Aside from exposing that she is frighteningly smart, creative, and multidisciplinary in one fell swoop, she also raised many questions as to how a doctoral candidate finds all that spare time.
Well, since Miriam threw-down a new standard of excellence, I've had to wrack my puny wits and feeble y-chromosome tainted imagination for a Carnival of the Blue 22 that's off the hook.
I think I may have something to give Miriam a run for her money. So tune in on Monday (yes That's a Moray Monday) for a very special announcement and a very special Carnival of the Blue 22!
How many of you bloggers play this game from time to time? Open-up a browser window to Google and enter a string of words (that are NOT your blog title) that still delivers your blog as the top-ranked search result.
I just played a round and am quite pleased that the following strings entered into Google search will all yield Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice and Sunsets as the top result:
In a report that's sure to rethink the idea of No Sex Please, We're British, a paper published in the journal Nature tells a fascinating story of the possible origin of sex (internal fertilization) in vertebrates. A fossil fish specimen (in image above) at the Natural History Museum in London that was collected in the 1980's has received a re-evaluation. Small bones found within the body cavity that were first thought to be the remains of a last meal have now been interpreted to be a 5cm-long embryo.
UPDATE 2/26/09: PZ dedicates a post explaining why calling this the "origin of sex" is wrong, wrong, wrong. What should it be called? Head over to Pharyngula to find out.
The fish, Incisoscutum ritchiei, is an extinct species of placoderm fish that lived 350 million years ago and was collected in Devonian formations in western Australia. Placoderms represent some of the earliest branches of jawed fishes to have evolved and sported heavy bony armor on the head and neck. (My all-time favorite prehistoric fish was the arthrodire placoderm Dunkleosteus, a fish that reached 6 meters in length and may have weighed up to a ton!)
What makes this reinterpretation so special is that it now provides the earliest evidence that internal fertilization, or sex, started far sooner in the history of life than has been previously thought. I suspect the prolific science blogger Ed Yong will cover all this in greater detail (and with a home court advantage)--for instance how the evolution of vivipary created amazing possibilities and advantages for the colonization of land and other remarkable details. But I wanted to comment on another interesting aspect of this case.
It's tempting to think that once a museum specimen is accessioned into the collections of a museum (assigned a catalogue number, and formal information about its provenance is noted and recorded) that the science stops there. If nothing else, this reinterpretation shows what fresh eyes and fresh perspectives can bring to old museum material. In this case, recent published discoveries of fossilized embryos in later placoderm specimens caused the authors to take another look at the Incisoscutum ritchiei fossil. Sure enough, the tiny bones showed an embryo in the later stages of development.
Exciting museum work is not only found in cutting edge applications like the Barcode of Life project, but can still truly be found in good-old-fashioned observation.
Actually it's really cool news, but the media couldn't resist labeling this new species of Frogfish the mysterious yawning fish.
Be sure to check out the video of the chubby, jiggly new species.
The fish with the extremely bitchin' name ofHistiophryne psychedelica was discovered in Indonesia in the heart of the Coral Triangle, an area of the Indo-pacific with the highest density of coral reef diversity on the planet. Scientists estimate there could be anywhere from 1 to 8 million undiscovered species living on coral reefs. Yet another reason for protecting the healthy reefs we have left.
...your contributions for Carnival of the Blue 22, scheduled to go live here at Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, & Sunsets on March 2. Send me your best ocean writing from the past month and let's keep this carnival a-rollin'.
Send your contribution's title, URL, and a brief description to rmacpherson (at) coral (dot) org or to Carnival of the Blue founder, Mark Powell, at blogfishx (at) gmail (dot) com.
You can submit early. You can submit often. But you will submit!
Hands down, my favorite film from this year's SF Ocean Film Festival was Cuttlefish – The Brainy Bunch, a 52 minute, BBC produced detective story by filmmaker Gisela Kaufmann. In it, we follow Australian cuttlefish researcher Dr. Mark Norman as he reveals how these shape-shifting champions can hypnotize their prey, impersonate the opposite sex (yes, cuttlefish can be cross-dressers!) and even turn out to be deadly. We also learn that these cephalopods are tops in invertebrate brainpower (cuttlefish rule, octopus drool!).
