From mbm4 at duke.edu Fri Mar 1 09:30:19 2002 From: mbm4 at duke.edu (Mike Mascia) Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 09:30:19 -0500 Subject: Seeking nominees for UNDP conservation/sustainable use award Message-ID: Please contact for more information. > > > >Equator Initiative: The Innovative Partnership Awards for Sustainable > > > >Development in Tropical Ecosystems > > > >The Equator Initiative Awards will recognize five community initiatives that > >exemplify extraordinary achievement in reducing poverty through the > >conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the Equatorial belt*. > >Each of the five selected initiatives will receive a monetary award of > >US$30,000, a certificate of recognition, a trophy, and be represented at the > >World Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September > >2002. A special recognition prize will be awarded to a World Heritage site > >for the successful integration of conservation and local livelihoods. > > > >The official call for nominations for the first Equator Initiative Awards > >was made on January 30, 2002, at the Equator Initiative Launch Event at the > >Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. > > > >We need your help to reach the indigenous and local communities across the > >Equatorial belt that the Equator Initiative aims to recognize and support. > >Please nominate an innovative community initiative for the Equator > >Initiative Awards and/or share this information with other individuals, > >communities and organizations, who may be aware of such initiatives to >nominate. > > > >The Equator Initiative has been designed to support the World Summit on > >Sustainable Development and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The > >initiative seeks to promote a worldwide movement to reduce poverty along > >with the conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits > >from biodiversity. This aim will be accomplished through a three-part > >programme consisting of a prestigious award to recognize local achievements, > >learning exchange grants to foster South-South capacity building, and the > >generation and sharing of knowledge to influence policy. > > > >Please nominate an innovative community initiative for the Equator > >Initiative Awards. Nominations will be accepted until May 15, 2002. > > > >The Equator Initiative will continue beyond the World Summit by drawing upon > >the lessons and approaches identified through the awards process. > > > >The lessons distilled will be disseminated through a series of policy > >papers, case studies and capacity-building exchanges. The capacity building > >exchanges will be in the form of on site community visits to award >recipients. > > > >The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is pleased to offer the > >Equator Initiative, a new partnership programme with the Government of > >Canada, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Television > >Trust for the Environment (TVE), BrasilConnects and the United Nations > >Foundation (UNF). > > > >Information on eligibility and selection criteria as well as nomination > >forms may be obtained through: > > > >Equator Initiative > > > >Environmentally Sustainable Development Group (ESDG) > > > >Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) > > > >United Nations Development Programme > > > >One UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA > > > >Tel: (212) 906-6206 > > > >Fax: (212) 906-6973 > > > >E-mail: EquatorInitiative at undp.org > > > >www.EquatorInitiative.org > > > > > > > >* The Equatorial belt encompasses the region of the earth that is 23.5? > >north and south of the Equator. Approximately 116 countries are fully or > >partially located within this region. > > > > > > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov Fri Mar 1 11:39:10 2002 From: Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 11:39:10 -0500 Subject: HEADS-UP: coral-list move Message-ID: Dear Coral-Listers, We will soon be moving coral-list from the venerable old SGI Indy, where it has been since its beginning, to a new server. Hopefully our downtime will be short, but if you experience difficulties, or are not receiving messages as often as you used to, this is probably why. Please feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions (but hopefully not all 1,823 of you at once!). Thank you so much for your patience. Cheers, Jim Hendee coral-list admin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. -- Edward R. Murrow -- ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From T.Done at aims.gov.au Sat Mar 2 17:50:53 2002 From: T.Done at aims.gov.au (Terry Done) Date: Sun, 03 Mar 2002 08:50:53 +1000 Subject: Deadline for short course linking biology and hydrodynamics Message-ID: Training Workshop - Linking Biology and Hydrodynamics Using hydrodynamic models and biological sub-models as tools for diagnosis and planning Sunday 14th July to Friday 19th July 2002 Sirius Room, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland. One tutor provided for each five participants Learn to access the tools via the internet on an ongoing basis Registration: US$1250, Aus$2,500 Limit: 25 participants Deadline: 15 March 2002 For further details please see www.reef.crc.org.au/winterschool, or contact Jon Brodie at Jon.Brodie at jcu.edu.au Dr Terry Done Leading Scientist, Biodiversity and Conservation Group Australian Institute of Marine Science PMB #3 Mail Centre, Townsville