ocean water temperature | bare feet in the sand

I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about how I want to make a difference to the environment. Little things that we do everyday are certainly a part of it. Being aware of the impact we have is important and I will continue to write about various ways to do that. But I’m beginning to think that my road to feeling like I’m making a difference lies in a new career. And that new career has to do with the ocean. In fact, I’m back to where I started. I began writing this blog because I was looking into environmental issues and wanted to share what I was discovering. My first post was about my love for the beach which is where my concern for the environment started.

The beach is what I want to study, or rather coastal ecosystems. They are being broadly affected by humans – fishing and littering, by climate change – warming oceans, rising sea levels and they are some of the most beautiful places on Earth. I think I can find a way to help. I’m looking into programs in marine biology. It’s quite a change from theater, but it means a lot to me and interests me. I read a book recently that inspired me. It is called The Death and Life of Monterey Bay and I would recommend it to everyone and anyone. It chronicles all the ways that humans hurt the ecosystem of the bay, but then also tells the story of how the bay has been restored. Change is possible. A lot of what I’ve read has only spoken of the problems that exist, and maybe hypothetical ideas on what to do about them. Monterey Bay is a success story. I hope similar successes can happen elsewhere.

Coral reefs are some of the most beautiful places on Earth and according to the recent IMAX movie The Last Reef they may be gone within our lifetime. It starts by talking about the amazing variety of species that live in coral reefs, from coral to fish to sea slugs. Sea slugs, or nudibranchia, look a lot like land slugs, but come in a tremendous variety of beautiful coloring. The Last Reef also talked about how many of these animals live in symbiosis and depend on each other for survival. An example of this is the relationship between coral anemones and clown fish. Anemones are poisonous to most fish and so the clown fish live within them to stay safe. The clown fish defend the anemone and keep it clean. The biodiversity and relationships between all the different living organisms is phenomenal.

The second half of the film talks more about what is threatening coral reefs. One of their major points is about the amount of CO2 in the ocean and how as it increases so does the acidity of the oceans. People with fishtanks have to make sure the pH remains within certain levels and the ocean is no different. There is also the rise in ocean water temperature which often results in coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is caused when the symbiotic relationship between coral and algae is disrupted, often by water temperatures above what the coral is used to.

According to the movie, coral reefs are disappearing five times faster than rainforests. The effects are being felt on shores that have been protected from the ocean by reefs, and by the entire ocean population. I would like to say that the end of the movie felt alarmist, but unfortunately they are right and I hope that more will be done to save coral reefs.

I watched the movie at the Museum of Science, Boston.

bare feet in the sand

the beauty of nature in a consumer economy

Tag Archives: ocean water temperature

Monterey Bay and marine biology

The Last Reef IMAX movie