From abaker at rsmas.miami.edu Wed Oct 1 15:49:26 1997 From: abaker at rsmas.miami.edu (Andrew Baker) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 14:49:26 -0500 Subject: Coral bleaching in Panama Message-ID: CORAL BLEACHING OFF THE PACIFIC COAST OF PANAMA Significant coral bleaching was observed on 17 September 1997 at Uva Island in the Gulf of Chiriqui, Pacific Panama. All zooxanthellate scleractinian coral species were affected, at all depths (no corals present >20 m). The most severely bleached (completely white) colonies still had extended polyps and no signs of algal overgrowth, suggesting the event occurred relatively recently. Most colonies of the hydrocoral Millepora intricata (the only common species of the genus remaining after the 1982-83 ENSO) were already dead and covered with a thin algal film, suggesting they may have bleached earlier than the scleractinians. Andrew Baker Juan Mat? Peter Glynn Andrew Baker Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science University of Miami 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy. Miami, FL 33149 USA Tel: (305) 361 4145 Fax: (305) 361 4600 Email: abaker at rsmas.miami.edu From korrubelj at math.unp.ac.za Thu Oct 2 10:13:39 1997 From: korrubelj at math.unp.ac.za (Jan Korrubel) Date: Thu, 02 Oct 1997 16:13:39 +0200 Subject: Looking for volume..... Message-ID: Hi Coral-Listers, I am looking for someone who has a copy of the following volume: J.A. Couch and J.W. Fournie (1993) Pathobiology of Marine and Estuarine Organisms. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida to please get in touch with me. I am looking for some info out of this volume and after placing a request with the library here, they came up empty handed. Thanks in advance, Jan Korrubel University of Natal South Africa. From lucy.biologia at darwin.upr.clu.edu Fri Oct 3 13:55:50 1997 From: lucy.biologia at darwin.upr.clu.edu (Lucy Bunkley Williams) Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 17:55:50 +0000 Subject: Coral Reef Fish Kills Message-ID: <112A9DE12BA@darwin.upr.clu.edu> Mortalities of coral reef fishes have been occurring in south Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. We recently learned of kills at Abaco, Bahamas, and St. Thomas, USVI. We are attempting to obtain more information about these kills. We have contacted biologists in the USVI, and labs in the Bahamas. Any information or suggestions for contacts would be welcomed. Bert Ernest H. Williams, Jr. Department of Marine Sciences University of Puerto Rico P.O. Box 908 Lajas, PR 00667-0908 phone (787) 899-2048 x 264 FAX 787-899-2630 home phone (787) 892-1746 From hls46504 at email.csun.edu Sat Oct 4 16:43:02 1997 From: hls46504 at email.csun.edu (hannah stewart) Date: Sat, 4 Oct 1997 13:43:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: No subject Message-ID: hello. I am a graduate student at California State University, Northridge and preparing a presentation on the diseases of coral. I am wondering if you have an updated list of the new coral disease outbreaks that are ravaging our oceans, as erported ion the New York Times, in August. This would be a very valuable and current addition to my presentation and important subject matter to expose to fellow marine biology graduate students. Thank you very much, Hannah Sivertson From cnidaria at earthlink.net Sat Oct 4 21:37:08 1997 From: cnidaria at earthlink.net (James M. Cervino) Date: Sat, 4 Oct 1997 18:37:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Epizootic Seminar at WHOI Message-ID: Dear Coral Listers, Just a note to remind people who are interested in epizootics in corals that a complete lecture, video, and slide show of all the coral diseases in the tropics, including the latest discovery, will be held at WHOI Quisset Campus at 1:30 pm on Monday Oct. 6th. The emphasis will be on Rapid Wasting Disease and Yellow Band (Blotch). An overview of all the earlier coral diseases and the scientists who are working on them, will be presented. A special showing of slides of the NEW Porites Ring Disease from the Pacific, discovered by Laurie Ramundo of Cornell University will be presented. Any Questions, e-mail cnidaria at earthlink.net ******************************************* James M. Cervino Marine Biologist Global Coral Reef Alliance 124-19 9th ave. College Point, NY 11356 phone/fax (718) 539-8155 ******************************************** From benway at ogp.noaa.gov Mon Oct 6 15:30:14 1997 From: benway at ogp.noaa.gov (Heather Benway) Date: 6 Oct 1997 15:30:14 U Subject: website announcement Message-ID: Announcing an educational website on coral paleoclimatology, which addresses the importance of corals as recorders of climate history. See how coral cores are collected, view data from various coral reefs around the world, and learn how corals actually increase our understanding of past and present climate variability. Visit http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/coral_paleo.html for details! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heather Benway NOAA Office of Global Programs 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1210 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Voice: 301-427-2089 x504 Fax: 301-427-2082 E-mail: benway at ogp.noaa.gov ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From korrubelj at math.unp.ac.za Tue Oct 7 10:31:02 1997 From: korrubelj at math.unp.ac.za (Jan Korrubel) Date: Tue, 07 Oct 1997 16:31:02 +0200 Subject: Spearfishing...... Message-ID: Dear Coral-Listers, With the sudden awareness of reefs and, of course, fishing their fishes, I was wondering if anybody has (or knows of) any papers that reference spearfishing or details exploitation by spearfishing. If so, please could you send me either a reprint/copy of the paper or the reference. TIA, Jan Korrubel Dept. of Applied Mathematics University of Natal Private Bag X01 32099 Scottsville Pietermaritzburg South Africa. From jogden at seas.marine.usf.edu Tue Oct 7 14:27:42 1997 From: jogden at seas.marine.usf.edu (John Ogden) Date: Tue, 7 Oct 1997 14:27:42 -0400 (EDT) Subject: ZONE MONITORING PRESS RELEASE (fwd) Message-ID: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE SANCTUARIES & RESERVES DIVISION Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Alyson Simmons (305) 292-0311 Sanctuary Zones to be Monitored for Effectiveness KEY WEST -- The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has awarded a grant of $200,000 for the first year of an anticipated 5-year program to the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) to coordinate an inter-disciplinary group of university investigators in a coral reef monitoring and research program in the protected areas of the Sanctuary. The program is part of a larger effort to determine the effectiveness of the newly established no-take zones in protecting marine biodiversity. The program will study the coral reefs of the 9 square mile Western Sambos Ecological Reserve off Boca Chica near Key West and several other smaller protected areas in comparison with other coral reefs open to commercial and recreational fishing, marine life collecting, and other uses. Sanctuary Superintendent, Billy Causey, said: "Marine "no-take" reserves have attracted world- wide attention as potentially useful tools for managers to sustain fisheries and the health of coastal areas. We have an unprecedented opportunity in the Keys to study how they work." The team, led by John Ogden director of the FIO, a consortium of Florida's universities, will begin the monitoring program in October with a survey of potential sites inside and outside of the protected areas. They will be supported in the field by the personnel, vessels, and diving facilities of the National Undersea Research Program of the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Key Largo and by staff and vessels of the Sanctuary and the FIO. Once locations are selected for intensive study, the program will use a variety of techniques to assess similarities and differences between the reefs of protected areas compared with those outside. "Our hypothesis, based on work elsewhere in the world, is that we will see increases in the numbers and size of principal reef animals and plants within the protected areas within three to five years," Ogden said. Richard Aronson of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama is in charge of the scientific program and will use underwater video, analyzed by state-of-the-art computer techniques to catalog the number, size, and area coverage of corals and other prominent reef organisms including sponges, sea whips, and sea fans. "The videotapes will form a permanent record of change inside and outside of the protected areas and can be searched at any time if, for example, a particular organism is of interest," Aronson said. Robbie Smith of the Bermuda Biological Station for Research will use precision photography to study the growth and mortality of juvenile corals which settle as larvae from the plankton. Margaret Miller of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences of the University of Miami will study the algae inside and outside of the protected areas. "As marine plants grow rapidly, we expect that the algae may be the first organisms to respond to the changes induced by the "no-take" regulations," Miller said. The team will pay special attention to smaller reef organisms such as shrimp, mollusks and other invertebrates that are specially targeted by collectors and tourists. Other related monitoring programs will study the larger organisms of the Keys reefs including conchs and commercially harvested fishes and lobsters. "The Western Sambos Ecological Reserve is unique in the U.S. as the only large "no-take" zone within a much larger area zoned for multiple uses," Causey said. It serves as a reference area to gauge the impact of human uses on the coral reef, a potential source area for larvae and adults to replenish other areas of the Sanctuary, and as an economically important area for tourism and regulated recreational diving and snorkeling. "Using the leverage provided by the monitoring program support, we hope to raise funds in the immediate future from private sources for studies on the replenishment function of marine reserves and on their impact on the local economy," said Ogden. ### For further information contact: John C. Ogden, Director or Sandra L. Vargo, Assistant Director Florida Institute of Oceanography 830 First Street South St. Petersburg, Florida 33704 Tel: 813-553-1100 Fax: 813-553-1109 OR Billy Causey, Sanctuary Superintendent or Ben Haskell, Science Coordinator Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary P.O. Box 500368 Marathon, Florida 33050 Tel: 305-743-2437 Fax: 305-743-2357 From 106422.2221 at compuserve.com Wed Oct 8 15:16:05 1997 From: 106422.2221 at compuserve.com (Simon Wilson) Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 15:16:05 -0400 Subject: Impacts of Colloidal Chalk Message-ID: <199710081516_MC2-233F-2BD2@compuserve.com> Dear Coral People Dredging works on a fossil reef in Oman have hit a deposit of what the geotechnical engineers are calling 'colloidal chalk'. The site is in about 6m of water and only a few meters from the surface of the substrate, in an area with some important Acropora dominated reefs. About 8km away is another area of pristeen monospecific reef composed of Pocillopora damicornis. I have two questions: Firstly, is anyone away of the impacts of fine chalky sediment on corals or any references in the literature which may shed light on the potential impacts, and secondly, does anyone know how such deposits are formed so that it may be possible to predict if there are more deposits in the area ? Thanking you for your time to reply in advance. Simon Wilson & Robert Baldwin e-mail 106422.2221 at compuserve.com or wosoman at gto.net.om From fazr at biologia.univalle.edu.co Fri Oct 10 07:35:00 1997 From: fazr at biologia.univalle.edu.co (Fernando A. Zapata Rivera) Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 16:35:00 +0500 (GMT) Subject: Coral Bleaching in the TEP Message-ID: CORAL BLEACHING IN THE TROPICAL EASTERN PACIFIC Regarding the recent report on coral bleaching in the Pacific coast of Panama made recently in this list by Baker, Mat, and Glynn, I would like to share my own observations from the Pacific coast of Colombia. During the course of ongoing studies on coral reefs of Gorgona Island (2 58 N, 78 10 W) being carried out by two teams from Universidad del Valle, I have made three visits to the island between May 24 and September 16, 1997. During the first visit (May 24-29), I made extensive, albeit non-quantitative, observations on coral cover and "health" at six different reef sites around the island, and