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"You've restored my faith": Community shows up for lonely birthday boy

One dad's desperate plea has "restored" his faith after his local community showed up for his son's third birthday party. Pre-schooler William Buck and his dad Steven sat patiently on a beach in Wellington, waiting for his friends to arrive and begin the celebrations for his third birthday party. As time passed, William and his dad grew more hopeless, and they worried about the fate of the celebrations. "He kept asking where everyone was, and we were like 'they’re coming soon'," Steven Buck told <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/parenting/133203054/familys-plea-after-nobody-shows-at-3yearolds-birthday-brings-community-to-beach" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:Stuff;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid_p="9" data-v9y="1">Stuff</a>. Steven felt "guilty" that none of his son's mates had come to the party, especially given how excited his son had been for this birthday, as he had been talking about the celebration for weeks. In a last ditch effort to make William's day special, Steven turned to social media for help. Steven posted an image of the pair online and invited any locals wanting "some sun and sand" to join them. "William would love some friends to play with. He has Hot Wheels, sand toys, dinos, and we have some snacks and drinks. Any and all welcome," he wrote. Amazingly, locals responded in their thousands, wishing William a 'Happy Birthday' while many others joined the three-year-old and his parents. "Going there. See you soon," one local wrote, before arriving with her family. The partygoers arrived with bubbles and inflatables, parking themselves down on beach chairs ready to celebrate the sunny day with William. "Thank you so much everyone for the birthday wishes and support," Steven wrote online after the day. "Wellington you always restore my faith in humanity!" Image credits: Facebook

Family & Pets

Sapling planted at Sycamore Gap to "restore hope" removed by National Trust

UK resident Kieran Chapman, 27, is "absolutely gutted" after the sapling he planted in memory of the<a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/finance/legal/you-can-t-forgive-that-teen-arrested-after-felling-of-iconic-200-year-old-tree" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> felled Sycamore Gap tree</a> was heartbreakingly removed by National Trust. The 27-year-old spent hours on Friday planting the sapling just metres away from the stump of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree, but his efforts were in vain, as the sapling had been dug up by the National Trust on Sunday morning. The conservation charity said that they had to remove the sapling because it is a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. A National Trust spokesperson told the Newcastle Chronicle that while they understand “the strength of feeling following the events at Sycamore Gap” the site “is a scheduled ancient monument and a globally important archaeological setting, with UNESCO world heritage designation”. “Altering or adding to it can damage the archaeology, and is unlawful without prior consent from government.” But Chapman couldn't hide his disappointment: “It’s just devastating, isn’t it? It genuinely brought people a lot of joy and that’s been taken away," he told the publication. “I honestly thought if it got a good response they might end up keeping it.” Chapman planted the sapling because he wanted to “restore people’s faith in humanity, bring a smile back to people’s faces and just give them a bit of hope”. “I planned to go and take the dog for a walk next weekend there," he added. In a follow up post on Facebook, Chapman added that he was told by the National Trust that his tree will be replanted on another piece of land at the Housesteads Visitor Centre on Hadrian’s Wall. “Too many politics around all this for my liking, the top and bottom of it, it’s a tree, planted in soil. I understand the land is protected, but to protect a tree from being planted in the earth, where they’re designed to be, no matter where it’s location, is crazy,” he wrote. Two people were arrested over the incident, a 16-year-old boy and 69-year-old former lumberjack. Both have been released on bail, with the lumberjack insisting that he had no involvement in the felling. “You’ve got the wrong feller,” he told The Sun. “I’m a former lumberjack and I’ve just been kicked off my property so I can see why people have pointed the finger. “My brother came down to make sure I hadn’t been arrested as he had heard a rumour that I had cut it down. I didn’t do it," he added. Images: Getty/ Facebook

Travel Trouble

Neglected pre-war car up for sale after miracle restoration

A 1939 MG VA, initially purchased as a stripped bare shell of itself, is heading for auction. When the pre-war vehicle sold for only a few hundred dollars, it wasn’t asking for much - most likely because it wasn’t offering a whole lot either. Missing entire doors and rusting in more than one place, the car left a lot to be desired. Its original owner had tucked it away in the garage after the MG failed an MOT in 1969 - an annual test in the United Kingdom to verify a vehicle’s safety. Although they’d intended to restore it, those plans never came to fruition, with the car learning a hard lesson in dust bunnies instead. 45 years later, it finally got the chance to see the light of day again, with its next owner snatching it up from a family friend at a ‘bargain’ price. And to everyone’s delight, the vehicle finally got the makeover it had been waiting almost half a century for. The owner - who has requested anonymity - even performed the bulk of the work by themself, although they left the engine overhaul and respray to the professionals. The hard work produced some spectacular results, and with the car now rolling into auction with an asking price of ~$18,500-$22,2000, its next owner is sure to enjoy all that it has to offer. When the line of MG VAs left production, they sold for up to $650 (or roughly $35,000 in 2023), and only 2,400 of them were ever made. The vehicles were produced alongside the larger SA and WA models, with their smallest-in-the-range 108-inch wheelbases distinguishing them from their counterparts. The VA model was only produced for two years, before the Second World War saw production come to a screeching halt. The MG company itself had been founded in the 1920s, and was renowned for its range of two-seater sports cars. After years of ownership changes, and after it was absorbed into the British Leyland group, the firm - which at that point was known as MG Rover - faced financial difficulty in the early 200s, and by 2005 was forced into receivership. However, the group was then purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group, and resumed its production of vehicles in 2007. In 2011, the MG6 appeared in the market, establishing itself as the first UK model in 16 years. And as for the 1939 VA model heading to auction with Charterhouse, Richard Bromell - who is handling the sale - had one just one thing to note, “to say the MG was bought as a project makes it sound much better than it was as it was in a very sorry state indeed “Thankfully the owner was more than handy with a spanner and undertook a complete restoration of the MG.” Images: Charterhouse Auctioneers & Valuers

Money & Banking

Using a dental scanner on corals like a “magic wand”

Dr Kate Quigley’s trip to the dentist might have revolutionised coral reef research. The intra-oral dental scanner her dentist was using turned out to be the perfect thing for scanning baby corals and learning critical information about their growth. “Baby corals and teeth are actually not too different. They’re both wet,” says Quigley, now a senior research scientist at the Minderoo Foundation. “Which might not seem like a big deal – but if you’re scanning something, that creates diffraction. […] Having tech that can work in a wet environment and handle a texture that’s wet, is actually really important.” There are a few other things that bring dental scanners and coral together, too. “The properties of teeth and baby coral skeletons are very similar. They’re calcium-based, slightly different, but similar enough that the resolution of the laser was tailored to coral skeletons, just by accident,” says Quigley. While conducting research at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and James Cook University, Quigley managed to get one of the tooth-scanning devices she’d seen at the dentist (the ITero Element 5D Flex), and test it on corals. Quigley has published a description of the new method in Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Monitoring coral growth is key to restoring and preserving it. “Growth and survival are really the currency of any monitoring program. It doesn’t matter what organism you’re looking at,” says Quigley. But it’s very difficult to monitor the growth of corals – because of their shape and size. “How most coral growth studies are done is really just taking 2D flat images. And that works really well when the coral is really young, say a month or two months, because they’re like little flat pancakes,” says Quigley. As they grow, corals develop very complex three-dimensional structures. Scanning these structures is time-consuming, and often destructive: the coral has to be killed in order to be scanned. The dental scanner takes quick, harmless scans and uses AI to combine the images into a 3D picture almost immediately. “Instead of taking all day and into the night, it takes two minutes,” says Quigley. It also provides better detail. “Baby corals start off really small. They’re almost invisible,” says Quigley. “Being able to measure those really fine scale differences, smaller than a millimetre, was also really important.” Quigley describes the scanner as “effectively a magic wand”. So far, the scanner’s been shown to work in a lab (at AIMS National Sea Simulator) and in the field – on a boat above the water. Unfortunately, it’s not waterproof enough to take diving. Yet. Quigley hopes it will become a regular tool used by coral researchers and restorers. “If we are thinking about scaling up reef restoration in the future we’re going to need a way to measure and monitor these individuals more effectively. It wouldn’t be sustainable if it’s one individual a day.” Quigley says that this discovery demonstrates the importance of thinking laterally. “In science I feel like there’s less and less room to just be creative anymore,” she says. “This has been a really interesting time for me – to dabble in dentistry and look at all the tech that’s available and may be useful in conservation.” This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/coral-dental-scanner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Ellen Phiddian. Images: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Record coral cover doesn’t necessarily mean the Great Barrier Reef is in good health (despite what you may have heard)

