1 00:00:00,958 --> 00:00:02,393 Right now, 2 00:00:02,417 --> 00:00:05,268 beneath a shimmering blue sea, 3 00:00:05,292 --> 00:00:09,101 millions of fish are having sex. 4 00:00:09,125 --> 00:00:12,476 (Cheers) 5 00:00:12,500 --> 00:00:15,934 And the way they're doing it and strategies they're using 6 00:00:15,958 --> 00:00:18,708 looks nothing like what we see on land. 7 00:00:19,917 --> 00:00:21,559 Take parrotfish. 8 00:00:21,583 --> 00:00:25,434 In this species, all fish are born female, 9 00:00:25,458 --> 00:00:27,393 and they look like this. 10 00:00:27,417 --> 00:00:28,726 Then later in life, 11 00:00:28,750 --> 00:00:32,208 she can transition into a male and she'll look like this. 12 00:00:33,167 --> 00:00:37,601 But it's not just a spectacular wardrobe change. 13 00:00:37,625 --> 00:00:42,684 Her body can reabsorb her ovaries and grow testes in their place. 14 00:00:42,708 --> 00:00:44,518 In just a few weeks, 15 00:00:44,542 --> 00:00:48,476 she'll go from making eggs to producing sperm. 16 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:50,268 It's pretty impressive, 17 00:00:50,292 --> 00:00:52,809 and in the ocean it's also pretty common. 18 00:00:52,833 --> 00:00:57,268 In fact, I bet nearly all of you have at some point had a seafood dish 19 00:00:57,292 --> 00:01:00,393 made up of an individual that started life as one sex 20 00:01:00,417 --> 00:01:02,434 and transitioned to another. 21 00:01:02,458 --> 00:01:04,059 Oysters? 22 00:01:04,083 --> 00:01:05,518 Grouper? 23 00:01:05,542 --> 00:01:07,268 Shrimp? 24 00:01:07,292 --> 00:01:09,768 Seeing some heads nodding, yeah. 25 00:01:09,792 --> 00:01:13,792 But not all fish that change sex start as females. 26 00:01:14,667 --> 00:01:17,476 Those clown fish we know from "Finding Nemo"? 27 00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:19,417 They're all born male. 28 00:01:20,042 --> 00:01:23,434 So in the real world, 29 00:01:23,458 --> 00:01:26,143 when Nemo's mother died, 30 00:01:26,167 --> 00:01:30,476 Nemo's dad Marlin would have transitioned into Marlene -- 31 00:01:30,500 --> 00:01:31,768 (Laughter) 32 00:01:31,792 --> 00:01:34,851 and Nemo would have likely mated with his father turned mother. 33 00:01:34,875 --> 00:01:36,059 (Laughter) 34 00:01:36,083 --> 00:01:37,351 You can see -- 35 00:01:37,375 --> 00:01:39,559 (Laughter) 36 00:01:39,583 --> 00:01:40,833 Yeah. 37 00:01:43,125 --> 00:01:44,559 You can see why Pixar 38 00:01:44,583 --> 00:01:47,226 took a little creative license with the plotline, right? 39 00:01:47,250 --> 00:01:48,601 (Laughter) 40 00:01:48,625 --> 00:01:51,934 So sex change in the ocean can happen in either direction 41 00:01:51,958 --> 00:01:54,226 and sometimes even back and forth, 42 00:01:54,250 --> 00:01:58,476 and that's just one of the many amazing strategies animals use 43 00:01:58,500 --> 00:02:00,268 to reproduce in the ocean. 44 00:02:00,292 --> 00:02:01,893 And trust me when I say 45 00:02:01,917 --> 00:02:04,476 it's one of the least surprising. 46 00:02:04,500 --> 00:02:07,601 Sex in the sea is fascinating, 47 00:02:07,625 --> 00:02:10,184 and it's also really important, 48 00:02:10,208 --> 00:02:12,601 and not just to nerdy marine biologists like me 49 00:02:12,625 --> 00:02:15,917 who are obsessed with understanding these salty affairs. 50 00:02:16,708 --> 00:02:18,792 It matters for all of us. 51 00:02:19,792 --> 00:02:22,809 Today, we depend on wild caught fish 52 00:02:22,833 --> 00:02:25,559 to help feed over two billion people 53 00:02:25,583 --> 00:02:27,226 on the planet. 