Our hobby involves the creation of small bits of a coral reef community, complete in its wonderful array of diverse and beautiful organisms. In creating reef aquaria we learn a great deal about the needs of corals, other marine invertebrates, and fishes, and from this learning, and the beauty or our charges, we derive much joy and satisfaction.
A Crisis Situation
Real coral reefs are in the deepest trouble that they have seen in the last few million years. About 70% of the world’s coral reefs have been very badly damaged. Many of these will not recover in our lifetimes or those of our children, and in some cases not for thousands of years. The worst affected are in the tropical Atlantic- Florida, the Bahamas, the Caribbean region, and Brazil. While there are still coral reefs in pristine condition in the Pacific and Indian oceans, these number fewer every year. Today, not a single coral reef system remains in excellent condition anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean. A mere thirty years ago, most were in spectacular health. Two of the most important reef-building corals, Acropora cervicornis and Acropora palmate, are considered threatened species.
Obviously we love these creatures and care a great deal about what is happening to them in the wild. There is much that we can do to make them safer in nature.
What You Can Do
It begins at home. Ultimately we should avoid the purchase of wild-collected reef life unless we know it to have been obtained in a manner that does not harm wild populations or habitats. If this is the case, then the purchase can potentially benefit conservation by providing local revenue. The problem we face is that right now, dealers have no idea where most of their stock originated. 2008 is the International Year of the Reef. We should set ourselves the goal of identifying conservation-positive (“blue”) sources for quality reef invertebrates, fishes, and live rock that our dealers can buy from. Then we preferentially purchase stock that our dealers can assure us came from these sources. This will be most effective if we follow through and favor our dealers with the demand necessary to make this work. We should set ourselves a deadline of insisting upon knowing the provenance of our purchases by one year from today (April 1, 2008), and celebrate this action publicly as one of the reef aquarium’s contributions to the International Year of the Reef.
As your corals grow, practice fragmenting and sharing what you have with others. There are three other things that you can do: (1) understand what is killing coral reefs, (2) reduce your own contribution to their demise, and (3) become a teacher and political activist in any way, small or large, that you possibly can, to contribute to their survival.
Global Warming is Real and it is Here Now
Global climate change is the greatest of all threats to coral reefs. A warmer earth results in localized areas of extremely warm seawater, warm enough to cause corals and giant clams to expel their symbiotic algae. This is called bleaching. If bleaching lasts long enough or occurs often enough, the bleached corals will die. Thus, thousands of acres of coral reef are dying every year. The major reason for the warming is that we are pouring too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning things- fossil fuel, forests, and grasslands. The excess carbon dioxide acts as a greenhouse gas, causing global heating. But it also has another effect that hits corals and many other marine organisms very, very hard. When too much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere, it dissolves into the ocean and changes its chemistry. The carbonate ions required by all marine organisms with a limestone skeleton or shell, become hard to acquire. Also ocean water becomes more acidic. Together these prevent marine organisms from building their skeletons as quickly, and may actually erode their existing skeletons as if they had been bathed in acid. Because of these effects, the growth rates of corals have already been reduced by about ten percent from what they were 200 years ago. But that is just the beginning. By 2100, at the rate that we are going now, growth rates will be reduced by about 40%. As it becomes more difficult for corals to grow and heal, colony after colony will fall prey to diseases, predators, competitors, and hurricanes: natural forces that they formerly were able to deal with effectively. As a coup de grace, coastal pollution, overfishing, and an increase in the intensity of hurricanes caused by a warmer ocean, are making it even harder for coral reefs to hold their own in today’s rapidly changing world.
Global climate change is real. It is no longer in question, either, that people are responsible for a great deal of it- more than enough to make the difference if we stopped pouring so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is also beyond question that people have overfished, polluted, and monumentally degraded ocean ecosystems. For those of us who care deeply about corals and coral reefs, these thoughtless, large-scale impacts caused by people must be stopped. We can save energy individually to set a proper example for others. The usual- avoiding any waste of energy, water, or things that required energy and water to produce. But energy conservation and recycling in our homes, while essential, is simply not enough. In addition, we must act politically. Make sure that your congressional representatives and senators know how you feel. Write them, or if close by, march into their offices and make sure they are fighting for your interest in a healthy environment. Learn enough about earth’s climate and renewable energy not to be hoodwinked by leaders who insidiously distort science for their own ends. Never miss an opportunity to vote, and when you vote, vote for your own and your loved one’s futures.
It's About People Too
Remember the people around the world who live by coral reefs, and whose lives depend upon the health and welfare of these ecosystems. Support their livelihoods by purchasing ethically collected stock, and captive-reared stock produced in the country of origin. When you visit coral reef nations on vacation, support local conservation efforts and environmentally sensitive forms of employment. Many people who depend upon coral reefs lead a marginal existence and cannot be easily faulted for fishing or collecting reefs into oblivion. Do what you can to support sustainable alternatives. If appropriate actions are not obvious, think of some and encourage others to join you. Remember that all people who depend upon coral reefs are also in danger of seeing their homes and lands swallowed by the sea as glaciers melt and oceans warm and expand. Reefs, too, shall be affected as waters deepen and sunlight dims.
Be an Active Part of the Solution
The marine aquarium industry is working to become a force for conservation. Check out the websites for the Reef Protection International. Encourage them to do more, and make sure that your dealer does everything possible to sell conservation-neutral or conservation-pro aquarium livestock. Assist organizations working in coral reef conservation such as Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Nature Conservancy, and others. Adopt a coral reef, find out who the local conservation organizations and environmental leaders are, and give them support. Teach children- and anybody who will sit still long enough- about the threats to coral reefs and how we can turn the world around. Use the beauty of your aquarium to inspire and instruct them. Spread the fire to the diving community, and to anybody else you can recruit to this cause. Coral reefs are a bellwether for the world- for our farms and crops, for our supply of fresh water, for our fisheries, for all the good things that the earth provides to sustain us. The death of coral reefs is a harbinger for the future of all humanity. What we do to save coral reefs will ultimately save ourselves. The fruit of our efforts will be engraved in the fossil record. Let that story speak to our great great grandchildren of wonders saved for their enjoyment, and not of catastrophe caused by the thoughtlessness and stupidity of their ancestors.