A quick ecology quiz: Is there more life in cold waters or warm
waters? Our journey has provided some wonderful empirical
evidence on this question. When we set out from Cape Town, water
temperatures in the Atlantic hovered around 50 degrees
Fahrenheit. When we reached Richards Bay in northeastern South
Africa, the Indian Ocean clocked in somewhere in the 70s. And as
we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn off the coast of Mozambique,
the mercury was up around 80 degrees. So, where did we see the
most marine life? Around Cape Town. The ocean is cold there,
because it is fed by upwellings from the deep ocean. That deep
water is cold, but it is also full of nutrients. As a result,
the water around Cape Town is rich with sea birds, Penguins, Fur
Seals, and our friend the Great White Shark. The waters around
Richards Bay, on the other hand, appeared virtually devoid of
life. The jetties at Cape Town were crowded with cormorants,
gulls, and terns. The jetties at Richards Bay were empty. This
pattern is not special to S