In what seems like excellent news, coral cover in parts of the Great Barrier Reef is at a record high, according to <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/information-centre/news-and-stories/highest-coral-cover-central-northern-reef-36-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new data</a> from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. But this doesn’t necessarily mean our beloved reef is in good health. In the north of the reef, coral cover usually fluctuates between 20% and 30%. Currently, it’s at 36%, the highest level recorded since monitoring began more than three decades ago. This level of coral cover comes hot off the back of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/another-mass-bleaching-event-is-devastating-the-great-barrier-reef-what-will-it-take-for-coral-to-survive-180180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disturbing decade</a> that saw the reef endure six mass coral bleaching events, four severe tropical cyclones, active outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, and water quality impacts following floods. So what’s going on? High coral cover findings <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-lot-of-coral-doesnt-always-mean-high-biodiversity-10548" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can be deceptive</a> because they can result from only a few dominant species that grow rapidly after disturbance (such as mass bleaching). These same corals, however, are extremely susceptible to disturbance and are likely to die out within a few years. <h2>The data are robust</h2> The <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/4747/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great Barrier Reef spans</a> 2,300 kilometres, comprising more than 3,000 individual reefs. It is an exceptionally diverse ecosystem that features more than 12,000 animal species, plus many thousand more species of plankton and marine flora. The reef has been teetering on the edge of receiving an “in-danger” <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-declaring-the-great-barrier-reef-as-in-danger-only-postpones-the-inevitable-164867" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listing</a> from the World Heritage Committee. And it was <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-australias-most-important-report-on-the-environments-deteriorating-health-we-present-its-grim-findings-186131" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently described</a> in the State of the Environment Report as being in a poor and deteriorating state. To protect the Great Barrier Reef, we need to routinely monitor and report on its condition. The Australian Institute of Marine Science’s long-term monitoring program has been collating and delivering this information since 1985. Its approach involves surveying a selection of reefs that represent different habitat types (inshore, midshelf, offshore) and management zones. The <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/monitoring-great-barrier-reef/gbr-condition-summary-2021-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest report</a> provides a robust and valuable synopsis of how coral cover has changed at 87 reefs across three sectors (north, central and south) over the past 36 years. <h2>The results</h2> Overall, the long-term monitoring team found coral cover has increased on most reefs. The level of coral cover on reefs near Cape Grenville and Princess Charlotte Bay in the northern sector has bounced back from bleaching, with two reefs having <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-08/AIMS_LTMP_Report_on%20GBR_coral_status_2021_2022_040822F3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 75% cover</a>. In the central sector, where coral cover has historically been lower than in the north and south, coral cover is now at a region-wide high, at 33%. The southern sector has a dynamic coral cover record. In the late 1980s coral cover surpassed 40%, before dropping to a region-wide low of 12% in 2011 after Cyclone Hamish. The region is currently experiencing outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish. And yet, coral cover in this area is still relatively high at 34%. Based on this robust data set, which shows increases in coral cover indicative of region-wide recovery, things must be looking up for the Great Barrier Reef – right? <h2>Are we being catfished by coral cover?</h2> In the Australian Institute of Marine Science’s report, reef recovery relates solely to an increase in coral cover, so let’s unpack this term. Coral cover is a broad proxy metric that indicates habitat condition. It’s relatively easy data to collect and report on, and is the most widely used monitoring metric on coral reefs. The finding of high coral cover may signify a reef in good condition, and an increase in coral cover after disturbance may signify a recovering reef. But in this instance, it’s more likely the reef is being dominated by only few species, as the report states that branching and plating Acropora species have driven the recovery of coral cover. Acropora coral are renowned for a “boom and bust” life cycle. After disturbances such as a cyclone, Acropora species function as pioneers. They quickly recruit and colonise bare space, and the laterally growing plate-like species can rapidly cover large areas. Fast-growing Acropora corals tend to dominate during the early phase of recovery after disturbances such as the recent series of mass bleaching events. However, these same corals are often susceptible to wave damage, disease or coral bleaching and tend to go bust within a few years. Inferring that a reef has recovered by a person being towed behind a boat to obtain a rapid visual estimate of coral cover is like flying in a helicopter and saying a bushfire-hit forest has recovered because the canopy has grown back. It provides no information about diversity, or the abundance and health of other animals and plants that live in and among the trees, or coral. <h2>Cautious optimism</h2> My <a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-60-coral-species-around-lizard-island-are-missing-and-a-great-barrier-reef-extinction-crisis-could-be-next-163714" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, published last year, examined 44 years of coral distribution records around Jiigurru, Lizard Island, at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef. It suggested that 28 of 368 species of hard coral recorded at that location haven’t been seen for at least a decade, and are at risk of local extinction. Lizard Island is one location where coral cover has rapidly increased since the devastating 2016-17 bleaching event. Yet, there is still a real risk local extinctions of coral species have occurred. While there’s no data to prove or disprove it, it’s also probable that extinctions or local declines of coral-affiliated marine life, such as coral-eating fishes, crustaceans and molluscs have also occurred. Without more information at the level of individual species, it is impossible to understand how much of the Great Barrier Reef has been lost, or recovered, since the last mass bleaching event. Based on the coral cover data, it’s tempting to be optimistic. But given more frequent and severe heatwaves and cyclones are predicted in the future, it’s wise to be cautious about the reef’s perceived recovery or resilience. This article originally appeared on The Conversation. Image: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Artificial intelligence tool learns “song of the reef” to determine ecosystem health

Coral reefs are among Earth’s most stunning and biodiverse ecosystems. Yet, due to human-induced climate change resulting in warmer oceans, we are seeing growing numbers of these living habitats dying. The urgency of the crisis facing coral reefs around the world was highlighted in a recent <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-reef/reef-health" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> that showed that 91% of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef had experienced coral bleaching in the summer of 2021–22 due to heat stress from rising water temperatures. Determining reef health is key to gauging the extent of the problem and developing ways of intervening to save these ecosystems, and a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has been developed to measure reef health using… sound. Research coming out of the UK is using AI to study the soundscape of Indonesian reefs to determine the health of the ecosystems. The results, <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22004575?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in Ecological Indicators, shows that the AI tool could learn the “song of the reef” and determine reef health with 92% accuracy. The findings are being used to track the progress of reef restoration. “Coral reefs are facing multiple threats, including climate change, so monitoring their health and the success of conservation projects is vital,” says lead author Ben Williams of the UK’s University of Exeter. <div class="newsletter-box spai-bg-prepared"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p193163-o1" class="wpcf7 spai-bg-prepared" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> “One major difficulty is that visual and acoustic surveys of reefs usually rely on labour-intensive methods. Visual surveys are also limited by the fact that many reef creatures conceal themselves, or are active at night, while the complexity of reef sounds has made it difficult to identify reef health using individual recordings. “Our approach to that problem was to use machine learning – to see whether a computer could learn the song of the reef. Our findings show that a computer can pick up patterns that are undetectable to the human ear. It can tell us faster, and more accurately, how the reef is doing.” Fish and other creatures make a variety of sounds in coral reefs. While the meaning of many of these calls remains a mystery, the new machine-learning algorithm can distinguish overall between healthy and unhealthy reefs. Recordings used in the study were taken at the <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="http://www.buildingcoral.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars Coral Reef Restoration Project</a>, which is restoring heavily damaged reefs in Indonesia. The study’s co-author Dr Tim Lamont, a marine biologist at Lancaster University, said the AI method provides advantages in monitoring coral reefs. “This is a really exciting development,” says Lamont. “Sound recorders and AI could be used around the world to monitor the health of reefs, and discover whether attempts to protect and restore them are working. “In many cases it’s easier and cheaper to deploy an underwater hydrophone on a reef and leave it there than to have expert divers visiting the reef repeatedly to survey it, especially in remote locations.” <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" class="spai-bg-prepared" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=193163&title=Artificial+intelligence+tool+learns+%E2%80%9Csong+of+the+reef%E2%80%9D+to+determine+ecosystem+health" width="1" height="1" /> <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/artificial-intelligence-reef-song/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/evrim-yazgin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evrim Yazgin</a>. Evrim Yazgin has a Bachelor of Science majoring in mathematical physics and a Master of Science in physics, both from the University of Melbourne. Image: Getty Images </div>

