1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:03,960 Speaker 1: Hey there, everybody, it's me Josh and for this week's 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: s Y s K Selects, I've chosen how Coral Reefs 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,639 Speaker 1: Work from two thousand twelve, I think March or two 4 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:12,800 Speaker 1: thousand twelve, and it's a good one. It's got a 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: lot of science. There's a lot of interesting marine biology 6 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: to learn, and plus it's just good to get to 7 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: know this very rare form of life that we are 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: very rapidly erasing from the global biosphere. So I hope 9 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: you enjoy this very eye opening episode on coral reefs. 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know from House Stuff Works 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh 12 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,200 Speaker 1: Clark with me as always as Charles W. Chuck Bryant, 13 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: and that makes this stuff you shouldn't know. So I 14 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: just noticed your cold is cleared up. Yeah a little bit. 15 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: I still have the the an interior lining and very 16 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: thick all right. The other than that, Yeah, you sound fine, 17 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 1: that's all. You know what it was tons of emergency 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: used to wash down tons of vitamin B stress, which 19 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: is like tons of just different vitamin b's. I eat 20 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: solar ray um and Scotch right single malt Scott just 21 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: my secret ingredient um and lots of licene, A couple 22 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: of licenes every time, like thousands and thousands of percentages 23 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,680 Speaker 1: of daily value. Like just it just makes the FDA 24 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: cringe that I take as much. That's what I do. 25 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: I just load up on like everything, like triple it. Yep, 26 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: there you go, take that body, So I'm fine. Good 27 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,319 Speaker 1: now you has it? Oh does she the same exact thing? 28 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: And she doesn't like when I tell her to take vitamins? Yeah, 29 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: but that you know, you live together, you drink after 30 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: one another. Just suck face, just like I'll leave like 31 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: emergency here. They're like laying around. Oh did I leave that? Oops? 32 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: That's already dissolved the water even and it's going down 33 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: your gullet, um chuck. Yes, did you know that I 34 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: am a certified scuba diver? I sure did. Oh yeah 35 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: you did not thought for sure. You're gonna be like, no, 36 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: I didn't know. We've talked about this. Yeah, we've even 37 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: scuba dive together, haven't. That's right. That was the first 38 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,239 Speaker 1: time I heard about it. I'm not the sharpest tack 39 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: in the package, um, but I say that to tell 40 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: you that I was certified at a place called Isla 41 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: Mueris off the coast of Cosumel, which just so happens 42 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: to also be the home of the second largest barrier 43 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: reef known to man. What's it called to humans? I 44 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 1: don't know. It is not called anything, because there's the 45 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: great barrier reef and then there's all the other all 46 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: the other ones, but this is the second largest, which 47 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: is pretty big. Because there's a lot of barrier reefs. 48 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: There's a lot of coral reefs in the world. But 49 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: after reading this article, I found that there is a 50 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: lot about coral reefs that I didn't know. Unfortunately, we 51 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: had Jennifer Horton, who I'm sure you'll remember worked at 52 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: the site for a while. Yeah, she's a great writer. 53 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: He's a great writer. We had. We had her to 54 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: explain it to us and like, I get coral reefs now. 55 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,639 Speaker 1: In fact, Jennifer has written many of the animal related 56 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: podcasts that we've done, um Bison. I think maybe she 57 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: wrote a lot of the animal stuff, animal migration, lots 58 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: of good ones. To miss you, Jennifer, I hope you're 59 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: well if you listen. I wonder who were they? Right? 60 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: Remember those guys? I hated those two all right? Coral reefs. 61 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: This was all new to me. The rainforest of the 62 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: sea of the Equatorial Seas home to about of all 63 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: the species. Yeah, that's crazy. In fact, right, Um, the 64 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: Great Barrier Reef has more more kinds of coral um 65 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: on like one just single little outcropping of it, then 66 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: you'll find in the entire tropical area of the Atlantic Ocean. Wow. Yeah, 67 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: that's amazing. I don't know why I just said that. There. 