did not observe any signs of significant or widespread coral bleaching. However, my colleague Jaime Cantera did call my attention to the whitened, most distal portion of branches of some patches of Pocillopora sp., which he interpreted as coral bleaching (the lower portion of colonies had normal coloration). To me this was not different to the usual whitened branch tips normally seen in the Pocillopora capitata species "complex". On the other hand, I did observed a very small number of partially to completely bleached colonies of Pocillopora sp., but these were always unattached, large fragments and seemed to have suffered from some unknown physical disturbance. Thus, I did not attribute this bleaching to sea water warming. Sea surface temperature remained constant throughout our visit at 29 degrees celsius. During the second visit (July 27-August 1) I made observations at four sites and only in the two largest reefs I saw some signs of bleaching. These were similar to the bleaching observed during the first visit, except that the number of large, unattached fragments of Pocillopora sp. that were bleached was more noticeable (i.e., it appears that the number of bleached fragments had increased). I also found one small (15 cm diameter), unattached colony of Pavona varians completely bleached, without live tissue, and with beginning algal overgrowth. At that time it again seemed to me that these cases of bleaching could not be attributable to sea warming. Occasional SST measurements made revealed that water temperature was 29 degrees. During the last visit (September 10-16) it became apparent that a bleaching episode was on its way based on observations at the two major reefs of Gorgona. The bleaching at the branch tips of Pocillopora sp. was now more obvious, extending downward about 2 cm from the tip, and patches with this type of bleaching at the tips were encountered frequently. These patches appear to be monospecific judging from colony morphology and coloration, and were surrounded by high cover of other, normal looking Pocilloporids, suggesting that some species of Pocillopora are more susceptible than others to bleaching. I believe that bleaching at the tips of branches was not caused by aerial exposure during extreme low tides (which causes similar bleaching) since it was observed in both shallow and deeper sites on the reef, and some normal-looking patches were located next to and at the same depth as bleached patches. No algal growth was yet apparent at the bleached tips of branches on any of these coral patches. Additionally, partial bleaching was now readily seen on species of massive corals (large Pavona gigantea, and P. clavus). Some colonies had up to 30% of their surface bleached. Nonetheless, the extent of coral bleaching at the scale of an entire reef was clearly low, although it was not quantified. Water temperature measurements made varied between 28 and 29.5 degrees. The main point I would like to make is that there appears to be a trend towards increased bleaching with time as SST is maintained abnormally high. According to Dr. Alan Strong's "Hotspots maps" (see http://wesley.wwb.noaa.gov/eileen/orad/const1.html), SST at Gorgona was at least 2.5 degrees celsius above the norm on the week of August 11, 1997. Whether this trend continues at Gorgona remains to be seen, but it is interesting that significant bleaching is already being reported elsewhere in the tropical eastern Pacific. Fernando Zapata ============================================================================== Fernando A. Zapata Ph.: (92) 339-3243 Departamento de Biologia Fax.: (92) 339-2440 Universidad del Valle International (+57-2)seven-digit number Apartado Aereo 25360 E-Mail:fazr at biologia.univalle.edu.co Cali, Colombia ============================================================================== From khancock at sas.upenn.edu Mon Oct 13 14:13:55 1997 From: khancock at sas.upenn.edu (Kathy M Hancock) Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 14:13:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: spawning Message-ID: <199710131813.OAA11652@mail2.sas.upenn.edu> I would appreciate information and/or literature citations on rearing corals in the laboratory and particularly sexual reproduction in the lab. I'm doing field and lab experiments involving coral reproduction for doctoral dissertation research. Thanks, Kathy Hancock From kmobley at tiger.lsuiss.ocs.lsu.edu Mon Oct 13 15:01:20 1997 From: kmobley at tiger.lsuiss.ocs.lsu.edu (Kenyon Brice Mobley) Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 14:01:20 -0500 (CDT) Subject: No subject Message-ID: I am a recent graduate of Louisiana State University's Zoology Program and plan to continue studing coral reef ecology and reef fishes in graduate school this upcoming fall. I am currently looking for a field biologist/lab technician position and am willing to work both in and out of the United States. I have experience as a lab technician, and have worked with both the National Undersea Research Center/University of North Carolina at Wilmington and the National Marine Sanctuary in Key Largo, FL. If anyone has information on upcoming available positions, please feel free to contact me at home, 2614 Zeeland Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70808, (504) 343-9451, or at LSU during the day (504) 388-1738 (LSU Dept. of Biology, 202 LSB, Baton Rouge, 70803). Thank you for your attention. Kenyon Mobley From karlapo at servidor.unam.mx Mon Oct 13 17:40:20 1997 From: karlapo at servidor.unam.mx (PEREGRINA OROPEZA KARLA estudiante) Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 15:40:20 -0600 (CST) Subject: Molecular evolutionary genetics in corals In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Does anybody have information about Molecular Evolutionary Genetics in corals? I haven't been able to find much information about this topic. I will appreciate any help you can provide. Please, reply directly to me. Karla Peregrina Oropeza, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), Mexico, D. F. e-mail adress: karlapo at servidor.unam.mx From pattengill at mailexcite.com Tue Oct 14 17:19:33 1997 From: pattengill at mailexcite.com (Christy Pattengill) Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 14:19:33 -0700 Subject: golden phase in fish Message-ID: For the past four years I have been studying the coral reef fishes of the East and West Flower Garden Banks and Stetson Bank in the northwest Gulf of Mexico, USA. These are relatively small reefs (high diversity zones are 0.95 sqr km, 0.36 sqr km and 0.004 sqr km, respectively) and they are fairly isolated from other tropical reef areas (the closest being 700 km to the South - Cabo Rojo, Mexico). Fish diversity is considerably less than in other areas of the tropical western Atlantic but we have documented at least 170 reef fish species from the three banks. When I began my study we noticed a few smooth trunkfish, Lactophyrs triqueter, that were bright gold in coloration. The overall markings are the same. There appears to be no correlation to behavior, sexual identity, or maturation. The color appears permanent. Often we will see the golden phase swimming with a normal color phase, but just as frequent the golden morph is observed by itself. I estimate that about 15% of the L. triqueter we see are golden. We collected a specimen and it keys out as L. triqueter. I am wondering if anyone out there has insight into this phenomenon? In addition, if anyone has seen this coloration in L. triqueter elsewhere, please let me know. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Christy Pattengill Texas A&M University/Dept. of Biology College Station, TX 77843-3258 Pattengill at mailexcite.com Free web-based email, Forever, From anywhere! http://www.mailexcite.com From apcrisos at napocor.com.ph Tue Oct 14 20:08:00 1997 From: apcrisos at napocor.com.ph (Crisostomo, Alfredo P.) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 8:08:00 +0800 Subject: FW: book inquiry Message-ID: I would like to request information regarding where I could obtain a copy of "Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific" by J.E.N. Veron (1986). Thanks. A.P. Crisostomo Chief Biologist NPC-EMD apcrisos at napocor.com.ph From kclark at iu.net Tue Oct 14 21:31:25 1997 From: kclark at iu.net (Kerry B Clark) Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 21:31:25 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Correct URL for Benthic Ecology Meetings Message-ID: The correct URL/Website address for the 1998 Benthic Ecology Meetings at Florida Tech, Melbourne, is: "http://www.fit.edu/AcadRes/biology/benthic/ ". A typo in an earlier listing will give a missing page error. Sorry for any problems and cross-postings. - - Kerry Bruce Clark, F.A.A.A.S., Professor of Biological Sciences Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901-6988 Phone 1-407-768-8000 x8195 -- Proud Member of the Impoverished Gentry -- Visit the Cambrian in 3D at "http://users.aol.com/kbclark/cambrian" Metazoa website at "http://www.metazoa.com" "Bytes of Nature," publisher of quality natural history software From cbingman at netcom.com Tue Oct 14 22:44:17 1997 From: cbingman at netcom.com (Craig Bingman) Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 19:44:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: FW: book inquiry In-Reply-To: Message-ID: On Wed, 15 Oct 1997, Crisostomo, Alfredo P. wrote: > > > I would like to request information regarding where I could obtain a copy of > "Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific" by J.E.N. Veron (1986). You can purchase the book through a company called "Two Little Fishies" I'm not sure if I can remember their web address or not, but they will pop up if you do an infoseek search. They also have an 800 number for orders, so you can locat them through the 800 number directory as well. Craig From reefchck at uxmail.ust.hk Wed Oct 15 05:33:41 1997 From: reefchck at uxmail.ust.hk (HODGSON GREGOR) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 17:33:41 +0800 (HKT) Subject: Reef Check Web Site Message-ID: Please note... REEF CHECK HAS A NEW WEB SITE ADDRESS http://www.ust.hk/~webrc/ReefCheck/reef.html From dydt at durian.usc.edu.ph Wed Oct 15 20:02:12 1997 From: dydt at durian.usc.edu.ph (dydt) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 20:02:12 +-800 Subject: looking for John Stimson et al. Message-ID: <01BCD9A5.3E17A720@ppp01.tc.usc.edu.ph> 15 October 1997 Dear Coral-listers, Greetings. I would appreciate any information on the email addresses of the following persons: Drs. John Stimson, Scott Larned and Marlin Atkinson. Please directly respond to my email address. Thank you very much. Cheers to all. Danilo T. Dy (dydt) Marine Biology Section University of San Carlos Cebu City 6000 Philippines -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 1455 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/pipermail/coral-list-old/attachments/19971015/b06bb6d8/attachment.bin From eakin at ogp.noaa.gov Wed Oct 15 08:35:38 1997 From: eakin at ogp.noaa.gov (Mark Eakin) Date: 15 Oct 1997 08:35:38 U Subject: FW- book inquiry Message-ID: Reply to: RE>FW: book inquiry You can get it (along with just about any other book in print) from Amazon.com on the internet. They are at http://www.amazon.com. Listing follows: Corals in Space and Time : The Biogeography and Evolution of the Scleractinia by J.E.N. Veron List: $37.50 Our Price: $37.50 Availability: On Order; usually ships within 1-2 weeks. Paperback Published by Cornell Univ Pr Publication date: May 1995 ISBN: 0801482631 Shipping is extra and depends on the service desired. Cheers, Mark -------------------------------------- Date: 10/14/97 9:21 PM To: Mark Eakin From: Crisostomo, Alfredo P. I would like to request information regarding where I could obtain a copy of "Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific" by J.E.N. Veron (1986). Thanks. A.P. Crisostomo Chief Biologist NPC-EMD apcrisos at napocor.com.ph ------------------ RFC822 Header Follows ------------------ Received: by ogp.noaa.gov with ADMIN;14 Oct 1997 21:21:25 U Received: by coral.aoml.noaa.gov (950413.SGI.8.6.12/930416.SGI) for coral-list-outgoing id AAA29001; Wed, 15 Oct 1997 00:16:36 GMT Received: from c2smtp.com.ph by coral.aoml.noaa.gov via SMTP (950413.SGI.8.6.12/930416.SGI) for id UAA28996; Tue, 14 Oct 1997 20:16:32 -0400 Received: from Connect2 Message Router by c2smtp.com.ph via Connect2-SMTP 4.30A; Wed, 15 Oct 1997 08:14:53 +0800 Message-ID: Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 8:08:00 +0800 From: "Crisostomo, Alfredo P." Organization: E-mail Co. To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov (coral-list) Subject: FW: book inquiry Importance: Normal