Technology

No, sunscreen chemicals are not bleaching the Great Barrier Reef

For the sixth time in the last 25 years, the Great Barrier Reef <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-reef/reef-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is bleaching</a>. During bleaching events, people are quick to point the finger at different causes, including <a href="https://owlcation.com/stem/Coral-Bleaching-and-Oxybenzone-Choose-Your-Sunscreen-Carefully" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sunscreen</a>. Why sunscreen? Some active ingredients can wash off snorkelers and into the reef, contaminating the area. So could this be the cause of the Barrier Reef’s bleaching? In a word, no. I reviewed the evidence for sunscreen as a risk to coral in my <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/CH/CH21236" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new research</a>, and found that while chemicals in sunscreen pose a risk to corals under laboratory conditions, they are only found at very low levels in real world environments. That means when coral bleaching does occur, it is more likely to be due to the marine heatwaves and increased water temperatures that have come with climate change, as well as land-based run-off. Why have we been concerned over the environmental impact of sunscreens? After we apply sunscreen, the active ingredients can leach from our skin into the water. When we shower after swimming, soaps and detergents can further strip the these sunscreen chemicals off and send them into our waste water systems. They pass through treatment facilities, which cannot effectively remove them, and end up in rivers and oceans. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454296/original/file-20220325-21-1agae0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="hands putting on sunscreen" /></a><figcaption>Sunscreen isn’t the cause of the coral bleaching. Shutterstock</figcaption></figure> It’s no surprise, then, that sunscreen contamination has been detected in freshwater and seas across the globe, from <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15996716/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Switzerland</a> to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-015-5174-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brazil</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27235899/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hong Kong</a>. Contamination is highest in the summer months, consistent with when people are more likely to go swimming, and peaks in the hours after people have finished swimming. Four years ago, the Pacific island nation of Palau made world headlines by announcing plans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/02/pacific-island-to-introduce-world-first-reef-toxic-sunscreen-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban all sunscreens</a> that contain specific synthetic active ingredients due to concern over the risk they posed to corals. <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/story/these-destinations-are-banning-certain-sunscreens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Similar bans</a> have been announced by Hawaii, as well a number of other popular tourist areas in the Americas and Caribbean. These bans are based on independent scientific studies and <a href="https://coralreefpalau.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CRRF-UNESCO-Sunscreen-in-Jellyfish-Lake-no.2732.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commissioned reports</a> which have found contamination from specific active ingredients in sunscreen in the water at beaches, rivers and lakes. Notably, the nations and regions which have banned these active ingredients, like Bonaire and Mexico, have local economies heavily reliant on summer tourism. For these areas, coral bleaching is not only an environmental catastrophe but an economic loss as well, if tourists choose to go elsewhere. How do we know sunscreen isn’t the issue? So if contamination concerns over these active ingredients are warranted, how can we be sure they’re not the cause of the bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef? Put simply, the concentrations of the chemicals are too low to cause the bleaching. The synthetic ingredients used in most products are highly <a href="https://www.corrosionpedia.com/definition/653/hydrophobic#:%7E:text=Hydrophobic%20is%20a%20property%20of,Oils%20and%20fats%20are%20hydrophobic." target="_blank" rel="noopener">hydrophobic</a> and <a href="https://www.greenfacts.org/glossary/jkl/lipophilic.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lipophilic</a>. That means they shun water and love fats, making them hard to dissolve in water. They’d much prefer to stay in the skin until they break down. Because of this, the levels found in the environment are very low. How low? Think nanograms per litre (a nanogram is 0.000000001 grams) or micrograms per litre (a microgram is 0.00001 grams). Significantly higher levels are found only in waste water treatment sludge and some sediments, not in the water itself. So how do we reconcile this with studies showing sunscreen can damage corals? Under laboratory conditions, many active ingredients in sunscreen have been found to damage corals as well as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22828885/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mussels</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17889917/#:%7E:text=BP%2D2%20was%20accumulated%20in,and%20female%20fish%20were%20observed." target="_blank" rel="noopener">fish</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24359924/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small crustaceans</a>, and plant-like organisms such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749111006713" target="_blank" rel="noopener">algae and phytoplankton</a>. The key phrase above is “under laboratory conditions”. While these studies would suggest sunscreens are a real threat to reefs, it’s important to know the context. Studies like these are usually conducted under artificial conditions which can’t account for natural processes. They usually don’t account for the breakdown of the chemicals by sunlight or dilution through water flow and tides. These tests also use sunscreen concentrations up to thousands of times higher – milligrams per litre – compared to real world contamination levels found in collected samples. In short, laboratory-only studies are not giving us a reliable indication of what happens to these chemicals in real world conditions. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454298/original/file-20220325-21-1wft8gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Sea wave seen side on" /></a><figcaption>Laboratory studies don’t tend to account for dilution in seas or rivers. Shutterstock</figcaption></figure> If it’s not sunscreen, what is it? The greatest threats to the reef are climate change, coastal development, land-based run-off like pesticides, herbicides, and other pollutants, and direct human use like illegal fishing, according to a <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/outlook-report-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2019 outlook report</a> issued by the reef’s managing body. Reefs get their striking colours from single-celled organisms called <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_corals/coral02_zooxanthellae.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">zooxanthellae</a> which grow and live inside corals. Importantly, these organisms only grow under very specific conditions, including narrow bands of temperature and light levels. When conditions go outside the zooxanthellaes’ preferred zone, they die and the coral turns white. As a result, the likeliest cause of this bleaching is <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/threats-to-the-reef/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>, which has increased ocean temperatures and acidity and resulted in more flooding, storms, and cyclones which block light and stir up the ocean floor. So do you need to worry about the impact of your sunscreen on the environment? No. Sunscreen should remain a key part of our sun protection strategy, as a way to protect skin from UV damage, prevention skin cancers, and slow the visible signs of ageing. Our coral reefs face much bigger issues than sunscreen.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179938/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nial Wheate</a>, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Sydney</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-sunscreen-chemicals-are-not-bleaching-the-great-barrier-reef-179938" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Domestic Travel

10 awe-inspiring UNESCO world heritage sites everyone needs to visit

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal is universally recognised as the greatest masterpiece in Indo-Islamic architecture. The white marble mausoleum was commissioned in 1632 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Spatial grandeur, arches, domes, relief work and precious stone inlay are among its defining characteristics. Angkor Wat Exploring the mysteries Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia is an unforgettable bucket list trip. Part of one of the most significant archaeological sites in Southeast Asia (the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 14th century), this massive temple complex was originally constructed as a Hindu place of worship for the god Vishnu and is the largest religious structure on the planet! Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland Australia, is the largest living thing on earth. It’s so huge that you can see it from outer space! Stretching for over 2,300 kilometres, this ecosystem is home to a diversity of marine line, including 400 types of coral, 1500 species of fish, and 4000 varieties of molluscs. Not surprisingly it’s a magnet for scuba divers. Plitvice Lakes National Park Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is located halfway between Zagreb and Zadar. This idyllic oasis is renowned for its 16 crystalline lakes connected by a series of exquisite waterfalls, splendid caves and lush forests. Each year, more than one million visitors flock to this natural paradise, making it Croatia’s main tourist attraction. The Parthenon The Acropolis of Athens is an enduring symbol of Classical Greece. The crown jewel of this hilltop citadel is the Parthenon, a former temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Built by Ictinus and Callicrates, beginning in 447 BCE, this Doric icon is regarded as the most important surviving ancient Greek monument. Grand Canyon Words don’t do even begin to do justice to the glory of the Grand Canyon. Formed by Colorado River activity over the past six million years, it’s one of the longest and deepest gorges (averaging 1,600m in depth) on earth. Its immense size and layered red rocks make it a must-see-before-you-die attraction. Want to bring your four-legged friend along? The Grand Canyon is also pet-friendly! Los Glaciares National Park Located in the southwest of Santa Cruz province of the Argentine part of Patagonia in a remote area known as the Austral Andes, Los Glaciares National Park is a rugged paradise of granite peaks, lakes and numerous glaciers that cover half the 600,000-hectare expanse. Traversing this spectacular scenery is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Jeronimos Monastery Travel to the Belem district at the entrance to the port of Lisbon to find the Jeronimos Monastery, which dates back to the 15th century. This highly ornate religious building was constructed and donated to the monks of Saint Hieronymus to pray for sailors on their voyages. Its cloisters, columns, arcades and complex ornamentation are characteristic of Portuguese Gothic style. Old Québec Founded by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1608, Québec is among the oldest settlements in North America (and one of the most popular travel destinations in Canada). Centuries-old charm is on full display in its impeccably preserved historic district, a shining example of a fortified colonial city with cobblestone lanes, churches, convents and landmarks like Château Frontenac and Place Royal. Iguazu Falls Stretching 2.7 kilometres across Argentina and Brazil, Iguazu Falls is the largest system of waterfalls in the world. The sheer size, thunderous sound and spectacle of these 275 individual cascades – including the 82-metre-tall Devil’s Throat – is truly jaw-dropping. The exotic flora and fauna of the surrounding rainforest add to the allure. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/culture/10-awe-inspiring-unesco-world-heritage-sites-everyone-needs-to-visit" target="_blank">Reader's Digest</a>.

