Abalone Dreaming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coastal life is the life for me

With beach and surf and clear blue sea

Where I can fish with my family

And dive the reef for abalone

 

Our lovely city by the sea

Has so far kept its harmony

With a well managing fishery

And foraging still largely free

 

The Ocean Reef Marina

Needs a second thought

With a million abalone

Soon all gone for nought

 

 It’s almost a truism that every development will be opposed by a special interest group.  But ultimately effective consultation, good-will and a capacity to compromise will secure a balanced outcome that serves the common good.  The important thing is that the process is open and transparent and that the decision makers are well informed.  Where things become murky is when key information is deliberately withheld in order to secure a favourable outcome for the proponent. The word for this is “spin” and a classic example is the proposed ocean reef marina that is being heavily promoted by the Joondalup City Council. The information presented on the council website is impressive (http://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/develop/majorprojects/oceanreefmarina.aspx ). Impacts on the feeding grounds of the endangered Carnaby’s White-Tailed Black Cockatoo and the endangered Graceful Sun Moth have been well studied and community consultation has been extensive.  There is apparently overwhelming community support for the Project.  The key question though is why impacts on abalone are not mentioned.  The proposed Ocean Reef Marina will take out about 10 ha of the best abalone habitat in the Perth coastal zone. There is literally a carpet of abalone on the offshore reef that will be removed to make way for the marina. The abalone fishery is well managed and Fisheries Officers are quick to hammer anyone who takes more than their 20 daily bag limit or any undersize animals during their five by one hour allowed fishing sessions each year.  How can this be reconciled with the loss of possibly one million abalone from the recreational fishery?  Imagine the outrage towards an individual who harvested 50 tonnes of abalone out of a tightly controlled fishery and then consider that not only is the council proposing to do exactly that but to also permanently remove the habitat.  There is no shortage of sandy habitat to build a marina. It is simply not necessary to destroy precious rocky reef in the Marmion Marine Park to build the marina. It beggars belief that the Council is unaware that the marina will take out a large area of prime abalone habitat.  Their strategy of not mentioning it as an issue smacks of deliberate misrepresentation. It has to be tabled as a key concern. In the words of Virgil Kane: “You take what you need and leave the rest but they should never have taken the very best”.

Evolutionary Harmony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Species evolution

Through survival of the fit

Was first proposed by Darwin

But such thoughts have changed a bit   

Individual adaptation

Is just one part of it

There is also exaptation

And inter-species fit  

Genetics is quite complex

With genes the building blocks

That may dominate or recess

And at times switch on and off

Darwin’s “On the origin of species by means of natural selection” is a remarkable work made even more so by its publication before the discovery of genetics.  Whilst the basic theory has stood the test of time it should be viewed as a foundation work for evolutionary studies and not as a “holy book” for evolutionary biologists.  Its main potential issue is that it presents a depressingly bleak view of a dog eat dog world similar to Tennyson's “nature red in tooth and claw”.  The deeply compassionate and gentle Darwin would have been horrified to see his theory used to justify the extremist views of white supremacists including the Nazi’s. The strong shall prevail!  In practice “survival of the fittest” means much more than being the best competitor. Species can and do support each other and whilst every species must eat there is also great harmony and interdependence in the web of life.  The struggle to survive is always there but the day to day lives of most species are happy and contented. At its extreme you end up with an interdependent living planet or Gaia as presented so brilliantly by Tim Flannery in his book , “Country”.

I like the concept of exaptation where a particular advantageous trait becomes a foundation for further adaptations such as birds first developing feathers to keep them warm and then finding they are useful for flight. This solves many directional evolution puzzles.

Perhaps the most fascinating concept of all is that of co-evolution.  There are many examples of birds and insect pollinators co-adapted with specific flowers but it can be more subtle that. My all time favourite book is David Paxton's “Why it’s OK to talk to your dog”. It presents a compelling case on the co-evolution of dogs and people which ultimately gave humans the edge over our Neandertal competitors. Modern man in partnership with the dog could afford to forgo an acute sense of smell and hearing in return for greater thought and speech capacity.