X-Mailer: Connect2-SMTP 4.30A MHS/SMF to SMTP Gateway Sender: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Precedence: bulk From jpowell at btl.net Wed Oct 15 10:05:05 1997 From: jpowell at btl.net (James Powell) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 09:05:05 -0500 Subject: Crabs Message-ID: <19971015150355.AAI17409@port54.btl.net> The following is a message and questions that I received concerning land and hermit crabs. Can anyone answer these questions or point me in the direction of an authority that I might contact? Thank you, James Powell Director Glovers Reef Marine Research Station Belize MESSAGE: I recently visited Half Moon Caye as a guest of the Belize Audubon Society to advise on the possibility of eradicating rats from that island. Rat eradication is certainly possible and the benefits would be enormous. There are, however, a few things that should be learned before an eradication project can start. Bruce Miller advises me that you may be able to help. Land crabs (Cardisoma guanhumi) and hermit crabs (Coenobita clypeatus) are both present on HMC and both present possible problems for rat eradication. Can you advise me on aspects of the biology of these species? The land crabs appeared to be present as only one age class - all adults about 100mm accross the back. What is the life span of this species? When do they spawn? When do their young come ashore? What size are they at that time? I presume that these young crabs would be a significant food source for rats - right or wrong? Where and how often do these crabs change their shells and how vulnerable would they be to rats at that time? The hermit crabs were present in all sizes but the relative abundance of young and old suggests that the young of this species are also preyed on by rats. What is the life span of this species? When do they spawn? When do their young come ashore? What size shell are they carrying when they come ashore? Am I right in presuming that rats could easily eat them at this time? Regards Dick Veitch 48 Manse Road Papakura New Zealand Phone 064-9-298 5775 Department of Conservation Private Bag 68 908 Newton Auckland New Zealand Phone 064 9 307 9279 Fax 064 9 377 2919 James A. Powell Glovers Reef Marine Research Station Wildlife Conservation Society P.O. Box 2310 Belize City, Belize Tel/Fax 501-233855 Middle Caye: 501-522153 e-mail: jpowell at btl.net From tsocci at usgcrp.gov Wed Oct 15 11:44:38 1997 From: tsocci at usgcrp.gov (Tony Socci) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 11:44:38 -0400 Subject: October 20th USGCRP Seminar on "The 1997-98 El Nino Forecast: Societal Implications and Opportunities" Message-ID: U.S. Global Change Research Program Seminar Series The 1997-98 El Ni?o Forecast: What are the Societal Implications and Opportunities? What is an El Ni?o? Why is this El Ni?o special? What will El Ni?o mean in terms of weather in the U.S. and the rest of the world? What will be happening three-, six-, and nine-months from now? What impacts has this El Ni?o had thus far, and what impacts are anticipated? In what ways have El Ni?o phenomena historically affected society and the economy? How well are the models doing in predicting El Ni?o events? Are the forecasts reliable enough for regional and local decision-making? Are recent El Ni?o trends indicative of a human-induced global warming? Public Invited Seminar - Monday, October 20, 1997, 3:15-4:45 PM Rayburn House Office Bldg., Room B369, Washington, DC Reception Following Press Briefing - Monday, October 20, 1997,1:30-2:30 PM Rayburn House Office Bldg., Room 2168 (Gold Room), Washington, DC INTRODUCTION Dr. J. Michael Hall, Director, Office of Global Programs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Silver Spring, MD SPEAKERS Dr. Ants Leetmaa, Director, Climate Prediction Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Camp Springs, MD Ms. Eileen L. Shea, Executive Director, Center for the Application of Research on the Environment, Institute of Global Environment and Society, Inc., Calverton, MD OVERVIEW El Ni?o 1997/98, Natural Climate Variability and U.S. Impacts Natural climate variability occurs on many timescales, but particularly on interannual to decadal timescales. Some variations seem random; others seem well-organized. The most well known of the coherent phenomena is the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). ENSO involves ocean-atmosphere interactions centered primarily in the tropical Pacific. When tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures are warmer than normal this is known as El Ni?o; when they are colder than normal, this is the La Ni?a phenomenon. Other known modes of natural variability include the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Over the past 130 years both ENSO and NAO have exhibited interannual and decadal variability, both in amplitude and frequency of occurrence. Both contribute to the long-term global land-sea temperature record that is used to calculate long-term changes in climate. Each of these, as well as the PDO, also contribute to the seasonal and decadal variations in U.S. temperature and rainfall. Fifteen years of research have led to a routine capability to predict El Ni?o warm events with skill several seasons in advance. The El Ni?o forecasts are then used to forecast anomalous rainfall and temperature (drought) variations over much of the U.S. and the globe. While warm and cool events have occurred for centuries, the current 1997/98 El Ni?o is growing faster than previously recorded and is forecast to peak at the end of the year, at that time being comparable in size and intensity to the 1982/83 El Ni?o, the largest El Ni?o event in recorded history. For the next six months much of the southwestern U.S., the central U.S., and the Gulf Coast are forecast to have above normal rainfall. During the late fall, winter, and spring of 1982/83, similar conditions caused many regions of the U.S., including California, Utah, Louisiana, Missouri, and Illinois, to experience heavy flooding. Globally, during that same period, Southern Africa, Australia, and Indonesian experienced droughts while coastal areas of Peru and Ecuador experienced flooding. Some of these same impacts are already being experienced worldwide in many of the same regions. The current U.S. forecasts are based on both statistical techniques and numerical forecasts--both prediction techniques yield the same broad-scale features. Forecasts from numerical models show the large scale features expected to occur during El Ni?o but lack the detailed regional structure, especially for precipitation. Although there has been considerable decadal variability in the occurrence of El Ni?o over the past 100 years, the fact that there will now be two "one hundred-year" events during the past 15 years as well as one of the strongest La Ni?a (cool) events (1988-89) of the century raises obvious questions about whether global warming may be affecting the ENSO cycle. Presently, although there are scientists that find signs of this, more research is needed to clarify this issue. The El Ni?o Story: Challenges and Opportunities for Society The past two decades are replete with evidence of the significant economic and social costs associated with unanticipated disruptions in weather and climate patterns. For example, estimates of global losses associated with the 1982-1983 El Ni?o event exceeded $8 billion. Of that figure, U.S. losses associated with storms in the Mountain and Pacific states, flooding in the Gulf States, and Hurricane Iwa in Hawaii, were estimated to have cost $2.5 billion. The 1988 U.S. drought resulted in an estimated $2-4 billion in direct losses to agricultural producers, with total losses throughout the economy estimated at greater than $22 billion. The 1993 Midwest floods were associated with about $15-20 billion in damages and costs. The 1995 floods in California and the Gulf States resulted in estimated losses of $7 billion. More recently, significant damage and losses have resulted from the heavy rains associated with tropical storms along the west coast, the Gulf of California, and parts of southern Arizona. Yet these figures alone do not adequately capture the real measure of human suffering, direct losses, and missed opportunities. During the past decade it has become increasingly clear that the coupled ocean-atmosphere weather phenomenon known as the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), plays a dominant role in influencing year-to-year changes in climatic conditions around the world. Based upon enhanced understanding of ENSO, scientists have refined their ability to provide useful predictions on a scale that accommodates local and regional planning decisions. The capability to understand and predict El Ni?o phenomena also presents government officials, industry, and local communities with an array of opportunities, including: reducing vulnerability to climate-related natural disasters such as floods and droughts; enhancing economic competitiveness; supporting public- and private-sector decision-making for climatically-sensitive regions and sectors; providing scientific information to support U.S. international treaty negotiations; and in assessing and maintaining national and international environmental security. The forecasts are proving to be very useful. For example, the 1997-98 El Ni?o forecast for the United States indicates that Southern California and the Gulf States will experience wetter than normal conditions during the fall and winter of 1997-1998. Federal and local emergency preparedness officials are currently reviewing options available to reduce the human and economic costs associated with potential flooding conditions. In California, scientists, forecasters, and emergency management officials expect the increase in rainfall to be accompanied by an increase in the number and severity of coastal storms, so planners are also developing strategies to deal with threats due to coastal erosion as well as flooding. On the other hand, sports fishing for some deep water species which prefer warm-water conditions (e.g. tuna and marlin) could produce record income for this important California industry. Similarly, a shift in the movement of tuna stocks is expected to produce significant benefits to the tuna cannery industry in American Samoa. Higher forecasted temperatures for most of the northern and central regions of the U.S. provide natural gas and electric utilities with opportunities to adapt their purchasing, shipment, and storage plans accordingly. Commodities trading in crops such as wheat, coffee, cocoa and sugar is already reflecting the predicted impacts of this year's El Ni?o. While this year's Atlantic hurricane season witnessed little activity, Hawaii, on the other hand, is anticipating a more active season for tropical storms and hurricanes (Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki both struck during years of warmer than normal ocean temperatures--1982 and 1992, respectively). In addition, many Pacific island countries are preparing for El Ni?o-related drought conditions. Biographies Dr. Ants Leetmaa is currently the Director of the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). During the first half of his professional career, Dr. Leetmaa was stationed at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories of NOAA in Miami, FL as a field-oriented oceanographer. The 1982/83 El Ni?o phenomenon, during which he was engaged in on-site investigations in the eastern Pacific, turned his interests toward the development of ocean/atmosphere models for the prediction of El Ni?o. Dr. Leetmaa obtained his Ph.D. in oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969. Ms. Eileen Shea assumed the Directorship of the Center for the Application of Research on the Environment (CARE) in June, 1995. CARE's mission is to promote the application and use of new scientific insights and emerging climate prediction capabilities, in addressing the practical problems of sustainable economic development, resource management, and public health and safety. While on loan from NOAA to the National Academy of Sciences from 1994 to 1995, Ms. Shea played a crucial role in the establishment of the National Research Council's Board on Sustainable Development and in serving to oversee the Board's responsibilities for scientific guidance and advice to the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). >From 1987 to 1990, Ms Shea served as Executive Director of NOAA's Climate and Global Change Program; and from 1990 to 1994, she served as Deputy Director of NOAA's Office of Global Programs. In this capacity, she coordinated NOAA contributions to national and international scientific programs related to global