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Paradise RedefinedA journey to a coral reef chain hidden in the Central Pacific forces scientists to revisit the definition of a pristine environmentBy Mario C. Aguilera Part One: Explorations In Tropical Seas
The last two days of diving have been in places where sharks came to
the surface to check us out even before we jumped in the water;
where countless large snappers swam around us and made fish counting
almost impractical; where jacks swam towards us and then disappeared
like blue lightning; and where green parrotfish with large bumps on
their heads bit coral rock as though it was butter.
The ability to travel through time is the stuff of active imaginations, from the common daydreamer to a long list of science fiction writers. For marine ecologists, a chance to travel back in time to study pristine ocean environments is an enticing proposition. How did earlier, unspoiled marine ecosystems differ from today's? How rich was marine fauna without impacts from fishing, pollution, and global ocean warming? How did their underlying functions differ from today's imperiled oceans? For a group of scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and their colleagues, the time travel dream became reality. In the summer of 2005, the researchers traveled thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to study a string of coral reefs tucked away in a tropical island chain. What they saw was alarming, yet ripe with scientific potential and hope for the future. 
Their adventure to the Line Islands in the Central Pacific, a throwback to an age of exploration on the high seas, began with the idea of a single survey on a single island but soon became an extraordinary prism for observing varying levels of human influence on coral reefs. Their experiences and the treasure chest of new data obtained during the expedition are leading to fresh challenges of accepted theories about the ecology of coral reefs. The scientists are forging new conclusions about a coral reef's ability to withstand threats as they search for practical ways to protect and conserve marine ecosystems. Next page: The day everything 'exploded.' |
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