Chasing Corals

[Reefable]

Wow just wow..This documentary on Netflix is alarming eye opener. To realize that we are in a state of loosing the entire coral population of the world in the next 30 years is more than depression. I really hope they recover and adapt to the global warming. Today after watching the documentary I feel proud of myself and all the reefers who are trying to keep these extinct species alive and healthy in their individual tanks. I couldn't stop myself sharing this today. Yep this documentary has changed the way I look and think of corals. It has brought me more closer to my tank than ever.


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[el chupacabra]

I too didnt realize what a sad state coral reefs were in till watching this. I first heard of this film at macna this year during Walt Smith's talk. Walt Smith gave a talk about coral farming in the south pacific, he's farming coral (ADE project) to rebuild the reefs and supply our hobby. He showed a video of the efforts to rebuild the reefs but for the life of me I cant find it. Supposedly it's on itunes but I cant even find the name of the video on google.

If you like documentaries exposing shocking stuff most people never knew about, check out Virunga. To me it's one of the best docs made. It exposes how first world corporations & countries intentionally start civil wars overseas to acquire resources. It takes place in the Congo where people give their lives to protect the gorrilla. Or check out the horror documentary Crude right before you go to bed. There's images from that Ill never be able to forget. I think these are both on netflix.

 

[Aresangel]

It is a bit over dramatized with entire population. It is large quantities in local areas. Some species may go extinct yes, but a bleaching event does not mean the corals do not grow back with time. Every year there is a reported bleaching event especially in the barrier reef with climate change and the southern ocean oscillation currents. The documentary is well done and went through great lengths to document the bleaching event. Recovery should be a follow up documentary to show the state months and years after these major events to give hope (if there is any to give).

That being said I will be showing that documentary to my high school oceanography class Monday to peak their interests in conservation efforts and the importance of coral reefs.


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[el chupacabra]

I always thought this kind of stuff was under dramatized. For one, we are kind of focused on the loss of corals. But what about all the other forms of life we dont really see or care about much? Such as sponges, arthropods, molluscs - any number of the thousands of species that are dying or going extinct underneath the dying reefs. Meanwhile we are replanting a few sps species and acting like this will rebuild the reef to its former glory. When it comes to the environment things really are pretty dire. Many people dont know that in the past 15 years roughly half of the amphibian species in the western hemisphere have gone extinct (who noticed?).

In the film it's not just documenting 'bleaching', but the process of, bleaching, and then [permanent] death, hence pointing out how algae only grows on coral thats completely dead. I though their primary point was that corals aren't coming back from this. They aren't evolving fast enough.

 

[Reefable]

Great input guys. I agree with El's last post though the fact that algae has grown over those thick sps colonies is an indication of something serious if not permanent death. The fact that alarms is in 3 months the entire coral reef was dead brought to bare bones....and this is just a beginning i am afraid off. There are so many other ecosystems which could endanger so many species unheard off...lets hope for the best...


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[Frank H]

Coral reefs grow in the warmest waters found in the ocean. The majority of water is much cooler than these tropical environments. If the water is warming too much, wouldnt this make other areas potentially reef ready?

What about this 600 mile reef they found last year? https://www.theatlantic.com/science...a-new-coral-reef-at-the-amazons-mouth/479259/

While Chasing Coral was interesting I feel it was more geared to scare the viewer into making changes to fight global warming.

 

[GQsmooth]

^^That's the point. The world should be making a shift already.

All in all, it was an interesting watch, but the guy getting overly emotional over the bleaching was a bit much.:crazy1:

 

[karimwassef]

Temperature is not as impactful as CO2 acidification.

 

[Walt Smith]

the video from Macna

the video from Macna

Hi El, and others,
you can find the video you are talking about on www.adeproject.org on the "what is ADE" page. better get some popcorn or a glass of wine ... it is 24 minutes long. hope you enjoy!
Walt

 

[JPMagyar]

Hopefully mother nature will have something to add to the conversation in years to come.


Connectivity and systemic resilience of the Great Barrier Reef

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Wow just wow..This documentary on Netflix is alarming eye opener. To realize that we are in a state of loosing the entire coral population of the world in the next 30 years is more than depression.


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OK; so now I know this doco is ridiculously alarmist I know not to bother watching it.