environmental issues, including the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Prior to her work with the U.S. Global Change Research Program, she served for four years (1983-1987) as the Senior Analyst for oceanic and atmospheric research programs in the NOAA Office of Budget and Finance, and five years as a Congressional Affairs Specialist with responsibilities for NOAA programs related to coastal zone management, ocean minerals and energy, Law of the Sea, and the National Weather Service (1979-1983). A native of the Washington, DC area, Ms. Shea earned a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree from the University of Delaware in 1975, and pursued graduate work in environmental law and marine resource management at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (College of William and Mary) from 1975-1979. The Next Seminar is scheduled for Monday, November 5, 1997 Planned Topic: Evidence for A Human-Induced, Enhancement of the Hydrologic Cycle: What Does It Mean and Why Be Concerned? For more information please contact: Anthony D. Socci, Ph.D., U.S. Global Change Research Program Office, 400 Virginia Ave. SW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20024; Telephone: (202) 314-2235; Fax: (202) 488-8681 E-Mail: TSOCCI at USGCRP.GOV. Additional information on the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and this Seminar Series is available on the USGCRP Home Page at: http://www.usgcrp.gov. Normally these seminars are held on the second Monday of each month. From reefchck at uxmail.ust.hk Thu Oct 16 06:30:42 1997 From: reefchck at uxmail.ust.hk (HODGSON GREGOR) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 18:30:42 +0800 (HKT) Subject: Reef Check Press Release - Thursday 16 October 1997 Message-ID: Reef Check 97 Press Conference Background Material October 16, 1997 3:00 pm Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Reef Check '97, the first global survey of human impacts on the world's coral reefs has been completed as part of the International Year of the Reef, and the preliminary results are being released today. Organized by HKUST's Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development, the survey involved over 100 marine scientists and 750 recreational divers who surveyed 300 coral reefs in 30 countries and territories between 15 June and 31 August 1997. The project was badly needed, according to Global Coordinator and coral reef biologist Dr. Gregor Hodgson, "because coral reefs are the rain forests of the sea. They are one of the world's most valuable natural resources, a storehouse of billions of dollars worth of genetic material for drugs and an important factor in coastal protection. They are a tourist attraction for 7 million sport divers and a source of food for several hundred million people. " Sadly," says Hodgson, since 1990 we have been getting reports from sport divers of rapidly increasing damage to reefs all over the globe, but scientific data have been lacking." The few hundred reef scientists in the world study many different aspects of the reef, at different times and places. Traditional coral reef science has not kept pace with the spreading effects of humans on reefs. A new approach was needed to quickly gather comparable data on human impacts from many reefs at the same time. The Reef Check approach was to create a global network of regional, national and local coordination centers, each being responsible for matching up teams of experienced recreational divers with professional marine scientists. Each Team Scientist was responsible for training the team divers in use of Reef Check methods, then leading them on the actual field surveys, checking and submitting data to headquarters in Hong Kong. The Reef Check methods differ from those used in traditional ecological surveys in that they were focused specifically on detecting the effects of humans on the coral reef ecosystem. The criteria for choosing Reef Check survey methods were as follows. The methods should: ? be simple enough that experienced divers with a minimum of a high school education, could be fully trained in less than one day, ? allow each team to survey one reef per day, ? include a strict quality control system, ? produce results that provide scientifically valid answers to key questions about human impacts on coral reefs. To focus the field methods on human impacts, both worldwide and regional "indicator species" were chosen based on: 1) their high market value, and 2) ease of identification due to distinctive shape and color e.g. the humphead wrasse as an Indo-pacific indicator of poison fishing, and the lobster as a worldwide indicator of shellfish harvesting pressure. In addition to the 20 high-value seafood organisms chosen, other indicators of human impacts were included such as broken corals (anchor damage) and blooms of fleshy algae (sewage pollution). A large sample size (800 m2) was selected -- an area 100 m2 larger than a soccer field -- to be surveyed twice, once for shellfish and once for fish. A third survey along a 100 m line would be used to determine the condition of the corals themselves. Teams were instructed to survey reefs which they believed were in relatively untouOCched condition first. In October 1996, the Reef Check methods were posted on an Internet listserver for coral reef scientists run by the US NOAA and professional criticism was invited. The methods were revised, and in January, and posted on a new website created for Reef Check. In addition to methods, the website was also loaded with registration forms, team lists, fund-raising information and even downloadable photos of target organisms. Regional and national coordinators were selected and posted, and teams identified. Many teams needed to raise large sums to cover their travel, hotel and diving expenses. For example, the German coordinators were successful in obtaining sponsorship for a special Red Sea expedition that was featured in a TV documentary. "Aside from the scientific and educational achievements, this project is a remarkable for two reasons," says Professor Gary Heinke, IESD Director, "first, the project was run completely by internet, and second, the project was almost entirely volunteer. From an investment by IESD of a few thousand dollars in management costs, the project has produced worldwide about US$2 million worth of invaluable data. We are indebted to the hundreds of generous sponsors and volunteers who made the surveys possible." The preliminary results from about 230 sites are being released today because they reveal such a clear pattern of global damage to coral reefs, particularly due to overfishing and destructive fishing. A full report will be published later this year. The results for lobsters, which used to be abundant on reefs throughout the world, were dismal. None were recorded at 81% of reefs surveyed. In the Indo-pacific region, out of 179 reefs checked only 25 lobsters were found, and 11 of these were recorded at one reef in an Indonesian marine reserve. Large grouper are heavily fished throughout the world, and none were reported at 40% of the study reefs, with small numbers at most. However, more than 20 large grouper were recorded at two sites in the remote Maldive Islands, and at three sites in the Red Sea where no poison or dynamite fishing occurs, giving a hint of what populations used to be like in other areas. In the Caribbean, the highly prized and previously common Nassau grouper was found at only 4 of 51 sites, giving a total of 12 fish. The corals themselves appeared to be in better shape globally than the fish and shellfish. The mean percentage of living coral cover on reefs was 31% globally, with the Caribbean recording the lowest value at 22%, possibly reflecting recent losses due to bleaching and diseases. In the Red Sea, there was less than half the dead coral (3%), than the other two regions. The ratio of live to dead coral was highest in the Red Sea, suggesting that these reef corals are the healthiest in the world. One apparent bit of good news is that only 7 sites showed greater than 10% cover of fleshy algae, indicating that nutrient enrichment associated with sewage pollution was not a problem at most of these "good" sites. Sewage pollution may be more important at reefs near urban areas which were not common in this study. In the Indo-pacific, the humphead wrasse and barramundi cod were once moderately abundant on reefs, but none were reported at 85% of 179 reefs surveyed. Of more than 25 km of Indo-pacific reef surveyed in detail, only 26 humphead wrasse were seen. At the 125 Asian and Australian reefs surveyed, only 5 barramundi cod were recorded. These results suggest that cyanide and other forms of fishing have severely damaged populations of these once moderately abundant species. High-value, edible sea cucumbers used to litter the seabed around many reefs. The three species included in Reef Check were totally absent from 41% of Indo-pacific reefs surveyed demonstrating the extent of over-harvesting. An average of 17 giant clams was found on the Indo-pacific reefs. An indication of what natural populations used to be like was provided by the 150 to 250 giant clams recorded at several protected sites in the Red Sea and Australia. Hong Kong provides an example of coral reefs subjected to almost every form of disturbance: overfishing, poison and dynamite fishing, pollution and sedimentation. Out of 11 collectible or edible indicator species only two (Trochus shells and butterflyfish) were recorded. Several of these once-abundant species are now effectively extinct in Hong Kong. In addition to making measurements, each team subjectively assessed the intensity of human impacts at their sites. Based on this, 45% of the reefs were rated as being subjected to low or no human impacts. In contrast, the low numbers of fish and shellfish recorded in the surveys indicate that almost all sites have been affected by heavy fishing of one or more indicator species. One reason for this is that many fishing activities occur at night, when sport divers are not present. In some areas such as the east coast of Borneo, the reefs had not been previously surveyed, and some scientists previously assumed that they would still be untouched. But according to the Sarawak Reef Check team, "99% of the reefs have been damaged by blast fishing." According to Dr. Hodgson these results are an urgent reminder that "ocean resources are not limitless." The low numbers of edible and collectible indicator species is strong evidence that "coral reefs have been plundered on a global basis." The good news is that results from marine parks with proper management demonstrate the effectiveness of conservation to allow populations of indicator species to recover. High numbers of indicator species were reported from marine protected areas in several countries. The goal is sustainable use of marine resources. If unsustainable practices are allowed to continue, populations of coral reef organisms will dwindle, many seafood items will become even more expensive than the US$100/kilo now charged, and more fishermen will be forced out of work. International eco-politics may intrude. Some nations have already begun to impose environmental regulations on imports through e.g. "green" packaging rules. Countries whose seafood and fishing industries support cyanide fishing could find all of their seafood subject to import bans by trading blocs opposed to unsustainable fishing methods. The world has reached the stage where it is technologically possible to monitor and to manage marine resources. Reef Check works well as a rapid assessment tool, and indicates where additional, more detailed scientific studies are needed. Repeated annual surveys will be useful to determine if management practices are working, and populations of indicator species are recovering. An annual "State of the World's Reefs" report is needed, based on both Reef Check and more detailed studies. The solutions to the problems affecting coral reefs are well-known and include tighter control of fishing through traditional as well as newer methods e.g. international satellite monitoring of fishing boat movements. Reef Check results clearly show the necessity to increase the number and size of marine protected areas and to improve their management so that they can serve as "seedbeds" for the surrounding areas. In addition, more research and testing is needed on aquaculture of high-value reef species to meet the growing demand for seafood and other products that coral reefs will never be able to supply. And just as education and legislation were used to reduce the ivory trade, a similar effort is needed to reduce demand for cyanide-caught live fish, particularly large animals that have a