LIFE IN REEF CITY
Developing a non-human perspective on ecological problems might seem difficult at first, since throughout the anthropocene era, human thinkers have been human-centric. This is evidenced by civilizations and empires – how they have grown and gone. As every generation inherits a world wherein their ancestors have bequeathed upon them a mindset of growth, they risk the instinctive desire to seek conquest. It's glaringly obvious as more borders are built than sustainable bridges.
Megacities have been spreading all throughout the planet1, to the point of ecological encroachment. Nature's territories, which are home to millions of other-than-human species, are often overlooked. With an anthropocentric mindset, humans tend to forget to see other living beings, eye to eye.
1 Desjardins, J. (n.d.). These will be the world’s megacities in 2030. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/mapping-theworld-s-new-megaci- ties-in-2030/?platform=hootsuite
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We are empathetic by nature. When empathy is fostered between humans, perspective towards non-humans would also shift. Diversity & biodiversity goes hand in hand as the ecological crisis affects everyone, everywhere.
The coral reef is a good example of an endangered territory. For the most part of global natural conservation, they go unnoticed, since the world’s reef ecosystems are located underwater, which remain unseen for most human eyes. The Great Barrier reef, the biggest coral reef system in the world, has an area of about 344,400km2, or 70 million football fields.2 To put things into perspective, it is as large as Germany’s land area.3 The Great Barrier Reef functions like a megacity, in which the whole community is made up of smaller ones. Reefs and cities are also comparable with cross-community relationships working together in harmony, keeping the cycle of a system in balance.
The importance of marine conservation, specifically in coral reefs, lies with their biodiversity rate. Reefs occupy less than 1% of the ocean floor, yet they contain 25% of all marine living creatures.4 The abundance of life, not only gives reef residents a harmonious symbiotic quality of life, but it also benefits humans. For instance, coastal communities rely on coral reefs for food, income, and protection against natural disasters. On human-centric ideologies, empathetic thinking towards another eco-system begins with a perspective shift. If people get to know coral reef species like humans, then empathy can thrive.
2 Facts about the Great Barrier Reef. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.barrier- reef.org/the-reef/the-facts
3 Germany: Country Data and statistics. Worlddata.info. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.worlddata.info/europe/germany/index.php
4 Biodiversity. Coral Reef Alliance. (2021). Retrieved from https://coral.org/en/coral-reefs-101/why-care-about-reefs/biodiversity/
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While each coral or sea plant act like a living home to marine creatures, the reef is similar to a city, where residents work day in and day out to keep the community functioning, alive, and well.
For instance, parrotfishes maintain reef infrastructure by eating algae and dead corals with their beak-like teeth. After eating, fine white sand is excreted, creating pathways and habitats for other reef residents. Their functionality prevents urban decay, or algae from spreading. On another note, manta rays are like travellers as they pass through reefs. They have developed a symbiotic relationship with cleaner wrasse and other fish. Moreover, families also reside in the reef, such as the clownfish. They act like humans living and maintaining homes, as they inhabit their protective anemones.
The key to creating empathy is to engage people with relateable stories. A well-told happy story helps a person empathize by developing more oxytocin in their mind. Stories foster joy, unity, and growth, reflected in harmonious relationships between communities of diverse backgrounds.
Coexistence has been the core principle in the life cycle of coral reefs. Marine living beings are dependable on another species in some special way. Fundamentally, coral polyps and algae are the main producers of a coral reef food web.5 Every specie plays a crucial role, but more importantly, corals provide the foundation of this delicate underwater megacity.
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5 Johnson, M. D. (n.d.). Ecophysiology of coral reef primary producers: Response to natural and Anthropogenic Environmental Change (dissertation).
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The economical life in the reef is extremely delicate. The Great Barrier Reef, located near the world’s coral triangle, is rich with diverse set of roles for marine creatures to fill. However, a problem exists within the coral reef job market, as they may experience job surplus, which means the workforce is too thin in some areas. By studying labor shortage issues among countries, a way to mitigate the problem is through skill immigration. Scientists are also doing the same method in coral reef care through translocation, transplantation, or reintroduction of small thriving coral reef systems and species to areas that lack biodiversity, otherwise known as ‘ecological replacement’. This is one way of helping coral communities survive threats such as the climate crisis.