68 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: The Aussies are gonna they're gonna be so stoked with 69 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: this podcast. Probably anytime they can like claim to something 70 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: like that, they're just like, yeah, yeah, drank exactly. They're 71 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: gonna go poor beer on the Great Barrier Reef. Um. 72 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: It's the coral reefs are very beneficial to humans in 73 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: a number of ways. Economically, sure, because there's a lot 74 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: of sea life and thus people fishing for shrimp and 75 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: lobster and things like that. Right, in all sorts of 76 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 1: weird ways which we'll get too later. Um. They also 77 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: protect the beach from erosion. They act as natural buffers 78 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: from huge waves wave action, that's right. Yeah, Well, let's 79 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: talk about that. Because you think of when you think 80 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,280 Speaker 1: of coral, you think of huge you know Great Barrier Reef. 81 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: It's enormous. It's like, um, I think there's eighteen thousand 82 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: miles total of coral face face that is on the 83 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: Great Barrier Reef. Actually, an individual coral called a polyp um, 84 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: is about three millimeters long. Yeah, that's small, super tiny 85 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: for those of you in America. Uh, they are, Well, 86 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: science got it wrong early on. We should go ahead 87 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: and say that they um at one point fairly uh 88 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: understandably thought that it might be plant life because it 89 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: sort of looks like it. Yeah, like you know, like 90 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:31,159 Speaker 1: the coral fan. Yeah, that's a bunch of those little 91 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: three millimeter corals building up into a fan. It looks 92 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: like it looks like a plant. Yeah. So they got 93 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: it wrong, and they're actually not only are they real 94 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 1: living little sea creatures, but they're carnivores. Yeah, which is 95 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: you know, you would never think about that. No, but 96 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 1: they're in the phylum Sindaria Nideria. Why would they put 97 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: the sea there? It's silent, man, You know, I appreciate 98 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: a silent letter. I'm smarter than my pronunciations would suggest. 99 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: I started looking this up because I feel like an idiot. 100 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: So they're in the phial of nydaria, which means um 101 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:10,600 Speaker 1: that they have stinging cells, barbed stinging cells um called 102 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: ne maticist that's right. So um they use this to 103 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: capture their prey, but the prey kind of has to 104 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,360 Speaker 1: come to them because they're also sessile, which means they're 105 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:26,040 Speaker 1: fixed to a certain spot. Yeah seriously, Yeah, uh so 106 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: it is understandable also that they got it wrong because 107 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: coral has a unique property. It is almost half plant 108 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: because there's this algae in the cells. I want to 109 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 1: pronounce it, Okay, go ahead. It's called zus anthely, you're right, 110 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,039 Speaker 1: very nice. Starts with a Z and there's an X 111 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 1: in there somewhere. And then so what happens with there's 112 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: a very mutually beneficial relationship between the algae and the polyp. 113 00:06:55,200 --> 00:07:00,679 Speaker 1: They do a little exchange the polyp itself, well supply, 114 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: I'm sorry. The algae will undertake photosynthesis, yes, as algae 115 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,839 Speaker 1: tends to do. As algae will do, and it will say, hey, 116 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: mr polyp, why don't you take all this stuff that 117 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: i've I've made within your cell walls and and convert 118 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: it to proteins and fats. It poops out like amino 119 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: acids and cards for the polyp, and in return, why 120 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: don't you give me a nice shelter, And you can 121 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: also produce some carbon and nitrates and pop fates that 122 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: I need to produce the photosynthesis to give you the 123 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: proteins and fats that you need. So it's what you 124 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: might call a symbiotic relationship. Exactly, one's helping the other. 125 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,600 Speaker 1: And um, you can make the case that the coral 126 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 1: is getting the better end of the deal because coral 127 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: gets about the energy produced through photosynthesis by the zoos anthely, 128 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: right yeah, um, but that also makes the coral more 129 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: dependent on the zoos anthely. And the zoos anthely it's 130 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: a algae of very little needs. It's not needy, it's 131 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: not grabby. It's not gonna call you up every Friday 132 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: night wondering what you're doing, Why you aren't here? Are 133 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: you talking about me? No? No, Jerry like that one. 134 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: So um. The the symbiotic relationship between the zuox anthely 135 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: and the coral polyps also produce coral reefs. Um. The 136 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: polyps use some of that energy, some of that amino acid, 137 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: to create something called calcium carbonate, and that's the hard stuff. Right, 138 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 1: that's limestone, my friend. Yeah. They produce limestone out of 139 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: their butt hawks to create a cup, a little shelter 140 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: for the polyp to stay in. And since the algae 141 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: stays in the polyp, it creates a shelter for both, right. Yeah, 142 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: and this limestone secretion can keep building and building and 143 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: building because again, coral stays in the same place there cecile. 