high value for dive tourism and that contribute greatly to reproduction. Public education is needed in S.E. Asia to teach people why it is not "cool" to eat reef fish larger than a dinner plate. Funding agencies, political leaders and natural resource managers need to focus on implementing these solutions now so that we will all have plenty of reef fish and lobster to eat in the future. From aoctd at mail.wizard.net Wed Oct 15 12:29:01 1997 From: aoctd at mail.wizard.net (Tanya Dobrzynski) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 11:29:01 -0500 Subject: fishing and reefs Message-ID: <199710151527.LAA15615@radagast.wizard.net> Hi Folks, Sorry for any cross-postings. I am currently working on a report that will be distributed to members of Congress on how proper implementation and enforcement of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act could protect coral reefs from overfishing and habitat destruction. Does anyone know of any specific examples where overharvesting of a top predator or grazer has had adverse effects on coral reefs in the Florida Keys or Hawaii? Please respond directly to me at aoctd at wizard.net. Thanks in advance for your help! Tanya Dobrzynski American Oceans Campaign 201 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, #C-3 Washington, DC 20002 From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Thu Oct 16 09:50:26 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:50:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: OIL 98 CALL FOR PAPERS (fwd) Message-ID: Please note some relevance to coral reefs in this forwarded message: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 17:10:17 BST From: Helen Fisher Subject: OIL 98 CALL FOR PAPERS CALL FOR PAPERS First International Conference OIL SPILL 98 Oil & Hydrocarbon Spills, Modelling, Analysis & Control July 1998 Southampton, UK Organised by: Wessex Institute of Technology, Southampton, UK OBJECTIVES The transport of oil from production centers of the world to the global market is mainly achieved by the use of pipelines and tankers. In the recent years, the occrurance of large oil spills and its subsequent impact on the environment, has created a growing concern about necessary prevention measures. However, the risk of spills still overwhelms these measures creating potential danger in sen sitive natural resources. Oil spill research should be an essential component of management's contribution to oil spill response, prevention, contaminant and mitagation methods. The topics covered in this conference will help to close the gap between theoretical developments and practical applications. The conference will deal with the topics listed as state-of-the-art reviews and advanced theoretical and practical aspects of oil spills in land and water environments. The oil spill modelling workshop aims to discuss a set of standards that allow the testing of present and future models. This workshop will bring the opportunity to model developers to compare, on a rational basis, the most important models available today. This conference will gather researchers, engineers and managers from all over the world to discuss state-of-the-art techniques to model, prevent and control oil spills on land and in water bodies. CONFERENCE CHAIRMEN C A Brebbia R Garcia CONFERENCE TOPICS The meeting will provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas among those working on air pollution topics, in particular on the themes given below:- Modeling of Trajectory and Fate of Spills Oil Properties Spills in Estuaries and Delta Areas Land Spills Contingency Planning for Oil Spills In-Situ Contermeasures Operational Procedures for Storage, Handling and Transportation of Oil Biological Impact of Oil Pollution on Coral Reefs and Mangroves Toxicity Testing Biological Control Methods Shoreline Protection and Cleanup Use of Dispersants Oil Spill Treating Agents Risk Assessment In-situ Burning Legal Matters Financail Cost of Oil Spills Oil Spill Prevention Experimental and Laboratory Analysis Field Experiments Remote Sensing Sensitivity Maps Cleanup Measures Control and Recovery Equipment Rehabilitation of Oil-Damaged Resources Recovered Oil Management ORIMULSION Spills Case Studies LOCATION Novotel, Southampton, UK CONFERENCE DINNER The Conference Dinner will be held on the second evening. All delegates and partners are welcome. Further details, including the price of the dinner, will be available in the Provisional Programme. MINI-EXHIBITION FACILITIES There will be a table top exhibition in the foyer of the conference hall for the display of products, services and literature related to the theme of the meeting. The space may also be used for free -standing units. Please contact the Conference Secretariat for details of charges and facilities. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS The proceedings of OIL SPILL will be published to a high standard by Computational Mechanics Publications for delegates at the conference. The Proceedings will also be widely distributed through the international booktrade. TIME SCHEDULE Return reply form: as soon as possible Submit Abstract (300 words): 1 Decmeber 1997 Submit Final Paper: 10 March 1998 CALL FOR PAPERS Papers are invited on the topics outlined previously which are consistent with the theme of the conference. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted to the Conference Secretariat a s soon as possible and no later than *** Abstracts should clearly state the purpose, results and conclusions of the work to be described in the final paper and the topic under which the abstract coul d be listed. Authors will be notified on the suitability of their abstract and the final acceptance will depend upon the review of the full length paper. CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton SO40 7AA, UK Telephone: + 44 (0) 1703 293223 Fax: +44 (0) 1703 292853 E-Mail: liz at wessex.ac.uk From erikm at nioz.nl Thu Oct 16 11:48:54 1997 From: erikm at nioz.nl (Erik Meesters) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 15:48:54 +0000 Subject: thank you notes Message-ID: I propose a 'new' rule of conduct: If you put a question on the list and you receive less than a hundred replies, please send your thank-you-note to these people and not to the whole world (there must be more than a 1000 people on this list). Anotherone: Try to make the subject as clear as possible, so we don't have to open,close, and delete every single message. I wonder who ever thought that computers were going to save time Best wishes to yual, Erik -------------------------------------------- Dr. Erik Meesters Dept of Marine Ecology Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (Nioz) P.O. Box 59 1790 AB Den Burg-The Netherlands ph. (0)31-(0)222-369530/572 fax (0)31-(0)222-319674 From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Fri Oct 17 14:43:22 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Fri, 17 Oct 1997 14:43:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Your removal from coral-list. Message-ID: Greetings Coral-Listers, Occasionally I get messages, which are destined to be sent to you via coral-list, returned as undeliverable for a variety of reasons. I usually wait awhile for the messages to keep on bouncing before I strike your name from coral-list. If messages to you continue to bounce for awhile for whatever reason, I will unfortunately elect to remove you from the list. Please don't take it personally! Just drop me a line and I'll place you back on. Common reasons for bounced messages are: o Your mailbox is full, and you haven't corrected the situation in awhile. o You instituted the "vacation" program, and it says you won't be back for a hundred years. o You changed email addresses and you didn't tell me, or you didn't "unsubscribe" then "subscribe" at the new address. o The network connection to your domain is continually down, or frequently unattainable. Usually, there is at least one coral-list message every other day, so if you don't see any messages for several days, it may be that you have been removed. If you're not sure, send the following message to majordomo at coral.aoml.noaa.gov: who coral-list If you're on the list, you should get a list of about 760 members' email addresses, including yours; if not, you'll get the following message: >>>> who coral-list **** List 'coral-list' is a private list. **** Only members of the list can do a 'who'. **** You aren't a member of list 'coral-list'. >>>> >>>> ...at which point drop me a line singin' the blues, and I'll put you back on. Cheers, Jim Hendee coral-list administrator P.S. Here's an example partial inbox of recent bounces and informational tidbits. (As you can see, I also get some of that wonderful junk email, too.) N 28 Oct 14 Majordomo at aoml.noa (393) SUBSCRIBE coral-list N 29 Oct 14 Majordomo at aoml.noa (415) SUBSCRIBE coral-list N 30 Oct 14 Majordomo at aoml.noa (428) SUBSCRIBE coral-list N 31 Oct 14 Mailer-Daemon at wpg. (1,042) Message status - undeliverable N 32 Oct 14 Adminstrator (2,470) Mail failure N 33 Oct 14 Adminstrator (2,530) Mail failure N 34 Oct 14 bizman97 at tnlb.com (3,424) True life faith confirming stor N 35 Oct 14 Mail Delivery Subs (3,823) Returned mail: User unknown N 36 Oct 15 Mailer-Daemon at wpg. (1,037) Message status - undeliverable N 37 Oct 15 Majordomo at aoml.noa (433) SUBSCRIBE coral-list N 38 Oct 15 Mailer-Daemon at wpg. (1,068) Message status - undeliverable N 39 Oct 15 Mail Delivery Subs (3,074) Returned mail: User unknown N 40 Oct 15 Mailer-Daemon at wpg. (1,054) Message status - undeliverable N 41 Oct 14 Mail Delivery Subs (2,875) Returned mail: User unknown N 42 Oct 15 Mail Delivery Subs (2,983) Returned mail: User unknown N 43 Oct 15 Mail Delivery Subs (3,283) Returned mail: User unknown From dgleason at gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu Sat Oct 18 13:24:30 1997 From: dgleason at gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu (Danny Gleason) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 1997 13:24:30 -0400 Subject: Two tenure-track positions Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19971018172430.006ea61c@gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu> Sorry about double posting, but the first transmission was cut off at the end of the first paragraph! Below is the entire job announcement. Thank you. ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGIST AND PLANT BIOLOGIST GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY Department of Biology The Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University invites applications for two tenure track positions at the Assistant Professor level. Position starting dates are 1 August 1998. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and qualifications. Application postmark deadline for both positions is 5 December 1997. Ph.D. required at time of application. See http://www.bio.gasou.edu/ for additional information about the department. ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGIST: Postdoctoral experience preferred. Applicants must have broad training in areas related to environmental biology and have a commitment to teaching and scholarship. Preference will be given to individuals whose research area will strengthen a departmental emphasis in conservation issues in coastal plain and near-shore biology . Teaching responsibilities include Environmental Biology and upper level courses in area of expertise. Send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of teaching and research interests and the names of three references to Dr. Ann E. Pratt, Chair, Search Committee # 34920, Department of Biology, P.O. Box 8042, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460-8042, USA. PLANT BIOLOGIST. Postdoctoral experience is preferred. Applicants must have broad training in botany with a commitment to teaching and scholarship, and they must be qualified to teach general botany and advanced courses in their specialty. The specific area of research is open, but preference will be given to persons whose research complements a departmental emphasis in the Southeastern Coastal Plain. Applicants should send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and statements of teaching and research interests, and have three letters of reference sent to Dr. Donald Drapalik, Chair, Search Committee #34921, Department of Biology, P. O. Box 8042, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia 30460-8042, USA. Georgia Southern University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, was founded in 1906 and became a regional university in 1990. The 601-acre campus is located in Statesboro, a community of approximately 30,000 residents, 50 miles northwest of historic Savannah and 200 miles southeast of Atlanta. Anticipated fall quarter 1997 headcount of over 14,000 reflects a 115% enrollment growth since the fall of 1984, resulting in the addition of over 200 faculty positions. The university offers 23 baccalaureate degrees in 81 major fields of study, ten master's degrees in 40 fields, the Education Specialist degree with 16 majors, and Ed.D. programs in Educational Administration and Curriculum Studies. The names of applicants and nominees, r?sum?s, and other general non-evaluative information are subject to public inspection under the Georgia Open Records Act. Georgia Southern is an equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution. Persons who need reasonable accommodations in order to participate in the application process should notify the search chair. Daniel Gleason Department of Biology Georgia Southern University P.O. Box 8042 Statesboro, GA 30460-8042 Phone: 912-681-5957 FAX: 912-681-0845 E-mail: dgleason at gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu From jlang at uts.cc.utexas.edu Sat Oct 18 18:15:26 1997 From: jlang at uts.cc.utexas.edu (Judith C. Lang) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 1997 17:15:26 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Requesting (free and appropriate) materials for "Reefs at Risk - What Can Divers Do?" Message-ID: (With apologies for any cross-postings) Diver Fest '97 "Reefs at Risk - What Can Divers Do?" Sunday, November 9, 1997, 12:30 - 5:00 p.m. on The University of Texas at Austin Campus Texas Memorial Museum will be hosting a free program of short videos and illustrated talks, plus exhibits of specialized diving, monitoring and videographic equipment, of research on fossil, modern and artificial reefs, of underwater archeology, demonstration projects for educators, and handouts covering responsible diving, ecotourism, and volunteering opportunities for recreational divers. Exhibitors (some of whom are representing more than one organization) include: The University of Texas at Austin Texas A&M University at College Station Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi Texas A&M University at Galveston Baylor University Kocurek Elementary School Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Minerals Management Service Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Earthwatch YMCA Advanced Creative Productions Rinn Boats, Inc. U.S. Divers Co., Inc. Anyone, or any organization, with relevant and readily-available materials that could be sent to us either for temporary exhibit (perferably fitting on a 6 ft.long table), or for handing out to visitors, is invited to send me an email message. Advance many thanks! Judy Lang jlang at uts.cc.utexas.edu (Judith C. Lang) From dodge at nsu.acast.nova.edu Tue Oct 21 08:11:05 1997 From: dodge at nsu.acast.nova.edu (Richard E. Dodge) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 08:11:05 -0400 Subject: Call for Papers: Special Issue of Coral Reefs on Holocene and Pleistocene Reef Geology Message-ID: <3.0.4.32.19971021081105.006c1ca4@ocean.nova.edu> Announcement and Call for Papers: Special Issue on Holocene and Pleistocene Reef Geology Volume 17 of Coral Reefs will include a Special Issue, entitled "Holocene and Pleistocene Reef Geology". As the title suggests, the purpose of the issue is to provide an overview of current research in this broad area. Manuscripts may be empirical or theoretical, long or short. Reviews and Reef Sites on a geological theme are also welcome. The issue (approximately 100 pages) will be published as soon as 12 papers have been accepted. (Consult the journal for manuscript formatting guidelines). Prospective authors should first contact the Geological Editor, Richard E. Dodge by fax or email (Fax 954-921-7764, email dodge at ocean.nova.edu). To ensure a speedy publication, manuscripts should be submitted as soon as possible (NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 1, 1998) to R.E. Dodge, Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, 8000 N. Ocean Drive, Dania, FL 33004, USA. Guest Editors to whom manuscripts may also be submitted are: Dr. Robert W. Buddemeier, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas, 1930 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047, email: buddrw at KGS.UKANS.EDU Dr. Richard W. Grigg, Dept. of Oceanography, 1000 Pope Road, Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA, email rgrigg at iniki.soest.hawaii.edu Dr. David Hopley, Coastal & Marine Consultancies, 3 Wingadee, Annadale, Townsville, QLD 4814 Australia, emal: david.hopley at ultra.net.au Dr. Peter Swart, Division of Marine Geology & Geophysics, University of Miami/ RSMAS, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, email: Pswart at rsmas.miami.edu Dr. A.W. Tudhope, Grant Institute of Geology, Univ. Edinburch, West mains Road, Edinburch EH9 3JW United Kingdom, email: sandy.Tudhope at ed.ac.uk Richard E. Dodge, Ph.D. Associate Dean, Professor Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center 8000 N. Ocean Dr.; Dania, FL 33004 voice (954) 920-1909; fax (954)-921-7764 web page: http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ From albert at athiel.com Tue Oct 21 15:07:18 1997 From: albert at athiel.com (Albert Thiel) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 15:07:18 -0400 Subject: Balistoides conspicilum Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19971021150718.00b8bc60@pop3.athiel.com> Dear Fellow Researches I am presently involved in the captive breeding attempt of B. conspicilum, the so-called Clown Trigger I would appreciate any feedback that anyone may have witih regard to what their experiences are with regard to the breeding of this fish in nature around reefs, or alternatively resources they are aware of that I may wish to consult I appreciate your feedback Albert Thiel From cnidaria at earthlink.net Tue Oct 21 23:03:31 1997 From: cnidaria at earthlink.net (James M. Cervino) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 20:03:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Pictures of RWD Message-ID: Dear Coral Listers, Here is a close up (60mm macro) shot of Rapid Wasting Disease. Look at corallites, costae, septa, basically the direction in the growth formation is not disrupted, just eroded down to the paliform lobes. If this were bitten by Parrot fish, one would see teeth marks, along with the growth direction formation disturbed. Rather there are no teeth marks, just the fast dissolution of coral tissue. Look at some of polyps that are just begining to erode, these lesions are different than any of the other diseases. The spread in a 24 hr. time period can be as fast at 7inches. These pictures are protected by copyright, if you would like to use these pictures for publiction you must obtain permission from the photographer. To view these pictures highlight (one at a time) the addresses below, go to edit on the menu bar and select COPY, and paste this directly onto Netscapes location site, and hit return to view picture. You can only view one picture at a time. Any questions please e-mail me. I will be in the field during Thanksgiving for sample collection. More pictures will be up soon. http://database.mbl.edu/Coral/search.qry?function=detail&Layout_0_uid1=70 http://database.mbl.edu/Coral/search.qry?function=detail&Layout_0_uid1=64 ***************************************** James M. Cervino, Marine Biologist Global Coral Reef Alliance 124-19 9th ave, College Point New York, NY 11356 Phone/Fax (178) 539-8155 ***************************************** From aoctd at mail.wizard.net Wed Oct 22 11:12:57 1997 From: aoctd at mail.wizard.net (Tanya Dobrzynski) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 10:12:57 -0500 Subject: good news on Capitol Hill for coral reefs Message-ID: <199710221411.KAA06972@radagast.wizard.net> Hi Folks, Sorry for any cross-postings. The U.S. House and Senate have come to agreement on House Concurrent Resolution 8, the "Coral Reef Protection Resolution of 1997," introduced by Congressman James Saxton (R-NJ). The Resolution expresses the sense of Congress to support and uphold activities and initiatives aimed at enhancing the health and stability of coral reef ecosystems. The Resolution in itself does not legislate substantive coral reef protection or restoration measures. However, it is a hopeful first step toward securing real protections for coral reefs in the near future. The full text of H.C.R. 8 can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery Other coral reef protection legislation currently pending on Capitol Hill is H.R. 2233 (also introduced by Rep. Saxton) which establishes a coral reef conservation fund, and H.Res. 8, a resolution introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) to promote international efforts to stamp out destructive fishing practices in coral reef areas. Both of these bills are currently awaiting passage by the House of Representatives before moving onto the Senate. Please contact your Congressperson to let him/her know that it's important that Congress take action on these bills before the end of this year, the International Year of the Reef. Call the U.S. Capitol Swithboard to find out the number for your Rep. at 202-224-3121. For further information about these bills please feel free to contact me at aoctd at wizard.net. Cheers!! Tanya Dobrzynski American Oceans Campaign Washington, DC 20002 From bioart at televar.com Wed Oct 22 13:12:52 1997 From: bioart at televar.com (Cindy Shaw) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 10:12:52 -0700 Subject: Biological Illustration/Photography Workshops Message-ID: <344E340C.6A08@televar.com> Hello - I thought there might be some interest in a few workshops to be held on Grand Cayman Island coming up this January 12-18. They will be geared toward biological illustrators and scientists interested in UW art/photography techniques. 1) UW Photography for Biological Illustrators and Scientists - using photography as a way for gathering field reference materials for use in illustrating or for scientific publications. 2) "On Assignment!" - Participants will be given an "assignment" on a current issue relevant to coral reef ecology for a Natl. Geographic-type journal, and will gather field references through UW photography, UW sketching and field notes, videography, etc., and then develop conceptual drawings for a four-page spread. 3) UW Field Reference-gathering techniques - a shorter version of the above, without the conceptual drawing part. 4) Studio painting workshop - students will have the opportunity to use their field references gathered from one of the above workshops, and develop it into a color illustration. Gouache (opaque watercolor, commonly used in scientific illustrating), using airbrush and paintbrush will be the featured medium and techniques. If you'd like further information, please contact me. Best regards, Cindy Shaw, Scientific Illustrator and Photographer bioart at televar.com phone (509) 627-0703 fax (509) 627-0751 From cnidaria at earthlink.net Wed Oct 22 19:46:46 1997 From: cnidaria at earthlink.net (James M. Cervino) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 16:46:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: No subject Message-ID: Dear Coral Listers, More RWD Photos! ( =114is day one of the spread) http://database.mbl.edu/Coral/search.qry?function=detail&Layout_0_uid1=114 (=117 is day2, 24 hours later) http://database.mbl.edu/Coral/search.qry?function=detail&Layout_0_uid1=117 This is a close up, again observe the polyps!! http://database.mbl.edu/Coral/search.qry?function=detail&Layout_0_uid1=116 These are protected by copyright. Thanks for your time listers, JM Cervino ***************************************** James M. Cervino, Marine Biologist Global Coral Reef Alliance 124-19 9th ave, College Point New York, NY 11356 Phone/Fax (178) 539-8155 ***************************************** From marinepark at bonairenet.com Thu Oct 23 05:53:38 1997 From: marinepark at bonairenet.com (marinepark at bonairenet.com) Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 09:53:38 +0000 Subject: reef protection measures Message-ID: <199710231403.OAA146974@out1.ibm.net> I am currently compiling information on measures which can be taken to protect coral reefs from harm - specifically from sedimentation and nutrient enrichment - for inclusion in a "guidelines" handbook. This handbook, which will include practical conservation measures, will be available at cost to any interested parties I would be most grateful to hear from anyone who can help me with the following: 1. Information/studies on measures which can be taken to prevent increase sedimentation rates as a result of land clearance, erosion poor construction practices etc at construction sites