One particularly bizzaro cuttlefish, and the subject of Dr Norman's research, is the aptly named Flamboyant cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi), a species of cuttlefish occurring in tropical Indo-Pacific waters off northern Australia, southern New Guinea, as well as numerous islands of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. No larger than a hen's egg, this particular species of cuttlefish is the only one known to walk upon the sea floor. It's ability to hover in midwater like it's larger cuttlefish relatives is limited due to the small size of its cuttlebone. It can float only for a very limited time.
The Brainy Bunch is part detective story as it follows Dr Norman as he attempts to determine whether the Flamboyant cuttlfish's strange behavior (being small, seemingly defenseless, and active out in the open) is in part because the species is toxic.
Well, at the risk of spoiling the suspense, I'll say Norman discovers that the Flamboyant is indeed toxic. Its muscle tissue carries a potent toxin on a par with the Blue-Ringed octopus.
But The Brainy Bunch is more than just a story of poisons. It's a fabulous and well paced film that demonstrates why mollusks are truly the most amazing phylum on the planet. You hear that Jason, Eric, Sheril, and Kevin? I'm going on the record here!
Day II at the SF Ocean Film Festival (SFOFF) was the first real endurance test of how long I could remain seated and un-fidgety before my defective spine reminded me it doesn't like long jags of sitting upright. Despite the not very comfy seating at Cowell Theater, our hosts for the film fest, the day really seemed to fly.
I'll cut right to the chase to highlight the early afternoon block of shark-themed films that was the most highly anticipated session of the day. I noticed that I was not alone in wanting to get my shark fix on. The line for tickets extended out of the building and into the parking lot. We do indeed love our sharks. With a weekend pass around my neck, I flew past the throngs and into the theater. The session was not just standing room only, it was sold out.
The session featured a block of four shark films. First up, a one minute PSA, Rethink the Shark, by Erica Brumage of South Africa produced for the Save Our Seas Foundation. I appreciated the humor and homage to Jaws:
Next was a 20 minute piece, The Man in the Grey Suit, a film about Great White sharks by film-maker Roger Teich and local diving legend Ron Elliott. Depending upon how you look at him, Ron Elliott is either a fearless pioneer or a reckless nut. For the past 15 years, Ron has been diving for sea urchins in the waters off the Farallone Islands, about 20 miles west of San Francisco. The Farallones are home to a resident population of humongous Great White's that feed on the abundant seals and sea lions there.
Ron never uses a cage, dives with a tankless, hookah air delivery system, and usually dives alone in the murky, icy waters around the Farallones. He recently rigged an underwater video camera to his air hose (called "hose cam") to record his activities. The results are chilling. In one scene, we see Ron exploring along a rocky reef in about 60 feet of water when suddenly a Great White (easily 15 feet in length) dissolves into view about a meter in front of him. Simply amazing.
What's the metric by which you decide whether someone is a "pioneer" or merely "reckless"? Daring or foolish? Or can you (must you?) be a bit of each? If so, Elliott definitely fills those shoes. The images of enormous sharks interacting with a cageless diver was both unnerving and awe-inspiring at the same time.
Local Great White shark diving legend, Ron Elliott, at microphone
"The Man in the Grey Suit" is surfer slang for "shark," and the eponomously named film also featured several scenes of Great White shark attacks from the point of view of a surboard. Local shark researcher Scot Anderson fixed a video camera to the underside of a surfboard which he then floated offshore from the Farallones. The segments depicting huge White sharks rocketing from the depths, mouths open, to strike the surfboard-camera rig had more than a few viewers gasp. If the point of the film was to assuage concerns over the relative dangers from shark attack, my sense is that these aren't the sorts of images you want to use.
The third selection of the shark film block, The City of the Shark, was essentially a 14 minute advertisement for the Aquarium of the Bay, a Fisherman's Wharf tourist trap. Beyond that, it focused mostly on the resident sharks of San Francisco Bay, notably the depleted populations of Seven-Gill sharks.
The feature film of the shark session was the 50 minute Great White Shark – A Living Legend, by filmmaker Joe Kennedy. The film takes us to the coast of South Africa to meet self-trained shark researcher Mike Rutzen and learn about his fascination with Tommy sharks, the local name for Great White sharks.
