This disturbing article in the Washington Post, describes this research report in PNAS that concludes the Great Barrier Reef has lost half its corals since 1985.
Besides, being noteworthy in its own right, this story relates to our class in a couple of ways. First, in this week's lecture I point out that the Odum brothers attempt to understand the immense complexity of Pacific Coral reefs played a significant role in their development of the modern ecosystem concept. Also, as the Washington Post article points out: "[the PNAS study] highlighted how even the world’s most protected marine areas are under assault from natural forces and causes linked to the human activity that is resulting in climate change." This is another example that points the ubiquitous reach of human impact, as well as the challenges of managing even seemingly "pristine" or "wild" systems.
No comments:
Post a Comment