Cari's Adventures: Coral Reefs

August 07, 2023

Cari's Adventures: Coral Reefs

Book 1

13-year-old Cari knew she was in for an adventure when she moved from Chicago to Noosa, Australia. But the last thing she expected was befriending a talking octopus!

Join Cari and her friends as she SCUBA dives, meets STEM professionals, and speaks up to defend Australia's beautiful coral reefs, crucial to the local environment. Will she be able to save the reef before it's too late?

SciWare is a community organization founded by four high school girls and one biology teacher in the summer of 2017. SciWare's purpose is to spread awareness about a variety of academic and social topics and issues through graphic novels, presentations, videos, and more. Learn more at sciwarebooks.blogspot.com and facebook.com/sciwarebooks. Contact us at sciwarebooks@gmail.com.

Interviews

Dr. Pujana

Associate Professor in Geosciences, University of Texas at Dallas

Please provide a description of yourself and your work.

Dr. Ignacio Pujana is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. Pujana teaches and researches Geology, a big field that really covers everything about our planet–how it evolved and functions today. Main Interests: Oceanography, Paleontology, Petrology, but Geology in general.

Do you have a memorable experience from doing field research in the ocean that you would like to share?

Diving a few times on the Mariana Trench as part of research expeditions with a three-person submarine the Shinkai 6500 the fact that life is so abundant in the water column and as you sink in complete darkness, the windows of submersible show abundant bioluminescent creatures, and on the bottom as far as 6,500 meters there is always something alive—fish, jellyfish, crinoids, sponges, etc.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted ocean health and/or ocean research?

Greatly diminishing seagoing expeditions and funding. We have an application to NSF pending approval for continuing our research on the Mariana Trench, so we’ll see how it goes. Ocean health as I understand it has improved since human activity decreased due to the pandemic.

What are some issues affecting the oceans today, and how does your research tie into an understanding of these issues?

Main issues; not sustainable overuse of fisheries and trash/pollution disposal on the Oceans.

What can people from seemingly unrelated backgrounds (engineering, business, etc.) do about these issues?

Involve ourselves on these issues and demand political action to solve them. Also personal actions are important what you consume, how much you pollute, choices of food and trash disposal add up.

What are your favorite marine organisms—extinct or not—and why?

Dolphins and Cetacea in general. They are relatable, smart, and live fully integrated on the ocean, may be a good example for us.

Celia Summers

Student, Florida Tech

Please introduce yourself and your background.

I am studying marine biology. I would love to do a lot of research. The ocean is mostly undiscovered; I want to discover new things never seen for thousands of years, or things we don’t even know are out there. Also, I want to do rescue and search for hurt animals or trapped animals.

What got you interested in marine biology?

Ever since I was little, my family would take vacations to Florida; I loved the salt water and traveled a lot. My dad was a divemaster. He would teach me how to clear out my ears, not breathe underwater, snorkel, what to do and not do when your mask comes off, etc. I would see what is really underneath the water. I want to find out where the animals live, what type they are, etc. What got me into being a marine biologist from going to the beach. Feel home in the water and beach. SCUBA certification. Recently went diving. Training last summer, just completed.

What is your favorite marine animal?

There are so many to like! I really love sea turtles. They look so calm and so majestic as they just swim in the water. They seem so peaceful and calm. I love dolphins; they are so playful and fun and really smart. Sharks eat sea turtles and are big predators, but they are not that bad. As a SCUBA diver, if there is an attack, it is because we are doing something; we are in their habitat. Sharks get a bad rep. They are not really bad. They keep the water clean and a bunch more.

How would you describe coral bleaching in your own words?

Coral bleaching is basically damaging the coral. There is healthy coral that has all this algae; climate change is a big problem related to it. It happens in warmer water along with pollution and everything. When the corals get stressed, the algae go away, and the coral turns white. The coral is stressed.

Why do you think we should care about corals?

Corals are one of the natural ways to protect us. Coral in Florida prevent big waves from crashing into us and hurting our homes–hurricanes too, but corals help push back those waves. Damaged coral is fragile. Whenever a storm comes, it breaks off. If you go down and see corals, they are supposed to be lively and beautiful. When I go to a coral reef (I was in Hawaii), a lot of the coral was affected because of coral bleaching. It was just white and looked dead. People want to see pretty coral. Instead, they just see this dead thing. People want to see habitats within the coral.