Qld 4810 Australia Phone 61 7 47 534 344 Fax 61 7 47 725 852 email: tdone at aims.gov.au WEBSITE for 9th International Coral Reef Symposium www.nova.edu/ocean/9icrs From gusol423 at student.otago.ac.nz Mon Mar 4 17:25:03 2002 From: gusol423 at student.otago.ac.nz (Oliver Gussmann) Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 11:25:03 +1300 Subject: Looking for Dr. Stan Massel Message-ID: Dear Listers, Does anyone have an email contact for Dr. Stan Massel (still at AIMS?). Cheers, Oliver ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From milviapin at yahoo.com Mon Mar 4 17:37:40 2002 From: milviapin at yahoo.com (Silvia Pinca) Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 14:37:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: moorings? Message-ID: Hello everyone, does anyone out there know about fundings/grants to install moorings on coral reefs for protection purposes? (Associated or not to existing MPAs and/or ecotouristic facilities...) Thank you very much in advance. Silvia ===== Silvia Pinca, Marine Science Program College of the Marshall Islands P.O. Box 1258 Majuro, MH 96960 ph. 692-625-5903 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - sign up for Fantasy Baseball http://sports.yahoo.com ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From mcgee_kelly at yahoo.ca Tue Mar 5 14:27:05 2002 From: mcgee_kelly at yahoo.ca (Kelly McGee) Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 14:27:05 -0500 (EST) Subject: Reef Check's Latest Newsletter Message-ID: Dear Coral List, Please visit http://www.reefcheck.org/newsletter3.htm for the Winter Edition of The Transect Line, Reef Check's quarterly newsletter! Enjoy! Kelly McGee Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kelly McGee Outreach Coordinator Reef Check Headquarters Institute of the Environment 1362 Hershey Hall, Box 951496 University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90095-1496 USA 1-310-794-4985 (phone) 1-310-825-0758 (fax) rcheck2 at ucla.edu www.reefcheck.org Starfish are falling stars who have landed in the sea ______________________________________________________________________ Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Craig.Bonn at noaa.gov Tue Mar 5 16:05:57 2002 From: Craig.Bonn at noaa.gov (Craig Bonn) Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2002 16:05:57 -0500 Subject: Video taping coral reefs for species identification... Message-ID: Dear Listers: Any and all ideas, publications, etc concerning video taping of corals to identify to the species level would be greatly appreciated. We will be using a sony 900 housed in an amphibico navigator housing, shooting approximately 40 cm above the seafloor. Some of the reefs are very rugose, and we need to maintain that exact height all along the transect (30m). Lasers, t-bars, and so forth I know about, actual designs is what Im looking for to incorporate into our equipment. Suggestions for lighting systems will also be greatly appreciated Thanks so much --------------------------------------------------------------------- Biological Science Technician (Fisheries) NOAA/NOS Beaufort Lab Biological Science Technician (Fisheries) NOAA/NOS Beaufort Lab 101 Pivers Island Road Cellular: 252-725-4794 Beaufort Fax: 252-728-8740 North Carolina Work: 252-728-8777 28512 Additional Information: Last Name Bonn First Name Craig Version 2.1 From chiaracaligara at hotmail.com Wed Mar 6 01:47:21 2002 From: chiaracaligara at hotmail.com (chiara caligara) Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 07:47:21 +0100 Subject: P. versipora, C. gaboensis Message-ID: Dear Listers, I'm looking for photos of these two species of corals: the soft coral Capnella gaboensis and the stony coral Plesiastrea versipora. I hope you will be able to give me some suggestions. Thank you, Chiara _________________________________________________________________ T?l?chargez MSN Explorer gratuitement ? l'adresse http://explorer.msn.fr/intl.asp. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. Subject: Call for proposals re: coral reef conservation (due date April 3) Resent-From: noaa.coral at noaa.gov Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 06:56:11 -0500 From: "Roger B Griffis" Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration To: CORAL Announce , Coral Reefs Egroup , CMPAN , corallist , _NOAA Coral * Please distribute - proposals due by April 3, 2002 * Call for Proposals: Funding available for coral reef conservation projects. (For application see http://www.nfwf.org/programs/coralreef.htm) In partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and others, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is accepting proposals for projects that build public-private partnerships to reduce and prevent degradation of coral reefs and associated reef habitats (e.g. seagrass beds, mangroves etc.). Projects may address causes of coral reef degradation wherever they occur, from inland areas to coastal watersheds to the reefs and surrounding marine environment. Proposals are due April 3, 2002 (no exceptions). Additional information is provided below. For application instructions or other information see http://www.nfwf.org/programs/coralreef.htm or contact Michelle Pico (pico at nfwf.org). _____________________________________________ FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR CORAL REEF CONSERVATION PROJECTS The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is accepting proposals for projects that build