Dr. Loren McClenachan’s lecture was in part something that I have put thought into and researched myself in affiliation with Colby College. Marine decline, in specifically coral decline has been something I have researched last summer, and something that is one of the chief problems facing marine communities across the world. In particular, the Great Barrier reef, one of the world’s beacons of marine diversity has been greatly affected by coral bleaching, which additionally causes trophic cascades affecting the population levels of many species that live in the area. Almost a third of the Great Barrier reef corals have died since 2016, which is an astonishing number and one that makes me wonder if the reef can ever recover from this downward spiral.
Another aspect of the talk discussed the physiological effects that our past actions have had on animals. In fish in particular, it has been shown that over time, the size of many fish species have decreased in size, due likely to a decrease in the quality of life that many of them struggle with. In relation to the general theme of this lecture series, it gives a physical relationship between the present and the past, and it paints the image of deterioration over time. Studies have shown some fish have lost up to 50% in length. And while this is not a direct example of fish dying as a result of human activity, it is an example of the decline of the quality of resources that many of these animals are experiencing. The fact that in a few decades cause this drastic of a change is an incredibly profound image and one that reverts back to a theme of a few talks of this series, which is a feeling of hopelessness.
While there is no way to know for certain as to whether or not human activity has driven the natural world to a point of no return, there is a prevailing attitude with people who care deeply about these environmental issues that there is irreversible damage being done. The great barrier reef example is one that lends credence to this way of thinking. Coral bleaching, the act of the pigment cells leaving coral, makes it near impossible for the coral bodies to continue to survive. Because of this, vast fields of white dead coral bodies take up a large amount of ocean floor area where life used to occupy the area. To reverse something like this would take a large amount of action from many countries acting to help rectify this. But the prevailing thought, and the continued ignorance surrounding this subject suggests that this moment of epiphany and subsequent action will never come.