Tommy sharks received their name after the Birkenhead, a ship crowded with British soldiers (Tommies) that sank one night in 1852 after hitting a submerged rocky reef off Gansbaai, South Africa. Of the 638 passengers aboard, only 445 survived. While the frigid waters likely claimed most of the lives, survivors told grim stories of huge sharks attacking both the soldiers as they swam for shore. Coincidentally, the Birkenhead disaster marked the first use of the saying women and children first which would later be called the Birkenhead Drill.
The filmmakers accompany Rutzen as he takes a page from Ron Elliott and free-dives (no cage, no Scuba, only mask, fins, and snorkel) with enormous Great White sharks near his home in South Africa. I can't deny the visual impact of seeing a man dwarfed in open water by predators. A Living Legend tells a compelling story of a man whose interest in sharks have taken him to the extreme. But my eyes start rolling when I hear his supporters in the film dismiss his undeniably risky, even dangerous behavior as "a voyage of discovery." And I suppose it's the scientist in me that can't get past the rush to interpret shark behavior on limited evidence.
There was a lot of "the shark is thinking this" and "Great White's see me as that". I appreciate the patterns in behavior Rutzen may have gleaned from his experiences in South Africa. But drawing conclusions as some sort of empirical rule is not only hasty but potentially dangerous to him and other shark observers around the world who might want to replicate his results. It's the sort of false security based on limited understanding that also led to the completely unnecessary deaths of Grizzly bear researcher Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard when they were attacked, killed, and partially eaten by a bear in Alaska in 2003.
The final film of the session, Sharks in Deep Trouble, was a 20 minute film by Lesley Rochat of South Africa. The film showcased the ongoing problem of shark overfishing, in particular the wasteful practice of finning, where sharks are harvested only for their fins to supply the growing shark fin soup demand.
The film focused on efforts to manage shark fisheries in South Africa and detailed the now familiar disconnects between government management limitations, lack of enforcement, economic realities of fishers, and incomplete understanding of the full role of sharks in ocean ecosystem stability.
During a panel discussion after the film, John McCosker, Senior Scientist and Chair of the Department of Aquatic Biology at the California Academy of Sciences (and living legend in White shark behavioral ecology) commented that he was delighted to see such an interest in sharks at the film festival. But he made a point, and I have to agree, that we need a new communications paradigm for telling the story that sharks need our protection. Our current efforts are failing. McCosker used the example that just a few blocks away from the theater, anyone could find shop after shop in SF Chinatown selling barrels of dried shark fins.
Every year, it seems, is yet another film depicting the cruel and grisly practice of shark finning. Yet the shark fin soup biz is booming. The messages targeting a predominately Western audience are not translating into pressure on Asian markets where the soup is mostly in demand. Nor is there appreciably increased enforcement of fisheries regulations.
It will be interesting to see whether McCosker's challenge is picked up by next year's filmmakers.
One warning sign that your love of all things ocean is perhaps on the obsessive side is when you freely give-up weekends on the sofa with a cocktail in lieu of negotiating the ferry, train, and taxi needed to arrive just in time to stand in long lines with other ocean nerds anxious to watch ocean-themed movies all day. Which pretty much describes the zeitgeist behind the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival (SFOFF) which premiered last night.
I'm on my way for day two of the 3-day film fest. Today is shark day with not just shark-themed films, but a panel discussion with shark scientists, researchers, film-makers, and conservationists. John McCosker! w00t!
I'll have more to say later, but I'll leave you with a trailer from last night's feature film, Pirate for the Sea, a film by Ron Colby about eco-warrior Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. You can love him, or you can hate him, but you can't ignore him. The film went deep into the personality, mind, and life of the man that programs such as Animal Planet's Whale Wars simply don't have the time or interest to explore.
At 106 minutes, the documentary was fascinating but I found it dragging (or lost?) at more than a few points. In trying to showcase the breadth of Watson's ocean conservation campaigns (seals, sharks, whales, and more) there wasn't a smooth transition from place to place or even from one time period to the next. In particular, Watson's legal troubles that were depicted in Costa Rica felt like it stalled the pace of the movie. I found myself checking my watch which is never a good sign while in a theatre. Despite the stalling points, the film was an amazing exploration of an amazing man.
