Do you touch?

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fishb0y:
Why can you not touch things (besides fire coral and such) under water? How would interacting with the environment in such a simple way affect it? What about dry land? Does this mean we can no longer touch trees? Not trying to start a fire here, but I have always heard this but I can never see why.

Many corals are covered by a thin layer of mucous that protects them. When you touch you remove that mucous and the polyps underneath die. I have often seen "handprints" of dead areas where the coral has been touched by divers.
We are aliens in the underwater environment and so should try to dive with the minimum impact on that environment. Touching anything has an impact and should be very strongly discouraged.
Some countries have banned the use of dive gloves to protect their reefs. This is an excellent move, more should implement such a ban. With the exception of cold water diving and wrecks.
 
Touching and harassing are not always the same thing.

I'll occasionally pick up spider crabs like the one in the picture to show people. They're so well camouflaged that most people don't see them and some people don't understand that it's a living thing until it starts walking across your hand! :)

I will also extend my hand and let the shrimps come and "clean" my gloves and I've been known to pet a pike or two as it swam by. I'll also "whap" the odd lobster on the antennae to make it back off if it gets all cocky and starts coming at me claws up and stuff. For the rest I don't go out of my way to touch the wildlife but if it comes to me I'll let it.

Where I draw the line is in harassing or grabbing things. If it withdraws don't chase it.

R..
 
miketsp:
They actually use a complex algorithm to sweep the floor continuously for nutrients and you could easily put it back on an already swept area and it will have no idea in which direction it should go to cover new ground.
Prove me wrong, but star fish do not have brains... hence they wouldn't know where they are anyhow. They are simple animals, not Romba vacuum cleaners.
 
Bruciebabe:
Many corals are covered by a thin layer of mucous that protects them. When you touch you remove that mucous and the polyps underneath die. I have often seen "handprints" of dead areas where the coral has been touched by divers.
So this happens when only humans touch them? What about when fish swim on the reefs? Even see what a crown of thorns does to a reef? Much more destructive than Joe Diver. Are you sure this isn't a scuba urban legend? Lets see some pictures!
 
fishb0y:
So this happens when only humans touch them? What about when fish swim on the reefs? Even see what a crown of thorns does to a reef? Much more destructive than Joe Diver. Are you sure this isn't a scuba urban legend? Lets see some pictures!

Here you go, the science and the photos: http://www.sei.org/touch.html
 
My father taught me to always leave a place better than I found it. A lesson I passed along to my son.
 

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