1 00:00:08,099 --> 00:00:13,289 Welcome to the Natural World Facts Awareness Project, a new series in which I’ll be explaining 2 00:00:13,289 --> 00:00:18,720 the importance of wildlife conservation and what you can do to help. In this video, I’m 3 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:24,070 joined by Alex Collins, a fellow YouTube wildlife enthusiast and biologist at the University 4 00:00:24,070 --> 00:00:27,789 of Bristol, who focuses on conservation. His channel is linked below, I recommend you check 5 00:00:27,789 --> 00:00:34,210 it out for videos on some of the world’s rarest species and how you can help them. 6 00:00:34,210 --> 00:00:36,420 What is Marine Conservation? 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:40,590 Marine Conservation is defined as the protection and preservation of ocean ecosystems, with 8 00:00:40,590 --> 00:00:45,760 a focus on limiting the damage caused to them by humans and preserving threatened marine 9 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:46,760 species. 10 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:51,660 The main threats being seen in our oceans include species loss, habitat degradation, 11 00:00:51,660 --> 00:00:57,800 and changes in ecosystem function. Human activities causing a rise in extinction rates has lead 12 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:04,019 to a huge decrease in biodiversity, particularly in coral reefs, 88% of which are threatened 13 00:01:04,019 --> 00:01:06,370 by excessive CO2 emissions. 14 00:01:06,370 --> 00:01:12,570 These reefs are among the most important stores of biodiversity on the planet; it takes around 15 00:01:12,570 --> 00:01:17,500 10 thousand years for a reef to form from coral polyps, and up to 30 million years for 16 00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:29,090 a reef to fully mature, hosting an estimated 25% of all marine life. And yet, around the 17 00:01:29,090 --> 00:01:34,079 world, coral reefs are dying, as warming temperatures and stressful conditions bleach the corals 18 00:01:34,079 --> 00:01:40,789 white as they are forced to expel the colourful algae on which the coral depends for its survival. 19 00:01:40,789 --> 00:01:45,850 So, why does this matter? Why is marine conservation so important? 20 00:01:45,850 --> 00:01:50,021 With the world’s oceans currently more under threat than ever before, and with half of 21 00:01:50,021 --> 00:01:54,840 the world’s reefs having died in the last 30 years, Marine Conservation has never been 22 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:56,539 more important than today. 23 00:01:56,539 --> 00:01:58,880 I’ve already made some videos which answer these questions on my own channel, so if you’d 24 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,650 like to know why conservation is crucial to both yourself and the environment, and why 25 00:02:01,650 --> 00:02:05,960 we should save endangered species and ecosystems, then make sure to check those videos out after 26 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:07,079 you’ve finished watching this. 27 00:02:07,079 --> 00:02:11,020 Put simply, different species rely on each other for survival. If one species is under 28 00:02:11,020 --> 00:02:16,080 threat, the likelihood is that so is another species. This can have a chain reaction, until 29 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:21,360 eventually a whole ecosystem is under threat. We need healthy ecosystems just as much as 30 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:27,080 the marine life itself, because without them, we’d have less food, less money, and less 31 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,851 life on our planet. The bottom line is, life on Earth needs healthy oceans, and it is our 32 00:02:31,851 --> 00:02:33,940 responsibility to protect them. 33 00:02:33,940 --> 00:02:35,930 So how can we do this? 34 00:02:35,930 --> 00:02:40,630 One of the most effective methods has been the setting up of marine protected areas. 35 00:02:40,630 --> 00:02:44,820 This creates a much safer environment for marine life, undisturbed by the impacts of 36 00:02:44,820 --> 00:02:50,840 overfishing, noise pollution from ships, and other human activities. Thankfully, biodiversity 37 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:55,740 has been found to increase by 21% within marine reserves like these. 38 00:02:55,740 --> 00:03:00,280 We can also use artificial reefs. These are man-made structures, built to promote marine 39 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:05,110 life and the growth of new coral. Artificial reefs have proven successful in providing 40 00:03:05,110 --> 00:03:09,900 a habitat for threatened wildlife, therefore allowing damaged ecosystems to recover, and 41 00:03:09,900 --> 00:03:12,760 the regeneration of valuable biodiversity within reef ecosystems. 