Travel Tips

5 major heatwaves in 30 years have turned the Great Barrier Reef into a bleached checkerboard

Just 2% of the Great Barrier Reef remains untouched by bleaching since 1998 and 80% of individual reefs have bleached severely once, twice or three times since 2016, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960982221014901">our new study</a> reveals today. We measured the impacts of five marine heatwaves on the Great Barrier Reef over the past three decades: in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020. We found these bouts of extreme temperatures have transformed it into a checkerboard of bleached reefs with very different recent histories. Whether we still have a functioning Great Barrier Reef in the decades to come depends on how much higher we allow global temperatures to rise. The bleaching events we’ve already seen in recent years are a result of the world warming by 1.2℃ since pre-industrial times. World leaders meeting at the climate summit in Glasgow must commit to more ambitious promises to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions. It’s vital for the future of corals reefs, and for the hundreds of millions of people who depend on them for their livelihoods and food security. <h2>Coral in a hotter climate</h2> The Great Barrier Reef is comprised of more than 3,000 individual reefs stretching for <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-reef/reef-facts">2,300 kilometres</a>, and supports more than 60,000 jobs in reef <a href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/Managing-multiple-uses/tourism-on-the-great-barrier-reef">tourism</a>. Under climate change, the frequency, intensity and scale of climate extremes is changing rapidly, including the record-breaking marine heatwaves that cause corals to bleach. Bleaching is a stress response by overheated corals, where they lose their colour and many struggle to survive. If all new COP26 pledges by individual countries are actually met, then the projected increase in average global warming could be brought down <a href="https://www.climate-resource.com/tools/ndcs">to 1.9℃</a>. In theory, this would put us in line with the goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to keep global warming below 2℃, but preferably 1.5℃, this century. However, it is still not enough to prevent the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/">ongoing degradation</a> of the world’s coral reefs. The damage to coral reefs from anthropogenic heating so far is very clear, and further warming will continue to <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aan8048">ratchet down</a> reefs throughout the tropics. <h2>Ecological memories of heatwaves</h2> Most reefs today are in early <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/reef-monitoring/gbr-condition-summary-2020-2021">recovery mode</a>, as coral populations begin to re-build since they last experienced bleaching in 2016, 2017 and 2020. It takes about a decade for a decent recovery of the fastest growing corals, and much longer for slow-growing species. Many coastal reefs that were severely bleached in 1998 have never fully recovered. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430169/original/file-20211104-19-1po1sc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430169/original/file-20211104-19-1po1sc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> The fringing reef flat at Orpheus Island on the central Great Barrier Reef, prior to mass coral bleaching in 1998. Bette Willis and Andrew Baird, Author provided <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430168/original/file-20211104-27-16wyz5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430168/original/file-20211104-27-16wyz5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> The same reef flat at Orpheus Island after further bleaching in 2002 and 2016. Bette Willis and Andrew Baird, Author provided Each bleaching event so far has a different geographic footprint. Drawing upon <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/6/11/11579">satellite data</a>, we measured the duration and intensity of heat stress that the Great Barrier Reef experienced each summer, to explain why different parts were affected during all five events. The bleaching responses of corals differed greatly in each event, and was strongly influenced by the recent history of previous bleaching. For this reason, it’s important to measure the extent and severity of bleaching directly, where it actually occurs, and not rely exclusively on water temperature data from satellites as an indirect proxy. We found the most vulnerable reefs each year were the ones that had not bleached for a decade or longer. On the other hand, when successive episodes were close together in time (one to four years apart), the heat threshold for severe bleaching increased. In other words, the earlier event had hardened regions of the Great Barrier Reef to subsequent impacts. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430176/original/file-20211104-15-noksid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430176/original/file-20211104-15-noksid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Bleached coral" /></a> Bleaching is a stress response by overheated corals. Shutterstock For example, in 2002 and 2017, it took much more heat to trigger similar levels of bleaching that were measured in 1998 and 2016. The threshold for bleaching was much higher on reefs that had experienced an earlier episode of heat stress. Similarly, southern corals, which escaped bleaching in 2016 and 2017, were the most vulnerable in 2020, compared to central and northern reefs that had bleached severely in previous events. Many different mechanisms could generate these historical effects, or ecological memories. One is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0041-2">heavy losses</a> of the more heat-susceptible coral species during an earlier event – dead corals don’t re-bleach. Nowhere left to hide Only a single cluster of reefs remains unbleached in the far south, downstream from the rest of the Great Barrier Reef, in a small region that has remained consistently cool through the summer months during all five mass bleaching events. These reefs lie at the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef, where upwelling of cool water may offer some protection from heatwaves, at least so far.<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430397/original/file-20211104-23-29h946.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430397/original/file-20211104-23-29h946.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Map of the Great Barrier Reef showing the cumulative level of bleaching observed in 2016, 2017 and 2020. The colours represent the intensity of bleaching, ranging from zero (category 1, dark blue) to severe bleaching that affected more than 60% of corals (category 4, red) Author provided In theory, a judiciously placed network of well-protected, climate-resistant reefs might help to repopulate the <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12587">broader seascape</a>, if greenhouse gas emissions are curtailed to stabilise temperatures later this century. But the unbleached southern reefs are too few in number, and too far away from the rest of the Great Barrier Reef to produce and deliver sufficient coral larvae, to promote a long-distance recovery. Instead, future replenishment of depleted coral populations is more likely to be local. It would come from the billions of larvae produced by recovering adults on nearby reefs that have not bleached for a while, or by corals inhabiting reef in deeper waters which tend to experience less heat stress than those living in shallow water. Future recovery of corals will increasingly be temporary and incomplete, before being interrupted again by the inevitable next bleaching event. Consequently, the patchiness of living coral on the Great Barrier Reef will increase further, and corals will continue to decline under climate change. Our findings make it clear we no longer have the luxury of studying individual climate-related events that were once unprecedented, or very rare. Instead, as the world gets hotter, it’s increasingly important to understand the effects and combined outcomes of sequences of rapid-fire catastrophes.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170719/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/terry-hughes-9894">Terry Hughes</a>, Distinguished Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/james-cook-university-1167">James Cook University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sean-connolly-94343">Sean Connolly</a>, Research Biologist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/smithsonian-institution-1227">Smithsonian Institution</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-major-heatwaves-in-30-years-have-turned-the-great-barrier-reef-into-a-bleached-checkerboard-170719">original article</a>.

Domestic Travel

Can selective breeding of ‘super kelp’ save our cold water reefs from hotter seas?

Australia’s vital kelp forests are disappearing in many areas as our waters warm and our climate changes. While we wait for rapid action to slash carbon emissions – including the United Nations climate talks now underway in Glasgow – we urgently need to buy time for these vital ecosystems. How? By ‘future-proofing’ our kelp forests to be more resilient and adaptable to changing ocean conditions. Our recent trials have shown selectively bred kelp with higher heat tolerance can be successfully replanted and used in restoration. This matters because these large seaweed species are the foundation of Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-other-reef-is-worth-more-than-10-billion-a-year-but-have-you-heard-of-it-45600">Great Southern Reef</a>, a vast but little-known <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-19/great-southern-reef-needs-more-attention-scientists-say/12227998">temperate reef system</a> and a global hotspot of biodiversity. The reef’s kelp forests run along 8000 km of Australia’s southern coastline, from Geraldton in Western Australia to the Queensland border with New South Wales. These underwater forests support coastal food-webs and fisheries. Think of the famous mass-spawning of Australian Giant Cuttlefish off Whyalla, the rock lobster and abalone fisheries, or our iconic weedy and leafy seadragons. Unfortunately, these seas are hotspots in the literal sense, with the nation’s southeast and southwest waters <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-013-9326-6">warming several times faster than the global average </a>and suffering from some of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-do-marine-heatwaves-cost-the-economic-losses-amount-to-billions-and-billions-of-dollars-170008">worst marine heatwaves recorded</a>. These increasing temperatures and other climate change impacts are devastating our kelp, including shrinking forests and permanent losses of golden kelp (Ecklonia radiata) on the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-22/tropical-fish-sea-urchins/100396162">east</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-marine-heatwave-has-wiped-out-a-swathe-of-was-undersea-kelp-forest-62042">west coasts</a>, and <a href="https://www.imas.utas.edu.au/news/news-items/satellite-images-track-decline-of-tasmanias-giant-kelp-forests">staggering declines</a> of the now-endangered giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forests in Tasmania. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429669/original/file-20211102-27-9dqafn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429669/original/file-20211102-27-9dqafn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Golden kelp forest" /></a> We need novel measures to buy time for climate action Australian researchers are leading the way to try to find ways of future-proofing our critical ocean ecosystems, such as kelp forests and <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-super-corals-that-can-handle-acid-heat-and-suffocation-122637">coral reefs</a>. In part, that’s because climate change is hitting our ecosystems early and hard. Climate change is moving much faster than kelp species can adapt. In turn, that threatens all the species that rely on these forests, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3810891/">including us</a>. If climate change wasn’t happening, we could try to halt or reverse the losses of kelp forests by using traditional restoration methods. But in a world getting hotter and hotter, that is futile in many cases. Even if we slash carbon emissions soon, decades more warming are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/climate/climate-change-report-ipcc-un.html">already locked in</a>. If we want to keep these forests of the sea alive, we must now consider cutting-edge methods to help kelp survive current and future ocean conditions while governments pursue the urgent goal of reducing emissions. <h2>How to future proof an underwater forest</h2> Together and separately, we’ve been exploring techniques to speed up the natural rate of evolution to boost kelp resilience. Along with other researchers, we’ve put several techniques to the test in the real world, with promising results. Others remain hypothetical. At present, there are <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00237/full">several broad approaches</a> to future-proofing restoration work. These include: <ul> <li> Genetic rescue focuses on enhancing the genetic diversity of genetically compromised populations to boost their potential to adapt to future conditions. This involves planting and restoring a mix of kelp from <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.13707">disconnected populations</a> of the same species. Improved genetic diversity can boost the ability of these forests to respond to change. We expect this approach to be especially useful in areas where climate change poses a limited threat at present. </li> <li> Assisted gene flow strategies introduce naturally adapted or tolerant kelp individuals into threatened populations to increase their ability to survive specific threats, like hotter seas. This could help kelp forests in areas affected by climate change now or in the near future. In these situations, the genetic rescue technique could be counterproductive if the new genetic diversity introduced isn’t able to cope with the heat. </li> <li> Selective breeding is a well-known agricultural technique, and can be used to identify the best kelp to use in these cases. In short, we try to identify kelp with naturally higher tolerance, and then use these as the basis for restoration efforts. These can be transplanted into ailing kelp forests. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-13/kelp-forests-off-tasmania-regrowing-a-year-since-project-began/100532756">Trials are presently underway</a> in Tasmania using giant kelp. Early results are exciting, with the largest ‘super kelp’ growing over 12 metres high a year after being planted. </li> </ul> In the future, we may have to explore more cutting-edge strategies to deal with the changing conditions. These include: <ul> <li> Genetic manipulation. This technique extends what is possible with selective breeding by directly manipulating genes to enhance the traits or characteristics that might further boost kelp’s ability to thrive in hotter waters. </li> <li> Assisted expansion is when species with little chance of survival are relocated to better but novel locations, assuming these exist. This technique could also see new species of kelp being planted to replace existing species, guided by the need to protect the forest ecosystem as a whole, rather than save specific species. </li> </ul> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429674/original/file-20211102-13-1o4uuod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429674/original/file-20211102-13-1o4uuod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Scientist experimenting on kelp" /></a> <h2>Are these approaches ethical?</h2> Each of these techniques – tested or untested – pose challenging ethical questions. That’s because we are not undertaking traditional conservation, where we work to restore a historic kelp ecosystem. Instead, we are modifying these ecosystems in the hope they can better cope with conditions at the extremes of their current survival limits. That means we must move carefully, weighing potential downsides like genetic pollution and maladaptation (accidental poor adaptation to other stressors) against the probability of further kelp forest destruction from doing nothing. Such future-proofing interventions could be well suited to areas already hit hard by severe kelp forest losses, those that will be threatened in the near future, or where kelp losses would be particularly damaging environmentally, socially, or economically. What is certain is that communities that live and rely on our southern coasts must now talk about what they value from kelp forests, and how they want them to look and function into the future. Our view is that traditional approaches focused on recreating previous ecosystems are likely to be increasingly challenging, given the rate and scale of ongoing disruption in our oceans. It is crucial that we do not restore nostalgically for ocean conditions which are quickly changing, but instead, work to ensure the long-term survival of these spectacular underwater forests while we wait for rapid action to reduce carbon emissions.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170271/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cayne-layton-104355">Cayne Layton</a>, Postdoctoral fellow and lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melinda-coleman-1285592">Melinda Coleman</a>, Principal Research Scientist This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-selective-breeding-of-super-kelp-save-our-cold-water-reefs-from-hotter-seas-170271">original article</a>. Image: Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Domestic Travel