I'm really not sure how I'm supposed to react to CNN online's top news story this morning claiming that despite not being as "cute" as Humpback whales, Northern Right whales are receiving protection too.
On the one hand, hurray for Right whales! On the other, WTF? What are you trying to do, CNN? Give Northern Right whales, apparently the Ugly Betty's of marine mammals, an eating disorder?
But seriously, the article draws attention to a reality that we in the biodiversity conservation world struggle with constantly. At it's simplest: people protect what they love, and people love cute.
First a disclaimer: I'm not part of the church of whale-huggers, and take an approximately similar position on the whole cetacean issue as does Andrew at Southern Fried Science. Do they require conservation attention? Absolutely, but no more so than other critically endangered species. For me, whales mostly represent exquisite exemplars of evolution at work. But as vectors for transcendental epiphanies? Not so much. Besides, our conservation priorities should be evaluated based on urgency, not by cuddle-factor.
Still, I've been in the conservation biz long enough to realize that the public (and our financial base) responds positively to the cuddle factor. The world was recently transfixed (see here, for instance) by the coverage of a single, burned Koala in Australian bushfires, yet I didn't hear any concern voiced over the multitude of venomous snakes, arthropods, birds (or plants for that matter) that perished in the flames. WWF has an adorable Panda as a logo and supporters proudly sport the icon on everything from T-shirts to personal checks. When was the last time you saw someone wearing an American Burying beetle T-shirt in support of The Center for American Burying Beetle Conservation?
Cute sells. And in ocean conservation, I suppose we have to take our cute wherever we can find it. Thinking of a recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the exhibits which draw the biggest crowds (children to adults) were the Sea otters (so cute!), penguins (adorable!), and sea turtles (chubby is always cute!). And while their jellies exhibit and Monterey submarine canyon exhibits are always popular, it's more the "weird factor" at work there. I don't recall droves of visitors, however, oohing and awning in front of the Red-necked phalarope exhibit or the Asian vine snake.
And beyond Monterey, there are of course cute manatees, cute seals and sea lions, cute clown fish (thanks Nemo), cute sea horses, and even some cute birds. But it's always been cetaceans (small to large) that have commanded especially deep emotional connections and conservation interest.
Finding a conservation icon as touchstone for public concern is not easy. Take my own area of interest as an example. When was the last time you looked at a picture of a coral colony or reef and thought, "That's simply an adorable coral polyp! I must donate money to protect it!" I'm thinking not too often.
And therein lies a challenge, because when our target for conservation cannot immediately tap into an emotional connection, we then have to establish a sometimes long chain of custody from (in this example) an individual coral polyp (or colony or entire reef) to that which we can identify as worthy of your concern. Maybe it's a sea turtle that spends time on the reef. Turtles are cute and have faces. Or maybe it's a dolphin. Bonus points for finding a cetacean! And sometimes it isn't even an ocean organism that generates emotions and action. For some, conservation's bottom line is protecting ocean resources because it safeguards the human communities who rely upon local ocean ecosystems for their survival.
But let's get back to the Northern Right whale story that got me writing about this in the first place. In the CNN piece, one of the volunteer whale observers is quoted as saying that the Right whale is a bit of a hard sell for public concern because of its not very photogenic appearance. Even whale researchers admit the Right whale is overshadowed by more glamorous whales, like the Humpback whale. The volunteer goes on to say that she is proud to be helping an "underdog species" recover.
I will absolutely not criticize a conservation volunteer on her motivations to assist in an important project. I thank her and wish more people would get involved in local ocean conservation efforts. I will suggest, however, that positioning species along a cute/cuddly continuum creates a "beauty pageant trap" that reinforces an idea that species should be valued primarily for their physical appearance. This beauty pageant mentality can ultimately hurt ocean conservation as a whole when species (or ecosystems) don't match those expectations.
How I love readers who forward great news tips my way!
Last December, I reported that Canadian-based seafloor mining company Nautilus Minerals announced it had decided to adopt a more cautious strategy by delaying the construction of equipment for the Solwara 1 mining system for deep sea massive sulfide deposits in Papua New Guinea. At that time, a Nautilus press release explained that to preserve capital, Nautilus contracts and purchase orders would be suspended or terminated, contingent upon a revised development program. Their mining support vessel agreement was also in the process of being terminated.
