The Heart of Lightness

[Sean Nash]

In the space below, we'll continue to reflect upon our reading of "The Enchanted Braid: Coming to Terms with Nature on the Coral Reef,"  by Osha Gray Davidson:

Personally, I really enjoy the transitioning of the book at around the fifth chapter.  The way I see it, the first section of the book is the "what for" section.  In essence, the chapter that builds the background knowledge of the reader to the point that the complexity of the stories in the second section of the book find fertile ground.

 

So if we agree to look at the first section of the book as the "what for" element of the story, then perhaps The Heart of Lightness marks a transition within that section from a close-up analytical view, to a more global, or ecosystems view.  To me, this is where the author really begins putting the pieces together to show the coral reef ecosystem as an interconnected whole.  In this chapter, Mr. Davidson takes us on a trip throughout the zonation of the reef- something we have briefly discussed in our face-to-face sessions.  Use your reply here to do one of two things...

 

1) Sketch the reef zonation on pencil & paper as you see it in your "mind's eye" as you read the chapter.  Take a digital photo of your scribbles.  When finished, take that document and combine it with some other sources of information about coral reef zonation.  Maybe you'll use the information that was presented in class a few weeks back.  Perhaps you'll venture out to your favorite search tools and bring back a diagram or two that seems to add illustration to the chapter.  Use all of these resources, combined even with your textbook if you dare, and craft a reflection in the space below about how all of these things combined helped you make sense of how coral reefs are zoned.

 

-or-

 

2) The chapter also talks at length about biodiversity.  Much as we discussed in class, the author also brings up the Odum brothers who helped make sense of coral reef ecology back during the A-bomb testing program in the South Pacific.  He also does a nice job of portraying the "diversity triangle," on land and under water, for it's importance in the general well-being of our planet.  Use your search power to find resources that provide information on this crucial area of global biodiversity. Combine what you've learned in class with the information in this chapter and that which you find on the web...  and write up a nice little summary of the importance of this area to the diversity of the planet.

 

*"Panama Marine Life - Coral Reefs" by thinkpanama on Flickr.

 

 

[Alyssa Wilkinson]

This Area is very important to us. It has over 500 species of reef build ing corals, and 3,000 marine fish species. This triangle spans over these countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. This place has the highest coral diversity in the world. The Coral Triangle has 15 regionally endemic coral species, that are found nowhere else in the world!!! 76% of the world coral species is found in this one area. This one area has 37% of the worlds reef fish species. There are 7 marine turtle species in the world and of those seven species 6 are found here.

This is a picture of the triangle.

And this is a picture of some of the corals found here.

[DeeDee Hebb]

While I was looking for information, I saw the web site you went to I think... http://endangerededen.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/the-coral-triangle-t... This web site has the same pictures that you have anyway.

[erika e]

this video is awesome!

http://wn.com/coral_triangle?orderby=relevance

this video touchs on the facts :

1)that the Coral Triangle is home to the most marine species on earth

2)the coral triangle benefits many species world wide

3)the triangle is facing depletion (because of over fishing "live trade" in certain areas ((ex. hong kong and South East Asia)) and because of climate changes resulting in bleaching)

4)a third of the world's tuna is found in the coral triangle

5) in certain areas, such as Tubbataha Reef, Wardens patorl the reefs in an attempt to stop illegal fishing. they do this with the hopes of restoring and protecting the Coral Reef and the marine life surrounding it.

6)if one level of the Coral Triangle Reef is effected then the entire system is effected and compromised

the most profound quote from this informational video is  "the coral triangle is the nursery of the seas". this quote helps establish the fact that the coral reefs are the fuel for the entire ocean, without the reefs many species would die;  consequently many countries would loose their main export/inport  resulting in a plumenting economy.

a quote from the movie that i connected to the novel was "the reef is the heart to our seas". this re-itterates chapter 5 from the novel.

 

another resource i found to be extremely usefull was

www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/coraltriangle/

this website also states that

1)the coral triangle hold the highest diversity of corals, fish, crustaceans,mollusks, and marine plant species in the world

2)this area substains over 120 million people and garners more than $12 billion a year

what i found to be benifital is the WWF's plan of action , they hope to achieve by 2020,

1) coral reefs: 50% increase in area of priority coral reef habitats that is protected and substainably managed with effective financing in place

2) species: zero decline in  population of 3 endangered marine turtles (leatherback,hawskbill, and green) from the 2008 levels

3)transforming business: halting and reversing the degradation of key marine resources ( coral reef habitats, turtles, reef fish and tuna)

what is saddening to me is that alot of the marine species have become endangered for selfish reasons. in Indonesia Green turtles are commenly killed for religous sacrafices, dont get me wrong i am not saying religon is bad ... let alone practicing one's religon.. but when an innocent animal's life is put at stake for the purpose of it, it is truly unnecessary.