Swimming With Whale Sharks

Snorkelling in the Indian Ocean just off Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia means blue infinity in every direction – but what’s that eerie pale oval approaching under the surface? Widening and narrowing and growing larger by the second, it resolves into the enormous gulping mouth of a whale shark. Stand by – or rather, swim by – for one of Australia’s grandest marine spectacles. Unsurpassed globally for regular, reliable and accessible whale shark encounters, World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef runs 260 km along Western Australia’s remote North West Cape, about 1300 km north of Perth. Every year – from April to July – these normally elusive filter-feeders arrive for an annual mass-spawning of coral, which, aided by fortuitous currents, turns the outer reef into a nutrient-rich soup of plankton and krill. A relatively recent addition to this prehistoric dinner engagement are gatecrashing, snorkelling Homo sapiens, drawn to feed their sense of wonder on sharing salt water with the largest of all shark species. The adventure begins on very dry land. Although flanked by vast tracts of water – Exmouth Gulf on one side, the Indian Ocean the other – North West Cape is an arid, baked wilderness bisected by the rocky heights of Cape Range, an extinct limestone reef from the region’s deeper past. Anchored off a lonely desert boat ramp 38 km from Exmouth township, the 17 m Draw Card is amid a tiny gaggle of whale-shark boats (there are eight Exmouth-based tour operators) ferrying their patrons aboard by inflatable Zodiac. First on the agenda is a morning snorkel on the reef, a handy acclimatisation and a superb experience in itself. Amid a kaleidoscope of colourful sea life, the crew’s two whale-shark ‘spotters’ – Ellece Nicholls and Emma Goodfellow – and videographer Meg Green, free-dive with mermaid-like agility, pointing out creatures of interest. Usual Ningaloo suspects include parrotfish in all hues of green and blue, frilly orange lionfish, giant clams, tawny nurse and leopard sharks, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, barracuda and bull rays. The easily found sailfin catfish (small, black and fantailed) is one of 50 endemic species. The Draw Card cruises south through shallow turquoise waters, heading for one of only three navigable passages to the open ocean – soon revealed by a gap in the white line of offshore surf. The shark-spotting plane radios success and the deck ripples with excitement. As we power into position several kilometres out to sea, the 19 tourists aboard are divided into two snorkel groups and re-briefed on protocols – no touching, no duck-diving, keep 3 m clear of any whale shark (and 4 m from the tail). Whale-shark watching works for one simple reason. “They’re sun worshippers,” spotter and marine biologist Ellece Nicholls says. On clear days plankton rises to the light, attracting whale sharks to the surface where they linger to hoover up the bounty. The biggest enemy is heavy cloud cover, rarely a problem at Ningaloo. Think of it as a game of marine leap-frog. The boat stops ahead of a shark and the first snorkellers tag along as it passes, with the Zodiac deployed to aid any stragglers. Group two drops in further along the shark’s probable path. After the whale shark leaves its first escorts, the boat collects them and moves ahead of group two (now in shark conference) to repeat the process. Group one don fins and stride off the duckboard, looking for the spotter’s hand signal. Ellece points and faces go under – nothing. Then a casual over-shoulder, underwater glance reveals a blue-grey speckled bulk the size of a van. Veering before reaching us, the silent giant had almost slipped by unobserved behind our backs. Gentle titans Wondrous as it is, there’s no time to stop and wonder. Admiring a whale shark is not a passive activity. It’s time to snorkel as fast as humanly possible, which inevitably falls short of any whale shark in middle gear. But following its wake is unforgettable. The towering column of tail sweeps with effortless power, slowly shrinking and dissolving a gentle titan into the deep blue curtain of ocean ahead. Minutes later, adrift in the open sea, we regroup for pick-up. Ellece says we saw a juvenile male, “only” 4 m long but with a barrel-like girth. While 12-m whale sharks have been seen here, the typical Ningaloo visitor is a 4-7 m male. Far sooner than expected, we’re ready for another dip into his world. “This is what we call a blind drop,” Ellece says, meaning no-one knows exactly where the shark is. But in we go and there he is. Afterwards comes an unexpected bonus, a hefty green turtle flapping through the blue nearby, a marine bumblebee in flight. Leaving our teenage shark to another nearby boat – the industry here is amiably co-operative – we shift closer to the reef wall for whale shark number two. Here the seabed is dimly visible, with shadowy coral clusters far below, the length of a tall building away. Festooned with remoras and trailed by a retinue of golden trevallies, this slightly larger shark gives a clear view of its white-spotted, ridged back, the starlike pattern imitating sunlight dappling the surface. The day’s final shark is further out. Over the abyss again, a diffuse star of light beams from below, but it’s only a trick of the sun. Our largest (5 m-plus) specimen’s head-on approach is signalled by the flattened white oval of Exmouth’s biggest mouth. Dipping gently up and down, feeding at a leisurely cruising pace, it scoops invisible fare with every rise. From the corner of the sack-like maw, a much smaller eye watches its watchers keeping pace for those few precious minutes. Afterwards on deck, we’re treated to a topside view when it skirts the boat ahead of group two, its broad head emerging from the deep like a submarine milky way. Five swims with three individuals filled an hour of shark time (the maximum allowed). The exhilaration of eye contact with our planet’s biggest fish lingers throughout lunch and the post-shark reef snorkel. The lasting impression is one of great peace and beauty, the awe of approaching creation writ truly large. Endangered species Plenty of mystery accompanies this majesty. While Exmouth is a leading centre for tagging and research, the whale shark life-cycle remains largely unknown – and if they really do migrate north from Ningaloo to breed in Asian waters, as some experts contend, why do so many travel south along the reef? South is definitely the safer option for them right now, given their popularity as a soup garnish in several Asian countries – a single whale shark can fetch thousands of dollars for its fins. In March 2016 the species’ Red List conservation status was altered from vulnerable to endangered (a ‘very high’ risk of extinction). The example of Exmouth, however, gives hope that countries still slaughtering whale sharks will be inspired by the economics of ecotourism – and the sheer wonder of the creature itself – to spare the world’s biggest fish. For more info go to <a href="https://www.whalesharkdive.com/">www.whalesharkdive.com</a> or <a href="http://www.visitningaloo.com.au">www.visitningaloo.com.au</a> By David Levell Image: Reader’s Digest This article originally appeared on <a href="mailto:https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/activities/swimming-whale-sharks">Reader’s Digest</a>

Domestic Travel

Did you know these 5 places could disappear in your lifetime?