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The Great Barrier Reef was repaired by scientists through translocating corals from the Kimberleys, a reef system in Northwest Australia that survives high sun exposure during extensive low tides, with hopes that the Great Barrier Reef may develop the same resistance against rising global temperatures.6
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00540/
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6 Boch, A., C., Andrew, Burton, Erica, Joshua, ... P., J. (2019, August 16). Coral Translocation as a Method to Restore Impacted Deep-Sea Coral Communities. Retrieved from
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As a result of climate change, coral bleaching is the process when algae leaving its coral exoskeleton. To note, the white appearance does not signify death, rather, it is a sign of degradation, which means that there is still hope for algae to return and for the corals rehabilitate, if water temperatures return to a normal rate.7 Similarly, an external natural or man-made force can disrupt a thriving community, affecting the normal cycle of life to a point where the environment is unliveable.
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7 US Department of Commerce, & National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010, March 15). What is coral bleaching? Retrieved from https://oceanservice. noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html
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For perspective, some places in the world that experienced catastrophic events suffered ecological collapse and displacement. Fukushima, Japan faced a nuclear meltdown. Aleppo, Syria went through armed conflict. Shishmaref, Alaska was threatened with melting sea ice.
Looking at the impact of disasters on human communities, people cling on to empathy for hope as a coping mechanism during the aftermath and recovery stage. How can scientists rehabilitate a megacity that belongs to species other than humans?
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Having established the resemblance of coral reefs to a city, a designer, Craig Taylor, took the idea further by visualising one element that defines the city’s character – movement. Taylor has been fascinated by the concept of making city networks look like living corals. The varying patterns of urban forms are inherently dictated by their road network – “a complex, seemingly organic connection of links moving people across their city.” Like branches of coral, they have patterns and functions. With various geo-spatial analysis of drive-times catchments, this makes his coral maps informative, aside from just beautiful visuals of urban movement.8
https://towardsdatascience.com/coral-cities-an-
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8 Taylor, C. (2018, September 29). Coral Cities: An Ito Design Lab Concept. Retrieved from
ito-design-lab- concept-c01a3f4a2722
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Sly Lee, former biological science technician and now founder of Hydrous, came up of a better way to assess a coral’s health after a bleaching event or natural disaster. Lee stated, “We can decode coral genomes, but we can’t accurately track how fast the corals are degrading.” Normally, scientists would measure coral data through surveying and manual measurement. Because of 3D technology, Lee and his team came up with a better yardstick – a 3D-modeling system that shows fine-grained changes in their surface area, size, and colour.
The team at Hydrous are also working on a project with the Smithsonian Museum’s coral data collection. They are digitizing corals, making them available publicly in the process. This does not only promote learning, but also creates an open resource for people interested in helping the cause of coral conservation. The same way Google Earth provides a digital 3D view of urbanscapes, this digital collection makes similar technology accessible, in the field of coral reef conservation.9
9 3D models. THE HYDROUS. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://thehydro.us/3d-models 19
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(BIO)DIVERSITY IS KEY
If there’s one key lesson that humans can learn from empathising with the Great Barrier Reef, it’s that (bio)diversity is crucial for survival. From the reef’s perspective, the different jobs each respective resident has to perform contributes to the success of the underwater megacity. From a human point of view, a city thrives in the presence of diversity, people work with each other, they depend on one another, and help each other to thrive. If one applies that concept to reef conservation, a way to preserve reef systems is to treat it like a city. Through ecological replacement, undersea occupational positions would be filled, creating a healthy job market for the reef. By having proper disaster risk management with the help of 3D technology, the survival of reefs would be insured. Lastly, designing with diversity and empathy in mind will be the key to the survival of any city, whether from a human or non-human perspective.
Breathe – Essay and Imagery on (Bio)Diversity by Byron Christopher Co
Envisioning Non-Human-Centered Perspectives with Prof. Katrin Müller-Russo, KISD
Essay written in 2020, revised in 2023
Images made with a GoPro, 2017