144 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: That's right, and um as as long as they're still 145 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,599 Speaker 1: secreting lime stone, the limestone structure they build will just 146 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: keep getting bigger and bigger. Eventually love it. That's just 147 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: one three millimeter long, coral. Yes, what you want to 148 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: do is get thousands together strengthened numbers. Yeah, then you 149 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:17,079 Speaker 1: have a coral fan yeah, or a colony, and then 150 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: those colonies will eventually meet up with other colonies uh 151 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: and say, hey, you guys interested in forming a wreef 152 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: because we're pretty indestructible, although that's not quite true. We're 153 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: more indestructible if we all hook up my brothers, like 154 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: you said, strengthened numbers, and when they hook up, their 155 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: limestone secretions can start to join together forming a reef. 156 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: But they're also um connected by a thin piece of tissue. 157 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,559 Speaker 1: You got this one called a seen a sark. That's 158 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: what I was gonna go for. I was just tired 159 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: of humiliating myself for this episode. I would have called 160 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:57,839 Speaker 1: it a kna sark, So I was a way off. 161 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: I'm really glad to look that Celia canth it's a 162 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: scene of sark um. And that's how the the coral 163 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 1: themselves are through limestone secretions and through this tissue called 164 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: the sin of sark. They're connected, right, but how would 165 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: they grow? Well, there's two ways. Many they can reproduce. Yeah, 166 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: a couple of ways, so right, sexually or a sexually? 167 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 1: I know which one I choose. A sexual, Yeah, because 168 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: you're cloning. That's pretty remarkable. Anyone can just get together 169 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: and you know mate. Sexually, it's like here's some sperm 170 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: in another one's like here's some eggs, and then they 171 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: get together and then it's just it's no, there's not 172 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: much to it all, right. A Sexually, though, they actually 173 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: do divide and produce identical clones of themselves, and that's 174 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: one way they can grow. And the other way is 175 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: just to keep pooping out limestone and that will connect 176 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: with each other. And it just forms a big old 177 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:22,080 Speaker 1: yummy wreath. M Um. This is not a fast process though. 178 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 1: Like if there's a couple of coral that are a 179 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: few inches away, say three inches away, and they're like, 180 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: I would like to hook my sine a sark up 181 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: to your sine a sark and let's poop some limestone 182 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: I was together and get this reef going. That's beautiful. 183 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 1: It's gonna take them about a year to get together. 184 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: Can you imagine how frustrating that is to be three 185 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 1: inches away and be like, I'd really like to consummate this. 186 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: I'll see you next June. I'm not convinced that coral 187 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: can experience frustration. You don't think so, I don't. I 188 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:53,440 Speaker 1: think that's all they experience frustration. Either that or they're 189 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: like really really patient, but that three inches of growth 190 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:01,679 Speaker 1: a year um has to take place. They're very specific conditions. 191 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: Remember we said that coral reefs are in equatorial waters. Um, 192 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: not the coral themselves, but the zoos anthely are actually 193 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: very fickle and picky little organisms and they like specific 194 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,840 Speaker 1: conditions and as long as the conditions are right for them, 195 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: then the coral can grow. Because remember the coral are 196 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: dependent on the zaxananthely to produce the calcium carbonate. That's right, Um, 197 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: so what are the conditions chuckers Well, you said equatorial, 198 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: specifically thirty degrees north or south. If you have ever 199 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: dived in the Bahamas and said, no, that's thirty two 200 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: degrees north and they have plenty there. It's because the 201 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: warm Gulf waters spitting out towards the Bahamas, which is 202 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 1: one reason the Bahamas is such a popular spot. I 203 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: would imagine, Yes, I've never been there. You no, my 204 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: folks drove my car back from the Bahamas. Thoughts you 205 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,199 Speaker 1: had a car in the Bahamas, you're supposed to say, 206 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: you're kidding, You're kidding, I must be The Bahamas are islands. 207 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,280 Speaker 1: It's a it's a dead milkman song. It's pitching camaro 208 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,679 Speaker 1: Oh that's from Bittnick Camara. Yeah, it's the beginning. Jeez, 209 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,319 Speaker 1: I'm a dummy. That's alright, Chuck. I'm not hip. I'm 210 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: not hipp either, Chuck. Sunlight is another thing that they 211 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: need because, and it makes sense if you're gonna undertake photosynthesis, 212 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:22,239 Speaker 1: you need sun. So if the water is rich in nutrients, 213 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: believe it or not. That's not great for them because 214 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,080 Speaker 1: if you've ever looked through if you've ever been under 215 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,719 Speaker 1: water and seen like a lot of plankton everywhere it 216 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: filters the sunlight, it's dappled, that's right. And also, as 217 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:37,080 Speaker 1: we learned later, UM, the more nutrients there are, the 218 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: more it will attract uh competition for those nutrients. And 219 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: that's not good for me either. No, they don't like competitions. Basically, 220 