Spring Break
Humans may affect marine eco-systems, says scientist
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: News
11/19/08 - According to a scientist at last night's fall Honors Colloquium lecture, human impact is to blame for detrimental changes in the world's oceans.
Professor Jeremy Jackson of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego spoke to a packed Edwards Auditorium as part of a series, entitled "Human Effects on the Ocean and its Ecosystems."
Jonathan Garber, a University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography alumnus and coastal marine ecologist, introduced Jackson as a "scientist, advocate and communicator extraordinaire."
"Jackson is a world leader in the study of marine ecology and marine organisms - one of the world's outstanding marine ecologists," Garber said.
Jackson, who is working on the publication of his new book, "Brave New Ocean," brought a plethora of data and a sense of humor to the presentation.
"Can I do anything about it, or just stop and drink [away the problem]?" Jackson joked about the current marine ecological damage situation.
"People are the problem," Jackson said. "With every generation, we lose all concept of nature, or what natural is."
In his seminar, he addressed the fact that on a global scale, all large estuaries and essentially all coastal ecosystems are currently facing many issues, specifically a huge decrease in biodiversity.
He said many of the major human impacts on the oceans include overfishing, the destruction of ocean floor habitat (predominately done by trawling), the introduction of new species, the warming and acidification of the ocean, the poisoning of food webs and the rise of slime.
In regards to overfishing, an informative slide showed that the total biomass of fish in 1900, which included that of cod, pollack and haddock, was significantly greater than that of the total biomass of fish in 2000.
A second example Jackson gave were the numbers of green turtle nesting beaches. In 1492, 91 million green turtles were present in the Caribbean.
Professor Jeremy Jackson of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego spoke to a packed Edwards Auditorium as part of a series, entitled "Human Effects on the Ocean and its Ecosystems."
Jonathan Garber, a University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography alumnus and coastal marine ecologist, introduced Jackson as a "scientist, advocate and communicator extraordinaire."
"Jackson is a world leader in the study of marine ecology and marine organisms - one of the world's outstanding marine ecologists," Garber said.
Jackson, who is working on the publication of his new book, "Brave New Ocean," brought a plethora of data and a sense of humor to the presentation.
"Can I do anything about it, or just stop and drink [away the problem]?" Jackson joked about the current marine ecological damage situation.
"People are the problem," Jackson said. "With every generation, we lose all concept of nature, or what natural is."
In his seminar, he addressed the fact that on a global scale, all large estuaries and essentially all coastal ecosystems are currently facing many issues, specifically a huge decrease in biodiversity.
He said many of the major human impacts on the oceans include overfishing, the destruction of ocean floor habitat (predominately done by trawling), the introduction of new species, the warming and acidification of the ocean, the poisoning of food webs and the rise of slime.
In regards to overfishing, an informative slide showed that the total biomass of fish in 1900, which included that of cod, pollack and haddock, was significantly greater than that of the total biomass of fish in 2000.
A second example Jackson gave were the numbers of green turtle nesting beaches. In 1492, 91 million green turtles were present in the Caribbean.