54 00:02:27,250 --> 00:02:31,393 We need millions of oysters and corals to build the giant reefs 55 00:02:31,417 --> 00:02:35,351 that protect our shorelines from rising seas and storms. 56 00:02:35,375 --> 00:02:39,518 We depend on medicines that are found in marine animals to fight cancer 57 00:02:39,542 --> 00:02:41,268 and other diseases. 58 00:02:41,292 --> 00:02:42,684 And for many of us, 59 00:02:42,708 --> 00:02:47,018 the diversity and beauty of the oceans is where we turn for recreation 60 00:02:47,042 --> 00:02:49,833 and relaxation and our cultural heritage. 61 00:02:50,750 --> 00:02:53,559 In order for us to continue to benefit from the abundance 62 00:02:53,583 --> 00:02:55,559 that ocean life provides, 63 00:02:55,583 --> 00:02:57,809 the fish and coral and shrimp of today 64 00:02:57,833 --> 00:03:01,601 have to be able to make fish and shrimp and coral for tomorrow. 65 00:03:01,625 --> 00:03:05,708 To do that, they have to have lots and lots of sex. 66 00:03:07,083 --> 00:03:08,434 And until recently, 67 00:03:08,458 --> 00:03:11,393 we really didn't know how sex happened in the sea. 68 00:03:11,417 --> 00:03:13,351 It's pretty hard to study. 69 00:03:13,375 --> 00:03:16,268 But thanks to new science and technology, 70 00:03:16,292 --> 00:03:19,893 we now know so much more than even just a few years ago, 71 00:03:19,917 --> 00:03:23,268 and these new discoveries are showing two things. 72 00:03:23,292 --> 00:03:26,792 First, sex in the sea is really funky. 73 00:03:27,958 --> 00:03:32,601 Second, our actions are wreaking havoc on the sex lives of everything 74 00:03:32,625 --> 00:03:34,500 from shrimp to salmon. 75 00:03:35,167 --> 00:03:37,268 I know. It can be hard to believe. 76 00:03:37,292 --> 00:03:42,684 So today, I'm going to share a few details about how animals do it in the deep, 77 00:03:42,708 --> 00:03:46,309 how we may be interrupting these intimate affairs 78 00:03:46,333 --> 00:03:48,684 and what we can do to change that. 79 00:03:48,708 --> 00:03:52,143 So, remember those sex-changing fish? 80 00:03:52,167 --> 00:03:54,059 In many places in the world, 81 00:03:54,083 --> 00:03:57,476 we have fishing rules that set a minimum catch size. 82 00:03:57,500 --> 00:04:00,184 Fishers are not allowed to target tiny fish. 83 00:04:00,208 --> 00:04:04,226 This allows baby fish to grow and reproduce before they're caught. 84 00:04:04,250 --> 00:04:05,893 That's a good thing. 85 00:04:05,917 --> 00:04:08,184 So fishers go after the biggest fish. 86 00:04:08,208 --> 00:04:12,059 But in parrotfish, for example, or any sex changer, 87 00:04:12,083 --> 00:04:17,167 targeting the biggest fish means that they're taking out all the males. 88 00:04:17,833 --> 00:04:19,893 That makes it hard for a female fish 89 00:04:19,917 --> 00:04:21,518 to find a mate 90 00:04:21,542 --> 00:04:24,726 or it forces her to change sex sooner 91 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:26,250 at a smaller size. 92 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,601 Both of these things can result in fewer fish babies in the future. 93 00:04:31,625 --> 00:04:34,101 In order for us to properly care for these species, 94 00:04:34,125 --> 00:04:36,351 we have to know if they change sex, 95 00:04:36,375 --> 00:04:37,625 how and when. 96 00:04:38,375 --> 00:04:42,143 Only then can we create rules that can support these sexual strategies, 97 00:04:42,167 --> 00:04:45,917 such as setting a maximum size limit in addition to a minimum one. 98 00:04:46,542 --> 00:04:50,351 The challenge isn't that we can't think of these sex-friendly solutions. 