Most people will say that nature is a threat to humans. Which makes sense. I mean how do we stop a hurricane or a tsunami? We can escape them, but we can't stop them.
But there are some catastrophe's we can stop: anthropocentric threats to our planet. This article is inspired by the Caledonian Sky Cruise Ship crashing into Crossover Reef.
Crossover Reef is located inside the Coral Triangle, West Papua province(Raja Ampat), Indonesia, deemed the first ever conservation province in the entire world in 2015. This area has more species in this one region than anywhere else in the world. "This declaration will help us maintain and manage our natural resources wisely and continuously so that future generations can enjoy them,” says West Papua governor. The leaders of the nation claim that the island should be developed in a way to help the people yet, it should not take away it's identity. The province will not become another concrete jungle with the same stores and fast food places everywhere else.
Crossover Reef is one of the most biodiverse reefs in the entire world. Biodiversity is when an area supports many different species (animals, plants, etc). The more biodiverse an area is, the more niches there are. Each species in an area works to fulfill some larger ecological purpose. For example, there might be a tree in a forest that isn't particularly flattering. Yet without that tree, a local bird species would not have a habitat, less nutrient cycling would occur, and less carbon dioxide would be taken out of the air. Without this one species, the Net Primary Productivity could decrease ten fold.
The cruise ship damaged 17,000 square feet of land and it is expected that it will be a ten year recovery period. However, it will not be an easy recovery considering the current research from rising ocean temperatures. Temperature stress is known to cause bleaching events in the ocean. Scientists have recently discovered that oceans are warming at a rate 13% faster than expected(http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/3/e160154...). Scientists understand that Ocean Heat Content (OHC) is increasing due to where the temperature is the highest. Normally, there would be consistent temperatures at the lower levels of the ocean. However, OHC has increased dramatically since the 1980's. From 1962 to 1990, temperature changes have increased 60%. This is in reference to the rate at which the OHC is changing not the overall temperature.
I am not sure how the cruise ship crashed. Accidents do happen. People cannot prevent accidents but we can prevent unnecessary damage. Be conscience about your choices to help preserve one of the largest ecological contributors in the world: coral reefs.
Currently, there is a video in circulation of Karlie Kloss advocating for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef. As much as I admire her effort to raise awareness, please do your best not to wear sunscreen while visiting a coral reef. It blocks the zoxanthalle from receiving sunlight that leads to its death and the death of the reef (bleaching).
