9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Right now,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
beneath a shimmering blue sea,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
millions of fish are having sex.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Cheers)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And the way they're doing it[br]and strategies they're using

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
looks nothing like what we see on land.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Take parrotfish.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In this species, all fish are born female,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and they look like this.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Then later in life,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
she can transition into a male[br]and she'll look like this.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But it's not just[br]a spectacular wardrobe change.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Her body can reabsorb her ovaries[br]and grow testes in their place.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In just a few weeks,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
she'll go from making eggs[br]to producing sperm.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's pretty impressive,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and in the ocean it's also pretty common.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In fact, I'll bet nearly all of you[br]have at some point had a seafood dish

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
made up of an individual[br]that started life as one sex

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and transitioned to another.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Oysters?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Grouper?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Shrimp?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Seeing some heads nodding, yeah.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But not all fish that change sex[br]start as females.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Those clownfish we know[br]from "Finding Nemo"?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They're all born male.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So in the real world,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when Nemo's mother died,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Nemo's dad Marlin would[br]have transitioned into Marlene

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and Nemo would have likely mated[br]with his father turned mother.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You can see -- (Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Yeah.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You can see why Pixar

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
took a little creative license[br]with the plot line, right?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So sex change in the ocean[br]can happen in either direction

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and sometimes even back and forth,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and that's just one of the many[br]amazing strategies animals use

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to reproduce in the ocean.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And trust me when I say

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it's one of the least surprising.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Sex in the sea is fascinating,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and it's also really important,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and not just to nerdy[br]marine biologists like me

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
who are obsessed with understanding[br]these salty affairs.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It matters for all of us.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Today, we depend on wild caught fish

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to help feed over two billion people

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
on the planet.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We need millions of oysters and corals[br]to build the giant reefs

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that protect our shorelines[br]from rising seas and storms.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We depend on medicines that are found[br]in marine animals to fight cancer

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and other diseases.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And for many of us,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the diversity and beauty of the oceans[br]is where we turn for recreation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and relaxation and our cultural heritage.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In order for us to continue[br]to benefit from the abundance

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that ocean life provides,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the fish and coral and shrimp of today

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
have to be able to make fish[br]and shrimp and coral for tomorrow.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
To do that, they have to have[br]lots and lots of sex.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And until recently,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we really didn't know how sex[br]happened in the sea.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's pretty hard to study.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But thanks to new science and technology,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we now know so much more[br]than even just a few years ago,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and these new discoveries[br]are showing two things.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
First, sex in the sea is really funky.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Second, our actions are wreaking havoc[br]on the sex lives of everything

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from shrimp to salmon.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I know. It can be hard to believe.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So today, I'm going to share a few details[br]about how animals do it in the deep,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
how we may be interrupting[br]these intimate affairs,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and what we can do to change that.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So, remember those sex-changing fish?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In many places in the world,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we have fishing rules that set[br]a minimum catch size.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Fishers are not allowed[br]to target tiny fish.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This allows baby fish to grow[br]and reproduce before they're caught.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
That's a good thing.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So fishers go after the biggest fish.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But in parrotfish, for example,[br]or any sex changer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
targeting the biggest fish means[br]that they're taking out all the males.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
That makes it hard for a female fish

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to find a mate

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or it forces her to change sex sooner

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
at a smaller size.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Both of these things can result[br]in fewer fish babies in the future.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In order for us to properly care[br]for these species,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we have to know if they change sex,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
how, and when.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Only then can we create rules[br]that can support these sexual strategies,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
such as setting a maximum size limit[br]in addition to a minimum one.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The challenge isn't that we can't think[br]of these sex-friendly solutions.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The challenge is knowing[br]which solutions to apply to which species,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because even animals we know really well

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
surprise us when it comes[br]to their sex lives.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Take Maine lobster.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They don't look that romantic,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or that kinky.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They are both.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
During mating season,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
female lobsters want to mate[br]with the biggest, baddest males,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but these guys are really aggressive,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and they'll attack any lobster[br]that approaches, male or female.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Meanwhile, the best time[br]for her to mate with the male

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is right after she's molted,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when she's lost her hard shell.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So she has to approach this aggressive guy[br]in her most vulnerable state.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
What's a girl to do?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Her answer?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Spray him in the face[br]repeatedly with her urine.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Under the sea, pee[br]is a very powerful love potion.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Conveniently, lobsters' bladders[br]sit just above their brains,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and they have two nozzles[br]under their eye stalks