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: they're just little prima donnas. Example, they are the water, 221 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:54,079 Speaker 1: since you're near the equator, should be between seventy three 222 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 1: point four and eighty four point two degrees fahrenheit. And 223 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: I ultimately, if you put all these facts there together 224 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,760 Speaker 1: ample like clear water and between seventy three and eighty 225 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: two or twenty three celsius and twenty nine celsius um, 226 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:09,680 Speaker 1: you can get up to about ten centimeters or three 227 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: point nine inches of growth in a year, twice as 228 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 1: much on sunny days. Yes, but they're still not going 229 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: to exceed that three point nine inches most likely because 230 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 1: it's might be all the time. But what's cool then 231 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: is if you think, well that's crazy, you know there's 232 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 1: some coral that Um, I've seen coral reefs, and they're big. 233 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 1: And if it takes three point it takes a year 234 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: to grow about three point nine inches, say horizontally or vertically, 235 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: maybe even die diagonally. If it was like a crazy 236 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: year for them. Um, it must take thousands of years 237 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: for coral reef to build up. You would be right, 238 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: my friend, Which is why scientists very affectionately consider coral 239 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: reefs the old growth forests of the sea. UM. Because 240 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 1: when you're looking at coral reef, you're looking at something thousands, 241 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: if not tens of thousands of years old. Which is 242 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: my question is how long does the coral live? So 243 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: one thing I didn't get out of this this article. 244 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: Did you, oh, how each individual coral, each polypic boll? 245 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: I don't know. And are they are there their cups, 246 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: the protective cups that they secrete? Um? Are they inhabited 247 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: by like successive generations, their clones maybe my guests? And 248 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: I'm guessing here is that there are so many, hundreds 249 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: of thousands and millions of these packs so tightly together 250 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: that if one of the little guys dies, it ain't 251 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: no big thing, because he's surrounded by his living brothers 252 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: and sisters. But I don't know how long each one lives. 253 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: At this good question, someone will know. Coral sand. If 254 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 1: you look at the reef and you think, hey, coral 255 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: is obviously the skeleton here of this great reef. Uh, 256 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: it's not just the coral. Coral sand, from what I understand, 257 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 1: is little remnants, tiny pieces of coral that are either 258 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: eaten and pooped out or just chip away because of 259 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,680 Speaker 1: erosion and waves crashing and bad weather and stuff like that. 260 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: Right right, yeah, and um, but the cool thing is 261 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: that it doesn't necessarily go anywhere. It can fill in 262 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: gaps or holes, and then, as luck would have it, 263 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:20,239 Speaker 1: there is a type of algae called coral line algae 264 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: that goes and covers it up. And the structure of 265 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: the algae acts is like an adhesive that glues the 266 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: coral sand. So basically it's like this self sustaining repair 267 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: process that's always going on. Waves of road the coral 268 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: into coral sand. Certain types of fish choose the coral 269 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 1: into coral sand. The sand goes in just drifts into 270 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: like little pockets where it gets caught in. The algae 271 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 1: lays over it bam strong coral well and coral sand 272 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: is mind which is one of the threats to reefs 273 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 1: because they use it for bricks and cement and road fill. 274 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: So if you're mining the coral sand, there's not gonna 275 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: be that natural spackle to fill in the holes, and 276 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: thus the reef is jeopardized, which is just one of 277 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: many ways that research in jeopardy. Apparently one estimate is 278 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:11,639 Speaker 1: that um of the world's reefs could be gone in 279 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,880 Speaker 1: the next few decades. That's scary, very sad. I hope 280 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 1: you're scared. I'm scared. Um. This is where I got 281 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: a little confused, was well, let's talk about the kinds 282 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,119 Speaker 1: of reefs, because I'm not confused about that. There are 283 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 1: basically three categories, depending where they form the fringing reef. 284 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: It's most common it's directly from the shore and they 285 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,040 Speaker 1: form a border projecting out to the sea. Yeah. It's 286 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,479 Speaker 1: kind of like, Um, if you go to like Marble 287 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 1: Head in Ohio, there's a lighthouse. Um, I think it's limestone. 288 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: It's like it just comes right off the land, right. 289 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 1: I don't understand how that would be because it's in 290 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 1: Lake Erie, which is not fresh water, but who knows. 