SCIENCE science.org 8 APRIL 2022 • VOL 376 ISSUE 6589 141PHOTO: REINHARD DIRSCHERL/ULLSTEIN BILD/GETTY IMAGESBy Steven Mana’oakamai JohnsonI
n the Anthropocene, saving the planet
is a business venture. But, like the most
ambitious enterprises, it is also a labor
of love. In Life on the Rocks, Juli Ber-
wald takes readers on a globe-trotting
adventure to fight for the future of coral
reefs—a world of million-dollar prizes for
ecosystem-saving breakthroughs
and where a trillion dollars could
potentially save one-tenth of Earth’s
reefs. Berwald weaves into this nar-
rative her own story of coping with
a mental health issue afflicting her
daughter, drawing parallels with
the story of the world’s coral reefs.
The primary narrative of Life on
the Rocks centers around the “bad-
ass merger” established by the
coral animal (Scleractinia) and its
endosymbiotic microalgae (Sym-
biodiniaceae). Corals and their en-
dosymbionts provide each other with the
ecological and evolutionary ingredients for
success. This partnership, rooted in coop-
eration and coordination, is so beneficial
to both parties that it is responsible for the
most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet.
But this symbiosis exists at its physiologicalMARINE ECOLOGYFaced with a family crisis, a marine scientist finds parallels
with Earth’s imperiled coral reefs
BOOKS et al.
Investing in what matters most
limits and begins to break down under vari-
ous stressors, resulting in coral bleaching
(when the microalgae and coral host part
ways, leaving only the ghostly white skel-
eton seen through the translucent body of
the coral).
The leading cause of coral bleaching
is elevated ocean temperatures. Climate
change is increasing the frequency of se-
vere bleaching events, and the long-
term projections are bleak: Annual
bleaching is expected to occur in
nearly ever y coral reef by 2050. Hav-
ing witnessed and documented the
2013–2017 global bleaching event
from the reefs of my home island,
Saipan, I can attest that coral reefs
will be in bad shape long before
then if something does not change.
Berwald may earn a living as a
science writer, but she holds a PhD
in marine science. This insider
knowledge and expertise give her
the ability to deconstruct the “wicked prob-
lem” of climate change with a stylistic ease
reminiscent of Elizabeth Kolbert and Susan
Casey. She exposes the breadth and depth of
the challenges facing reefs, introducing read-
ers to the businesspeople and scientists col-
laborating to save them along the way. We
meet a candy bar–making CEO in Bali who
creates an army of “spider” frames for coral
gardening, for example, and accompany
Berwald as she visits Caribbean hotels host-ing coral “refugees” that are fleeing a dev-
astating disease outbreak. Here, the author
challenges readers to focus on the generosity
of business entities in taking up this noble
pursuit, eliding (temporarily) their own sub-
stantial contributions to climate change.
The menagerie of scientists Berwald
talks to highlights the diversity of people
committing their life’s work to coral reef
conservation and their various attitudes
and outlooks on coral futures. Misha Matz,
a researcher at the University of Texas at
Austin, comes off as quite cheery. His mod-
els suggest that we “cannot make [coral] go
extinct...it’s impossible.” Meanwhile, Megan
Morikawa, a coral geneticist who works for
the Spanish hotel chain Iberostar, is prag-
matic about our need to feel like we are
helping, even when other actions might be
more effective. Tourists concerned about
using reef-friendly sunscreens, for example,
rarely confront the carbon emissions asso-
ciated with their flights to tropical locales.
Berwald frequently finds ways to show
that we are more like our planet than we
often appreciate. Weathering, seasons,
fires, and floods—these processes can be
jarring and violent, but they help reveal
Earth’s potential, creating the diversity
that enriches our planet. The same can be
said of our own personal crises. According
to Berwald, her daughter’s mental health
only turned the corner when the family
decided that her well-being was priceless
and committed to the long process of a sys-
temic reset. Saving reefs will require the
same thing from us.
If the book has one weak point, it is that
the perspectives and relationships of In-
digenous people to coral reefs only make
brief appearances. But Berwald is right on
the cusp of engaging with these worldviews
with her discussion of reticulated evolu-
tion. This process, which involves “sepa-
ration and repackaging, divergence and
convergence,” just might be the conceptual
framework we need in this moment. What
would it look like to overcome the legacies
of colonialism that persist in the form of
capitalism and climate change? Can we pair
the technological advancements of the 21st
century with Indigenous worldviews that
continue to be cast out and marginalized?
Partnerships have trade-offs. Some sym-
bionts help corals succeed under one set
of conditions, for example, but not under
others. Will the partnerships highlighted in
this book be the ones that save coral reefs?
We don’t have much time, so let’s hope so. j10.1126/science.abo5005A diver swims over a coral reef near
the Meemu Atoll in the Maldives.Life on the Rocks:
Building a Future
for Coral Reefs
Juli Berwald
Riverhead Books,- 352 pp.
The reviewer is at the School of Geographical Sciences and
Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287,
USA. Email: [email protected]0408Books_15351501.indd 141 4/1/22 4:32 PM