Inspired by the beautiful glass Blaschka invertebrates, Drew authored A Sea of Glass and acted as the scientific counselor for the documentary film A Fragile Legacy. Join Dr. Harvell and marine filmmaker David O. Brown on a quest to film living examples of the organisms represented in the Blaschka collection. The resulting footage will provide a high definition chronicle of marine invertebrate life in this millennium, providing perspective on which among these amazing organisms remain in the sea. The team will travel to coastal areas in tropical and temperate waters, as well as mounting deep-sea expeditions to document the wondrous biodiversity to be found hundreds of miles from land. As fragile as the Blaschka collection is, the animals it represents are little more than water, marvelously organized into glowing, translucent living things. As irreplaceable as the glass replicas are, the species upon which they are based are the product of millennia of evolution, carrying genetic information that, if lost, can never be retrieved. As different as today’s ocean is from that of a century ago, there is scientific consensus that the change has just begun. The sea is warming, and the very chemistry that enables many of these animals to exist is being fundamentally changed.
Watch the film’s trailer here.
Visit the film’s stunning website to learn more.