Anesti Vega

Student, Florida Tech

Please introduce yourself and your background.

I am an Oceanographer, SCUBA instructor, and expedition leader. But it did not start in this order. First, I was a scuba diver and got involved with diving as a hobby on the weekends. I got involved with organizations that worked in citizen science. I got a lot of experience with organizations, volunteered at Aquarium of the bay with animal feeding and observation and tank maintenance. It introduced me to citizen science and science itself.

What makes you passionate about SCUBA diving?

I got involved through happenstance. In the army, I served in 101st air force and special forces group and struggled with PTSD after the army. It went unchecked and undiagnosed. I was trying to get high adrenaline again (peak human function) and thought diving with sharks would be the next adventure. Got scuba certified, had no idea what it would feel like–it was exhilarating. Not the adrenaline rush, it was quite the opposite. Just hear the sounds of the bubbles had a physiological effect. The juxtaposition of both the beauty of the underworld world and the destruction that we are causing it, seeing it through that lens is what I am passionate about. You see pollution (bags, cans), and bleached coral, next to majestic sea turtles. It made me care about the environment and seek ways I can help. It started with citizen science organizations and grew into school and what to do academically and professionally.

How would you describe coral bleaching in your own words?

Coral bleaching signals the overall health of an ecosystem in tropical waters. We should care about ocean health in general to keep natural balance, not for anthropogenic reasons. That is my top priority, but others might have other priorities. What if it is economic? Signals ripple effect; smaller fish die off, bigger fish die off, all invertebrates die off, and the ecosystem dies. If this happens in the Caribbean, which is known for ecotourism or food, it could really hurt the local economy. With food sustainability, it hurts fishery management locally. There is less fish available and made sustainably to feed local people. No matter your take, healthy oceans means better earth, better economy, better food sources and health for the rest of the environment.

What is your favorite marine organism?

Very favorite: Great Hammerhead. Love sharks. Its size and function is so unique. The whole subclade of shark with these oddly shaped heads, and receptors in their heads that act as life detectors for food, sweep the sandy bottoms to find food sources. Mid water feeders just find something and chase it; just like land animals. Charismatic megafauna; turtles, whales, etc. draw people in. Most benthic life does not draw people in. People are more about “saving the dolphins”, etc.

Dr. Toby Daly-Engel

Assistant Professor in Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Tech

Please introduce yourself and your background.

My name is Toby Daly-Engel. I first got interested in marine science when I was super young. I was obsessed with sharks. I’m not sure where it came from. Others kid liked horses. I grew up in UpState New York, in Woodstock, in the middle of the mountains, not near the ocean. Did not know anything about it as a career. I needed time off to work in science. I fidn’t have enough experience to apply for marine labs, but got a genetics lab at Harvard School of Public health job; in biomedical research, there is lots of funding available. It doesn’t matter what research you do, just learn the process.

What is your favorite marine creature?

Love sharks. Love things other people find weird. If not sharks, tardigrades or deep sea fishes, because so weird and mysterious and know little about them. I got into sea urchins because I did research with them.

How would you describe coral bleaching in your own words?

Coral bleaching is when there is stress put on the symbiotic relationship between protists (dinoflaggelates). The dinoflagellate is a zooxanthellae. Normally, symbiosis occurs because the coral provides a habitat for the algae inside the coral pulp; it gives the coral animal its color. Otherwise, the tissue is clear. The corals build the stony corals; not all corals build stony corals, some are sea anemones. Reef-building corals have these; the algae photosynthesizes and contributes energy to the animal, so it doesn’t have to just catch prey. This happens when water increases in temperature, like what is happening with climate change. Normally, temperature changes regularly; now, we have higher highs and lower lows. The coral gets stressed out, spits out the algae; if it does not take back up, it dies and leaves the stony skeleton behind. That first step towards the animal dying; because of the color loss. Coral bleaching is an indication of dangerous loss of diversity.

Why do coral reefs matter?

Corals form the foundation of reef systems, some of the most diverse marine habitats on earth. That diversity creates a healthy food wed. With coral bleaching, it takes out the bottom of that rung and can cause catastrophic extinctions because of just the loss of that coral. Coral grow for hundreds of thousands of years and make a vast environment. Once that diversity is lost, eventually you have a dead reef. Now, it will only have 1 or 2 species; before, it had hundreds. Humans depend on the ocean for many things. Many need fish for protein. It is important for human health.

Activities