Loren McClenehan, a Colby professor, combined historical marine ecology, marine environmental history, and marine conservation to examine changes in coral reefs. I really enjoyed her lecture! I found the content interesting and engaging. Professor McClenehan’s methods were interdisciplinary and unique. She explained that obtaining a historical picture of coral reefs can be challenging because they can’t be seen with the human eye from the surface. While there is a general understanding in the scientific community that coral reefs are becoming less healthy, the extent of that understanding is limited. There is relatively limited data available regarding the species composition and abundance of different marine species. Dr. McClenehan used archival photos to estimate these changes with a few case studies. She noted the phenomena that people assume that the status of conservation at the beginning of their careers is the peak of conservation. In reality, conservation was likely better at an earlier time.
I came away from Dr. McClenehan’s talk with three main takeaways. Firstly, her talk reminded me that in conservation we must set our sights on higher. Even if we meet some of the goals set today we may have the capability to further improve if we make it a priority. While I absolutely agree, and in some cases, this is the right choice there are other cases where the goals we set already feel lofty and unattainable. I think that it’s important to set goals that feel attainable to help maintain a semblance of hope in the field of conservation. It’s important to reevaluate our goals and reassess based on the information available to us. Funding can also be really limiting with lofty goals- regardless of the goal conservation funding tends to be scarce. I have a few questions about setting goals. Can they ever really be achieved? How significant are the barriers to achieving these goals? Will the funding ever be there? I guess I’d like to know more about the effectiveness of setting high goals. Secondly, her talk highlighted the variety of data that can be valuable. The use of historic photos illustrates a stark change- I think it’s also a very accessible way to explain topics that get bogged down in jargon and science. During the Q & A, an audience member even emphasized the effectiveness of the photos. I really loved her approach and thought it was very innovative. I wonder/hope that other academics can take similar approaches to both collecting and conveying data. Finally, Dr. McClenehan’s lecture reminded me how imperative it is that we act now. She described that state of the environment as a “10% world”. So much of Earth’s biodiversity has been lost, largely at the benefit of humans. For me, it reminded me and reaffirmed why I’m an environmental science major interested in conservation. There is an immediate need to act- at virtually every climate level. While I’m not particularly interested in marine science her lecture really highlighted the expanse and extent of environmental degradation.