99 00:04:50,375 --> 00:04:54,184 The challenge is knowing which solutions to apply to which species, 100 00:04:54,208 --> 00:04:57,351 because even animals we know really well 101 00:04:57,375 --> 00:04:59,750 surprise us when it comes to their sex lives. 102 00:05:00,333 --> 00:05:01,875 Take Maine lobster. 103 00:05:03,250 --> 00:05:05,643 They don't look that romantic, 104 00:05:05,667 --> 00:05:07,226 or that kinky. 105 00:05:07,250 --> 00:05:08,809 They are both. 106 00:05:08,833 --> 00:05:11,309 (Laughter) 107 00:05:11,333 --> 00:05:12,684 During mating season, 108 00:05:12,708 --> 00:05:16,476 female lobsters want to mate with the biggest, baddest males, 109 00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:18,309 but these guys are really aggressive, 110 00:05:18,333 --> 00:05:21,792 and they'll attack any lobster that approaches, male or female. 111 00:05:22,542 --> 00:05:26,184 Meanwhile, the best time for her to mate with the male 112 00:05:26,208 --> 00:05:28,101 is right after she's molted, 113 00:05:28,125 --> 00:05:30,643 when she's lost her hard shell. 114 00:05:30,667 --> 00:05:35,518 So she has to approach this aggressive guy in her most vulnerable state. 115 00:05:35,542 --> 00:05:36,833 What's a girl to do? 116 00:05:38,208 --> 00:05:40,018 Her answer? 117 00:05:40,042 --> 00:05:44,684 Spray him in the face repeatedly with her urine. 118 00:05:44,708 --> 00:05:47,559 (Laughter) 119 00:05:47,583 --> 00:05:51,125 Under the sea, pee is a very powerful love potion. 120 00:05:52,958 --> 00:05:57,893 Conveniently, lobsters' bladders sit just above their brains, 121 00:05:57,917 --> 00:06:00,476 and they have two nozzles under their eye stalks 122 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:03,559 with which they can shoot their urine forward. 123 00:06:03,583 --> 00:06:06,893 So the female approaches the male's den 124 00:06:06,917 --> 00:06:09,851 and as he charges out she lets loose a stream of urine 125 00:06:09,875 --> 00:06:11,667 and then gets the hell out of there. 126 00:06:12,708 --> 00:06:15,643 Only a few days of this daily dosing 127 00:06:15,667 --> 00:06:20,934 is all it takes for her scent to have a transformative effect. 128 00:06:20,958 --> 00:06:24,500 The male turns from an aggressive to a gentle lover. 129 00:06:25,542 --> 00:06:29,792 By the week's end, he invites her into his den. 130 00:06:30,833 --> 00:06:32,500 After that, the sex is easy. 131 00:06:33,750 --> 00:06:38,976 So how are we interrupting this kind of kinky courtship? 132 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:43,684 Well, the female's urine carries a critical chemical signal 133 00:06:43,708 --> 00:06:46,643 that works because it can pass through seawater 134 00:06:46,667 --> 00:06:48,434 and lobsters have a smell receptor 135 00:06:48,458 --> 00:06:50,542 that can detect and receive the message. 136 00:06:51,375 --> 00:06:54,851 Climate change is making our oceans more acidic. 137 00:06:54,875 --> 00:06:58,893 It's the result of too much carbon dioxide entering seawater. 138 00:06:58,917 --> 00:07:02,226 This changing chemistry could scramble that message, 139 00:07:02,250 --> 00:07:05,851 or it could damage the lobsters' smell receptors. 140 00:07:05,875 --> 00:07:08,851 Pollution from land can have similar impacts. 141 00:07:08,875 --> 00:07:11,226 Just imagine the consequence for that female 142 00:07:11,250 --> 00:07:13,167 if her love potion should fail. 143 00:07:14,083 --> 00:07:18,101 These are the kinds of subtle but significant impacts we're having 144 00:07:18,125 --> 00:07:20,684 on the love lives of these marine life. 145 00:07:20,708 --> 00:07:22,434 And this is a species we know well: 146 00:07:22,458 --> 00:07:25,184 lobsters live near shore in the shallows. 