public-private partnerships to reduce and prevent degradation of coral reefs and associated reef habitats (e.g. seagrass beds, mangroves etc.). Projects may address causes of coral reef degradation wherever they occur, from inland areas to coastal watersheds to the reefs and surrounding marine environment. Proposals should support partnerships that provide solutions to specific problems to help prevent coral reef degradation through one or more of the following activities: Reducing impacts from pollution and sedimentation; Reducing impacts from over-harvesting and other fishing activities; Reducing impacts of tourism and boating; Restoring damaged reefs; Increasing community awareness through education and stewardship activities. Proposals are due April 3, 2002 (no exceptions). Background Coral reefs and their associated habitats are among the most biologically diverse and complex ecosystems in the world. This incredible diversity supports economies through activities such as tourism, fishing, and pharmaceutical production. Despite their importance, coral reefs are rapidly being degraded and destroyed by a variety of human impacts such as pollution, overfishing, and physical disturbance to the reefs. Priority projects will include those that: 1.Build public-private partnerships, develop innovative partnerships, are community-based, involve multiple stakeholders; 2.Provide solutions to specific problems to reduce and prevent degradation of coral reefs in the above listed areas; 3.Are coordinated and consistent with on-going coral reef conservation initiatives such as International Coral Reef Initiative's Framework for Action and Renewed Call to Action , the U.S. National Action Plan (U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, State and Territorial coral reef management programs, and U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Initiative, as appropriate; 4.Are focused on U.S. domestic, U.S. insular (territorial, commonwealth), Freely Associated States (Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau), Caribbean or Mesoamerican coral reef ecosystems; 5.Address an unmet need that will provide direct benefits to coral reefs; 6.Target a specific audience and address specific threats with a hands-on approach. Awards and Matching Funds Most grants will be between $10,000 and $50,000. The average grant will be approximately $25,000. Proposals should describe projects or progress that can be achieved in a 12 month time period but may be part of a long-term effort. All projects should include matching funding from project partners at a minimum ratio of 1:1 - although leverage ratios of 2:1 are preferred. As most of the grant dollars available for coral conservation will be federal (U.S. Department of Commerce=s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), matching contributions must be from non-federal sources. Eligible Applicants Applications will be accepted from U.S. or international non-profit organizations, academic institutions and government agencies (except U.S. federal agencies). U.S. federal agencies are encouraged to work collaboratively with non-federal project partners. To Apply: Submit application, see below. Electronic versions of the application form for coral reef conservation are available below. Applicants will be notified after August 5th as to the status of their proposal. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation does not anticipate another call for coral reef conservation proposals before January of 2003. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Michelle Pico (pico at nfwf.org). Roger Griffis Policy Advisor National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce Roger Griffis Policy Advisor National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce NOAA/NOS/OCRM 1305 East West Highway Pager: 888-995-4334 Silver Spring Fax: 301-713-4012 MD Work: 301-713-3155x104 20910 USA Additional Information: Last Name Griffis First Name Roger Version 2.1 From tvs at uskonet.com Wed Mar 6 08:57:41 2002 From: tvs at uskonet.com (Tania van Schalkwyk) Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 17:57:41 +0400 Subject: FW: Mauritius: Paradise Lost? Message-ID: Contactez tvs at uskonet.com pour la version francaise de cette petition. ? You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven. And that heaven was copied after Mauritius. ? -Mark Twain, 'Following the Equator', 1897. Mauritius: Paradise Lost? Petition to Save L'ile aux Benitiers. Mauritius, once a tropical rainforest paradise, is fast sinking like Atlantis, under the weight of its concrete jungle. The latest assault on our country comes in the form of plans to develop L'ile aux Benitiers on the southwest coast of Mauritius. The proposed project by Food & Allied Industries Limited (FAIL) would have devastating repercussions on the environmental & sociocultural ecosystems of our island. After having received, as gifts from the state, the most beautiful beaches of the Mauritian coast, leaving a bare minimum of public beaches to the Mauritian public, the 'developers' now want to appropriate themselves of our islets. Even while environmental reports conducted on behalf of the Mauritian government categorically insist on the conservation of islets, and to "restore biodiversity of islets" ( National Environmental Action Plan, 1998 , p.175 "Coastal Zone Management Programme")- Even while the government engages itself to adhere to and apply international conventions on the protection