Original article by Scott Henderson. Read about the personal journey of ecologist Scott Henderson, from a 15 year old entranced by the beauty of the coral reefs, to an impassioned campaigner for their protection and appreciation.

Introduction

Recent El Nino climatic events, which are sometimes linked with climate change, have had a catastrophic impact on coral populations. This passionate and beautifully written article, aimed at the general reader, discusses how author Scott Henderson's love for the coral reefs developed in his adolescence and his concerns for the future of these complex and beautiful ecosystems.

Scott Henderson is researching a doctorate on the ecology of invasive guava plants on the Galapagos Islands

Sections in this article

Encountering coral in the Bahamas

My training and professional life

Coral bleaching event

Where next?

 

Encountering coral in the Bahamas

The chance to go to the Bahamas for an adventurous 15-year-old was more than could ever be hoped for from a young man raised in rural central Ohio, hundreds of miles from any ocean, and thousands from any coral. Coral reefs and the myriad creatures that decorate them with bright colours and fantastic shapes were the subject of National Geographic and Jacques Cousteau documentaries, not the stuff of state school field trips. But in our case, we had a couple of young teachers who believed that science was an activity best learned through doing and feeling rather than just reading and thinking. It was the time when the boundaries between knowing and acting on that knowledge was leading to the nascent conservation movement; first develop a passion for something, then appreciate the risks that threaten it, and if you want to do something useful about it, arm yourself with a sound scientific argument.

One had to be 16 to qualify as a scuba diver, but through some creative chronology and the promise to go through particularly rigourous training, a nearby dive shop, our parents and the school agreed to allow our student group to undertake SCUBA certification. Most of us had never done more than snorkel in a pool, or maybe a murky lake at best. But, at the end of 6 weeks of classroom and pool work we were ready to undertake the 30 hour non-stop bus ride to Florida, jump on an old rickety 1950's charter plane, and occupy the Archie Forfar Field Station on Andros Islands, Bahamas for a week of learning marine survey techniques on one of the largest barrier reefs in the Caribbean.

The impression made by the first view of the "field station" was exceeded only by our first view on the coral we had trained so hard and traveled so far to study. The former was a collection of small, but heavy-duty canvas tents perched on palm-studded sand dunes overlooking a large blue lagoon perhaps 10km wide and dotted with small, enticing cays that broke the horizon. The lagoon was not deep, but offered many locations for diving safely at 10-20 meters amongst barracudas, large parrot fish, and countless small, colourful, reef fish and invertebrates that weaved their way amongst the massive, stately brain and elkhorn coral heads and swaying soft corals. I was hooked forever not only on fieldwork in the tropics, but also on the coral reefs that punctuate their coastlines. 

My training and professional life

Since that time I went on to university to become an ecologist. Although not all my biology-related work has been in the marine realm, diving on coral has been the mainstay of my leisure activities and has now taken me in Asia to the Philippines and Thailand, in America to all the Central American countries, especially Costa Rica, in the Caribbean to Cozumel, Bonaire and back to Andros and other islands in the Bahamas over a half dozen times, and most recently to the Indian Ocean to the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar. But the vast majority of my nearly 2000 dives have been in the Galapagos Islands where I worked as a dive master for 7 years and where I continue to permanently reside now at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

It is hard to describe the profound sense of wonder with which I am filled by diving in these places. As Richard Dawkins describes in his "Unweaving the Rainbow", scientific understanding need not necessarily remove the spiritual connection one has with his study material. On the contrary, nuances can be better appreciated and the connections that link the thousands of organisms and their physical environment can begin to be understood. It is this combination of boyish, heartfelt connection to coral reefs and mature understanding of them built on years of first hand observation shored-up by years of dedicated study that fires a desperation at their global demise. Whether by the local effects of river runoff containing silt, pesticides and herbicides, fishing at unsustainable rates or using unsustainable practices, the worst of which is dynamiting, or by global factors such as ozone depletion, human-mitigated global warming, or the transfer of non-native species, I have seen first hand the tarnished glory of coral reefs, accurately described as "the rainforests of the seas" for their disproportionate diversity and complexity. And like the removal and degradation of tropical forests, the scenes of destruction cause a gut-wrenching nausea at the senseless waste in a couple of decades of these natural treasures that have taken millions of years to develop.

Coral bleaching event

It is estimated that over 90% of the Galapagos' coral died as a result of the 1983 global 'bleaching' event

I was in Galapagos in 1983 during what became the first major global "bleaching" event as a result of the greatest El Nino on record. Unlike the colourful coral I had seen in the Bahamas, the small reefs, in Galapagos generally no more than isolated heads here and there, looked like pale ghosts festooned with the wispy brown algae that coats them once they have expelled their algae partners. The many fish that gnaw on coral were to be seen only occasionally foraging for alternative sustenance, and the fish that feed on them were even rarer. It was estimated that over 90% of the coral died in Galapagos as a result of that singular event. But it recovered for the most part, and it was this recovery that I witnessed as a dive master from 1992-1998. Then came the 1997 El Nino and much of the coral bleached again. But it was nothing compared to the devastation I witnessed in the Seychelles and Maldives where well over 90% of the expansive coral reefs not only bleached, but died. Vast fields of staghorn coral in the shallow lagoons lay lifeless. Rarely did I see any of this species alive. One can only hope that the few survivors will serve as source populations for recolonization.

One wonders how much these massive events could have been avoided, and in so doing, the loss of such unparalleled beauty and diversity. What is certain is there will be more natural events to weaken ecosystems. Less certain is the degree to which humans will seek to understand their role and formulate policies to minimize their contribution to the loss and degradation of coral reefs. We not only "unweave rainbows" through sound science, but are unweaving one of the most beautiful rainbows the world knows when through our own actions we reduce coral reefs from colourful galleries of life to hulks of white stone.  Science is only a tool to understanding nature but only a commitment to preserving it at both the individual and national policy levels will allow future generations of 15 year olds to behold the rainbow of life in the world's coral reefs.

Where next?

On ClimateX.org

Read ‘Coral Reefs Fading Fast' for another personal account of observing the threats to coral reefs by research scientist Peter Mumby. See also ‘Coral reefs: their fate in a changing climate', written by young Oxfordshire scientist Sarah Penington.

External Links

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reefs Online is a good site for information and links, as is the main NOAA web site for environment and wildlife news and articles. The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is a non-profit organization working to keep coral reefs alive. There is also a web page for the work of Richard Dawkins.

Read about what Scott is involved in now, with charity Conservation International, and view a great video of sharks! http://www.conservation.org/xp/frontlines/2007/03260701.xml?EMC-enews032807&att=sharkFeatureText