within the coastal zone 2.Information/studies on the type, cost etc of small (package) sewage treatment plants which can be installed at hotels (up to 200 rooms) in the coastal zone with an indication of their effectiveness and the most environmentally sound way of dealing with the effluent 3. Information on any organisations/web sites or similar which might be able to supply me with such information Many thanks Kalli De Meyer Manager. Bonaire Marine Park tel/fax: 599-7-8444 email: marinepark at bonairenet.com homepage: http://www.bmp.org/ From lessiosh at naos.si.edu Thu Oct 23 12:55:25 1997 From: lessiosh at naos.si.edu (Harilaos Lessios) Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 12:55:25 -0400 Subject: Positions available at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Message-ID: An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available Url: http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/pipermail/coral-list-old/attachments/19971023/77611398/attachment.pl From kunz at bu.edu Fri Oct 24 08:43:22 1997 From: kunz at bu.edu (Tom Kunz) Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 07:43:22 -0500 Subject: Tropical Evolutionary Ecologist Message-ID: Please bring this position to the attention of your colleagues and students. >TROPICAL EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGIST > > The Department of Biology at Boston University invites applications >for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor to begin in >the fall of 1998. The successful candidate will be expected to have a >strong background in Neotropical organismal biology, and to use molecular >approaches to address research questions in ecology and evolution. Teaching >responsibilities include participation in an introductory course which >focuses on ecology, behavior and evolution, and an upper-level >undergraduate or graduate course in area of specialty. Applicants should >have a Ph.D. with post-doctoral experience, an active research program, and >a commitment to excellence in teaching. The successful candidate will >complement an active research program in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, >and will be part of the Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology. > Interested applicants should send a curriculum vitae, statements of >research and teaching interests, copies of three major reprints, and three >letters of reference to: > >Thomas H. Kunz, Chair >Evolutionary Ecology Search Committee >Department of Biology >Boston University >Boston, MA 02215 > >Closing date for applications is December 15, 1997. > >Boston University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. From lesk at bio.bu.edu Fri Oct 24 15:54:31 1997 From: lesk at bio.bu.edu (Les Kaufman) Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 15:54:31 -0400 Subject: Rapid Wasting Disease Pix on the WWW Message-ID: <199710241945.PAA11146@bio.bu.edu> I have looked at James Cervino's RWD pictures on the Web. Commenting on something I have not myself seen in the field may be of limited value, but I am curious how others' interpretations compare to my own. I think the pictures suggest that RWD has an etiology that is largely independent of parrotfish. However, I think it is probable that SOME of the carbonate destruction is the result of (presumably) secondary parrotfish damage, probably by S. viride. S. viride do not always leave clear marks of the sort normally associated with large Scarus spp. In one of the pictures I saw traces of longitudinal rays that look like the scrapes left by individual denticles in the S. viride beak. It also looked to me like there was some algal growth on some of the marks; if so, this would certainly attract attention from parrotfishes after the fact. Les Kaufman Boston University Marine Program Department of Biology Boston University 5 Cummington Street Boston, MA 02215 e-mail: lesk at bio.bu.edu phone: 617-353-5560 fax: 617-353-6340 From albert at athiel.com Fri Oct 24 19:45:51 1997 From: albert at athiel.com (Albert Thiel) Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 19:45:51 -0400 Subject: Crinoids Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19971024194551.007b1c40@pop3.athiel.com> Hi all : Olga Sorokina is looking for information on stalked crinoids Hyocrinidae. If you have any info on this or if you know of sources could you email her DIRECTLY please. Not to the list pls. Send it directly to her. You can copy the list if you wish but because she is not a member of the list you need to send it to her and CC the list if you think it is of importance to others Thank you. Albert From howzit at turtles.org Sat Oct 25 17:58:30 1997 From: howzit at turtles.org (Ursula Keuper-Bennett) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 17:58:30 -0400 Subject: Florida Bay, Florida Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971025175828.00e6c290@pop.vex.net> Hello Coral Researchers, A recent AP article entitled "Mysterious tumors threaten sea turtles" at http://cnn.com/EARTH/9710/23/turtle.tumors.ap/index.html said this about Florida Bay, Florida. "A study last year by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection found that 10 percent of live loggerhead turtles caught in Florida Bay, at the southern tip of the state, are affected." I have investigated Florida Bay on the Internet and am aware of environmental problems in the area. But now, as a result of this article, I am hoping there is someone on the coral mailing list who has expert knowledge of environmental conditions in the nearshore waters of Florida Bay. While I'm at it I might as well take a long shot. I was hoping to ask the same questions for Moreton Bay in Australia. Again I have tracked down general information on the Internet but now have more specific questions. (From my own limited experience diving in Hawaii I have found that if the corals aren't healthy neither are the resident turtles --hence I ask here) Many thanks --------------------------------------------------------------- ^ Ursula Keuper-Bennett 0 0 Email: howzit at turtles.org /V^\ /^V\ /V Turtle Trax V\ http://www.turtles.org / \ "For most of the wild things on earth the future must depend upon the conscience of mankind." \ / --- Dr. Archie Carr / \ / \ /__| V |__\ From bioart at televar.com Mon Oct 27 02:26:47 1997 From: bioart at televar.com (Cindy Shaw) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 00:26:47 -0700 Subject: Biol. Illustration/Photo Workshops on Gr. Cayman Message-ID: <3454340D.7BEA@televar.com> Hello - Thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier post regarding the workshops to be held this January... my response to all of you was written just after I'd completed a big museum exhibit deadline, and I was rather fried, so I hope it was coherent! It is with some embarrassment that I have just realized that some of the information, which included contact info and instructors' credentials, could have been cut from my replies. If you found this to be the case, please let me know, and I'll try again. Sorry - and thanks, Cindy Shaw From marinepark at bonairenet.com Mon Oct 27 10:36:24 1997 From: marinepark at bonairenet.com (marinepark at bonairenet.com) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 15:36:24 +0000 Subject: (Fwd) Re: reef protection measures Message-ID: <199710271947.TAA48956@out2.ibm.net> Seems more people were interested in the request for information on reef protection measures. I received the following from Gregor Hodgson: ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 14:48:23 +0800 From: Gregor Hodgson Organization: Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development To: marinepark at bonairenet.com Subject: Re: reef protection measures Kalli, There are already two guidelines available on this subject, although neither are as complete as one might want. The first is, "Intertropical coastl and Coral Reef Areas and their development, Practical Guide" by Michel Porcher. Available from: CETE mediterranee BP 37000 13791 Aix en Provence Cedex 3 France The second is Jim Maragos and Dick Carpenter's book: How to assess Environemtnal IMpaxxts on TRopical Isalnds and Coastal Areas. SPREP YOu could get a copy from SPREP or JIm at EW Center. CHeers, Greg -- Gregor Hodgson, PhD Institute for the Environment and Sustainable Development Research Centre, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clearwater Bay, Kowloon, HONG KONG e-mail: rcgregor at usthk.ust.hk tel: (852) 2358-8568 fax: (852) 2358-1582 Reef Check: http://www.ust.hk/~webrc/ReefCheck/reef.html Kalli De Meyer Manager. Bonaire Marine Park tel/fax: 599-7-8444 email: marinepark at bonairenet.com homepage: http://www.bmp.org/ From hhh3 at psu.edu Mon Oct 27 17:27:55 1997 From: hhh3 at psu.edu (Heather Holter Hall) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 17:27:55 -0500 Subject: Southeast Asian Coral Reefs Message-ID: <2.2.32.19971027222755.00688620@email.psu.edu> I am an assistant debate coach at Penn State University, and I am looking for information about Southeast Asian coral reefs. Specifically, reefs off the coast of the Philippines, and what is being done to protect them. Thank you Heather Holter Hall Alumni Records The Penn State Alumni Association State College, PA 814-865-0328 From strong at nadn.navy.mil Tue Oct 28 16:55:57 1997 From: strong at nadn.navy.mil (Prof Alan E Strong) Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 16:55:57 -0500 (EST) Subject: Maldives -- Bleaching? Message-ID: Our HotSpot chart is showing potential bleaching waters around the Maldives and around Dakar, W. Africa this past week. Does anyone know of any observers there that might be able to confirm or deny bleaching? This is in an area where we often have trouble seeing thru Saharan dust as it blows out over the Atlantic...freqently making our satellite SSTs erroneously cool. Since we are seeing anomalously WARM waters at the moment, we need to find out how accurate our satellite yearly maximum value is for that area [it may be too low] to know whether to believe our HotSpot indicators at the moment. In any event, it would be interesting find in-situ information from the Maldives for late-October. Another area we have been concerned about is off the Venezuelean coast in the Caribbean and mostly east of Bonaire....SSTs near 30 deg C much of October....temps are gradually inching up around the Galapagos, too! Cheers, Al Strong **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ***** Alan E. Strong Phys Scientist/Oceanographer Adj Assoc Professor NOAA/NESDIS/ORA/ORAD -- E/RA3 US Naval Academy NOAA Science Center -- RM 711H Oceanography Department -- US Postal Service -- -- UPS/FedEx -- Annapolis, MD 21402 4700 Silver Hill Road 5200 Auth Road 410-293-6566[V-mail] Stop 9910 Camp Springs, MD 20746 410-293-2137 [FAX] Washington, DC 20233-9910 strong at nadn.navy.mil Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov 301-763-8102 FAX: 301-763-8108 From dbaker at tm.net.my Tue Oct 28 17:57:23 1997 From: dbaker at tm.net.my (Don E Baker) Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 06:57:23 +0800 Subject: Light Intensities for Corals / Measured Message-ID: <34566DD3.F32@tm.net.my> Hello Coral-L'ers, Could anyone ref me web site/persons/etc. on gathering actual field measurements of optimum growth light intensity for various corals - especially Acropora & Pocillopora? Any leads would be greatly appreciated. Cheers from Borneo, Don Baker From korrubelj at math.unp.ac.za Thu Oct 30 04:44:03 1997 From: korrubelj at math.unp.ac.za (Jan Korrubel) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 11:44:03 +0200 Subject: Full reference required.... Message-ID: Dear fellow CORAL-LISTERS, I recently came across a title of a paper, with no reference to it's origin. If anybody has the correct reference, please email me: PORTER, J.W. AND MEIER, O.W. 1995. Quantification of loss and change in Floridian reef coral populations. **..?? Thanks in advance. Regards, Jan Korrubel University of Natal South Africa. From eweil at caribe.net Thu Oct 30 11:38:56 1997 From: eweil at caribe.net (Dr. Ernesto Weil) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 12:38:56 -0400 Subject: RWD vs. Parrot fish predation?? Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971030123849.00690534@caribe.net> To Coral List readers interested in Rapid wasting disease and parrot fish predation From: Andrew and Robin Bruckner, University of Puerto Rico Parrotfish again: remarks on photographs of RWD posted on the Coral List: We have just returned from Curacao. While following up on our YBD study, we collected additional evidence that damage being attributed to RWD may be caused by stoplight parrotfish. We were fortunate to overlap with a researcher from Groningen University who worked extensively on Sparisoma viride in Bonaire. This parrotfish expert, together with one of the coauthors of the RWD theory working out of CARMABI, made for stimulating conversation. We were grateful for the opportunity to share our observations and photographs with both of them. We thank Reef Care Curacao for taking us to East Point during their surveys for ReefKeeper International; several of the staff witnessed firsthand parrotfish predation on Montastraea annularis colonies they believed to exhibit signs of RWD. We have examined the photographs posted on the internet. The damage depicted is consistent with what we have directly observed Sparisoma viride to inflict, and we have similar photos from Bonaire, Curacao and Puerto Rico illustrating this. Some of our photos capture the fish in action, with the mouth of one or more fish, usually terminal phase, clearly biting live tissue from the tops of M. annularis colonies. Unlike other parrotfish which tend to scrape at the substrate, S. viride is an excavator, preferring concave substrata over flat surfaces. The similarities of rapid tissue and skeletal destruction on Montastraea sp. and C. natans are striking, and observed for both RWD and S. viride. We suggest that much of the damage attributed to RWD may be caused by S. viride. While we have observed parrotfish to take single bites from undamaged corals, leaving lesions similar to the close-up photograph of the coral with new signs of RWD posted , we have not seen the initial stage of RWD affecting a single polyp, as described by Goreau et al in an earlier correspondence. The second photo of the same M. annularis after 24 hours DOES exhibit characteristic bite marks, in the horizontal direction (middle right side of lesion), identical to those made by stoplight parrotfish! The macro shot clearly shows the sharp interface between irregularly eroded skeleton and apparently healthy tissue with no signs of necrosis or pigment loss, which is consistent with lesions created by mechanical damage, be it parrotfish or anchor damage. We have many questions concerning RWD, and are looking forward to the visit by J. Cervino to Puerto Rico scheduled for December so we can share more information. We are interested in the rate of RWD advance between day and night. We suspect "RWD" progresses over a coral primarily during daylight hours, with little, if any damage at night. We feel it is unlikely that a microorganism could modify the pH and maintain an acidity capable of dissolving calcium carbonate in sea water at such a rapid rate as observed with RWD. We are curious about the "bucket and aquaria" studies referred to previously - Do tissue AND skeleton of corals with RWD continue to dissolve away when placed in buckets of sea water ?, Is this associated with a change of pH of the sea water in the buckets? Have corals with the initial stages of RWD been placed in aquaria or buckets? We have observed S. viride biting many species: Montastraea annularis, M. faveolata, M. cavernosa, Diploria labyrinthiformis, D. strigosa, Meandrina meandrites, Porites porites, P. astreroides, Millepora complanata, Eusmilia fastigiata, Colpophyllia natans, Acropora palmata and Madracis mirabilis. These fish leave characteristic bite marks on species such as A. palmata and P. astreoides, while they often remove only the branch tips from Madracis, P. porites, Millepora and Eusmilia. On corals with low density skeletons such as Montastraea spp. and C. natans, we have observed large TP and IP fish return to the same coral repeatedly throughout the day, producing overlapping bites at the interface of tissue and skeleton. These fish predominantly bite at the elevated portions of M. faveolata (and M. franksi), or on the edge of the coral. S. viride characteristically remove all tissue from the tops of individual lobes of M. annularis; an uneven, etched band of tissue always remains at the base or within a depression of the lobe. In subsequent dives to the same location, we observed S. viride biting at live tissue of adjacent, previously undamaged lobes on the same colony or an adjacent coral. The fish do not always approach and bite head on, but often turn their bodies and angle their bites - they open their moth widely, grab onto a protrusion and by sideways twisting motions of the head they are able to break off pieces. Repeated bites by several fish in the same area, as well as bites taken from different angles, do not always leave well defined bite marks, especially on low density, relatively "soft" skeletons. Instead, the live coral interface may have a jagged or etched, and often crumbly appearance. We have photographs of similar damage from the early 1990's, and suggest that this type of tissue destruction and skeletal erosion is not a new phenomenon; entire corals are rarely killed. We urge anyone who thinks they have observed the Montastraea spp. and C. natans with patches of recent, white eroded skeleton lacking any algal colonization and bordering live, apparently healthy coral tissue, to observe the corals from a respectful distance, close to the reef rather than up in the water column, for the length of a dive to rule out the possibility of predation by S. viride. Andrew and Robin Bruckner arbruckner at hotmail.com From sjameson at coralseas.com Thu Oct 30 14:47:14 1997 From: sjameson at coralseas.com (Stephen C Jameson) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 97 14:47:14 -0500 Subject: Diving Safety Questions Message-ID: <199710301945.OAA00674@radagast.wizard.net> Dear Coral List, With respect to Australia could anyone tell me: 1. Are diving centers licensed by the government in any way? 2. Are there any government established diving regulations of any kind? 3. Are there government safety regulations for passenger (diving) vessels? 4. Does the government require passenger (diving) vessels to have property and liability insurance? 5. Does the GBRMP regulate any of the above in their park regulations? Short answers are fine (even just yes or no). If you can't answer these - could you please send me the email adddress of someone who could? Thanks for your assistance. Best regards, Dr. Stephen C. Jameson, President Coral Seas Inc. - Integrated Coastal Zone Management 4254 Hungry Run Road, The Plains, VA 20198-1715 USA Office: 703-754-8690, Fax: 703-754-9139 Email: sjameson at coralseas.com From sh at dna.bio.warwick.ac.uk Fri Oct 31 02:02:06 1997 From: sh at dna.bio.warwick.ac.uk (sheppard) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 23:02:06 -0800 Subject: Chagos Archipelago Message-ID: <3459826E.4086@dna.bio.warwick.ac.uk> A one page item in New Scientist of 18 October 1997 reported that the coral reefs of the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean have been badly damaged by certain Indian Ocean states. "Paradise lost to Pirates" was its title, "Illegal fishing is wrecking a remote coral haven..." a sub title, which shows the flavour of the piece, citing myself as authority of some of the "news". These, and several points in the text, are wrong. In fact Chagos is probably the richest and least impacted set of reefs in the Indian Ocean. There was a substantial reef research project there last year, and our results describing the work are due out in various journals, many in a special issue of the Linnean Society of London. But that won't be immediate. Meanwhile, in the current climate of careful recording of the state of the world's reefs, I would hate for all those many good folks who are compiling useful accounts (e.g. ReefBase, ReefWatch and several more within ICRI, Year of the Oceans et al) to be misled into noting down that some of the best reefs are some of the most damaged, as I don't think reef conservation is served by large exaggerations in either direction. -- Best wishes Charles Sheppard From Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov Thu Oct 30 16:42:07 1997 From: Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov (Griffis, Roger B) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 97 16:42:07 EST Subject: Call for Proposals re: Environmental Impacts of El Nino Event Message-ID: Please distribute to interested parties. Thank you. ************************************************** The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, intends to award up to $1,500,000 in FY 98 to support proposals that will permit the capture of unusual environmental conditions or impacts associated with El Nino. The purpose is to take advantage of the unusually strong El Nino signal expected over the next few months and gain understanding of how this signal influences critical environmental processes. In other to implement activities in time to study the winter signal, generally the portion of the ENSO cycle with the strongest impacts on the contiguous 48 states, a rapid review process has been established. The deadline for proposals is November 19, 1997, with final decisions on awards made by December 1, 1997. The Announcement of Opportunity is posted on the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Home Page at http://www.oar.noaa.gov under "El Nino Announcement of Opportunity." The URL http://www.oar.noaa.gov/el_nino.html can also be used. ******************************** NOAA - U.S. Department of Commerce The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is to describe and predict changes in the Earth's environment, and conserve and manage wisely the Nation's coastal and marine resources to ensure sustainable economic opportunities. From strong at nadn.navy.mil Thu Oct 30 22:30:58 1997 From: strong at nadn.navy.mil (Prof Alan E Strong) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 22:30:58 -0500 (EST) Subject: Cape Verde Island Bleaching? In-Reply-To: <3459826E.4086@dna.bio.warwick.ac.uk> Message-ID: CORRECTION....CORRECTION My earlier note on possible coral reef bleaching in the vicinity of the Maldives was incorrect [The map I had referred to was the ReefBase (CIA?) chart that named the islands off Dakar as the Canaries...I knew that was wrong!...but they weren't the Maldives either!] ... the HotSpots we are watching from high SST data over the past few weeks are close to the Cape Verde Islands! off West Africa. Any info from local sources would be appreciated. Please excuse the earlier incorrect reference to Maldives. Cheers, Al Strong **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ***** Alan E. Strong Phys Scientist/Oceanographer Adj Assoc Professor NOAA/NESDIS/ORA/ORAD -- E/RA3 US Naval Academy NOAA Science Center -- RM 711H Oceanography Department -- US Postal Service -- -- UPS/FedEx -- Annapolis, MD 21402 4700 Silver Hill Road 5200 Auth Road 410-293-6566[V-mail] Stop 9910 Camp Springs, MD 20746 410-293-2137 [FAX] Washington, DC 20233-9910 strong at nadn.navy.mil Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov 301-763-8102 FAX: 301-763-8108 From Tom_Schmidt at nps.gov Fri Oct 31 15:33:53 1997 From: Tom_Schmidt at nps.gov (Tom Schmidt) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 15:33:53 -0500 Subject: Dry Tortugas Publication Message-ID: <000768BC.1235@nps.gov> Greetings! Many thanks to those of you who recommended Atoll Res. Bull. as a journal publication for our document on the scientific studies of Dry Tortugas National Park: an annotated bibliography. Meanwhile the document is available in limited hard copies as a NOAA/NPS technical report. We are hopeful of an electronic version soon through the NOAA library system in Miami (Florida). Thomas W. Schmidt Marine Biologist Everglades National Park/Dry Tortugas National Park South Florida Natural Resources Center 40001 SR 9336 Homestead, FL 33034 From cnidaria at earthlink.net Fri Oct 31 17:04:57 1997 From: cnidaria at earthlink.net (James M. Cervino) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 14:04:57 -0800 (PST) Subject: Cyanide fishing and its impacts on reefs Message-ID: Dear Listers, Take a nice break from the RWD-vs-Parrotfish hypothesis, and watch the Discovery Channel Fri. Oct. 31, 9pm eastern standard time; the topic is cyanide fishing in the Philippines, and its damage to coral reef eco-systems. This segment might get bumped, if a more important matter blooms. 90% sure it will air tonight. This segment was filmed in the Philippines, Isla Verde island. Dr. Goreau and myself were were working with Vaughn Pratt to bring awarness to this issue. They used Dr. T.J. Goreau film footage. Happy Haloween!! ********************* ***************************** James M. Cervino Field Researcher Dept. of Biology Global Coral Reef Alliance St. Francis Preparatory School A non-profit organization Fresh Meadows, N.Y. 11365 protecting and monitoring (718) 539-8155 the health of coral reefs ********************** ******************************