But wait, there's more.
Today, Nautilus PR attempts to put a cheery spin on the particularly bleak news that Teck Cominco--Nautilus Minerals' partner and biggest financial backer--is opting-out of further joint work in PNG and Tonga.
Losing such a massive financial partner cannot be uplifting news to Nautilus' board or investors. You can almost sense the perspiration beading on the forehead of Nautilus CEO, Stephen Rogers, as he does his best to sound upbeat in the press release, "During 2008 we enjoyed considerable success working with Teck. Seven new Seafloor Massive Sulphide ("SMS") systems were discovered in PNG and Tongan waters. We are encouraged that Teck has decided to retain its options to joint venture with us in other countries. A strong working relationship has developed between our exploration teams and we look forward to working with Teck again in the future."
As you will recall, Nautilus Minerals is operating in a joint venture to mine seafloor massive sulfide deposits in PNG and beyond with Canadian mining company, Teck Cominco Limited. Teck Cominco holds over 3,000,000 common shares of the Nautilus Minerals company for a total of US$52 million investment. As part of this deal, Teck Cominco agreed to conduct and manage the recently completed ship-based exploration in Papua New Guinea as well as in sites in Tonga and New Zealand.
I'll take my schadenfreude with a side of satisfaction, thanks!
Not content to miss yet another opportunity to inject lies, fear, and of course deep Mormon funding into local civil rights legislation, the Mormon Church may be at it again in the State of Hawaii in an effort to derail House Bill 444. HB44 extends the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners (same sex or otherwise) in a civil union. During a Hawaii State Legislature meeting on February 6, the committee unanimously voted "yes" to send the bill to the House floor and to pass it, with amendments. Not a single "nay" vote.
Taking a lesson from their successful framing of California Prop. 8 as protecting children, Latter Day Saints are perhaps now advancing their particular brand of Aloha with a Protect Our Keiki campaign. Keiki is the Hawaiian word for children.
On their self-named website--under a banner of images of folks celebrating (in costume) at various gay Pride celebrations or other images of same sex couples kissing or exchanging vows--you'll find the presumably rhetorical question, Is this really what you want your keiki to believe is "normal" and "natural"?? Because as everyone knows, beneath our day-to-day work clothes, we homosexuals are all wearing sequined spandex tights, leather thongs, or other fabulous togs. After all, why should Mormons have an exclusive claim on magic underwear.
But what about this "our" community and "our" children business? I was curious who "our" are.
Checking the domain registry for protectourkeiki dot com shows that the domain name was created on February 14, 2009 with Blue Host web hosting based in, wait for it.. Orem, Utah. So not only are Utah interests apparently extending to the planet's most remote island chain, but some unique sense of entitlement is allowing carpetbagging haole's to appropriate the local language and local interests to serve their not-so-local ends.
I may be haole as well, but I do know that Aloha is more than a word of greeting or farewell. Hawaii's Aloha spirit is an actual law in Hawaii, encoded in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, section 5-7.5 and acknowledges that Aloha spirit "was the working philosophy of native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawaii." The words kindness, modesty, tenderness, and unity are captured in the Aloha spirit. As such, all citizens and government officials of Hawaii are obligated by law to conduct themselves in accordance with this law, while performing their duties and obligations, as well as in their day-to-day living. Likewise, those visiting Hawaii are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with this Hawaiian law.
Aloha spirit elevates, empowers and ennobles its people, and keeps Hawaii the uniquely special place that it is.
I suggest Utah interests might do well to familiarize themselves with true Aloha spirit or risk their own woes for violating Hawaiian law.
American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono today opened the American Samoa Population Summit by focusing upon the challenges that the growing population is placing on the Territory’s natural, economic, and social resources.
Governor Togiola told participants that although the issue is complex in many ways, it is also as simple as, “too many people, on too little land”.
“The Coral Reef Advisory Group (CRAG) has determined that the pressures of our growing population are the single greatest threat to our coastal resources. I strongly agree with this assessment. Population pressure is a tremendous challenge facing our small islands and if this issue is left unchecked and not properly managed, there is not a man, woman or child in American Samoa that will escape the impact of population growth.”