42 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,550 As well as these strategies, we also need to be careful in the way we interact with 43 00:03:16,550 --> 00:03:21,330 the marine environment. For example, active demersal fishing techniques like trawling, 44 00:03:21,330 --> 00:03:25,810 where a net is dragged along the bottom of the ocean, can destroy the seafloor, which 45 00:03:25,810 --> 00:03:30,340 often contains ecologically important plant and coral species. 46 00:03:30,340 --> 00:03:34,190 Active pelagic fishing techniques, where a net is dragged through the open ocean, can 47 00:03:34,190 --> 00:03:38,263 also be just as bad. This is because it’s indiscriminate, meaning that the nets will 48 00:03:38,263 --> 00:03:42,500 catch anything in their way, regardless of whether or not the fisherman are looking for 49 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:46,690 it. This often leads to protected animals like dolphins and turtles being injured or 50 00:03:46,690 --> 00:03:51,890 even killed. For every 1 kilogram of prawns that are caught and sold in stores, 9 kilograms 51 00:03:51,890 --> 00:03:57,220 of other sea animals are caught as bycatch, being injured or killed and then thrown away. 52 00:03:57,220 --> 00:04:00,560 Marine conservation efforts have been made to reduce the destruction caused by these 53 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:06,290 fishing techniques, either by reducing how often they are allowed to be used, or by making 54 00:04:06,290 --> 00:04:11,950 the technique itself less destructive. For example, by using specific fishing hooks that 55 00:04:11,950 --> 00:04:13,850 are less likely to catch unwanted species. 56 00:04:13,850 --> 00:04:14,850 So there’s a small insight into just some of the problems that marine conservationists 57 00:04:14,850 --> 00:04:18,130 face today. Solving these problems does take a lot of hard work, but that doesn’t mean 58 00:04:18,130 --> 00:04:22,048 there’s nothing you can do if you don’t work as a conservationist. 59 00:04:22,048 --> 00:04:26,320 So here are some simple things that you can do to help marine conservation. 60 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:32,440 Firstly, use your water supply more economically. This will not only save you money but it will 61 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:37,120 reduce excess runoff, containing pollutants and waste, into the ocean. 62 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:41,200 Secondly, use less energy in your day to day life. Higher temperatures can cause the death 63 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:46,440 of corals, rising sea levels and flooding, and more extreme weather which can damage 64 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:51,850 marine ecosystems. Many marine species also rely on specific temperatures to determine 65 00:04:51,850 --> 00:04:56,400 what sex they develop into (i.e. they have temperature-dependent sex determination), 66 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:02,450 and so by changing the temperature we can throw an entire population out of balance. 67 00:05:02,450 --> 00:05:07,880 You can also fish responsibly, or just fish less, or not at all if this is an option to 68 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,700 you. The same goes for eating seafood. 69 00:05:10,700 --> 00:05:15,631 Reducing your use of plastics is also essential. Ingestion of microplastics (bits of plastic 70 00:05:15,631 --> 00:05:21,790 which are less than 5mm across) can lead to bioaccumulation. This is where harmful substances 71 00:05:21,790 --> 00:05:26,580 build up in the food chain and eventually cause serious problems to the organisms at 72 00:05:26,580 --> 00:05:27,639 the top. 73 00:05:27,639 --> 00:05:31,220 There are just a few things that you should consider when trying to cause less impact 74 00:05:31,220 --> 00:05:35,800 to marine life. There is of course plenty of other things that you can do to help, so 75 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,510 if you’d like to know more, then let us know down in the comments, and we can make 76 00:05:39,510 --> 00:05:44,990 another video for you. 77 00:05:44,990 --> 00:05:49,810 Thank you for watching, subscribe to see more videos from the Awareness Project. Hit the 78 00:05:49,810 --> 00:05:55,410 like button and be sure to watch our video on the Pine Marten by following the link to 79 00:05:55,410 --> 00:05:56,790 Alex’s channel.