When places are well-known and popular – historical and modern alike – we might take it for granted that they’ll be around forever. But sadly, many of the world’s best known and culturally significant landmarks are in jeopardy. Human activity has had a devastating effect on many valued places, including massive milestones of human achievement. And many of these are so much more than just tourist attractions – they’re unique, valuable remnants of ancient times and civilizations. The Great Barrier Reef This massive, once-thriving coral reef has suffered enormously over recent years, with coral bleaching – caused by climate change – stripping the coral of its nutrients. This, in turn, harms the rich marine life that calls the reef home. And, of course, this also depletes it of the dazzling colours that once were a hallmark of the Great Barrier Reef’s underwater wonder. The reef remains the largest coral reef ecosystem in the world, but projections have warned that the damage to it could become irreversible in the next 10 years. Old City of Jerusalem One of the world’s most spiritually significant places, the Old City of Jerusalem, is in danger of disappearing, UNESCO has found. The walls of the Old City are one of its trademark features. Most famously, the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, is a valuable pilgrimage site for people of the Jewish faith, one that dates back to around 20 BCE. The Wall is the only remnant of the city’s Second Temple. The city was actually listed on UNESCO’s list of endangered cultural sites in the 1980s. Widespread urbanisation has been found to pose a significant threat to the city. Everglades National Park This stunning Floridian wildlife sanctuary has sadly found itself fighting for its life in recent years. As ‘the largest designated subtropical wilderness reserve’ in North America, according to UNESCO, it’s been a beloved travel destination for American citizens for decades, but the ravages of time and human activity have not been kind to it. Its survival first came into question after it was battered by Hurricane Andrew in 1993. But it’s human influence that has posed the primary threat, as water flow to the site has decreased and the impacts of pollution have increased, resulting in harmful algal blooms. Its vast, diverse wildlife is more threatened than ever before. The Taj Mahal It’s hard to imagine this monolithic structure, located in Agra, India, being in danger. The structure itself is in some jeopardy from the elements, but the primary reason for concern is that the Indian Supreme Court could potentially close the attraction. The court has butted heads with the government, claiming that unless the government does a better job of preserving it, they’ll have to shut it down. Pollution is visibly altering the Taj’s pristine surface. It’s also experienced insect infestations. Flies of the genus Geoldichironomus, which breed in the heavily polluted Yamuna River, neighbouring the Taj, have encroached upon the structure in recent years. Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak This revered mountain, one of the Seven Summits, proves that even giants can fall to climate change. While the mountain itself, located in Tanzania, isn’t in imminent danger, its iconic snow cap might vanish – and shockingly soon. Research found that the snow cap had lost 85 per cent of the total area of its ice fields between 1912 and 2007, and the remaining ice could be history as early as 2030. Written by Meghan Jones. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/travel-hints-tips/10-top-tourist-attractions-that-could-disappear-in-your-lifetime">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN93V">here’s our best subscription offer.</a> <img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" />

Travel Tips

The first step to conserving the Great Barrier Reef is understanding what lives there

Look at this photo of two coral skeletons below. You’d be forgiven for thinking they’re the same species, or at least closely related, but looks can be deceiving. These two species diverged tens of millions of years ago, probably earlier than our human lineage split from baboons and macaques. Scientists have traditionally used morphology (size, shape and colour) to identify species and infer their evolutionary history. But most species were first described in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/027073a0">19th century</a>, and based solely on features of the coral skeleton visible under a microscope. Morphology remains important for species recognition. The problem is we don’t know whether a particular morphological feature reflects species ancestry, or evolved independently. Our new study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320302165">examined</a> the traditional ideas of coral species and their evolutionary relationships using “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1755-0998.12736">phylogenomics</a>” – comparing thousands of DNA sequences across coral species. Our results revealed the diversity and distributions of corals are vastly different to what we previously thought. It shows we still don’t know many fundamental aspects about the corals on Great Barrier Reef. And after three mass bleaching events in five years, not having a handle on the basics could mean <a href="http://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/11017/3569/4/Draft-restoration-adaptation-policy.pdf">our attempts to intervene</a> and help coral survive climate change may have unexpected consequences. How do we know which species is which? Despite being one of the <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00146.x">best-studied</a> marine ecosystems on Earth, there are fundamental knowledge gaps around the Great Barrier Reef, including: <ol> <li>how many coral species live there?</li> <li>how do we identify them?</li> <li>where are they found across the vast Great Barrier Reef ecosystem?</li> </ol> Finding the answers to these questions starts with accurate “taxonomy” – the science of naming and classifying living things. Identifying species based on how similar they look may seem straightforward. As Darwin famously said, closely related species often share morphological features because they inherited them from a common ancestor. However, this can be misleading if two unrelated species independently acquire similar features. This process, called convergent evolution, often occurs when different species are faced with similar ecological challenges. A <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/02/06/why-an-ichthyosaur-looks-like-a-dolphin/">classic example</a> of convergent evolution is dolphins and the prehistoric ichthyosaurs. These animals are unrelated, but share many similarities since they both occupy a similar ecological niche. At the other end of the spectrum, morphology can vary considerably within a single species. An alien taxonomist visiting Earth could be forgiven for describing the Chihuahua and the Irish Wolfhound as two distinct species. Bringing coral taxonomy into the 21st century We used molecular phylogenetics, a field of research that uses variations in DNA sequences to reconstruct genealogies. From corals to humans, molecular phylogenetics has revolutionised our understanding of the origins and evolution of life on Earth. Molecular approaches have <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-31305-4_4">revolutionised</a> our understanding of the diversity and evolution of corals, shedding light on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02339">deeper branches</a> in the coral “tree of life”. But within hyper-diverse, ecologically-important coral groups, such as the staghorn corals from the genus Acropora, we are still in the dark. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320302165">Our new technique</a> addresses this by comparing thousands of key regions across coral genomes (the entire genetic code of an organism) to help identify species in this ecologically important group for the first time. This method will also allow us to identify morphological features that do reflect shared ancestry and help us recognise species when diving in the reef. About a quarter of all coral species on the Great Barrier Reef are staghorn corals, and they provide much of the three-dimensional structure fishes and many other coral reef animals rely on, just like trees in a forest. Unfortunately, staghorn corals are also highly susceptible to threats such as thermal bleaching and crown-of-thorns seastar predation. The future of reefs will be heavily influenced by the fate of staghorn corals. The risk of ‘silent extinctions’ While we don’t yet know how many coral species occur on the Great Barrier Reef or how widespread they are, many species appear to have far smaller ranges than we previously thought. For example, we now know some of the corals on Lord Howe Island are endemic to only a few reefs in subtropical eastern Australia and <a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.3626.4.11">occur nowhere else</a>, not even on the Great Barrier Reef. They evolved in isolation and bleach at <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.14772">much lower temperatures</a> than corals on tropical reefs. This means Lord Howe Island’s corals are of far greater conservation concern than currently recognised, because <a href="https://theconversation.com/bleaching-has-struck-the-southernmost-coral-reef-in-the-world-114433">one severe bleaching event</a> could cause the extinction of these species. The risk of “silent extinctions”, where species go extinct without even being noticed, is one of the reasons behind the Australian Academy of Science’s <a href="https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/discovering-biodiversity-decadal-plan-taxonomy">Decadal Plan for Taxonomy</a>, which has led to the ambitious goal to document all Australian species in the next 25 years. Intervening now may have unexpected consequences In April, the <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/reports#technical-reports">Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program</a> concept feasibility study found 160 possible interventions to help save the Great Barrier Reef. <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/">Proposed interventions</a> include moving corals from warm to cooler waters, introducing genetically-engineered heat-tolerant corals into wild populations, and the harvest and release of coral larvae. What could go wrong? Well-intentioned interventions may inadvertently threaten coral communities, for example, through introduction or movement of diseases within the Great Barrier Reef. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/c/cane-toad/">Cane toads</a> are a famous example of unintended consequences: introduced in the 1930s to control an insect pest, they are now wreaking havoc on Australian ecosystems. Any intervention affecting the ecology of a system as complex as the Great Barrier Reef requires a precautionary approach to minimise the chance of unintended and potentially negative consequences. What we need, at this time, is far greater investment in fundamental biodiversity research. Without this information, we are not in a position to judge whether particular actions will threaten the resilience of the reef, rather than enhance it. Written by Tom Bridge, Andrea Quattrini, Andrew Baird and Peter Cowman. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-first-step-to-conserving-the-great-barrier-reef-is-understanding-what-lives-there-146097">The Conversation.</a>

Cruising

The first step to conserving the Great Barrier Reef is understanding what lives there