I met the amazing Canadian artist and blogger, Glendon Mellow, at last months Science Online 09 in North Carolina. Which is to say I didn't actually "meet" him, so much as attend his sessions on art in science and art in science blogging (it was all great and instructive). And I think I may have pushed him out of my way in a mad rush to the bar to keep Zelnio inebriated.
Glendon exuded a super calming persona which was only disrupted when he'd pronounce "about" as "aboot". But I'm not holding that against him, it's part of the Canadian genome or something.
Anyway, Glendon is live-blogging his Darwin Day contribution: an original painting of a young Charles Darwin with a Glyptodon. Very cool!
One of the prize possessions on my bookshelf is a copy of Charles Darwin's Zoology Notes & Specimen Lists from H. M. S. Beagle. Available only in hardcover from Cambridge Press and often ringing in at over US$200 for a new copy, I managed to locate a near mint copy for about $20 at a used book store in Boston many years ago.
Given that these are the transcribed, page-for-page verbatim notes from Darwin's voyage aboard the Beagle, it's not the most stirring read ever published. There's the turgid Victorian classification nomenclature, on top of wrapping your brain around Darwin's shorthand. And luckily, since this is transcribed, I don't have to try to decipher Darwin's notoriously hard-to-read cursive handwriting. But Zoology Notes is a fascinating study into a young Darwin's meticulously organized mind.
With very little professional training in zoological work, it's immediately striking how Zoology Notes demonstrates a consistent, in-depth, highly organized outline from start to finish. The Beagle apparently housed an extensive library of reference books which Darwin availed himself of frequently.
Far from a simple catalog of specimen names and descriptions (though there is that too) the young Darwin frequently combined observations with speculation and reasoning. The true treasures in Zoology Notes for me, and as pointed out by Zoology Notes editor Richard Keynes, are some of his initial pioneering observations on the unique fit and modifications he observed of organisms from one environment to the next.
On pages 58-59 of his Zoology Notes, Darwin writes,
I could not help noticing how exactly the animals and plants in each region are adapted to each other. Every one must have noticed how Lettuces & Cabbages suffer from the attacks of Caterpillars & Snails. But when transplanted here in a foreign clime, the leaves remain as entire as if they contained poison. Nature, when she formed these animals & these plants, knew they must reside together.
As an ocean lover, I'm of course drawn to Darwin's notes that focus on coral and other marine species. On his second visit to the Falkland Islands in April 1834, Darwin recorded (p. 215) his impressions of the kelp forests there,
It's main striking feature is the immense quantity & number of kinds of organic beings which are intimately connected with the Kelp... On shaking the great entangled roots it is curious to see the heap of fish, shells, crabs, sea-eggs, Cuttle fish, star fish, Planariae, Nereidae, which fall out... If this Fucus was to cease living, with it would go many: the Seals, the Cormorants & certainly the small fish & then sooner or later the Fuegian man must follow.
Seemingly small observations and speculation, yet absolutely fascinating to consider how they would germinate in Darwin's mind over the course of the Beagle voyage and then years later back home in England.
Maybe you've heard that today is Darwin Day? And not just any Darwin Day, but the bicentennial of Chucky D's birthday! w00t!
There's plenty of Darwin to go around so find (or make) your own local Darwin celebration and remember a great scientist and his ideas that resonate through time. I've brought a bottle of Evolution wine to share with colleagues after work, where I'll likely be brandishing my brand new Evolving Darwin play set (with many thanks to Liz and a big Nya Nya to Jason R.) and periodically cuddling my Darwin doll.
The always incisive Emmett Duffy over on The Natural Patriot has put out a call for scientists to speak out. But Emmett admits, doing so will force many in the scientific community to step out of their comfort zones,
My colleague John Feeney has been working tirelessly to break through the widespread taboo against discussing the root cause of global society’s manifold, seemingly unrelated, yet accelerating problems: there are too many of us. And we use too many resources, of course, but let’s not let that divert our attention from the very basic fact that the earth is finite and we cannot sustain continual growth in population or per capita resource use.
Can I get an Amen?!
