Corals
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the simple animals which informed Charles Darwin's first book and form the reefs now threatened by climate change.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the simple animals which informed Charles Darwin's first book, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, published in 1842. From corals, Darwin concluded that the Earth changed very slowly and was not fashioned by God. Now coral reefs, which some liken to undersea rainforests, are threatened by human activity, including fishing, pollution and climate change.
With
Steve Jones
Senior Research Fellow in Genetics at University College London
Nicola Foster
Lecturer in Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth
And
Gareth Williams
Associate Professor in Marine Biology at Bangor University School of Ocean Sciences
Producer Simon Tilllotson.
Last on
LINKS AND FURTHER READING
Steve Jones at University College London
Nicola Foster at the University of Plymouth
Gareth Williams at Bangor University
READING LIST
Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Karen E. Alexander and Enric Sala (eds.), Shifting Baselines: The Past and the Future of Ocean Fisheries (Springer, 2011)
Steve Jones, Coral: A Pessimist in Paradise (Abacus, 2008)
Callum Roberts, Reef Life: An Underwater Memoir (Profile Books, 2019)
Forest Rohwer with Merry Youle, Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas (Plaid Press, 2010)
Peter Sale, Coral Reefs: Majestic Realms under the Sea (Yale University Press, 2021)
Charles Sheppard, Coral Reefs: A Natural History (Princeton University Press, 2021)
Mark Spalding, World Atlas of Coral Reefs (University of California Press, 2001)
RELATED LINKS
Coral Reef Ecosystems - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
‘Scientists are trying to save coral reefs. Here's what's working.’ - National Geographic (June 2020)
Coral Reef Ecology and Biodiversity - Coral Reef Alliance
Corals and Coral Reefs - Smithsonian Institute
What are Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems? - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Coral reef – Wikipedia
Broadcasts
- Thu 28 Oct 2021 09:00BBC Radio 4
- Thu 28 Oct 2021 21:30BBC Radio 4
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