147 00:07:25,208 --> 00:07:28,542 Dive deeper, and sex gets even stranger. 148 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:35,143 Fanfin anglerfish live at about 3,000 feet below the surface 149 00:07:35,167 --> 00:07:37,059 in the pitch-black waters, 150 00:07:37,083 --> 00:07:41,518 and the males are born without the ability to feed themselves. 151 00:07:41,542 --> 00:07:45,708 To survive, he has to find a female fast. 152 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:48,976 Meanwhile, the female, 153 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,018 who is 10 times bigger than the male, 154 00:07:52,042 --> 00:07:53,434 10 times, 155 00:07:53,458 --> 00:07:58,351 she lets out a very strong pheromone with which to attract mates to her. 156 00:07:58,375 --> 00:08:01,101 So this tiny male is swimming through the black waters 157 00:08:01,125 --> 00:08:03,393 smelling his way to a female, 158 00:08:03,417 --> 00:08:04,726 and when he finds her, 159 00:08:04,750 --> 00:08:06,643 he gives her a love bite. 160 00:08:06,667 --> 00:08:08,958 And this is when things get really weird. 161 00:08:10,250 --> 00:08:13,143 That love bite triggers a chemical reaction 162 00:08:13,167 --> 00:08:16,601 whereby his jawbone starts to disintegrate. 163 00:08:16,625 --> 00:08:20,018 His face melts into her flesh, 164 00:08:20,042 --> 00:08:22,893 and their two bodies start to fuse. 165 00:08:22,917 --> 00:08:26,809 Their circulatory systems intwine, 166 00:08:26,833 --> 00:08:31,101 and all his internal organs start to dissolve 167 00:08:31,125 --> 00:08:35,434 except for his testes. 168 00:08:35,458 --> 00:08:37,059 (Laughter) 169 00:08:37,083 --> 00:08:42,226 His testes mature just fine and start producing sperm. 170 00:08:42,250 --> 00:08:45,268 In the end, he's basically a permanently attached 171 00:08:45,292 --> 00:08:47,809 on-demand sperm factory for the female. 172 00:08:47,833 --> 00:08:50,059 (Laughter) 173 00:08:50,083 --> 00:08:52,125 It's a very efficient system, 174 00:08:53,708 --> 00:08:56,018 but this is not the kind of mating strategy 175 00:08:56,042 --> 00:08:57,809 that we see on a farm, right? 176 00:08:57,833 --> 00:08:59,143 I mean, this is weird. 177 00:08:59,167 --> 00:09:00,809 It's really strange. 178 00:09:00,833 --> 00:09:03,601 But if we don't know that these kinds of strategies exist 179 00:09:03,625 --> 00:09:05,184 or how they work, 180 00:09:05,208 --> 00:09:10,184 we can't know what kind of impacts we may be having, even in the deep sea. 181 00:09:10,208 --> 00:09:11,643 Just three years ago, 182 00:09:11,667 --> 00:09:14,643 we discovered a new species of deep sea octopus 183 00:09:14,667 --> 00:09:18,643 where the females lay their eggs on sponges attached to rocks 184 00:09:18,667 --> 00:09:20,750 that are over two and a half miles deep. 185 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:24,143 These rocks contain rare earth minerals, 186 00:09:24,167 --> 00:09:27,393 and right now there are companies that are building bulldozers 187 00:09:27,417 --> 00:09:31,934 that would be capable of mining the deep sea floor for those rocks. 188 00:09:31,958 --> 00:09:35,184 But the bulldozers would scrape up all the sponges 189 00:09:35,208 --> 00:09:36,792 and all the eggs with them. 190 00:09:38,583 --> 00:09:42,018 Knowingly, and in many cases unknowingly, 191 00:09:42,042 --> 00:09:46,559 we are preventing successful sex and reproduction in the deep. 192 00:09:46,583 --> 00:09:47,934 And let's be honest, 193 00:09:47,958 --> 00:09:50,809 dating and mating is hard enough without somebody coming in 194 00:09:50,833 --> 00:09:52,684 and interrupting all the time, right? 