of terrestrial & marine biodiversity- This same government, on the other hand; seems to continue to try and dispose of these islets like sale items at a fleamarket; when their rich biodiversity has not even been properly studied or taken into consideration. L'ile aux Benitiers is unique. It is totally absurd to transform this islet's natural environment into a hotel/residential/camping/etc. project. Such an idea is even counter-productive to the economic welfare of the region: including the fishing & tourist industries. It is blatantly obvious that there will be serious, negative repercussions to the site's fragile ecosystem of marine & terrestrial life, to which l'ile aux Benitiers is crucial . Two examples of the many disastruous & irreversible damages that will be incurred due to an infrastructural development of the islet, are : - The increase in boat traffic & access necessitates sand extraction which leads to a long-lasting degradation of the quality of water and marine life. - Development of and construction on the terrestrial environment necessitates deforestation which leads to soil erosion. And what of the negative sociocultural impacts such development will have on the quiet & peaceful villages of the region( notably La Gaulette) ; an integral part of our Mauritian culture ? - Noise & Light pollution. - An increase in prostitution and delinquency. - Savage development. - The loss of village traditions. Will La Gaulette, Mauritius have to suffer the same fate as Grand Bay or Flic en Flac? Costa del Sol (Spain) or Durban beachfront (South Africa)? NO! WE WILL NOT ACCEPT THE DISFIGUREMENT OF L'ILE AUX BENITIERS. - We therefore categorically oppose ANY DEVELOPMENT, including hotel/residential/golf course/restaurant/recreational/commercial projects, occurring on L'ile aux Benitiers An islet so important to us all: - La Gaulette villagers, Mauritian citizens, foreign tourists, the plant, animal and sea life of Mauritius, the tropical ecosystem of the Indian Ocean and therefore the planet and all its inhabitants. We launch an international appeal for the protection, conservation and restoration of the terrestrial and marine biodiversity of L'ile aux Benitiers. We urge the Mauritian government to review its position and procedures towards the classification of our country's islets. We request L'ile aux Benitiers to be reclassified as a nature reserve. We urgently request the relevant authorities to implement an environmental education & information programme in the region, so that all persons using our islets, beaches and lagoon can do so in a well-informed manner, therefore ensuring responsability towards the social and environmental protection of our coastal heritage. For the Future of Our Children. For the Future of Our Planet. March 2002 Only after the Last Tree has been cut down,Only after the Last River has been poisoned, Only after the Last Fish has been Caught, Only then will you find that Money Cannot be Eaten. -Cree Indian Prophecy **************************************************************************** ************************************************************** Please follow these instructions in order to sign the petition: * Forward this mail to as many people as possible. * Click on the forward icon of your toolbar. * Add the addresses of your contacts in your mail's 'send to' bar. * Scroll down the forwarded message & add your number, name, email (optional) & country to the list (at the very bottom of the mail). * If you are number 30 or higher on the list: - please forward the email & list of names to the following address: tvs at uskonet.com - - and start a new email & list with your name at the top (number 1), then forwarding this new mail to your contacts. Thank you! Collectif pour la Pr?servation de l'?le aux B?nitiers : Komite des Forc Vivs de La Gaulette, Ecosud, Solidarite Anti-Pollution de l'Ouest, et al. Email : tvs at uskonet.com For more information & other ways to help . (1) Tania van Schalkwyk tvs at uskonet.com , Mauritius. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Gregory.Piniak at noaa.gov Wed Mar 6 16:21:52 2002 From: Gregory.Piniak at noaa.gov (Gregory Piniak) Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 16:21:52 -0500 Subject: Coral injury sites Message-ID: Dear coral-listers, We are in the process of adapting a spatially-explicit seagrass recovery model for use in describing and predicting the recovery of damaged coral reefs. We have three main objectives: to establish initial conditions for the model under different injury and reef type scenarios; to select appropriate species to model, based on species composition and recruitment processes; and to begin calibrating the model's recovery response. We will primarily be working with NOAA Sanctuary biologists to base the model on vessel grounding sites in the Florida Keys. However, we are also looking for other sites in Florida or the Caribbean that might provide an opportunity to survey disturbed reefs of known injury age. While the model was initially developed for boat groundings, we are also interested in considering other injuries or pertubations such as hurricanes, bleaching, and oil spills. If any listers can suggest appropriate damaged reefs, please email the reef location, type and date of disturbance, and general site description to Gregory.Piniak at noaa.gov. Thank you for your time and your input. Sincerely, Greg Piniak ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From pacaqts at