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A love story for the coral reef crisis | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized Talk recommendations and more. Over the course of hundreds of scuba dives, marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson fell in love — with a fish. In this ode to parrotfish, she shares five reasons why these creatures are simply amazing (from their ability to…

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Over the course of hundreds of scuba dives, marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson fell in love — with a fish. In this ode to parrotfish, she shares five reasons why these creatures are simply amazing (from their ability to poop white sand to make colorful “wardrobe changes”) and shows what’s at stake — for us and them — as climate change threatens the future of coral reefs.

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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a Media Request here:

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29 Comments

29 Comments

  1. Nigel Palmer

    November 7, 2019 at 12:06 am

    I wonder what th kids will look like?

  2. Brent Dowland

    November 7, 2019 at 12:09 am

    Good luck

  3. Mick7sp

    November 7, 2019 at 12:23 am

    All that effort and they wanted to Greta the snot nosed brat a Nobel…

  4. MD SABIR

    November 7, 2019 at 12:25 am

    Rococo

  5. tiffsaver

    November 7, 2019 at 12:44 am

    As the coral reefs go, so goes the earth.

  6. Ava Zyskowski

    November 7, 2019 at 2:01 am

    Thank you VIP’s!! I love white sandy beaches! ????????????????

  7. Minh Doan

    November 7, 2019 at 2:27 am

    Watch Peter Ridd for the other side of the argument. Look beyond the pretty.

  8. Mr. faisaL

    November 7, 2019 at 4:25 am

    HUMANS should stop Destyoing the EARTH..
    For even Benefit of Themselves##

  9. Horsingabout

    November 7, 2019 at 4:36 am

  10. Dodged a Bullet

    November 7, 2019 at 7:49 am

    Nothing like a political agenda when giving a “TED talk”>

  11. 山本ジョセフィーヌ

    November 7, 2019 at 7:57 am

    日本人いますか?

    • あいうえお

      November 7, 2019 at 1:47 pm

      高校生ですが、英語の勉強も兼ねて見てますw

  12. siegfried greding

    November 7, 2019 at 8:32 am

    Until I get rid of the profit motivation to destroy the environment AKA capitalism. The destruction will not

  13. Charles Ringling

    November 7, 2019 at 8:45 am

    She is speaking the wrong language. She should be speaking chinese and Indonesian dialects. Parrotfish and others are aggressively hunted. Chinese boats go into protected waters and reefs. Chinese ships now dump dirt on reefs, call it an island and claim fishing for 10 miles around it. But she is speaking to people that aleady try to protect the fishing not the ones causing the problem. I guess we could nuke china.

  14. MrPlasticduck

    November 7, 2019 at 9:12 am

    Doing fine off the coast of Australia ????????

  15. Matt Angiono

    November 7, 2019 at 9:29 am

    Reefs have more value than just what humans get out of exploring them… she knows this, but unfortunately most people don’t give a hoot

  16. Blingdream

    November 7, 2019 at 9:56 am

    “Reverse climate change”. Yea we’ll get right on that and the rest of your inDoctrinated liberal views.

  17. Jacob Opstad

    November 7, 2019 at 10:39 am

    Beautiful talk! Very inspirational!

  18. Alianger

    November 7, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    “some people are causing this and it’s everyone else’s fault”

  19. xchopp

    November 7, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    1000%

  20. Dave Anderson

    November 7, 2019 at 4:08 pm

    we need more peeps like her

  21. Soli ProdigalCreators

    November 7, 2019 at 4:24 pm

    PAINFUL TRUTH

  22. Soli ProdigalCreators

    November 7, 2019 at 4:25 pm

    WHO IS RESPONSIBLE???

  23. Soli ProdigalCreators

    November 7, 2019 at 4:26 pm

    DO YOU WANT ???? RIP?

  24. Michael Wallace

    November 7, 2019 at 5:11 pm

    I see why she’s a single person

  25. Ricochet reefing

    November 7, 2019 at 10:42 pm

    Global warming is a hoax.

  26. Invox

    November 8, 2019 at 11:06 pm

    If people changed gender (or even race) halfway thru their life, I think people would treat each other VERY diferently.

  27. Mkinfknsndwyches!

    November 9, 2019 at 1:01 am

    Everyone needs to hear talks like this and learn the harsh reality of our environmental status. I’m not judging but logically people should be very hesitant to have children. What kind of future will they have? Our resources are limited but most of the world’s population keeps increasing. Most people are not vegan or vegetarian. Most people don’t know, aren’t able to or don’t care to be eco-conscious/friendly. I want to be positive but the future seems pretty bleak to me.

  28. Gladys Farmer Kitchen 8GladysWorld8

    November 10, 2019 at 6:03 am

    Thanks for talking about reef crisis. Showing and talking different types of fishes deeply.

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What to Do When You’re Told There’s Nothing Left to Try | David Fajgenbaum, Kiah Williams | TED

What do you do when the world declares something impossible? When physician-scientist David Fajgenbaum was dying from a rare disease and social entrepreneur Kiah Williams was confronting the realities of economic hardship, they began asking a different question: What can I do today? In this conversation, they discuss how turning hope into action can drive…

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What do you do when the world declares something impossible? When physician-scientist David Fajgenbaum was dying from a rare disease and social entrepreneur Kiah Williams was confronting the realities of economic hardship, they began asking a different question: What can I do today? In this conversation, they discuss how turning hope into action can drive meaningful change — one step at a time. (This conversation is hosted by The Audacious Project’s Alexandra Tillmann) (Recorded at TEDNext 2025 on November 10, 2025.)

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Being surrounded by puppies all day and helping people in need? Talk about a DREAM job! #TEDTalks

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Which Idea Wins Over 4,000 People? | Amman | TED Idea Search

The TED Idea Search wraps up in Amman, Jordan, in a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater and in front of a crowd of 4,000. What unfolds inside those stone walls is something the series hasn’t quite seen before: speakers shaped by the weight of living in a region the world tends to define for itself. From a…

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The TED Idea Search wraps up in Amman, Jordan, in a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater and in front of a crowd of 4,000. What unfolds inside those stone walls is something the series hasn’t quite seen before: speakers shaped by the weight of living in a region the world tends to define for itself. From a mountaineer who turned grief into motivation to a therapist rewriting the Arab world’s language around mental health, the final city makes the strongest case yet that the best ideas can come from anywhere.

Watch the full talks from the TEDxAmman Idea Search:

00:00 – Intro
3:24 – Rehearsals
16:00 – The Talks
36:28 – Deliberation
38:48 – The Winner Is…

The most interesting ideas often come from the most unexpected places. We searched the globe for ideas with the power to inspire, motivate and change lives — and we found them at @TEDx events around the world. The TED Idea Search follows extraordinary speakers from 9 countries competing for a spot on the TED main stage in Vancouver this April.

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