--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dinsdale and Rohwer found that as humans…" description: "\"“Dinsdale and Rohwer found that as humans become more common, so do microbes. From Kingman to Christmas Island, top predators such as sharks went from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/ed-yong-14636_cause-and-effect_dinsdale-and-rohwer-found-that-as-humans_1011779.jpg" --- # Dinsdale and Rohwer found that as humans become more… ![“Dinsdale and Rohwer found that as humans become more common, so do microbes. From Kingman to Christmas Island, top predators such as sharks went from dominant parts of the reefs to bit-players, coral cover fell from 45 percent to 15 percent, and the water contained 10 times as many microbes and…” quote by Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/ed-yong-14636_cause-and-effect_dinsdale-and-rohwer-found-that-as-humans_1011779.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/ed-yong-14636_cause-and-effect_dinsdale-and-rohwer-found-that-as-humans_1011779.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/ed-yong-14636_cause-and-effect_dinsdale-and-rohwer-found-that-as-humans_1011779.jpg) > ““Dinsdale and Rohwer found that as humans become more common, so do microbes. From Kingman to Christmas Island, top predators such as sharks went from dominant parts of the reefs to bit-players, coral cover fell from 45 percent to 15 percent, and the water contained 10 times as many microbes and viruses. All of these trends are connected in a complicated web of cause and effect that revolves around a turf war between corals and their ancient rivals: the so-called 'fleshy algae'.”” [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity increases microbial loads and shifts reef ecosystems, causing predator loss, coral decline, and algal dominance. **In simple terms:** Humans boost microbes, harming reefs and favoring algae. Key Takeaway Reduce human impact to protect reefs. Themes environment ecology human impact marine biology biodiversity Mood concerned urgent reflective Type scientific informative When to use this quote - coastal development - fishing - climate change - tourism - pollution Key Concepts turf war microbial proliferation predator loss algal competition Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance human needs with reef health? - What policies could curb microbial spikes? A Different Perspective Human activity alone may not reverse trends without systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cause and effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-and-effect/) [Common Microbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-microbes-2202380/) [Coral Cover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coral-cover-2202379/) [Microbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microbes/) [Microbes Kingman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microbes-kingman-2202381/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Reefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reefs/) ## Related quotes > [For where Kingman is located, the coral cover is unique in the world. I refer to it as a universe of hard corals. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/for-where-kingman-is-located-the-coral-cover-is-unique-in-the-world-i/) [Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/) > [“And in maintaining such constancy, microbes are crucial. They affect the storage of fat. They help to replenish the linings of the gut and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/and-in-maintaining-such-constancy-microbes-are-crucial-they-affect/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential microbial partners. Every mouthful could bring in new microbes that digest a previously unbreakable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-world-around-us-is-a-gigantic-reservoir-of-potential-microbial/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Most animals can't tap into these open-source adaptations deliberately. The flies didn't seek out Spiroplasma to solve their worm problem. Woodrats didn't go looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/most-animals-can-t-tap-into-these-open-source-adaptations/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [History's political and economic power structures have always abhorred 'idle people' as potential troublemakers. Yet nature never abhors seemingly idle trees, grass, snails, coral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/history-s-political-and-economic-power-structures-have-always/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [ Most of the reefs \[around Christmas Island\] are dead, most of the corals are dead, overgrown by algae, and most of the fish are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enric-sala/most-of-the-reefs-around-christmas-island-are-dead-most-of-the-corals/) [Enric Sala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enric-sala/) > [The apparent physical stability of reefs belies an underlying natural turmoil of growth, death and destruction of calcareous organisms. Much like a modern city,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-jackson/the-apparent-physical-stability-of-reefs-belies-an-underlying-natural/) [Jeremy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-jackson/) > [And so the Word had breath, and wrought With human hands the creed of creeds In loveliness of perfect deeds, More strong than all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/and-so-the-word-had-breath-and-wrought-with-human-hands-the-creed-of/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I traveled really to amazing places. I went to the Great Barrier Reef, I went to the Amazon, I went to the Andes, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/i-traveled-really-to-amazing-places-i-went-to-the-great-barrier-reef/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Water can be a blessing or a curse. Too often we make conservation about saving a whale, a coral reef or a marsh. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-cousteau/water-can-be-a-blessing-or-a-curse-too-often-we-make-conservation/) [Alexandra Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-cousteau/) > [We are like coral animals in a vast reef of excreted technological material that is wired for solid state data transfer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-like-coral-animals-in-a-vast-reef-of-excreted-technological/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [A great philosopher in the wrong is like a beacon on the reefs which says to seamen: steer clear of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/a-great-philosopher-in-the-wrong-is-like-a-beacon-on-the-reefs-which/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [ There are ecosystems like coral reefs \[at risk\] through ocean acidification. Those are valuable things that we should protect. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/there-are-ecosystems-like-coral-reefs-at-risk-through-ocean/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Coral reefs represent some of the worlds most spectacular beauty spots, but they are also the foundation of marine life: without them many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheherazade-goldsmith/coral-reefs-represent-some-of-the-worlds-most-spectacular-beauty/) [Sheherazade Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheherazade-goldsmith/) > [We still have 10 percent of the sharks. We still have half of the coral reefs. However, if we wait another 50 years, opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/we-still-have-10-percent-of-the-sharks-we-still-have-half-of-the/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) ## More by Ed Yong > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“No, the algae were making something that killed the corals via their own microbes. That something turned out to be dissolved organic carbon (DOC);…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/no-the-algae-were-making-something-that-killed-the-corals-via-their/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Patterson died in 2014 but Mazmanian is now carrying on his friend's work. His long-term goal is to develop a bacterium that people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/patterson-died-in-2014-but-mazmanian-is-now-carrying-on-his-friend-s/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Mucus is made from giant molecules called mucins, each consisting of a central protein backbone with thousands of sugar molecules branching off it. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/mucus-is-made-from-giant-molecules-called-mucins-each-consisting-of-a/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“The Earth is 4.54 billion years old. A span of time that big is too mind-boggling to comprehend, so let’s collapse the planet’s entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-earth-is-4-54-billion-years-old-a-span-of-time-that-big-is-too/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Many of the plants that the spider mite targets can release hydrogen cyanide when their tissues are breached. This substance is extraordinarily inimical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/many-of-the-plants-that-the-spider-mite-targets-can-release-hydrogen/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“When microbiologists first started cataloguing the human microbiome in its entirety they hoped to discover a "core" microbiome: a group of species that everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/when-microbiologists-first-started-cataloguing-the-human-microbiome/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Most animals can't tap into these open-source adaptations deliberately. The flies didn't seek out Spiroplasma to solve their worm problem. Woodrats didn't go looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/most-animals-can-t-tap-into-these-open-source-adaptations/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Howler monkeys all defecate at the same time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/howler-monkeys-all-defecate-at-the-same-time/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“The variations that exist between the body parts dwarf those that exist between people. Put simply, the bacteria on your forearm are more similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-variations-that-exist-between-the-body-parts-dwarf-those-that/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“It earns its keep. As it digests HMOs, B. infantis releases short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that feed an infant's gut cells - so while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/it-earns-its-keep-as-it-digests-hmos-b-infantis-releases-short-chain/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“When Hamiltonella's genome was sequenced, the real reason behind the bacterium's protective powers became apparent: about half of its DNA actually belonged to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/when-hamiltonella-s-genome-was-sequenced-the-real-reason-behind-the/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“For one group of wasps, the braconids, transferred genes have enabled a bizarre form of pest control. The females of these wasps lay their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/for-one-group-of-wasps-the-braconids-transferred-genes-have-enabled-a/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“Our darkest fiction is full of Orwellian dystopias, shadowy cabals, and mind-controlling supervillains. But it turns out that the brainless, microscopic, single-celled organisms that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/our-darkest-fiction-is-full-of-orwellian-dystopias-shadowy-cabals-and/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential microbial partners. Every mouthful could bring in new microbes that digest a previously unbreakable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-world-around-us-is-a-gigantic-reservoir-of-potential-microbial/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) [Explore all 46 Ed Yong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) ## More Cause and effect quotes > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [“One cannot change his current life span but one can change his next life form. The ticket can be changed but death cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/one-cannot-change-his-current-life-span-but-one-can-change-his-next/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“One of the protestor's sign catches my eye. HOMISEXUALITY IS THE DEVIL'S WORK, it says. And once again I think about how people use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/one-of-the-protestor-s-sign-catches-my-eye-homisexuality-is-the-devil/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Nearest to all things is that power which fashions their being. Next to us the grandest laws are constantly being executed. Next to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/nearest-to-all-things-is-that-power-which-fashions-their-being-next/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“There are two types of purushartha (self effort): those with wrong beliefs have self effort (purusharth) with illusory vision and the enlightened one’s have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/there-are-two-types-of-purushartha-self-effort-those-with-wrong/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [The Law of Karma is also called the Law of Cause and Effect, Action and Reaction and also as you sow, so shall you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sham-hinduja/the-law-of-karma-is-also-called-the-law-of-cause-and-effect-action/) [Sham Hinduja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sham-hinduja/) > [Soft fantasy worlds have a much looser cause-and-effect relationship. Alchemists can turn lead into gold and nobody wonders about how it will impact the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/soft-fantasy-worlds-have-a-much-looser-cause-and-effect-relationship/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. Mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/cause-and-effect-is-as-absolute-and-undeviating-in-the-hidden-realm/) [James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/) > [In Lullabies, I wanted to capture what I remembered of the drunken babbling of unfortunate twelve-year-olds: their illusions, their ludicrously bad choices, their lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/in-lullabies-i-wanted-to-capture-what-i-remembered-of-the-drunken/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“When people conclude that anger causes abuse, they are confusing cause and effect. Ray was not abusive because he was angry; he was angry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/when-people-conclude-that-anger-causes-abuse-they-are-confusing-cause/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [“I think this is one bad side of a mirror; it helps us to see the reflection of the effects of our own actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/i-think-this-is-one-bad-side-of-a-mirror-it-helps-us-to-see-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Whatever firm decisions (nischaya) you have made; only those will bear fruit. You do not have to do anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/whatever-firm-decisions-nischaya-you-have-made-only-those-will-bear/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Vanity is illustrated in the cause and effect of love, as in the case of Cleopatra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-illustrated-in-the-cause-and-effect-of-love-as-in-the-case/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The cultivation - even celebration - of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-cultivation-even-celebration-of-victimhood-by-intellectuals-tort/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) [Browse all 519 Cause and effect quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-and-effect/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dinsdale and Rohwer found that as humans become more common, so do microbes. 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