tm.net.my Wed Mar 6 16:43:24 2002 From: pacaqts at tm.net.my (pacaqts) Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 05:43:24 +0800 Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: Dear Coral - List Members, Though MPAs have a great many benefits with regards to observations , statements in a stack of MPA pubs, etc. - where may I quickly find direct research and studies references that "do the numbers?" The politicians and Gov. economic advisers simply say to us 'Yeah, well good & fine - talk is talk - but show us the figures - where you can prove to us that fisheries stocks are indeed enhanced by MPAs?" I need case examples with those numbers and not just words, observations, and perhaps institutional / academic 'whitewashing'. An example of numbers would be a historical record of past catch landings vs those after the MPA establishment - with direct, verifiable correlation to the MPA of course. Anyone comment on Apo? Any assistance would be well appreciated here. Many thanks, Don Baker Lankayan-Billean-Tegaipil MPA Sabah, Malaysia From adaley at coral.org Wed Mar 6 22:39:48 2002 From: adaley at coral.org (Anita Daley) Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 19:39:48 -0800 Subject: Reefs@Risk Southeast Asia Analysis Announcement Message-ID: Greetings Coral-listers- On behalf of the World Resources Institute and the International Coral Reef Action Network, I am pleased to inform you of the newly released Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia report. The R at R SE Asia report is a publication of the World Resources Institute in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme- World Conservation and Monitoring Centre, the World Fish Center and the International Coral Reef Action Network. Following up the the 1998 global Reefs at Risk analysis, this R at R Southeast Asia is the first in a series of regional analyses. (The next report will focus on the Caribbean). R at R SE Asia evaluates human pressures on coral reefs in the region; integrates available information on coral reef status, protection and management, and economic valuation of coral reefs; and provides a country-by-country analysis of coral reefs across SE Asia. The analysis also includes key recommendations for conserving the reefs in the region. The report can be ordered or downloaded from WRI's website. For more information please visit http://www.wri.org/wri/reefsatrisk/ I've pasted below some key findings from the report for your perusal. Please send inquiries about the report to . Thanks, Anita Daley, International Coral Reef Information Network ****************************************************************** Key findings of reefs at risk in Southeast Asia Source: Reefs at risk in Southeast Asia Biological endowment Southeast Asia contains nearly 100,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, almost 34 percent of the world total. With over 600 of the almost 800 reef-building coral species, these reefs have the highest levels of marine biodiversity on earth. Southeast Asia is also the global center of biodiversity for coral reef fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. The region also contains 51 of the world's 70 mangrove species and 23 of the 50 seagrass species. Economic value The economic value associated with coral reefs in Southeast Asia is substantial. The value of the region's sustainable coral reef fisheries alone is US$2.4 billion per year. In addition, coral reefs are vital to food security, employment, tourism, pharmaceutical research, and shoreline protection. The coral reefs of Indonesia and the Philippines provide annual economic benefits estimated at US$1.6 billion and US$1.1 billion per year, respectively. Threats to reefs The heavy reliance on marine resources across Southeast Asia has resulted in the overexploitation and degradation of many coral reefs, particularly those near major population centers. The main threats include overfishing, destructive fishing practices, and sedimentation and pollution from land-based sources. Human activities now threaten an estimated 88 percent of Southeast Asia's coral reefs, jeopardizing their biological and economic value to society. For 50 percent of these reefs, the level of threat is "high" or "very high." Only 12 percent of reefs are at low risk. The Reefs at Risk project estimates that about 64 percent of the region's reefs are threatened by overfishing, and 56 percent are threatened by destructive fishing techniques. In addition, dredging, landfilling, mining of sand and coral, coastal construction, discharge of sewage and other activities associated with coastal development threaten about 25 percent of the region's coral reefs. Sediment and pollution from deforestation and agricultural activities threaten an estimated 20 percent of the region's reefs. Over 90 percent of the coral reefs in Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, and the Spratly Islands are threatened, and over 85 percent of the reefs of Malaysia and Indonesia are threatened. Indonesia and the Philippines together possess 77 percent of the region's coral reefs and nearly 80 percent of all threatened reefs in the region. Logging, destructive fishing practices, overfishing, and other activities that are damaging to coral reefs may be lucrative to individuals in the short-term. However, the net economic losses to society from diminished coastal protection, tourism and sustainable fisheries usually outweigh the short-term benefits. Over a 20-year