Look at this photo of two coral skeletons below. You’d be forgiven for thinking they’re the same species, or at least closely related, but looks can be deceiving. These two species diverged tens of millions of years ago, probably earlier than our human lineage split from baboons and macaques. Scientists have traditionally used morphology (size, shape and colour) to identify species and infer their evolutionary history. But most species were first described in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/027073a0">19th century</a>, and based solely on features of the coral skeleton visible under a microscope. Morphology remains important for species recognition. The problem is we don’t know whether a particular morphological feature reflects species ancestry, or evolved independently. Our new study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320302165">examined</a> the traditional ideas of coral species and their evolutionary relationships using “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1755-0998.12736">phylogenomics</a>” – comparing thousands of DNA sequences across coral species. Join 130,000 people who subscribe to free evidence-based news. Get newsletter Our results revealed the diversity and distributions of corals are vastly different to what we previously thought. It shows we still don’t know many fundamental aspects about the corals on Great Barrier Reef. And after three mass bleaching events in five years, not having a handle on the basics could mean <a href="http://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/11017/3569/4/Draft-restoration-adaptation-policy.pdf">our attempts to intervene</a> and help coral survive climate change may have unexpected consequences. An international team of scientists have developed a new genetic tool that can help them better understand and ultimately work to save coral reefs. How do we know which species is which? Despite being one of the <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00146.x">best-studied</a> marine ecosystems on Earth, there are fundamental knowledge gaps around the Great Barrier Reef, including: 1. how many coral species live there? 2. how do we identify them? 3. where are they found across the vast Great Barrier Reef ecosystem? Finding the answers to these questions starts with accurate “taxonomy” – the science of naming and classifying living things. Identifying species based on how similar they look may seem straightforward. As Darwin famously said, closely related species often share morphological features because they inherited them from a common ancestor. However, this can be misleading if two unrelated species independently acquire similar features. This process, called convergent evolution, often occurs when different species are faced with similar ecological challenges. A <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/02/06/why-an-ichthyosaur-looks-like-a-dolphin/">classic example</a> of convergent evolution is dolphins and the prehistoric ichthyosaurs. These animals are unrelated, but share many similarities since they both occupy a similar ecological niche. Ichthyosaurs dominated the world’s oceans for millions of years. At the other end of the spectrum, morphology can vary considerably within a single species. An alien taxonomist visiting Earth could be forgiven for describing the Chihuahua and the Irish Wolfhound as two distinct species. Bringing coral taxonomy into the 21st century We used molecular phylogenetics, a field of research that uses variations in DNA sequences to reconstruct genealogies. From corals to humans, molecular phylogenetics has revolutionised our understanding of the origins and evolution of life on Earth. Molecular approaches have <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-31305-4_4">revolutionised</a> our understanding of the diversity and evolution of corals, shedding light on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02339">deeper branches</a> in the coral “tree of life”. But within hyper-diverse, ecologically-important coral groups, such as the staghorn corals from the genus Acropora, we are still in the dark. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320302165">Our new technique</a> addresses this by comparing thousands of key regions across coral genomes (the entire genetic code of an organism) to help identify species in this ecologically important group for the first time. This method will also allow us to identify morphological features that do reflect shared ancestry and help us recognise species when diving in the reef. About a quarter of all coral species on the Great Barrier Reef are staghorn corals, and they provide much of the three-dimensional structure fishes and many other coral reef animals rely on, just like trees in a forest. Unfortunately, staghorn corals are also highly susceptible to threats such as thermal bleaching and crown-of-thorns seastar predation. The future of reefs will be heavily influenced by the fate of staghorn corals. The risk of ‘silent extinctions’ While we don’t yet know how many coral species occur on the Great Barrier Reef or how widespread they are, many species appear to have far smaller ranges than we previously thought. For example, we now know some of the corals on Lord Howe Island are endemic to only a few reefs in subtropical eastern Australia and <a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.3626.4.11">occur nowhere else</a>, not even on the Great Barrier Reef. They evolved in isolation and bleach at <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.14772">much lower temperatures</a> than corals on tropical reefs. This means Lord Howe Island’s corals are of far greater conservation concern than currently recognised, because <a href="https://theconversation.com/bleaching-has-struck-the-southernmost-coral-reef-in-the-world-114433">one severe bleaching event</a> could cause the extinction of these species. The risk of “silent extinctions”, where species go extinct without even being noticed, is one of the reasons behind the Australian Academy of Science’s <a href="https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/discovering-biodiversity-decadal-plan-taxonomy">Decadal Plan for Taxonomy</a>, which has led to the ambitious goal to document all Australian species in the next 25 years. Intervening now may have unexpected consequences In April, the <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/reports#technical-reports">Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program</a> concept feasibility study found 160 possible interventions to help save the Great Barrier Reef. <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/">Proposed interventions</a> include moving corals from warm to cooler waters, introducing genetically-engineered heat-tolerant corals into wild populations, and the harvest and release of coral larvae. What could go wrong? Well-intentioned interventions may inadvertently threaten coral communities, for example, through introduction or movement of diseases within the Great Barrier Reef. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/c/cane-toad/">Cane toads</a> are a famous example of unintended consequences: introduced in the 1930s to control an insect pest, they are now wreaking havoc on Australian ecosystems. Any intervention affecting the ecology of a system as complex as the Great Barrier Reef requires a precautionary approach to minimise the chance of unintended and potentially negative consequences. What we need, at this time, is far greater investment in fundamental biodiversity research. Without this information, we are not in a position to judge whether particular actions will threaten the resilience of the reef, rather than enhance it. Written by Tom Bridge, Andrea Quattrini, Andrew Baird and Peter Crowman. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-first-step-to-conserving-the-great-barrier-reef-is-understanding-what-lives-there-146097">The Conversation.</a>

Cruising

Mum’s miracle hack for restoring ruined chopping boards

An online Melbourne mum and avid Tik Tok user by the name of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mama_mila_/video/6862601561869241606" target="_blank">Mama Mila</a> has wowed fans with her amazing hack to bring scratched wooden chopping boards back to life – and it’s so easy you can get it done in just minutes. “This hack is so quick and it's completely chemical-free,” writes Mila. “Just cut a lemon in half and rub the entire board with the juice. Once you've rubbed the board with lemon juice, sprinkle coarse sea salt and rub that in with a cloth.” Leave it for a few moments, and then rinse the board and leave it to dry. “Finally, rub it with mineral oil as this prevents it from absorbing moisture and cracking over time.” METHOD <ol> <li>Cut a lemon in half and rub the lemon juice into your wooden chopping board.</li> <li>Sprinkle coarse sea salt and rub it in with a microfibre cloth.</li> <li>Leave for a few moments, then rinse the board and leave it to dry.</li> <li>Rub is with a mineral oil to prevent it from absorbing moisture and cracking over time.</li> </ol> Thousands who viewed the quick and easy hack were blown away by just how simple and effective it is, writing “OMG” and “this is fantastic”. “I need this,” another wrote, “my board just cracked.” Others said they would definitely try it for themselves. IMAGES: Tik Tok / <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mama_mila_/video/6862601561869241606" target="_blank">Mama Mila</a>

Home Hints & Tips

We just spent two weeks surveying the Great Barrier Reef – What we saw was an utter tragedy

The Australian summer just gone will be remembered as the moment when human-caused climate change struck hard. First came drought, then deadly bushfires, and now a bout of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef – the third in just five years. Tragically, the 2020 bleaching is severe and the most widespread we have ever recorded. Coral bleaching at regional scales is caused by spikes in sea temperatures during unusually hot summers. The first recorded mass bleaching event along Great Barrier Reef occurred in 1998, then the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/archive/media99.shtml">hottest year on record</a>. Since then we’ve seen four more mass bleaching events – and more temperature records broken – in 2002, 2016, 2017, and again in 2020. This year, February had the<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-15/cyclone-great-barrier-reef-bleaching-record-seas-temperatures/12050102"> highest monthly sea surface temperatures</a> ever recorded on the Great Barrier Reef since the Bureau of Meteorology’s records began in 1900. Not a pretty picture We surveyed 1,036 reefs from the air during the last two weeks in March, to measure the extent and severity of coral bleaching throughout the Great Barrier Reef region. Two observers, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, scored each reef visually, repeating the same procedures developed during early bleaching events. The accuracy of the aerial scores <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21707?dom=icopyright&src=">is verified</a> by underwater surveys on reefs that are lightly and heavily bleached. While underwater, we also measure how bleaching changes between shallow and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-05741-0">deeper reefs</a>. Of the reefs we surveyed from the air, 39.8% had little or no bleaching (the green reefs in the map). However, 25.1% of reefs were severely affected (red reefs) – that is, on each reef more than 60% of corals were bleached. A further 35% had more modest levels of bleaching. Bleaching isn’t necessarily fatal for coral, and it affects <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-coral-has-died-in-the-great-barrier-reefs-worst-bleaching-event-69494">some species more than others</a>. A pale or lightly bleached coral typically regains its colour within a few weeks or months and survives. But when bleaching is severe, many corals die. In 2016, half of the shallow water corals died on the northern region of the Great Barrier Reef <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0041-2">between March and November</a>. Later this year, we’ll go underwater to assess the losses of corals during this most recent event. Compared to the four previous bleaching events, there are fewer unbleached or lightly bleached reefs in 2020 than in 1998, 2002 and 2017, but more than in 2016. Similarly, the proportion of severely bleached reefs in 2020 is exceeded only by 2016. By both of these metrics, 2020 is the second-worst mass bleaching event of the five experienced by the Great Barrier Reef since 1998. The unbleached and lightly bleached (green) reefs in 2020 are predominantly offshore, mostly close to the edge of the continental shelf in the northern and southern Great Barrier Reef. However, offshore reefs in the central region were severely bleached again. Coastal reefs are also badly bleached at almost all locations, stretching from the Torres Strait in the north to the southern boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. For the first time, severe bleaching has struck all three regions of the Great Barrier Reef – the northern, central and now large parts of the southern sectors. The north was the worst affected region in 2016, followed by the centre in 2017. In 2020, the cumulative footprint of bleaching has expanded further, to include the south. The distinctive footprint of each bleaching event closely matches the location of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21707?dom=icopyright&src=">hotter and cooler conditions in different years</a>. Poor prognosis Of the five mass bleaching events we’ve seen so far, only 1998 and 2016 occurred during <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a008-el-nino-and-australia.shtml">an El Niño</a> – a weather pattern that spurs warmer air temperatures in Australia. But as summers grow hotter under climate change, we no longer need an El Niño to trigger mass bleaching at the scale of the Great Barrier Reef. We’ve already seen the first example of back-to-back bleaching, in the consecutive summers of 2016 and 2017. The gap between recurrent bleaching events is shrinking, hindering a full recovery. After five bleaching events, the number of reefs that have escaped severe bleaching continues to dwindle. Those reefs are located offshore, in the far north and in remote parts of the south. The Great Barrier Reef will continue to lose corals from heat stress, until global emissions of greenhouse gasses are reduced to net zero, and sea temperatures stabilise. Without urgent action to achieve this outcome, it’s clear our coral reefs will not survive business-as-usual emissions. Written by Terry Hughes and Morgan Pratchett. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-just-spent-two-weeks-surveying-the-great-barrier-reef-what-we-saw-was-an-utter-tragedy-135197">The Conversation.</a>

