My Wonderful World and National Geographic invite you to follow Enric Sala on his journey to the Southern Line Islands deep in the South Pacific. While there, Dr. Sala and a team of scientists will study and catalog one of the world’s last marine ecosystems “untouched” by humans. The islands present an example of what the oceans looked like hundreds of years ago–before human impacts–and, … Continue reading Explore the Southern Line Islands with Enric Sala and Oceans Now!
Many of you will recall our interview with National Geographic Fellow Enric Sala during Geography Awareness Week. Today, we happily announce that Enric has played an influencing role in President Bush’s decision to protect nearly 200,000 square miles in the western and central Pacific Ocean. Enric has extensively studied the coral reefs surrounding the Line Islands, now one of three marine monuments created under … Continue reading NG Fellow Influences Marine Conservation Act
Today we welcome Dr.
Enric Sala, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer,* whose research in marine
ecology has shed new light on coral reefs systems. Before coming to National Geographic, Dr.
Sala was a researcher at Spain’s National Council for Scientific Research and a professor at Scripps Institution
of Oceanography. When he left academia
to concentrate on his research, Dr. Sala employed a rare, optimistic
methodology: He did not study environmental degradation like most scientists,
but concentrated on what pristine ecosystems could teach us. This optimism led him to study the coral
reefs around the Line Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands host different numbers of human
inhabitants, and show how population change directly impacts the surrounding reefs. His research was ground-breaking in its
findings and holistic in its approach.
Dr. Sala is now
working with National Geographic to create a platform for different non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and conservation organizations to discuss environmental innovations,
while continuing his research. Many thanks to Enric Sala for helping us
celebrate environments during Geography Awareness Week!
*In the days since publishing this post
we learned that Enric has newly been named a National Geographic
Fellow. Congratulations, Enric!
1) What inspired you to become a marine ecologist?
I was lucky that two things happened to me when I was a kid
in Spain. First, Jacques Cousteau’s movies were at their prime and shown on TV; I watched
all of them and dreamt about being a diver in the Calypso and explore the
oceans. Second, I lived near the coast and was able to swim and snorkel during
most of my childhood, which gave me a sense of appreciation and love for marine
life first hand, in a way that no book or TV program can.
2) Why is it important to study our oceans?
The oceans are essential to human life and well-being. They
produce more than half of the oxygen that we breathe, regulate the climate, and
provide us with food. We need to understand how to not damage the machine that
supports us!
3) Please tell us a
little about your scientific findings, specifically from your study in the Line
Islands of the Pacific Ocean.
In 2005 and 2007 we conducted an expedition to Kingman
Reef, in the Line Islands, Central Pacific.
Kingman is a pristine coral reef, a time machine that transported us back
hundreds of years ago. What we found surprised us, because we did not know that
on a pristine, healthy coral atoll, top predators account for 85% of the fish
biomass. This is similar to the Serengeti with five lions per wildebeest! It is
the landscape of fear, where predators roam free and the prey are hiding. We
also found that an intact food web is more resilient to the short term effects
of global warming; that is, on a healthy reef, corals may bleach because of a
warming event, but they can recover relatively quickly.
4) Please describe your theory of doing research. Why do you study the entire ecosystem, from
algae to sharks, as opposed to one particular component like other scientists?
Ecosystems are composed of many thousands of species
interacting together. We cannot understand how these ecosystems work without
looking at as many of their components as possible. Imagine trying to
understand how Picasso painting by looking at just one color at a time…
Science needs both specialists and generalists, but fortunately, there is an
increasing number of scientists studying ecosystems.
