Highest Rated Comments


randirotjan8 karma

Thank you for asking a happy question! YES, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) has had some incredibly encouraging data emerge in the past two years. NPR did excellent coverage of a PIPA reef regaining biodiversity after a bleaching event, see here: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/08/18/coral-reef-blooms-pacific.

Also, I’ve been working more and more in the deep sea (#DeepCoralsofPIPA) and we’ve found corals there that are thousands of years old. I love thinking about ancient organisms - they are fascinating in their own right, but also give me so much hope.

I’ve also seen the power of individuals: one person can truly change the world. It took one person to have the idea to create the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (not me!), but they started an unexpected catalytic movement of conservation across the globe. I have Rosie the Riveter in my mind as I write this: Let’s do this!

randirotjan7 karma

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are one of (but not the only!) the key tools in the marine conservation toolbox. There is conflicting evidence, but that is likely because the zonation, maintenance and enforcement of MPAs is highly variable. Many MPAs are no-take, but not all are well-enforced. Still others \are* well-enforced, but are NOT no-take, and therefore still allow a substantial amount of exploitation. In the end, the concept of MPAs is one of the most tractable and promising tools we have available, and they certainly achieve the credo put forth by the medical community: “First, do no harm”. But most MPAs are relatively recently created, and I think time, money, and resources are needed to answer this question fully. On a more personal note, I work very closely with the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), owned and operated by the Republic of Kiribati. PIPA is the largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site on the planet, and recently closed to all large-scale commercial and extractive activities as of Jan 1 2015. A paper published in collaboration with SkyTruth and Oceana and published in Science (McCauley et al 2016:* https://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6278/1148) looked at ship traffic (mostly related to tuna fishing) in PIPA pre- and post-closure and found that there was a dramatic reduction in ship traffic, suggesting that the MPA was effective in eliminating fishing pressure. Now, 4 years later, we are just starting to answer the question of whether PIPA is effective at protecting tuna (so stay tuned!).

randirotjan6 karma

I personally am a fan of nuclear power, but my lab has been informally debating this point and have not reached consensus. Given that, I'm uncomfortable giving a strong answer to this because I don't feel like I am as informed as I want to be. So, I'll simply say "I don't know", but I'll try to have a better answer for the next time I'm asked! :-)

randirotjan6 karma

Microplastics are plastic pieces less than 5mm in size. They can be primary microplastics [deliberately made this size (microbeads, fibers)] or be secondary microplastics [originate as macro-plastic and degrade over time (i.e. a plastic water bottle breaking into fragments in the environment)].

randirotjan6 karma

How can you pick a favorite when they are all so different? Raja Ampat reefs (in Indonesia) are my favorite for biodiversity. Saudi Arabian reefs (Red Sea) are my favorite ones that I never thought I’d get the chance to see, until I did. Belizean Reefs are my “home” reef - I learned to be a coral reef biologist in Belize, and Caribbean reefs just feel comfortable and familiar. And Phoenix Islands reefs are the ones where I’ve spent the most recent professional effort, and the most conversation attention. Rhode Island reefs have secret New England corals. Sorry buddy - I love ‘em all. :-) And there are so many I haven’t yet been to - I hope I can get to them all before… well, before they’ve fundamentally changed forever. But I’m an optimist, so let’s just say: I hope I can get to more soon.