291 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:55,719 Speaker 1: It's very similar to that. It's like just a rocky 292 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 1: projection jutting out from the land. But it's a coral reef, right, 293 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,919 Speaker 1: or if it were a coral reef, that's a fringing reef. 294 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:06,439 Speaker 1: Interesting reef attached to land. Very reef, very similar to 295 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: the fringing reef, but it has a gap of water 296 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: between the land and in the reef. Correct. And then 297 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: my favorite, of course, the atoll. It's a nice one, 298 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 1: which is when at one point there was an island 299 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,199 Speaker 1: or volcano and it sunk, but you still have the 300 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:29,200 Speaker 1: circular wreath reef with I guess like a lagoon or something. Yeah, 301 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: the reefs keeps building, but the mountain is now submerged. 302 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,400 Speaker 1: Pretty cool. Yeah, so you got your three types fringing 303 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 1: barrier and at all, Right, the zones is where I 304 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: get a little confused. So all of these reefs um 305 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 1: are kind of broken down into zones. Like remember the 306 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 1: bio speleology. How could I forget? Okay, So you've got 307 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 1: like the different zones of the This is very similar 308 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 1: to that. You've got the back of the reef, and 309 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: the back is the side closest too short. I think 310 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: that's what confused me. And then really it is a 311 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,680 Speaker 1: little confusing but it's from the it's from the viewpoint 312 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: of the sea. Um. So you've got just imagine like 313 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 1: a line and then a bump and then another line, 314 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: and that's our reef right um on the shore side 315 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:17,639 Speaker 1: of the bump, that's the back of the reef. And 316 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: this is actually where the most life is. Yeah. Um. 317 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: Sometimes it's left high and dry by low tide, but 318 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: most times it's just this little shallow area that's got 319 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: tons of sunlight. So there's tons of plankton, which means 320 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: there's tons of fish. There's a feeding frenzy, there's diurnal 321 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 1: temperature changes. It's just very pretty. It's what most people 322 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: think of when they think about diving on a coral reef. Right. 323 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:47,679 Speaker 1: Then that bump, that's the ridge or the crest. Okay Um, 324 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:53,719 Speaker 1: that part the the crest is always exposed at low tide, 325 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:57,040 Speaker 1: and it may be exposed even at high tide sometimes 326 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 1: depending on how big. But it's the tallest point. It 327 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: also um serves as the wave break for that function 328 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,119 Speaker 1: of um reefs that protect the lane. This is what 329 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 1: the waves smack into, so it's gonna be more easily 330 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: eroded and probably have more of that natural spackle. Right yes, 331 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: that was it coralline algae. Probably that was called cora line, yeah, 332 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: oka or coraline whichever, however you want to say it, Chuck, 333 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna stress you out, all right, um. And 334 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: then there's the four reef that's the the ocean side, 335 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,399 Speaker 1: the seaside, right um. And in that part of the 336 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:37,199 Speaker 1: four we find the other side of the crest, the 337 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: seaside of the crest, there's the buttress zone, which is 338 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 1: awesome if you ask me, And that's where you're gonna 339 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: find if you're shark hunting, that's where you're gonna find 340 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 1: like sharks and barracuda and interesting things like that, right, 341 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: But does it buttress? Is that why they call it 342 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 1: the buttress zone? So the buttress consider a buttress is 343 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: just like a jutting projection of coral limestone, right, just 344 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: jutting out, and then in between these projections are little 345 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:04,120 Speaker 1: channels holes that can go all the way through. I'm 346 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: not quite sure what the physics are of it, but basically, 347 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: once a wave goes through this coral reef and hits 348 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: shore and then gets drawn back out to see these channels, 349 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:18,919 Speaker 1: um funnel these spent waves back out to sea, and 350 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,959 Speaker 1: by funneling them it gives them a more energy, so 351 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 1: then they crash into oncoming waves, which reduces the oncoming 352 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 1: waves velocity. So all this is is in an attempt 353 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 1: naturally to combat the erosion of pounding waves. Yes, awesome, 354 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: Yeah it's pretty cool. Um, that's also a really excellent 355 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: um shelter for a little fish ease and things like that. 356 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: They want to go into the channel. So, josh, we've 357 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: talked about the Great Barrier reef uh here and there, 358 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,199 Speaker 1: but we should give it its proper do as the 359 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 1: largest living structure on the planet scene from outer space. 