195 00:09:52,708 --> 00:09:54,018 I mean, we know this. 196 00:09:54,042 --> 00:09:57,309 So today, while I hope you will leave here 197 00:09:57,333 --> 00:10:00,768 with some excellent bar trivia on fish sex -- 198 00:10:00,792 --> 00:10:03,059 (Laughter) 199 00:10:03,083 --> 00:10:06,851 I also ask that you remember this: 200 00:10:06,875 --> 00:10:12,268 we are all far more intimately connected with the oceans than we realize, 201 00:10:12,292 --> 00:10:14,458 no matter where we live. 202 00:10:15,333 --> 00:10:17,226 And this level of intimacy 203 00:10:17,250 --> 00:10:21,268 requires a new kind of relationship with the ocean, 204 00:10:21,292 --> 00:10:26,518 one that recognizes and respects the enormous diversity of life 205 00:10:26,542 --> 00:10:28,375 and its limitations. 206 00:10:29,417 --> 00:10:31,226 We can no longer think of the oceans 207 00:10:31,250 --> 00:10:33,309 as just something out there, 208 00:10:33,333 --> 00:10:37,309 because every day we depend on them for our food security, 209 00:10:37,333 --> 00:10:39,101 our own health and wellness, 210 00:10:39,125 --> 00:10:41,667 and every other breath we take. 211 00:10:43,042 --> 00:10:45,559 But it is a two-way relationship, 212 00:10:45,583 --> 00:10:48,351 and the oceans can only continue to provide for us 213 00:10:48,375 --> 00:10:53,143 if we in turn safeguard that fundamental force of life in the sea: 214 00:10:53,167 --> 00:10:55,042 sex and reproduction. 215 00:10:56,292 --> 00:10:59,768 So, like any relationship, we have to embrace some change 216 00:10:59,792 --> 00:11:01,250 for the partnership to work. 217 00:11:02,542 --> 00:11:05,226 The next time you're thinking about having seafood, 218 00:11:05,250 --> 00:11:08,601 look for sustainably caught or farmed species 219 00:11:08,625 --> 00:11:11,518 that are local and low on the food chain. 220 00:11:11,542 --> 00:11:14,643 These are animals like oysters, clams, mussels, 221 00:11:14,667 --> 00:11:17,101 small fish like mackerel. 222 00:11:17,125 --> 00:11:19,018 These all reproduce like crazy, 223 00:11:19,042 --> 00:11:22,333 and with good management, they can handle a bit of fishing pressure. 224 00:11:23,125 --> 00:11:25,934 We can also rethink what we use to wash our bodies, 225 00:11:25,958 --> 00:11:27,268 clean our homes 226 00:11:27,292 --> 00:11:28,976 and care for our lawns. 227 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,309 All of those chemicals eventually wash out to sea 228 00:11:32,333 --> 00:11:34,309 and disrupt the natural chemistry 229 00:11:34,333 --> 00:11:36,101 of the ocean. 230 00:11:36,125 --> 00:11:38,226 Industry also has to play its part 231 00:11:38,250 --> 00:11:40,434 and take a precautionary approach, 232 00:11:40,458 --> 00:11:43,851 protecting sexual activity where we know it exists 233 00:11:43,875 --> 00:11:47,434 and preventing harm in the cases where we just don't yet know enough, 234 00:11:47,458 --> 00:11:48,792 like the deep sea. 235 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,601 And in the communities where we live, 236 00:11:52,625 --> 00:11:54,309 the places we work 237 00:11:54,333 --> 00:11:56,559 and the country in which we vote, 238 00:11:56,583 --> 00:12:02,105 we must take bold action on climate change now. 239 00:12:02,125 --> 00:12:03,365 (Audience: Yeah!) 240 00:12:03,395 --> 00:12:06,434 (Applause) 241 00:12:06,458 --> 00:12:07,726 Thank you. 242 00:12:07,750 --> 00:12:09,250 (Applause)