Overpopulation is indeed the elephant in the room in my particular field of coral reef conservation. During last year's 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Florida--a twice decade global gathering of coral reef scientists and conservationists--we were presented with almost non-stop reporting of threats to coral reefs. Water quality decline, overfishing, recreational overuse, coastal development, elevated sea surface temperatures, acidification, coral predator imbalances, invasive species... the list goes on. But if memory serves, only a single panelist during a single discussion was willing to mention the unmentionable: the real driver behind coral reef decline is that there are too damn many of us.
This admission was met with enthusiastic applause. Yet when discussion began to move towards the role and responsibility of the coral reef scientific community to offer recommendations to address this reality, you could almost feel the room's angst level rising. There was vocal opposition to any suggestions that coral scientists (any scientists?) should play a proscriptive role in human population planning. The building unease was broken only after one panelist offered the suggested slogan, "Save Coral Reefs: Wear a Condom!"
As a fellow ocean scientist with an inordinate fondness for coral reefs, I know Emmett would be among the first to point out that science has effectively connected the dots for human culpability in coral reef decline. In research published last year in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, author Camilo Mora documents the findings from a study of 322 reef sites across 13 countries in the Caribbean. The study provided compelling evidence that proximity to a large human population spells bad news for the survival of reefs. Mora warned,
The expected increase of the world's human population from 6 billion today to 9 billion for the year 2050 suggests that coral reefs are likely to witness a significant ecological crisis in the coming half century if effective conservation strategies, including policies on population planning, are not implemented soon.
Yet despite the gloomy prognosis for reefs at ICRS and more than a year following Mora's paper, the coral science and conservation communities seem to have been able to only rally behind campaigns that speak to the symptoms but not the root cause of the problem.
What's behind the taboo on telling it like it is? I must admit I've been spending a lot of time dwelling on how to broach this overpopulation issue in my own work. At a recent organizational retreat where we were tasked to brainstorm what we believe we must overcome in order to meet our conservation mission, the same old chestnuts were tossed around: we're fighting against limited time, apathy, ignorance, limited resources. You get the idea. But when I suggested that overpopulation and the fact that we are exceeding the carrying capacity of our planet is the real enemy, I got the sense that nobody wanted to touch that with a ten foot pole.
But if we in the NGO world are afraid to talk about the smoking gun of overpopulation, precisely who is going to take the lead?
Perhaps it's fitting that I'm writing this on the eve of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, given that Darwin himself struggled with this very issue in formulating his theory of Natural Selection. Darwin was struck by the ideas of English political economist Thomas Malthus in his Essay on the Principle of Population. Malthus observed that in nature, plants and animals produce far more offspring than can survive. Based on his observations of the decline of living conditions in nineteenth century England, he also argued that humans too are capable of overproducing if left unchecked. Malthus concluded that unless family size was regulated, famine and poverty would become globally epidemic. For Malthus, poverty and famine were natural outcomes of population growth in a world of finite resources.
Darwin reasoned that this concept of superfecundity (producing more offspring than can survive) establishes a competitive environment among members of a species, and that the variation would produce some individuals with a slightly greater chance of survival. All well and good for driving evolutionary change. But not so much when civilization and technology favors population growth at a rate incommensurate with natural resource stability. The center simply cannot hold.
There are no easy answers here, and I'm not clever enough to offer a solution. But I do know that hope seems elusive indeed if we can't talk about this as a scientific and conservation community.
In my own small effort to promote discussion, I can at least follow Emmet's wise lead in recommending that you add your own voice to John Feeney's Global Population Speak Out (GPSO) initiative. Take it from an out, loud, and proud gay man: there is strength in numbers. If a quorum of scientists and scholars, environmental, science, and social policy writers, editors, and activists, staff members of environmental NGOs, politicians, and a variety of prominent public figures all speak out, perhaps we might weaken the taboo and bring population issues to a more prominent position in the global discussion.
Thanks to the hard-working folks at Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), NOAA, and the USGS, you can now watch a visual representation of the spread of invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans) in the Atlantic and Caribbean from first confirmed sightings to the current distribution. It's certainly an eye-opening animation.
The official program PR states that the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival celebrates the sea with inspirational films that increase our appreciation of the oceans that surround us. Well, yes, but it's also a fun time!