360 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: Everyone loves to throw that back around. Yeah, can see 361 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: it from outer space. And then made me look something up, chuck, Um, 362 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 1: that's it's the largest living structure. Okay, So if if 363 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: coral reef is an organism, do you know what the 364 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:16,600 Speaker 1: second largest living organism is? Um, it's a fungus in 365 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: Oregon named amarially Ois stay years old. Takes up four 366 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: square miles or ten square kilometers, single organism. Where is 367 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,640 Speaker 1: it Oregon, Oregon? Yeah, it's a It's at our friend 368 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: Van Nostrian's house. So it's a big mushroom. Yeah. Interesting, 369 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,480 Speaker 1: didn't that gross. That is gross. So uh, the Great 370 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:42,280 Speaker 1: Barrier reef, we're talking four dwy nine miles or clicks 371 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 1: and um, it is not a single reef. It's about 372 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,879 Speaker 1: three thousand I got so. I'm not sure if that 373 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,160 Speaker 1: number had declined since this was written or not. But um, 374 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: Jennifer points out, and like you pointed out earlier, the 375 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 1: the full edge of the reef is about UM eighteen 376 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,360 Speaker 1: and a half thousand miles. So she says, if anyone's 377 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 1: ever told you they've died the entire Great Berry Reef, 378 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: their dirty liars. Yes, she said, they're lying because there's 379 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: no way you couldn't do it in a lifetime. She said, 380 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:15,560 Speaker 1: I wonder if somebody told her that, and she like 381 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,720 Speaker 1: inserted it in the article. I don't know. It's definitely 382 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: an accusation, it is. It's a weird tien. It's one 383 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 1: of the seven natural wonders of the world. More than 384 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:57,200 Speaker 1: four coral species, two thousand fish species, four thousand mollusks, 385 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: and six of the seven sea turtle species. Ease, all 386 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 1: right there for the for the googling, nice and the um, 387 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,080 Speaker 1: like you said, the Australians are gonna be proud of 388 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 1: this and they should be back. In nineteen seventy five, 389 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:20,639 Speaker 1: apparently it was in some jeopardy and the Australians moved 390 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: to protect it as a National Marine Park UM and 391 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:31,880 Speaker 1: that basically ensured its survival. It's still you know, kind 392 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:36,680 Speaker 1: of in rough shape here there is, as I understand. 393 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,239 Speaker 1: But um, six years after that, so let's see, that's 394 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:44,480 Speaker 1: one it became a World Heritage Site UM and one 395 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:48,880 Speaker 1: percent of the eighteen and a half thousand square miles 396 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: or eighteen and a half thousand linear miles UM are 397 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: open to the public except for that one percent to 398 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,959 Speaker 1: just one percent is dedicated to research only just research, 399 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: just pretty cool, not very much because all they need 400 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,080 Speaker 1: bona fide scientists to dive that part. The rest of it, 401 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: Jennifer points out, is divided into National park zones, which 402 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 1: is where you can go, recreate and learn some things. 403 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 1: And then the rest of it is general use, which 404 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: means commercial fishing, which I guess there's no better time 405 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 1: to get into the threats than right now. Yes, um, 406 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: there are some coral reefs in trouble um the Great 407 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,360 Speaker 1: Barrier Reef. Like I said, it's pretty well protected. But say, 408 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: if you look at some of the reefs in the 409 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:41,720 Speaker 1: Philippines have been destroyed and five percent, just five percent 410 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: are in good condition these days, um ten percent of 411 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:50,200 Speaker 1: the world's reefs are now beyond recovery, not just because 412 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,640 Speaker 1: of human causes, because of the natural causes as well. 413 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,879 Speaker 1: Because everything exists on a life cycle here on Earth, 414 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: we humans just tend to accelerate it. Ument may die 415 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,639 Speaker 1: in the next ten to twenty years. So what are 416 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: Some of the natural threats are obviously harsh weather like hurricanes, 417 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: um el Nino a weird weather pattern. It's going to 418 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: increase temperatures, mess with the salinity, a lot more rainfall. 419 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:20,720 Speaker 1: So an El Nino season could can do some serious damage. 420 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:26,959 Speaker 1: Bleaching coral bleaching. When they experience as little as like 421 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 1: one degree rise in temperature, the algae will be ejected 422 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 1: basically from the coral. The algae takes off. Oh it leaves. Yeah, 423 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:37,880 Speaker 1: it's like see you in hell, coral. There's a fine 424 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: line between ejection and and self leaving. It's the chicken 425 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: and egg thing, maybe you think so. The algae gets 426 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 1: the heck out of dodge, turns the coral white, and 427 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 1: if you google pictures you can see a lovely coral 428 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: with like white patches here and there. That's the parts 429 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 1: where it's bleached out. And if if this keeps up 430 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 1: long enough, the coral dies because again coral has a 431 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: symbiotic relationship where it's dependent on this zu is Anthony's 432 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,960 Speaker 1: algae and if the us Anthony's leaves, then the coral 433 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: dies very sad um. And like you said, it was 434 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:18,479 Speaker 1: just a as much as a one degree temperature increase, right, 435 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,960 Speaker 1: that's not much. There's also predators, like there's things that 436 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:30,160 Speaker 1: eat um the coral, the polyps themselves, crabs, worms, snails, barnacles, 437 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: parrot fish. Those are really pretty I can't do anything 438 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: about that, pal that's nature at work. But there are 439 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: things we can do, such as not using dynamite when 440 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:43,920 Speaker 1: we fish on coral reefs. It's it's a pretty good start. 