies have shown that since the beginning of the industrial revolution, oceans have become 30 per cent more acidic and predictions show that, by 2050, ocean acidity could even increase by 150 per cent.

‘About one fifth of the global coral reefs have already been damaged beyond repair and it is predicted that 90 per cent of coral reefs will be threatened by 2030 and all coral reefs will be threatened by 2050, if no protective measures are taken.’

All leaving me increasingly pessimistic about the future of oceans, in particular the future of the coral reefs. Indeed, it seems that at a time of world wide financial worry, that the future of the world itself is being ignored

As ever, let me leave you with exhortation to show off your reef aquarium to as many people as you can. This is one way in which you can help promote the plight of the reefs by showing non-hobbyists the wonders of the oceans that we are in grave danger of losing.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

Video trailer for Coral: Rekindling Venus.

11/6/2012

The coral reef as art.

Coral: Rekindling Venus is a major work of film for fulldome digital planetariums. It’s not science but art and with the aim of familiarising the public with the coral reefs and associated life most at risk from climate change. The result is an amazing full immersion experience.

Outside of the occasional TV nature program, apart from reefkeepers and divers, few are familiar with the wonders of the coral reef, the colours, movement, and sometimes seemingly bizarre organisms and their unlikely relationships with each other.

The title of the project is a reminder of the global cooperation of 1769 when Captain Cook and international collaborators saw the transit of Venus across the Sun take place in Tahiti and the release of the film was timed to coincide with the recent transit of Venus.

The reference to the collaboration of 1769 is to emphasise that we need the same type of scientific cooperation today in the field of coral conservation at a time coral reefs are under threat of extinction owing to climate change. Walworth created the film to move people with the beauty of coral reefs she says; “Coral is the canary in the coalmine of the ocean, it’s an incredible, rich community that will be destroyed with very little temperature change.”

The film starts with the keening of Australian Aboriginal singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, then the dark screen fills with teeming phosphorescent plankton, which shine like stars in the blackness. “It’s a journey into the unfamiliar. And then you are greeted by the seals. It is an honouring way to start the film – you are watching but you are also being watched,” says Wallworth.

The film shows mass coral spawnings, hermit crabs searching across the seabed to find a new shell, and includes the first footage of a previously unseen red fluorescent nudibranch and a fluorescent eel captured by Guy Chaumette in Wakatobi, Indonesia. Indeed, the fluorescent photography is the star of the show – some of it captured for the first time. Five years in the making, filming was done on the Great Barrier Reef and the reefs of Papua New Guinea, mostly by cinematographer Dave Hannan, but some parts were filmed by specialists in filming fluorescence such as footage taken using a fluorescent microscope fitted with a highly sensitive camera by marine biologist Anya Salih, who Wallworth credits as her scientific adviser on the film.

The stunning cinematography is complemented by the film’s soundtrack from composer Max Richter. The orchestral arrangement includes assorted undersea sounds from hydrophone recordings, courtesy of the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

The experience rounds off with a song called Rise, written for the film by Antony and the Johnsons, sales of which will raise money for coral research. Download ‘Rise’ here.

The film made its premiere at the World Science Festival on May 31 and is now showing at planetariums around the world. In the UK you can catch it at the Peter Harrison Planetarium, Greenwich, and at the Thinktank, Birmingham.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

There’s news this week from Phuket that government researchers have reported an improvement in the condition of the coral reefs around Phuket and along the Andaman coast.

In May 2010 we started to hear reports of extensive warm water coral bleaching in the Andaman Sea. It was believed to be the worst case of bleaching in Thai waters for 20 years. Coral reefs off Phangnga, Krabi and Phuket, including popular diving sites such as the Similan, Phi Phi and Surin islands were affected. Coral reefs in the Andaman Sea had previously suffered severe bleaching in 1991 and 2003.

            Bleached coral at Koh Payu at the Similan Islands Marine National Park.

            Photo: Marine National Park Operations Center.

I wrote about this at the time in Reef Ramblings: see ‘Andaman Sea coral reefs hit by bleaching’

Last Monday Boonchob Sudthamanaswong, Director-General of the dep. of Marine and Coastal Resources Andaman Coast Group (DMCR-Andaman), chaired a seminar in Phuket to debate government plans to revive damaged marine resources in addition to reviewing the progress of environmental monitoring systems in Phuket and the Andaman Coast provinces of Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun.

Mr Boonchob told the media there were great improvements in the conditions of coral reefs within the region since the devastating coral bleaching episode in 2010. Concluding “I am happy to announce that more than half the coral damaged has already returned to its original condition,”

You can find out more about coral bleaching, its cause and the effects it has on the reef, by going to Reef Ramblings: ‘Global Bleaching 2010’.

Further articles on Reef Ramblings discussing the condition of the reefs and the various threats to their survival are listed below:

• ‘Is the End in Sight for the World’s Coral Reefs?‘
• ‘Reefs at Risk Revisited‘
• ‘Reefs Require Greater Care at Both Global and Local Level.‘
• ‘Our Dying Planet by Professor Peter Sale – the end of the Coral Reef Ecosystem.‘

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

For those of you whose interest in seeing footage of coral reefs was awakened by the recent BBC2 Great Barrier Reef series, here’s chance to take a glimpse at a healthy Caribbean reef.

Back in December 2011 prestigious CBS news magazine ‘60 Minutes’ showed a 12 minute feature focusing on the plight of the world’s coral reefs, Correspondent Anderson Cooper visited Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) with the Ocean Foundation’s Senior Fellow, Dr. David E. Guggenheim to take a look at a uniquely preserved ecosystem that illustrates the way a healthy coral reef looked like compared to the majority of reefs in the region which have becoming seriously degraded over the past 50 years.

The Gardens of the Queen have been described as one of the world’s most vibrant coral reefs, an anomaly at a time when many of the world’s reefs are in danger – or already dead.

Click on the link to below  to view the 12 minute feature:

The Gardens of the Queen

This is interesting viewing for reef aquarists for many reasons.

Caribbean coral reefs, along with the rest of the reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, are markedly different to those of the Indo Pacific. Alcyoniidae, the leather corals that we are familiar with from the Indo Pacific are largely absent; in their place are an abundance of Holaxonia, the sea fans and gorgonians.

It is an inspiring program to watch if you are contemplating putting together a biotope based on this region. Although we don’t have access to stony corals from the area there are plenty of other interesting invertebrates and colourful fishes available that can be made into a fascinating reef display refreshingly different from the usual mishmash of Indo Pacific species.

It is encouraging to see a healthy reef, showing little degradation, although on reflection most reefs shown on television are either ‘pristine’ or devastated.

This program caused much debate amongst coral reef scientists, some of it nit-picking, but I think the consensus was that it was a positive event with at least 18 million Americans seeing this film on the night it was broadcast. The biggest problem facing coral reefs today continues to be the lack of awareness among the general public regarding their deteoriating condition and the causes of that condition. Anything that helps to get this message across, as with the recent BBC2 Great Barrier Reef series, is invaluable to reef conservation.

The fish, particularly the groupers are stunning. Also watch out for the short segment showing what looked to be Periclimenes species shrimps engaged in cleaning activity.

Again, one to watch and to recommend to friends and colleagues to increase their appreciation of coral reefs, and their awareness of the issues affecting them.

Additional links:

CBS ’60 Minutes’ – The Gardens of the Queen

Dr. David E. Guggenheim

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012