Science and coral reefs

Oxford University Press, 1999. $30.00 hbk (xv+275)ISBN 0 19 512 3646What is Natural? Coral Reef Crisis is a fascinating book that I found myself recommending to both scientists and nonscientists alike while in the midst of reading it. The book is a historical account (from the late 1960s to the present) of the devastation of coral colonies by herds of thousands of predatory crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) throughout reefs of the Pacific Ocean. Intertwined throughout the story is a masterful treatment of the philosophical, political and even the ethical issues that can arise in highly visible research areas of science.The presentation of both experimental and field research programs undertaken to understand the crown-of-thorns outbreaks should be of interest to biologists in all fields of ecology, not just that of coral reefs. From a historical perspective, the book offers clear insights into the interplays associated with conducting science in the context of a highly politicized environmental issue. The effect of such politicization on funding availability, credibility of the scientists involved, the influence of public information dissemination and the powers of grass roots activism as it affects the research process are all thoroughly and thoughtfully detailed.Although the book is genuinely fascinating in its own right as a new contribution by the eminent scientific historian Jan Sapp, it is even more fascinating because the overall scenario is occurring once again. This time history is repeating itself in the field of coral diseases. Sapp has taken great pains to document the potential pitfalls that can occur when ‘facts, theories, values, and politics’ become ‘entangled in…controversy’. One of the conclusions of the book is that coral reef scientists seem to have learned a lesson from the crown-of-thorns period, as applied to coral bleaching. However, in terms of the current field of coral diseases1xOgden, J. et al. Proc. 8th Intl. Coral Reef Symp. 1997; I: 647–650See all References, 2xHayes, R.L. and Goreau, N.I. Rev. Biol. Trop. 1998; 46: 173–185See all References, 3xRichardson, L.L. Trends Ecol. Evol. 1998; 13: 438–443Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (231)See all References, some of the identical problems are recurring. Different interpretations of the crown-of-thorns outbreaks ranged from assessment as a novel event that had threatened the continued existence of Pacific Ocean coral reefs to the recurrence of a natural phenomenon that should be left alone. Similarly, newly described coral diseases are currently perceived, on the one hand, as novel and a threat to coral reefs on a global scale, and on the other hand, commonly occurring in the past but unnoticed as no one was paying attention. It is intriguing that some of the arguments being applied today in the controversies surrounding coral diseases are exactly the same as those documented in What is Natural? Coral Reef Crisis. One such example is the argument that vast outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish (or apparently new coral diseases) have always been present on reefs, but were not noticed until coral reef scientists began using SCUBA.The book is also extremely interesting in the context of comparing the history of the crown-of-thorns controversy with the current confusion concerning coral reef health2xHayes, R.L. and Goreau, N.I. Rev. Biol. Trop. 1998; 46: 173–185See all References2 in terms of the impact of the World Wide Web3xRichardson, L.L. Trends Ecol. Evol. 1998; 13: 438–443Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (231)See all References3. Sapp repeatedly points out the role of media and popular (non-peer-reviewed) journals in quoting the views of scientists in widely varying contexts, with a bias towards alarmism. A current problem is the instantaneous dispersion of information worldwide via the Web in a process completely outside the realm of peer review.After completing the book, I still find myself recommending it to coral reef scientists as well as lay people. In addition, I feel the lessons it offers are of such importance that it will become required reading for current and future graduate students in my research laboratory.