441 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,920 Speaker 1: There's forty countries in the world. Over forty countries in 442 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 1: the world that allow blast fishing, people using explosives that 443 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: they drop onto the reef to stun the fish so 444 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 1: they can just swoop them up with the net and 445 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:02,200 Speaker 1: um basically go fall like a slack jawed yokel wearing 446 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,600 Speaker 1: nothing but overalls. While they just bring their nets in. 447 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,440 Speaker 1: They just threw dynamite in the water to stunt fish. Well, 448 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 1: the dynamite also has a deletrious impact on the reef 449 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,240 Speaker 1: structure as well. You're gonna go to the grave with 450 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: that one, aren't you. I saw on Facebook you you 451 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: put the apostrophe in y'all after the again, mix it up. 452 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:26,840 Speaker 1: You know what's weird is the iPhone corrects it incorrectly. 453 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,880 Speaker 1: Oh really, yeah, Well they don't know, y'all. They're from California. 454 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:34,399 Speaker 1: I've always done why apostrophe a l L? That's correct, 455 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:38,160 Speaker 1: you all y'all. Now see someone pointed out to me 456 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: on email that it was, in fact, why a apostrophe LLL? No, 457 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: it's you all, so I've been doing it right the 458 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: whole time. No, you're doing it why a apostrophe LLL? 459 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:50,240 Speaker 1: Because someone told me to change it. You can't just 460 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,760 Speaker 1: listen to any know who. Email fans have a delterious 461 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: effect on me, deletrious. Do you want to look it 462 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:02,720 Speaker 1: up right now? Let's talk about blast fishing again. Our 463 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: cyanide fishing, which is the ugly step sister of blast fishing, 464 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 1: which is dumping cyanide onto reefs to kill fish. Again, 465 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: you have to wear nothing but overalls, no shoot, nothing, 466 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:22,680 Speaker 1: no service over fishing period has got a negative effect obviously. Yeah, 467 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: because you're basically affecting the food chain. You're like, oh, 468 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 1: we like these guys because they're tasty and I'm sure 469 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: they won't be missed. Whenever you take any key species 470 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:36,080 Speaker 1: out of a an ecosystem, you're in trouble. No good. Um, 471 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: there's also a runoff. It's a big one because, um, 472 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:43,000 Speaker 1: remember they like clear light, the algae do, and uh 473 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: or clear water and when they're when the water is 474 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:50,560 Speaker 1: not clear, they shrivel up because they need sunlight for photosynthesis. Yeah. 475 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:53,280 Speaker 1: The pollutants went also. Um, I thought it was gonna 476 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,239 Speaker 1: be pollutants because just pollutants are bad, which they are, 477 00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:59,840 Speaker 1: but really the reason is pollutants and sewage actually in 478 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:05,280 Speaker 1: increase the nutrients, so that attracts harmful algae and uh 479 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: competition and that's no good. Right, And then we already 480 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 1: talked about the mining. So what can we do, chuck, Um, 481 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 1: we we've got a few things we can do. You 482 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 1: can adopt a reef, you can tons of organizations will 483 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: let you do that. In fact, if you want to 484 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: go to adopt dot nature dot org, slash coral reef. 485 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 1: You can adopt a reef in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic 486 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: uh poo and Popua New Guinea. Nice, just like that. Yeah, 487 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 1: you can funnel money to an organization that will take 488 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:44,600 Speaker 1: care of that reef exactly. Um, and that's just one. 489 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: I think you can do it through all kinds of places. 490 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 1: Didn't you say that you can get your congress person 491 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: to lobby for stricter oversight of phishing methods. Um, you 492 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: can boycott products from countries that allow blast fishing or 493 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,320 Speaker 1: cyanide fishing. Really put the squeeze on the common then 494 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:05,400 Speaker 1: in the other country, make him go to his You 495 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 1: cannot chip off bits of the coral when you scooba 496 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 1: dive because it's just so pretty that you want to 497 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: take it home. Yeah, that's a big one. Give it 498 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,360 Speaker 1: to your daughter. Yeah, not good. There's a lot of 499 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 1: stuff you can do that you probably should do if 500 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 1: you want to save the coral reefs, that's right, and 501 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 1: nothing else. Why would you save them? Do you say, 502 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: if you don't care about snorkeling or anything like that, Well, 503 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 1: my friend, if you care about the economy, you will 504 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,680 Speaker 1: want to save corals