period, current levels of blast fishing, overfishing, and sedimentation could cost Indonesia and the Philippines more than US$ 2.6 billion and US$ 2.5 billion, respectively. Global climate change is also a significant threat to coral reefs in Southeast Asia. Elevated sea-surface temperatures have resulted in more severe and more frequent coral bleaching. The 1997-98 El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event triggered the largest worldwide coral bleaching event ever recorded. In Southeast Asia, an estimated 18 percent of the region's coral reefs were damaged or destroyed. Management Effective management is key to maintaining coastal resources, but, is inadequate across much of the region. Some 646 marine protected areas (MPAs) cover an estimated 8 percent of the coral reefs. Of the 332 MPAs whose management effectiveness could be determined, only 14 percent were rated as effectively managed, 48 percent have partially effective management, and 38 percent have inadequate management. The lack of information Despite widespread recognition that coral reefs are severely threatened, information about the status and nature of the threats to specific reef areas is limited. This lack of information inhibits effective decisionmaking concerning coastal resources. The Reefs at Risk project was developed to address this deficiency by creating standardized indicators that raise awareness about threats to coral reefs and to highlight the linkages between human activity and coral reef condition. ___________________________________________________________ Anita Daley International Coral Reef Information Network Manager The Coral Reef Alliance 2014 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 848-0110 ext. 313 (510) 848-3720 fax http://www.coral.org "Working together to keep coral reefs alive." ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From T.Gardner at uea.ac.uk Thu Mar 7 08:31:17 2002 From: T.Gardner at uea.ac.uk (Toby Gardner) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 13:31:17 +0000 (GMT Standard Time) Subject: Hurricanes Message-ID: Dear All, I am undertaking a meta-anlaysis of the effects of hurricanes on the coral reefs of the wider Caribbean basin, for my MSc research degree. My primary research aim is "To quantitatively synthesise studies reporting the effect of tropical storms and hurricanes on the coral reefs of the Caribbean basin in order to evaluate the variability in observed effects between different species groups, and between different background environmental characteristics" The value of this study will hopefully come from (1) elucidating the variability in effect size amongst major functional groups, (2) explaining the variation in effect size with respect to confounding human-induced stresses such as overfishing, sedimentation etc, (3) examine whether effect sizes characteristic of different reef attributes are cumulative over time. A great number of you have already offered invaluable assistance in this research, for which I cannot thank you enough. If anyone whom I have not yet contacted directly feels they can help with any of; scientific comment and advice, data sources and possibilities of collaboration, or knowledge of other research groups or individuals whom I should contact I would be very appreciative indeed. I can provide a detailed research proposal (12 pages - that has been approved for funding), to anyone who feels they may be able to help but would require more information. I will be in the Caribbean from early April until Ealry June (Miami, Puerto Rico, USVI, Jamaica) Many thanks for your time in reading this Toby Toby Gardner Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation School of Biological Sciences University East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ Tel: 01603 610340 Email: t.gardner at uea.ac.uk ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From emueller at mote.org Thu Mar 7 09:20:01 2002 From: emueller at mote.org (Erich Mueller) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 09:20:01 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time) Subject: Would clonal coral lines help your research? Message-ID: Dear All, We have been culturing a variety of Caribbean scleractinians and some gorgonians for use in our physiological and reef restoration research for some years. I have been approached on numerous occasions about providing corals to other researchers but have not had the capacity to do so. There are also factors relating to legal restrictions on these species. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in using genetically- defined (with respect to the host) coral lines. With a background in biomedical sciences, I have long felt that the lack of such model coral systems has been a major impediment to our understanding of basic physiology and how environmental factors, including disease, affect coral health. I am preparing proposals to increase our culture capacity in order to provide several genotypes of several coral species to the research community. If clonal coral lines (Atlantic species only) would be of value to your work, I would very much appreciate a brief letter of interest and support. If you have a few extra minutes (I'm not sure that anyone does, but..), any information about how coral lines would help your research and suggestions for species would be appreciated. One possible funding source is NSF so if your work has been, or is, supported by NSF, mention of that would also help. Please send letters to the address below and I thank you for considering this request. E. Mueller <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Erich Mueller, Ph.D., Director Phone: (305) 745-2729 Mote Marine Laboratory FAX: (305) 745-2730 Center for Tropical Research Email: emueller at mote.org 24244 Overseas Highway (US 1) Summerland Key, FL 33042 Center Website-> http://www.mote.org/~emueller/CTRHome.phtml Mote Marine Laboratory Website-> http://www.mote.org Remarks are personal opinion and do not reflect institutional policy unless so indicated. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Thu Mar 7 14:57:56 2002 From: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu (John McManus) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 14:57:56 -0500 Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: There are several papers now that show increases in stock and catch when an MPA has been established. The effect is most clear when the reserve is in the midst of very heavily overfished areas -- any protection then usually results in dramatic benefits. One or two studies that showed little or no positive impacts have been from areas such as the GBR where fishing pressure is not nearly as high. See papers by Angel Alcala, Gary Russ and Robert Pomeroy (Masinloc) for starters. Cheers! John _________________________________________________________ John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida 33149. jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tel. (305) 361-4814 Fax (305) 361-4910 www.ncoremiami.org From SWhitcraft at kirc.state.hi.us Thu Mar 7 16:06:06 2002 From: SWhitcraft at kirc.state.hi.us (Samantha . Whitcraft) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 11:06:06 -1000 Subject: FW: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: FYI...original reply sent directly to Don Baker's inquiry... -----Original Message----- From: Samantha . Whitcraft Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 12:56 PM To: 'pacaqts' Subject: RE: MPA Benefits - In Numbers See Roberts, Callum M. et al. "Effects of Marine Reserves on Adjacent Fisheries" in Science Volume 294 November 2001 An excellent article that "confirms theoretical predictions that marine reserves can play a key role in supporting fisheries." Science p. 1920 Hope that helps. Aloha, Sam Ocean Program Manager Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Wailuku HI 96793 ph. 808-243-5889 fx. 808-243-5885 pg. 297-1917 www.state.hi.us/kirc ____________________________________________ E lawe i ke a'o a malama, a e 'oi mau ka na'auao. (He who takes his teachings and applies them increases his knowledge.) From LESSIOSH at naos.si.edu Thu Mar 7 16:14:05 2002 From: LESSIOSH at naos.si.edu (Harilaos Lessios) Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 16:14:05 -0500 Subject: Sea urchin mortality at the Johnson Atoll Message-ID: Lindsey Hays, the refuge manager at the Johnson Atoll, reports widespread mortality of Echinothrix (and maybe Diadema as well) all around the Atoll. It seems that most of the sea urchins got sick and died rapidly. He is making efforts to collect samples, so that the pathogens and the hosts can be identified. This may turn out to be a localized phenomenon, but this is what we initially thought about the Diadema mortality in the Caribbean as well. Just in case it spreads, it would be very useful for people in other areas in the Pacific (particularly Hawaii and the Marshall Islands) to be ready for it. Surveys to determine population density of Echinothrix and Diadema done now in unaffected areas can provide data that will become extremely valuable. It would also be a good idea to know ahead of time what to do if the mortality should appear elsewhere. It is all common sense, but when things are happening in a hurry, it is good to have a list. If you notice sick or dying sea urchins anywhere in the central Pacific: 1.Note the date of the observation, and also note the date that populations were last seen to be healthy. 2. Collect specimens. Some should be kept in 95% ethanol, some in 5% formaldehyde, some frozen and (if possible) some should be cooled down on ice for fast shipment to a microbiologist. 3. If there are still healthy-looking animals around, collect some of these too, so that their bacterial fauna can be compared with that of the sick ones. 4. If you have the time and the inclination, mark areas where the mortality is occurring and areas where it does not seam to have reached yet. Then monitor these areas by counting numbers of healthy, sick and dead animals. 5. Keep looking, even after the time that it seems that all the Echinothrix is dead. You may notice new ones emerging after a while (it happened with Diadema antillarum). 