Echinoderms have quite a range of body shapes that include those drawn out with arms like starfish, spherical as displayed by sea urchins, and branched/feathered such as sea lilies. There are approximately 6000 species in the phylum Echinodermata, many of which are protected by spines. In the crown of thorns starfish, the poisonous spines protect it from predation as it feeds on coral polyps.
“I found a cure for the plague of the 20th century, and now I’ve lost it!” Perhaps it was the connotation of the quote itself or a combination of the fervor in Dr. Robert Campbell’s voice that made it stick in my mind after all these years, but in any 
case that early 90s Sean Connery flick is ever so applicable. If you haven’t seen Medicine Man, it follows the quest of a researcher on the verge of a discovery of a cure for cancer in the Amazonian rainforest. The scientist’s desperate attempt to replicate a serum produced from compounds he originally derived from a flower continues to result in failure. The climax (spoiler) reveals the cure’s source was not the flower but a species of a rare indigenous ant, whose only known location is lost to the bulldozers and fires of deforestation.
Perhaps not as sexy as the fauna of the Amazon nor as adventurous as Dr. Campbell’s pursuit, scientists studying sea cucumbers in the Egyptian Red Sea are making the same leap for a need of conservation. In an all too common scenario not limited to rainforests, the marine environment is being overharvested for direct and immediate consumptive values while potentially losing important options values that could be discovered through bioprospecting.
As a result of overfishing of sea cucumbers in the Red Sea, a ban was initiated in 2001 and 2003. However, the ban did not lift demand and as a result illegal harvesting exploded. With lackluster recovery of commercially prized species, researchers found a need to tie potential future drug treatments and long-term economic development to survival of the sea cucumbers.
“Given the importance of economic development in countries such as Egypt and the perceived low conservation value of invertebrates such as sea cucumbers, the linking of these factors to conservation is vital for the maintenance and sustainable exploitation of these animals.”
Researchers collected a total of 22 species and screened 11 of various commercial and non-commercial value for bioactive substances. Although their results showed no activity against either gram-positive or gram-negative target bacteria, all extracts were active against eukaryotic cell types, were most active against a mammalian carcinoma cell line, had a level of variation suggesting that the extracts contained more than one active compound, and that these compounds act at more than one site.
“The conservation value of a species is often defined not only by its rarity and distinctiveness, but also by its utility. This utility is reflected in its economic value, which can be further refined into its direct, indirect, and options values. Overexploitation of marine resources for their immediate, direct benefits may be at the expense of future options value of a particular resource.”
Just as a fictionalized cure for cancer was simultaneously found and lost in the Amazonian rainforest for some immediate short-term gains, so too could we easily witness the vanishing of a species like the sea cucumber along with the next great drug discovery. When you connect the ecological and potential options value, in terms of unique bioactive substances, of a marine species there is no doubt that it overshadows any perceived direct value we assign to them.
And this message of conservation is one that is germane to all nations.
LAWRENCE, A., AFIFI, R., AHMED, M., KHALIFA, S., & PAGET, T. (2009). Bioactivity as an Options Value of Sea Cucumbers in the Egyptian Red Sea Conservation Biology DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01294.x
Photo credit: Daniel S.
Out of sight out of protection? Not any longer as technology is enabling scientists to study deep sea coral reef ecosystems and provide protection before commercial bottom trawling, crab pots and energy exploration activities mar the reefs.
“The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is pushing the proposal to protect the region, about the size of West Virginia, in depths down to 2,500 feet and below, creating the largest deep water coral protected area off the Atlantic Coast.” AP
In a world of overfishing, bycatch, and declining ocean health, I know this is hard to believe but this is one of those rare cases where protections are being instituted prior to the development of a potential problem. Go figure!
According to the USGS:
The Atlantic cruises will examine deep coral ecosystems off Florida and North Carolina. The Gulf cruise will involve returning to deep coral sites visited in previous years as well as exploring new target locations on the West Florida Slope and a deep ship wreck. The primary research objectives are to examine and classify deep coral reef habitats and their associated fauna and compare them with non-reef environments.
The program has integrated a diverse group of collaborators, including scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNC-W), UNC Chapel Hill, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).
An eternity, perhaps not quite, but that’s my perception of time when thinking back to my Hawaiian excursion in mid-June. And finishing up a home movie chronicling our adventure, complete with contemporary Island music from the likes IZ for instance, just gets me in the mood for some white sandy beaches and clear salty waters. So why not share a few things I came across while swimming over the reefs of Maui.
Obviously such a post lends itself infinity as the amount of pictures and video I have is substantial… notice I did not mention anything about quality. But with that said, using a digital underwater camera is a goldmine for someone who needs to cull through the blurs to find a few gems.
Of course I need to start the ball rolling with a Hawaiian green sea turtle. It is by far my wife’s favorite marine creature and I am always left in awe at the range of colors found on their carapace. By the way, did you see our Hawaiian green sea turtle video footage? And even in today’s world of rampant conservation information, I was left in shock to discover people clamoring to touch and harass this amazing species (And yes members of our party spoke up immediately to inform the culprits and end their activities). I guess that’s why we need to continue spreading the word.
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle
A juvenile yellowtail coris (Coris gaimard), which is the first one I have run across in Hawaii
A raccoon butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula)
A Slate or Red pencil urchin (Heterocentrotus mammillatus) and a black sea urchin (Echinothrix diadema)
A cushion seastar (Culcita novaeguineae)
Whitemouth moray eel (Gymnothorax meleagris)
An Arc-eye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus)
The Hawaiian Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea) and a female bird wrasse (Gomphosus varius)
Coral bleaching is again making headlines as NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch Program has detected conditions in the Caribbean that may spark a rash of coral disease and bleaching. Of particular concern to NOAA scientists is an expected increase in ocean temperatures through October 2009 that can lead to the discharging of the symbiotic zooxanthella algae residing in coral tissues. Keeping things simple, zooxanthellae are vital to coral survival as they, through photosynthesis, provide much needed energy and nutrients. In return, the coral provides the zooxanthellae with shelter and a constant supply of carbon dioxide for its photosynthetic processes.According to the Coral Reef Watch Program:
Scientists are concerned that bleaching may reach the same levels or exceed those recorded in 2005, the worst coral bleaching and disease year in Caribbean history. In parts of the eastern Caribbean, as much as 90 percent of corals bleached and over half of those died during that event.”
“Just like any climate forecast, local conditions and weather events can influence actual temperatures. However, we are quite concerned that high temperatures may threaten the health of coral reefs in the Caribbean this year,” said C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D., coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch.
Prolonged coral bleaching of more than a week can lead to coral death and the subsequent loss of coral reef habitats for a range of marine life. It also affects local economies and tourism.
Other factors that can lead to coral bleaching include: ocean temperature, solar irradiation, inorganic nutrients, freshwater dilution, sedimentation, pollutants/chemicals, and diseases.
Credit: NOAA
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