Travel Tips

What has happened to the $1.6 billion donated to restore Notre Dame

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> It seems like a whole world away, but long before COVID-19, the world was brought to a standstill by the fire that gutted Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral. The fire occurred on April 15th and was all that anyone could talk about as the 850-year-old landmark and priceless artefacts were destroyed by a blaze that ripped through the cathedral. It motivated some of the world’s richest people into action, and within days, 1.6 billion had been pledged by France’s wealthiest individuals and corporations to restore the Roman Catholic cathedral. However, many are curious as to whether or not they will pay up. Six months after the fire, only some of the money from wealthy donors materialised. Early work to repair the building replied on $59 billion in smaller donations from individuals and businesses. As the first anniversary of the fire approaches, where are the billions for the Notre Dame? <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B97A_xlhZ7w/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B97A_xlhZ7w/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (@notredamedeparis)</a> on Mar 19, 2020 at 9:35am PDT </div> </blockquote> This week, the Foundation Notre Dame, which is the largest of the four official charities overseeing the repairs, said that all of the donor pledges have come through. "I can confirm that all the companies that committed to pay money for the restoration of the cathedral to the Notre Dame Foundation have either already paid it in full or have contracted to pay it as and when needs," the foundation's funding director Jean-Michel Mangeot said to <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.businessinsider.sg/notre-dame-fire-one-year-reparations-billionaire-donations-progress-2020-3" target="_blank">Business Insider</a>. The other three charities raising money have not revealed the status of the pledges they have received. The future of the cathedral remains unclear due to the coronavirus pandemic delaying vital work, with 500 tonnes of melted metal lattice on the roof of the weakened building threatening to come down at any minute. It is not currently known when workers are able to start repairing the cathedral. </div> </div> </div>

International Travel

New $10 million floating hotel lets you stay in the Great Barrier Reef

A new $10 million floating hotel on the Great Barrier Reef is offering Australia’s first underwater suites, which means tourists are able to wake up to the natural wildlife. The <a href="https://cruisewhitsundays.com/experiences/reefsuites/">Reefsuites</a> at Hardy Reef are set to be a “game changer” for the local tourism industry, according to Tourism Minister Kate Jones. “This will be one of the most iconic tourism projects in the world,” she said in a <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2019/8/1/new-attraction-to-bring-thousands-of-tourists-to-the-whitsundays">statement</a>. “We want to invest in tourism attractions that we know will attract more visitors to the Whitsundays and support local jobs – this project will achieve just that.” The two exclusive suites sit four metres below the surface, with just three inches of glass separating you from the reef life outside. At night, outside lights illuminate the waters so you can see what happens in the reef after dark. Floor to ceiling windows are a part of the experience so you don’t miss anything. The project began in 2017 as the pontoon was reconstructed after damage from Cyclone Debbie. The project was developed by Cruise Whitsundays and the Queensland Government. “Today is a landmark moment for Australia,” says Luke Walker, from Journey Beyond, the parent company of Cruise Whitsundays. “We are extremely privileged to have access to such a truly breathtaking and remote part of Australia and to provide both local and international guests the chance to gain a deeper appreciation of our wonderful Great Barrier Reef,” he says. Each Reefsuite has a two-person capacity, but guests can also camp under the stars as the roof of the pontoon is set up to accommodate a dozen queen beds in custom-built canvas canopies. Up to 28 visitors at a time can be on the pontoon. Scroll through the gallery to see the pontoon and how the suites will look underwater. Photo credits: <a href="https://cruisewhitsundays.com/experiences/reefsuites/">Cruise Whitsundays</a>

Domestic Travel

Mums slam "secretly underwhelming" tourist attractions

Mumsnet is a forum where mothers gather together and voice their opinions on a range of topics, including what tourist destinations are “secretly underwhelming”. This topic spread like wildfire, and the answers will either have you agreeing or shaking your head in disapproval. In a thread titled “What famous landmark or must visit place/thing were you secretly underwhelmed by?”, Mumsnet user Midge1978 elaborates on her provocative question. “I went to Stonehenge this year and whilst I was trying to get in touch with my inner druid, trying to project historical importance and mystery onto the place, I just couldn’t escape the feeling that I was just looking at some very old stones and it was actually (whisper) a little bit boring!!” she said. “My husband thought it was all marvellous though so I have never told him!!!” Others were quick to voice their opinions, even knocking the Great Barrier Reef. “The Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef,” said one mum, declining to elaborate. Another mum seconded her, “Yes, Great Barrier Reef – sadly, and only because there is so much coral die back it is depressing. Genuinely disappointing as diving here was a long-held dream of mine.” Paintings were even on the list, with some mentioning The Scream. Midge agreed and shared her experience of seeing The Mona Lisa. “Oh gosh yes The Mona Lisa – queued for bloody ages to see a small dull painting that I had already seen emblazoned over every item in the gift shop!” she said. “The pyramids/sphinx,” said another mum. “I expected a mystical, magical place in the desert. I got … lots of beggars/sales people/McDonalds. Gutted.” Another mum agreed: “Yep Midge, sorry. I have a fabulous photo that everyone aaahs over of the sphinx with a pyramid behind it and a clear blue sky. When I look at it all I can think is “I was standing in front of McDonald’s when I took that …” However, some comments called out the lack of culture in Australia. “The whole of Australia frankly – no culture at all apart from the Aboriginal history,” someone wrote. “The Aborigines were treated like sh*t by the white Australians which disgusted me. Didn’t hear a single one have a good thing to say about the indigenous population – notice how there’s never any on Australian TV.” New Zealand made the list too. “Another vote for the various different landmarks in New Zealand. I went expecting awe-inspiring views and to be blown away by the scenery, but I wasn’t,” one said. “It’s all really nice, don’t get me wrong. But the mountain views aren’t as good as those in the European Alps, the fjords aren’t as good as Norway’s, various bits of Scotland etc. It’s like a 7 out of 10 of everything all in one country, compared to 9 or 10 out of 10 of other things scattered around the world.”

Domestic Travel

Restoring Notre Dame: How much of the money has made it through?

When the Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire in April, people around the world quickly gathered efforts to restore the iconic Paris landmark. However, AP reported that there have been months of delays in the pledged funds materialising, leading officials to rely on small charity donations for the repair works. But the money has started to roll in. Since the fire, the Notre Dame Foundation has up until the end of September received €36 million (NZ$63 million) from 46,000 individuals, 60 businesses and 29 municipalities, Associated Press (AP) reported. Last week, French billionaire Francois Pinault and son Francois-Henri Pinault signed documents to finalise their 100 million euros (NZ$175 million) donation for the Foundation. Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit said the Pinaults’ donation pledge, which was within hours of the fire, inspired a movement. “It came spontaneously during that evening, when we didn’t yet know whether the cathedral could be saved,” he said. “It launched a movement that is still ongoing, because we still have 140 donations a week.” Other billionaires and major entities also pledged millions in donations – Bernard Arnault of luxury group LVMH and the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation of the L’Oreal empire promised €200 million each. Aupetit said authorities won’t know how long the restoration and repair project will take, or how much it will cost, until the spring. President Emmanuel Macron previously said he hopes to complete the restoration within five years. Aupetit said the donation has so far been focused on cleaning and safety work. Scroll through the gallery above to see the progress from the Notre Dame Cathedral’s restoration project so far.

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Restoring Notre Dame: How much of the money has made it through?