Connect with us

TED Talks

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…

Published

on

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 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.

Get TED Talks recommended just for you! Learn more at .

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:

Continue Reading
Advertisement
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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

People & Blogs

Play is what happens when you stop trying to optimize everything #TEDTalks

When was the last time you just … played? Creative health scientist Katina Bajaj thinks adults are in a “play deprivation crisis,” where we’ve replaced our fun-loving human nature with optimization and efficiency. She makes the case that play isn’t a reward for productivity but rather a survival skill — and invites you to rediscover…

Published

on

When was the last time you just … played? Creative health scientist Katina Bajaj thinks adults are in a “play deprivation crisis,” where we’ve replaced our fun-loving human nature with optimization and efficiency. She makes the case that play isn’t a reward for productivity but rather a survival skill — and invites you to rediscover the freedom of not knowing where something will end up.

Continue Reading

People & Blogs

Why You Fear the Unknown — and What It Can Teach You | Maya Shankar and Simone Stolzoff | TED

Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar and author Simone Stolzoff have each spent years studying how people navigate uncertainty (and why it often feels so difficult). In this conversation, they discuss why your discomfort with not having the answers might be holding you back — and how leaning into life’s unpredictable moments can unlock resilience, growth and…

Published

on

Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar and author Simone Stolzoff have each spent years studying how people navigate uncertainty (and why it often feels so difficult). In this conversation, they discuss why your discomfort with not having the answers might be holding you back — and how leaning into life’s unpredictable moments can unlock resilience, growth and new possibilities. (This conversation was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. TED Membership is the best way to support and engage with the big ideas you love from TED. To learn more, visit ted.com/membership.) (Recorded at TED Membership on May 21, 2026)

Join us in person at a TED conference:
Become a TED Member to support our mission:
Subscribe to a TED newsletter:

Follow TED!
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:
Facebook:
X:

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) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

Watch more:

TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

#TED #TEDTalks #PersonalGrowth

Continue Reading

Music

The Wiggly Wonder of Music | Jacob Collier | TED

Grammy-winning musician Jacob Collier has a name for the feeling that moves through a great piece of music: the wiggle. Watch him break down the idea into its three parts — melody, rhythm and harmony — with nothing but his own voice, a grand piano and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Turns out life,…

Published

on

Grammy-winning musician Jacob Collier has a name for the feeling that moves through a great piece of music: the wiggle. Watch him break down the idea into its three parts — melody, rhythm and harmony — with nothing but his own voice, a grand piano and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Turns out life, like music, was never made to run in straight lines. (Recorded at TED2026 on April 14, 2026)

Join us in person at a TED conference:
Become a TED Member to support our mission:
Subscribe to a TED newsletter:

Follow TED!
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:
Facebook:
X:

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) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

Watch more:

TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

#TED #TEDTalks #Music

Continue Reading

Trending