because they are valuable the the 505 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 1: total value of the asset, that is, the reefs, the 506 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: reef systems in Florida. In Florida alone, just Florida eight 507 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,520 Speaker 1: point five billion dollars when you take into account not 508 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:46,400 Speaker 1: just tourism, which is a big part of it, but 509 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 1: also the estimated hundred and seventies seven thousand jobs that 510 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:56,680 Speaker 1: all the industries surrounding it UH create. That's just Florida worldwide, 511 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 1: just from tourism and recreation, just tourism recreation that reefs 512 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,360 Speaker 1: bring in nine point six billion dollars annually. So if 513 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 1: you like money, then you should support coral reefs. Twelve 514 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 1: of Bolivia's g d P is created by reefs, isn't 515 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 1: it crazy? Yeah? So, um, if you don't have a 516 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:22,400 Speaker 1: heart about money, makes you liy, then that's you get 517 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: you going on saving coral reefs as well. That's right. 518 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:27,360 Speaker 1: So if you want to learn more about core reefs, 519 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,920 Speaker 1: including um seeing a diagram of where the four and 520 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,720 Speaker 1: the back of the reef is, you can type in 521 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 1: coral reefs in the search bar how stuff works dot com. 522 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:40,360 Speaker 1: It'll bring up this great article by Jennifer Horton. Um. 523 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: And since I said Jennifer Horton. It's time now for 524 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 1: listener mail. All right, listener mail, Okay, alright, I'm gonna 525 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 1: call this good cause from a good person. UM. Hello, 526 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: s Y s K Team. I wanted to take a 527 00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:57,920 Speaker 1: minute and thank you for helping me in a really 528 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:01,960 Speaker 1: big way. I've been working alone as a volunteer in Malawi, 529 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:07,479 Speaker 1: South of Tanzania Malawi Malawi UH since September of two 530 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:09,720 Speaker 1: thousand nine, and I happily passed the time listening to 531 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,880 Speaker 1: your show during my super long, super awesome minibus rides. 532 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:16,480 Speaker 1: I am building a library and a small village, and 533 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 1: a big part of my library is an audio video 534 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 1: collection that I've been putting together for the past few years. 535 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,400 Speaker 1: Many of the people in the village are illiterate, so 536 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 1: a library full of books just wouldn't do them any good. 537 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:30,920 Speaker 1: So I started to think of ways I could include 538 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:35,000 Speaker 1: everyone in a learning activity. My answer was UH to 539 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: incorporate documentaries and podcasts on a variety of subjects. So basically, 540 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:41,800 Speaker 1: we will choose a topic for the week and use 541 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: the podcasts as a way of getting people interested, then 542 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:47,640 Speaker 1: direct them to read articles and books on the topic 543 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:52,239 Speaker 1: or watch documentaries, and have some group discussions. Pretty cool. Um. 544 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 1: I really believe in the beauty of being inquisitive and 545 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: interested in life in videos and podcasts really help immerse 546 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:01,080 Speaker 1: people in new subjects. Uh. This first library of its 547 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:04,400 Speaker 1: kind in the country. Wow. And I'm really hopeful that 548 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,680 Speaker 1: it helps to open the world up to people who 549 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 1: are so often cut off fingers crossed. And that is 550 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:17,040 Speaker 1: from Diane Bowls, the founder of the Future found And 551 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:19,960 Speaker 1: if you want to check out Diane's awesome work she's doing, 552 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:25,279 Speaker 1: you can go to the Future found dot org. Excellent, Chuck, 553 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:30,200 Speaker 1: very cool. It's Diane, Diane in Malawi. Yeah, building building, 554 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,040 Speaker 1: the only library of its kind and it's so cool. Um, 555 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,719 Speaker 1: thank you very much Diane for doing that. Um. What 556 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:37,920 Speaker 1: do you want to hear? If you want to hear 557 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 1: of other people making a difference in the world, we 558 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,120 Speaker 1: always love that. Yeah, you're a sap for that kind 559 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:44,960 Speaker 1: of thing, or some good harrowing scuba diving stories one 560 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,960 Speaker 1: or the other. Okay, So um, that's a great one, Chuck, 561 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:51,200 Speaker 1: either doing good in the world or not doing needed whatsoever. Um. 562 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:55,240 Speaker 1: That could be directed to Chuck and I via Twitter 563 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:59,040 Speaker 1: at s y SK podcast. That's our Twitter handle on 564 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 1: Facebook dot com. If you go to stuff, you should 565 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:06,080 Speaker 1: know his page. That's that um and you can also 566 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: email us directly. We both get emails sent to the address. 567 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: Stuff podcast at how stuff works dot com. For more 568 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:20,839 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics, is it how 569 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,480 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. To learn more about the podcast, 570 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:26,239 Speaker 1: click on the podcast icon in the upper right corner 571 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,840 Speaker 1: of our homepage. The how stuff Works iPhone app has arrived. 572 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:31,880 Speaker 1: Download it today on iTunes.