 

attached are

1) a map of the exportation of tuna in all areas around the Coral Triangle

2) a map showing the Coral Triangle  for  a visual of what countries are located in and around the Triangle

[Miles Redman]

I found this nicely written article on the internet about the the future of the world's reefs and found it extremely relevant to this chapter.

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/is_the_end_in_sight_for_the_worlds_cor...

The coral reef triangle in the oceans of Southeast Asia is extremely important to the future of biodiversity and the future of human society. It is a testament to the amazing force that is natural selection and evolution, hosting seventy genera of coral building organism; which is over 600 individual species , and more importantly to the people who have lived there for generations, an abundant source of food. But overfishing and human interaction in all reefs whether directly or indirectly will slowly kill off these wonderful monuments of nature built up over millenia.

A healthy looking reef, apparent in its biodiversity.

Biodiversity is part of the idea that all or most animals on the earth are intrinsically linked in importance through billions of years of co-evolution; it's similar to the concept of a food web, only much, much grander in scale, and the coral triangle is a biodiversity hotspot, much in the same way that the tropical rain forests are. It is estimated that 150 million people live within the coral triangle and that almost three million are entirely dependent on marine resources for living. The toolkits used by animals here made through millions of years of evolution can potentially be used in the future for advanced medical treatments that few could fathom today.

 

Websites I found interesting also.

http://www.coraltrianglecenter.org/

http://marinebio.org/oceans/conservation/biodiversity.asp

[DeeDee Hebb]

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/10index/backgrou...

[DeeDee Hebb]

sorry internet was down, now where were we... oh yes why is this big triangular under water rain forest important?

Well, It is home to over 600 reef-building coral species (75% of all species known to science), 3000 species of reef fish (40% of the world’s coral reef species), 6 of the world’s 7 marine turtle species, and three-quarters of known Molluscs.

 So why should we care? -

Not only do native people rely on that fishy food source, but so do we, and many other people world wide. http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/coraltriangle/WWFBinaryitem5830.pdf

[Kelly Proctor]

    Right before spring break I took a test in history over the Age of Exploration. Trading was a main thing in this age and the one spot that everyone wanted to control was the East Indies, Indonesia.  If it was important way back then shouldn't it still be important today? Our ancestors realized something that our generation is having trouble preserving. How are we supposed to get the message out that this area is crucial to our planet's future?

   Even though the general populations in the major countries of the world know little of Indonesia, there are a total of 515 mammal species, 511 reptile species, 1,531 bird species, 270 amphibian species, 75 species of parrots, and 35 species of primates. There are also 38,000 higher plant species. There are new species thriving here that have never been discovered and some could already be extinct because of our lack of care for this area of the world. On the Bay of Maumere 1,133 species of fish were counted just in this one area alone. Some scientist assume that these species survived the mass extinction after the ice age unlike the fishes in the Atlantic.

   Without these species and the new ones that are continually discovered in this area there wouldn't be as many adaptations. The world is dependent on this area for spices, fish, medicines, and other products, but if we dont take care of it there won't be as many of these in supply. Maybe someday we could find a cure for cancer or diabetes from the plants or corals in this area. Imagine if those cures are there, but we don't just know it yet. We could be destroying a chance for people to be cured.

 

Sites to check out for more info:

Site 1

Site 2

 

Pictures:

Regional biodiversity in coral reefs (Number of species)
Taxonomic Group	Asian Pacific	Caribbean	East Atlantic
Hard Coral	719	62	0
Soft Coral	690+	6	0
Sponges	244	117	0
Mollusks	494	63	31
Crustaceans	340	118	30
Fishes	4000	1400	450

 

Awesome triangle of biodiversity.

[Lauren Smith]

2.) Biodiversity is expressed greatly throughout this chapter. Without biodiversity, the world that we live in will no longer be the same. Due to "global warming", cutting down trees in tropical forests, and even whaling, this world we live in is changing rapidly...and not for the better. I found this entire website full of answered questions for biodiversity. I strongly suggest checking it out, it helped me so much. http://www.globalissues.org/issue/169/biodiversity This website also describes exactly WHY biodiversity is important. They use examples such as, bees for pollinating, the nitrogen cycle in the soil, and the dependency of species on one another.

[Brittany Stanton]

awh yay. I agreee!!

[Brittany Stanton]

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Greater biodiversity implies greater health. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions support fewer species. (wiki)

 

In this chapter I thought it expressed the definition perfectly. I looked at this website and got some cool information! It helped create a picture in my mind what life would be like with or with out. 

 

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biodiversity?topic=49480

 

Enjoy! :)