 

[Jon0807]

I watched it and tho I'm not supporting or denying that global warming may or may not be the cause, it seems that movies such as this have a very narrow view on things. Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall them even mentioning any other possibilities such as change ocean chemistry, pollution, normal cycle of nature, etc. Along with the movie Chasing Ice, they gear their research into proving to everyone that the cause of everything is global warming, rather than looking into what else could be causing the problems or if it's just the natural cycle of the climate.

 

[Punchanello]

I watched it and tho I'm not supporting or denying that global warming may or may not be the cause, it seems that movies such as this have a very narrow view on things. Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall them even mentioning any other possibilities such as change ocean chemistry, pollution, normal cycle of nature, etc. Along with the movie Chasing Ice, they gear their research into proving to everyone that the cause of everything is global warming, rather than looking into what else could be causing the problems or if it's just the natural cycle of the climate.

The vast majority of credible scientific evidence points to anthropogenic climate change as a primary cause of coral bleaching events. Giving equivalence to other factors is like stumbling upon a man with a knife through his throat and postulating that maybe a strike of lightning killed him. Sure it's possible, but given all the other evidence you have, is it a reasonable theory?

 

[marco j]

This "documentary" is nothing but fear porn.

 

[ReefMaster48]

This "documentary" is nothing but fear porn.

+1

Let us remember that the people doing the research on global warming and "coral death", are the same people that rely on this information to get a paycheck and have a life. Imagine if they reported that global warming was not real, you think they would have a job? NO! lol

I believe that climate change is real. But no where near the level that anyone presents nor is there enough proof that humans have caused it or that it wil ever cause an issue. And especially an issue that nature will not adapt too. These marine documentaries often quote how a 1 degree difference will make all corals and reefs die. Oh really? Then how can bob run his tank at 74, harry run his at 76, and I run mine at 78-79 all with healthy coral growth??? :debi: Just one example.

 

[Jon0807]

+1

Let us remember that the people doing the research on global warming and "coral death", are the same people that rely on this information to get a paycheck and have a life. Imagine if they reported that global warming was not real, you think they would have a job? NO! lol

I believe that climate change is real. But no where near the level that anyone presents nor is there enough proof that humans have caused it or that it wil ever cause an issue. And especially an issue that nature will not adapt too. These marine documentaries often quote how a 1 degree difference will make all corals and reefs die. Oh really? Then how can bob run his tank at 74, harry run his at 76, and I run mine at 78-79 all with healthy coral growth??? :debi: Just one example.

There's a lot of money to be made in fear mongering

 

[Reefable]

I just hope and pray this stops whatever theory might be causing it. It's hurts to see how fast they are being wiped off...


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[ReefMaster48]

I just hope and pray this stops whatever theory might be causing it. It's hurts to see how fast they are being wiped off...


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Obviously there would need to be more research to prove this, but have we ever thought that maybe this is natural and good?

Sure, there may be one area full of x coral thats dieing off. But what if there is another (possibly more) parts of the ocean where there is more x coral growing and maybe even better then this area. Perhaps the die off in this area is to allow room for another coral which needs the space, or just a different kind of environment.

Nature has its own way of dealing with things, and in an incredibly complex way. To say that there is only one cause is incredibly foolish, and shows the quality and trustworthiness of information coming from that source.

If we take a picture of America, then focus on a state, then focus on a retirement home, and this is the only picture that we see of America. If this is all we see, then you would be led to think that America is not repopulating well, and will be dying off quicker then it can rebuild. Well of course we would have to think that! Now if we focus the picture frame on a maternity section in a hospital, you would think the complete opposite.

The Oceans are incredibly vast, and not even all of the current research done could even slightly begin to accurately show a full picture of the ocean's reefs. So why are we concerned that one little area is transitioning from one environment to another?

 

[karimwassef]

Nature is slow and changes over millennia. Man is fast and can make changes over years. Ok- decades if congress is involved.

Maybe this will be a good thing in 10,000 years when the colder oceans get tropical and are full of coral... but in the meantime, all we can measure is the cost to the already tropical oceans. It would be amazing to reef snorkel in Cape Cod (assuming it exists) in 10,000 years, but Cancun would become a hurricane hell zone?

 

[fabulousfavia]

I watched it a few months ago and I had thought is there any way to restore the coral after it has bleached and I thought of a cool project that us as hobbyists could experiment with to learn more about bleaching. The experiment would only require a small frag tank and some spare trace elements. I was thinking that the aquarist could raise the temperature of the tank until the few coral inside would bleach and once they had bleached the aquarist could dose different trace elements, amino acids, and phyto and zooplynkton to see if there is any way to restore corals after they have bleached.

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