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Hello and welcome to the Natural World Facts Awareness Project.

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A new series in which I’ll be explaining

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the importance of wildlife conservation and[br]what you can do to help.

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In this video, I’m joined by Alex Collins,

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a fellow YouTube wildlife[br]enthusiast and biologist

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at the University of Bristol.

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His channel is linked below,

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I recommend you check it out

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for videos on some of the world’s[br]rarest species

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and what you can do to help them.

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So what is Marine Conservation?

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Marine Conservation is defined as the protection[br]of marine ecosystems,

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With the focus of limiting the damage caused to them by humans

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and protecting threatened species.

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The main threats being seen in our oceans[br]include species loss,

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habitat degradation,

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and changes in ecosystem function.

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Human activities[br]causing a rise in extinction rates

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has lead to a huge decrease in biodiversity,

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particularly[br]in coral reefs, 88% of which are threatened

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by excessive CO2 emissions.

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These reefs are among the most important stores[br]of biodiversity on the planet.

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It takes around ten thousand years for a reef to form from coral polyps,

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and up to 30 million years for

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a reef to fully mature,

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hosting an estimated 25% of all marine life.

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And yet, around the world,

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coral reefs are dying,

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as warming temperatures[br]and stressful conditions bleach the corals

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white as they are forced to expel the colourful[br]algae

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on which the coral depends for its survival.

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So, why does this matter?

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Why is marine conservation so important?

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With the world’s oceans currently under[br]more threat than ever before,

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and with half of the world’s coral reefs having died in the last 30 years,

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marine conservation has never been

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more important than is today.

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I’ve already made some videos

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explaining why[br]conservation is so important to you

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and why we should save endangered species

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So make sure to check those videos out after

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you’ve finished watching this.

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Put simply, different species rely on each[br]other for survival.

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If one species is under threat,

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the likelihood is that so is another[br]species.

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This can have a chain reaction, until

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eventually a whole ecosystem is under threat.

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We need healthy ecosystems just as much as

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the marine life itself,

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because without them,[br]we’d have less food, less money,

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and with altogether less life on our planet.

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The bottom line is Earth needs healthy oceans, and it is our

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responsibility to protect them.

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So how can we do this?

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One of the most effective methods has been[br]the setting up of marine protected areas.

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This creates a much safer environment for[br]marine life,

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undisturbed by the impacts of overfishing,

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noise pollution from ships, and[br]other human activities.

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Thankfully, biodiversity has been found to increase by 21% within marine[br]reserves like these.

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We can also use artificial reefs.

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These are man-made structures, built to promote marine life

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and the growth of new coral.

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Artificial reefs have proven successful in providing[br]a habitat for threatened wildlife,

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These allow damaged ecosystems to recover, and

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valuable biodiversity to regenerate.

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As well as these strategies, we also need[br]to be careful in the way

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we interact with the marine environment.

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Active[br]demersal fishing techniques like trawling,

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where a net is dragged along the bottom of[br]sea floor,

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can be really destructive

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as this destroy ecologically important species[br]like certain corals.

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Active pelagic fishing techniques, where a[br]net is dragged through the open ocean,

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can also be just as bad.

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This is because it’s[br]indiscriminate, meaning that they

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catch anything in their way of net,

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regardless of whether the fisherman[br]want it or not.

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This often leads to protected animals[br]like dolphins and turtles being injured

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or killed. For every 1 kilogram of prawns[br]that are caught and sold in stores,

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nine kilograms of other sea animals are caught as bycatch,

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being injured or killed and then thrown away.

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Marine conservation efforts have been made[br]to reduce the destruction

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caused by these fishing techniques,

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either by reducing the amount of time of these techniques are allowed to be used

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Or making the technique itself less destructive.

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One example of this, is to use specific fishing hooks which

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are less likely to catch unwanted species.

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Solving these problems does take[br]a lot of hard work,

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but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do

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if you don’t work as a conservationist.

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So here are some other things that you can[br]do to help marine conservation.

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Firstly, use your water supply more economically.

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This will not only save you money but it will

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also reduce excess runoff, containing pollutants[br]and waste into the ocean.

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Secondly, use less energy in your daily life.

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Higher temperatures can cause the death

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of corals, rising sea levels and flooding,

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and more extreme weather which can damage[br]marine ecosystems.

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Many marine species also[br]rely on specific temperatures to determine

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what sex they develop into.

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This is called temperature-dependent sex determination,

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and so by changing the temperature we can[br]throw an entire population out of balance.

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You can also fish more responsibly,

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or just fish less, or not at all if that is [br]an option to you.

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The same goes for eating seafood.

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Reducing your use of plastics is also essential.

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Ingestion of microplastics (bits of plastic

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which are less than 5mm across) can lead to[br]bioaccumulation.

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This is where harmful substances

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build up in the food chain and eventually[br]cause serious damage

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to the species at the top.

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There are just a few things that you should[br]consider

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when trying to cause less impact to [br]marine life.

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There are of course plenty[br]of other things that you can do to help.

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So if you’d like to know more,

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then let us know down in the comments,

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so that we can make another video for you.

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Thank you for watching.

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Subscribe to see more[br]videos from The Awareness Project.

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Hit the like button and be sure to watch our video

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on the Pine Marten by following the link to Alex’s channel.

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I hope you enjoy.