More than 35 documentary, fictional, and animated films from around the world will be screened over the course of three days, and you can even check out clips and trailers at the SF Ocean Film Festival's YouTube channel. There are a lot of enticing entries this year, but personally I can't wait for the Friday evening screening of Attack of the Sea Slugs. Check out the clip below. It's got a great poster (left), great name, and any film that can feature two of my favorite phyla (cnidarians and mollusks) is Oscar-worthy in my book! I know Dorid and The Other 95% guys can appreciate my fervor!
To those of you from the oil and gas industry, I pledge that you will have a seat at the table in this Administration. I assure you that you will play an important role in helping us meet our nation’s energy needs. But President Obama and I believe that we need to be honest about our energy future. A “drill only” approach – onshore or offshore – is not enough. Ken Salazar, Sect. of the Interior
The National Ocean Service, a division of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, has posted a new podcast on their new media webpage that focuses on marine protected areas, or MPAs.
Check out the 12 minute podcast and learn about marine protected areas in an interview with Joe Uravitch, Director of the National MPA Center. The discussion covers what marine protected areas are, where they are located, and why they are important.
I'm having some unexpected laughs as I configure the latest version of iPhoto (part of the recent iLife 09 upgrade) on my laptop. One of the newest features, Faces, is a face recognition tool that is supposed to make searching large photo libraries faster and smarter.
I'm not convinced yet whether that's true, but it sure makes for a fun time.
Check out the screen capture above of the Faces facial analysis feature as I teach it to recognize the face of my pal Liz Foote (sorry for spotlighting you, Liz). Once you provide the program with names for two or three images, Faces scans your iPhoto library and pulls matches based on those initial facial templates. You then get to confirm the proposed matches, in this case as being either "Liz" or "Not Liz."
Some of the matches are spot-on, almost surprisingly so given the differences in facial expressions and angles. But then some are, well, Not Liz.
Perhaps the funniest and most Not Liz moment came when the program suggested my be-hatted mug as a possible match for Liz (below). I think Apple owes Liz an apology!
Yet another trip to New York City is upon me. Flying east is never a picnic. I get picked up for an airport run at 5:30AM tomorrow, then a 7AM flight from Oakland to JFK. By the time I arrive, it's 4:30PM and the worst of rush hour getting into Manhattan.
Luckily, I'm flying JetBlue so I plan to kill an hour or two at their new T5 Terminal. Free WiFi, a decent martini bar, and comfortable seating should do the trick.
I'm hoping to squeeze some "me time" into my hectic schedule and visit the Museum of Natural History on this trip. I've yet to actually see the Rose Center for Earth and Space. My hotel is just walking distance to the museum so there's no excuse (other than frostbite) to not make the trek. And a bonus is that one of my meetings is at the Bronx Zoo, so if I'm lucky perhaps I'll see a polar bear too!
Any New York City readers interested in hanging out over a beer are welcome to join me. I'm staying midtown near Columbus Circle (no, NOT The Plaza), so give me a shout out if you have time Wednesday or Thursday night.
I also plan to make a pilgrimage to Magnolia Bakery to mack on some cupcakes. I've been given explicit orders not to return without a dozen red velvet cupcakes. I'm guessing I might make it back to San Francisco with two intact.
What can I say, that bakery's got all the bomb frostings!
Peter over on Deep Sea News has been covering this all morning, but I'll jump on the bandwagon to say that the new Google Earth 5.0 with enhanced ocean imaging and data is super cool. I've been playing around with the features since downloading the update and already I'm impressed.
Between the improved ocean floor topography and the customizable information layers, I can now easily squander many valuable work hours surfing the blue globe with a smile on my face.
One of my favorite standout features is satellite tracking of tagged marine species. Now I can easily follow the meanderings of Great White sharks along the California coast. I'm keeping my eye on the whereabouts of #4008 (above image) who might just confuse my wet-suited chubby silhouette while diving for an overly clumsy Elephant seal.
Finally, a way to satisfy your sushi fix without the guilt. Head over to The Original Sushi Pillow website and peruse some very cool and very comfy nibbles. You can find everything from edamame pillows to soy sauce pillow cases. All they need is a picked ginger duvet and I'm all set!
Miriam over on The Oyster's Garter totally upped the ante last month when she hosted Carnival of the Blue 21 completely in verse. Oh no you didn't!
