Reviews for The Enchanted Braid: Coming to Terms with Nature on the Coral Reef

The average rating for The Enchanted Braid: Coming to Terms with Nature on the Coral Reef based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-11-28 00:00:00 Max Pin The natural history of the coral reef and its beauty is expressed by many scientists and the author Osha Davidson as well as the relationship between humans and the impact it has on the environment. "There is a word for what Darwin and the rest of us have felt when in the presence of the reef: 'awe.' Confronted with the reef, awe is the most appropriate response. It is probably in our nature. It is also, apparently, in our nature to destroy that which we hold in awe." (Davidson 11). Davidson descriptively talks about the beauty and essence of the coral reefs and the different species of animals he saw up first hand at the Great Barrier Reef and his snorkeling days in the keys. There are thousands of different species in the ocean and the coral reef is home to one quarter of the all marine species, while the global ocean only represents one percent of the coral reefs. There are very good points and facts Davidson makes on why we need coral reefs and how humans are killing it off. The most complex ecosystem in the world is coral reefs and is explained to understand it better, such as the animal, vegetable, mineral rely on each to keep the system going. Details about how coral polyp works and how its limestone structure can help human life in medicine and how it protects itself is explained by Davidson and Darwin also starts his theory about the coral reef formation with the history of coral. The coral shares history not just of what its material is or how old it is but also is a source to insight detail of history of climate conditions. Davidson explains how Charles Darwin's theory about coral reef comes together. While Charles Darwin is on his journey around the world he saw coral reefs and he studied it came up with the hypothesis that the three types of reefs, the atolls, the barrier and the fringing reefs were really of one kind only viewed at different stages of development. Following Charles Darwin's theory about Coral, Davidson explains the how coral is different from a reef and how it is a reef builder and the detail of its structure. The area on earth where the sun gives off the most solar energy is the tropics or on the equator, which is where a lot of the coral reefs are located. Coral reefs adapt and take advantage of the intense light as well as the giant triangle straddling the equator from the Philippines to the island of Sumatra to Papa New Guinea. This area is the most important region on earth, because it is the planetary center of biodiversity, Davidson explains. He also does a very good job at explaining the reef life as a large city, called "zonation," comparing it such as reefs have neighborhoods too and how no two cities are alike, just like no two reefs are alike. A very important concept Davidson brings up is the sea grass, mangrove, and coral reef important connection to the ecosystem, they all protect and help feed the other to keep them alive otherwise the ecosystem would fall and they would all die. Davidson emphasizes how different species whether it be fish or shrimp or sea grass, they all rely on each other to continue the ecosystem and keep their world alive. Continuing on different species, Davidson got to see green sea turtles lay their eggs first hand and he explains the beautiful process, but he also explains how they will die off. The great part about the book is the way Davidson adds the scholarly information, but also the fun and beautiful events that happen in nature that make you smile and want to take your kids to see the same beauty he talks about, such as the cleaning station that the fish go through. The scholar, Davidson does a spectacular job at making biology and chemistry fun to read about and he uses examples first hand to explain concepts such as how fish reproduce: most reef fish can change from one sex to another, and explains the process of that in a easy to understand way. A good amount of the book Davidson shares with the reader how humans and nature interact, mainly on coral reefs. "About ten percent of the world's coral reefs have already been degraded beyond recovery and another thirty percent are likely to decline significantly within the next twenty years" (Davidson 11). This quote is true, coral reefs are being degraded beyond recovery and it is getting worse because of humans, Davidson talked about the city Jakarta and how the President wanted to modernize the city. By modernizing the city he threw out bikes and added lots of scooters, which in turn adds more carbon monoxide and lead into the air, helping with global warming. It's not just the cars that are killing the environment it is also the poor living conditions in countries let their sewage wastes go into the ocean as well as overfishing causes the coral reef to die off, which in turn is the shelter for reef species so they die off as well. As Davidson travels the world to different coral reefs he ends up on a small island in Asia where they catch there food blast fishing: they throw dynamite or make bottle bombs and throw them in into the water and it kills fish. The blasting destroys reef framework leaving big crates in the reef. Right near by Hong Kong catch rare reef fish in nets and sell them at fancy restaurants, it is considered a delicately. Another way people try to catch fish is chemically with cyanide. In Asia and Latin America shrimp farming is practiced and that kills of mangrove trees breaking the sea-grass, coral reef, mangrove ecosystem. The scholar, Davidson explains that these different ways of fishing are also affecting the human's lives. Blasting fish causes the snorkelers to get the bends and become paralyzed as well as lose limbs from the bottle bombs and cyanide fishing, the fisherman usually get health problems or die from the chemical. These dangerous ways of fishing are usually practiced in countries that are economically low and need food just to survive. Since these coral reefs are being destroyed Davidson talked about how scientists wanted to see counterbalance the devastation of the destroyed coral reefs and help them grow back so these countries to fish again without destroying the reef. As Davidson continues on the human impact, he brings up how rivers can cause the coral reefs to be destroyed by what is being carried in the river to the ocean, such as an increasing load of sediments, agricultural chemicals, nutrient's, and other pollutants. Streams and Rivers collect a lot of agriculture and urbanization problems aside from sewage to help destroy coral reefs. While Davidson was checking out what pollutants were in rivers and streams he decided to take a trip in the rainforest since the coral reef is referred to as the rainforest of the sea, because of all the different species. These human impacts on the environment cause global warming as Davidson puts it we have two oceans, the ocean and the atmosphere. One of the most dramatic examples of this two ocean relationship is the Indonesian Low, a convergence of oceanic and atmospheric conditions. This condition then changes temperature and pressure in the ocean and even just a few degrees change in temperature can cause the coral reefs to bleach and slowly degrade. I learned a lot about coral reefs, the science behind it and the beauty of it and that is what Davidson wants the reader to get out of his book. He makes you feel like you're actually snorkeling right next to him looking at the fish or on the beach helping that green sea turtle go back to the ocean. He also deeply talks about how humans impact the environment around them by staying alive or just for the economy needs and wants. He talks about how global warming affects the coral reefs. He makes you really about not just coral reefs, but about all of the environment that we are slowly destroying, and how if we just learn a little bit of information about our own environment we could find another way to live without harming the environment as much. I personally really enjoyed reading this book, it made me remember those days snorkeling in Hawaii and seeing all the beautiful fish and the sea turtles. The author makes me see the impact humans have on the environment and how it affects the humans as well.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-03-29 00:00:00 Eileen Galleshaw The author of this book does an excellent job making a somewhat uninteresting topic very captivating. Their excellent use of poetic analogies and the way they supplement scientific information with personal travel and experience made the book for me.