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with which they can shoot[br]their urine forward.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So the female approaches the male's den

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and as he charges out[br]she lets loose a stream of urine

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and then gets the hell out of there.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Only a few days of this daily dosing[br]is all it takes for her scent

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to have a transformative effect.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The male turns from an aggressive[br]to a gentle lover.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
By the week's end,[br]he invites her into his den.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
After that, the sex is easy.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So how are interrupting[br]this kind of kinky courtship?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Well, the female's urine carries[br]a critical chemical signal

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that works because[br]it can pass through seawater

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and lobsters have a smell receptor

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that can detect and receive the message.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Climate change is making[br]our oceans more acidic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's the result of too much[br]carbon dioxide entering seawater.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This changing chemistry[br]could scramble that message,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or it could damage[br]the lobsters' smell receptors.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Pollution from land[br]can have similar impacts.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Just imagine the consequence[br]for that female

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
if her love potion should fail.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These are the kinds of subtle[br]but significant impacts we're having

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
on the love lives of these marine life.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this is a species we know well:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
lobsters live near shore in the shallows.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Dive deeper, and sex gets even stranger.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Fanfin anglerfish live at about[br]3,000 feet below the surface

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in the pitch-black waters,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the males are born[br]without the ability to feed themselves.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
To survive, he has to find a female fast.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Meanwhile, the female,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
who is 10 times bigger than the male,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
10 times,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
she lets out a very strong pheromone[br]with which to attract mates to her.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So this tiny male is swimming[br]through the black waters

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
smelling his way to a female,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and when he finds her,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
he gives her a love bite.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this is when things get really weird.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
That love bite triggers[br]a chemical reaction

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
whereby his jawbone[br]starts to disintegrate.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
His face melts into her flesh,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and their two bodies start to fuse.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Their circulatory systems intwine,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and all his internal organs[br]start to dissolve

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
except for his testes.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
His testes mature just fine[br]and start producing sperm.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In the end, he's basically[br]a permanently attached

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
on-demand sperm factory for the female.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's a very efficient system,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but this is not the kind[br]of mating strategy

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that we see on a farm, right?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I mean, this is weird.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's really strange.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But if we don't know that[br]these kinds of strategies exist

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or how they work,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we can't know what kind of impacts[br]we may be having, even in the deep sea.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Just three years ago,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we discovered a new species[br]of deep sea octopus

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
where the females lay their eggs[br]on sponges attached to rocks

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that are over two and a half miles deep.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These rocks contain rare earth minerals,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and right now there are companies[br]that are building bulldozers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that would be capable of mining[br]the deep sea floor for those rocks.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But the bulldozers[br]would scrape up all the sponges

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and all the eggs with them.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Knowingly, and in many cases unknowingly,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we are preventing successful sex[br]and reproduction in the deep.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And let's be honest,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
dating and mating is hard enough[br]without somebody coming in

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and interrupting all the time, right?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I mean, we know this.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So today, while I hope you will leave here[br]with some excellent bar trivia on fish sex

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I also ask that you remember this:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we are all far more intimately connected[br]with the oceans than we realize,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
no matter where we live.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this level of intimacy

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
requires a new kind[br]of relationship with the ocean,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
one that recognizes and respects[br]the enormous diversity of life

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and its limitations.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We can no longer think of the oceans

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as just something out there,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because every day we depend on them[br]for our food security,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
our own health and wellness,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and every other breath we take.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But it is a two-way relationship,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the oceans can only continue[br]to provide for us

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
if we in turn safeguard[br]that fundamental force of life in the sea:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sex and reproduction.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So, like any relationship,[br]we have to embrace some change

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for the partnership to work.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The next time you're thinking[br]about having seafood,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
look for sustainable caught[br]or farmed species

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that are local and low on the food chain.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These are animals[br]like oysters, clams, mussels,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
small fish like mackerel.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These all reproduce like crazy,[br]and with good management

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they can handle a bit of fishing pressure.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We can also rethink what we use[br]to wash our bodies,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
clean our homes,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and care for our lawns.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
All of those chemicals[br]eventually wash out to sea

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and disrupt the natural chemistry

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of the ocean.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Industry also has to play its part

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and take a precautionary approach,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
protecting sexual activity[br]where we know it exists

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and preventing harm in the cases[br]where we just don't yet know enough,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
like the deep sea.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And in the communities where we live,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the places we work,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the country in which we vote,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we must take bold action[br]on climate change now.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Applause)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thank you.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Applause)