6. Don't expect the tests to stay around for very long. They break down to unrecognizable ossicles in a matter of days (parrot fish may help). I hope that none of this will be necessary, because whatever is killing the sea urchins at the Johnson Atoll will remain there. Lindsay Hayes did a great job of contacting people as soon as he realized that something was amiss. I wanted to spread the world around more widely in case things get worse. Haris Lessios **************************** H.A. Lessios Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa, Panama Telephone: +507/212-8708 Fax: +507/212-8790 or 212-8791 >From the US (domestic call): 202/786-2099 x 8708 Mail address: >From the USA: Unit 0948 APO AA 34002-0948 >From elsewhere: Box 2072 Balboa, Panama ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From sale at server.uwindsor.ca Thu Mar 7 16:30:57 2002 From: sale at server.uwindsor.ca (Sale Peter) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 16:30:57 -0500 Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: Be careful. There are lots of papers that show an increase in stock within the reserve, and many that claim an increase in fishery yield. But I do not believe there are any papers that demonstrate convincingly that an MPA has enhanced yield in the non-protected, fished area around it to an extent that exceeds the potential loss to the fishery by creating the reserve, and removing that (reserve) area from the former fishing grounds. Reserves PROBABLY enhance fisheries, but the data are not yet in. Garry Russ may be able to amplify this (or correct it). Peter Sale ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Craig.Bonn at noaa.gov Thu Mar 7 16:32:41 2002 From: Craig.Bonn at noaa.gov (Craig Bonn) Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 16:32:41 -0500 Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: There is an area near Cape Canaveral, Florida that has been closed to fishing for years though is not officially what you would call an MPA, simply access has been denied due to proximity to the cape or something. Anyway, along that boundary world- record trophy fish are being caught for several species and I believe that has been attributed to the closure of the area and to spillover. I cant recall the author's name of the paper but perhaps someone else can. As far as historical catch records from the same area, I dont know if they are available or not. Im sure someone can help you out on this. Craig John McManus wrote: > There are several papers now that show increases in stock and catch when > an MPA has been established. The effect is most clear when the reserve is > in the midst of very heavily overfished areas -- any protection then > usually results in dramatic benefits. One or two studies that showed > little or no positive impacts have been from areas such as the GBR where > fishing pressure is not nearly as high. See papers by Angel Alcala, Gary > Russ and Robert Pomeroy (Masinloc) for starters.Cheers! > > John > > _________________________________________________________ > > John W. McManus, PhD > Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) > Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) > University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway > Miami, Florida 33149. > jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu > Tel. (305) 361-4814 > Fax (305) 361-4910 > www.ncoremiami.org > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > [mailto:owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov]On Behalf Of > pacaqts > Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 4:43 PM > To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers > > Dear Coral - List Members, Though MPAs have a great many > benefits with regards to observations , statements in a stack of > MPA pubs, etc. - where may I quickly find direct research and > studies references that "do the numbers?" The politicians and > Gov. economic advisers simply say to us 'Yeah, well good & fine > - talk is talk - but show us the figures - where you can prove > to us that fisheries stocks are indeed enhanced by MPAs?" I need > case examples with those numbers and not just words, > observations, and perhaps institutional / academic > 'whitewashing'. An example of numbers would be a historical > record of past catch landings vs those after the MPA > establishment - with direct, verifiable correlation to the MPA > of course. Anyone comment on Apo? Any assistance would be well > appreciated here. Many thanks,Don BakerLankayan-Billean-Tegaipil > MPASabah, Malaysia > Biological Science Technician (Fisheries) NOAA/NOS Beaufort Lab Biological Science Technician (Fisheries) NOAA/NOS Beaufort Lab 101 Pivers Island Road Cellular: 252-725-4794 Beaufort Fax: 252-728-8740 North Carolina Work: 252-728-8777 28512 Additional Information: Last Name Bonn First Name Craig Version 2.1 From z_sary at yahoo.co.uk Thu Mar 7 17:40:19 2002 From: z_sary at yahoo.co.uk (Zsolt Sary) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 22:40:19 +0000 (GMT) Subject: FW: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: I too was under the impression that little direct evidence exists to show that fishers can recover in increased catches what they give up in reduced fishing gounds. So I would be interested to see what evidence Callum presents to confirm those theoretical predictions. Is the article available in PDF format somewhere? Thanks, Zsolt Sary ARC Environmental Ltd. Kamloops, BC Canada --- "Samantha . Whitcraft" wrote: > FYI...original reply sent directly to Don Baker's > inquiry... > > -----Original Message----- > From: Samantha . Whitcraft > Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 12:56 PM > To: 'pacaqts' > Subject: RE: MPA Benefits - In Numbers > > > See Roberts, Callum M. et al. "Effects of Marine > Reserves on Adjacent > Fisheries" in Science Volume 294 November 2001 > > An excellent article that "confirms theoretical > predictions that marine > reserves can play a key role in supporting > fisheries." Science p. 1920 > > Hope that helps. > > Aloha, > Sam > > Ocean Program Manager > Kaho'olawe Island Reserve > Wailuku HI 96793 > ph. 808-243-5889 > fx. 808-243-5885 > pg. 297-1917 > www.state.hi.us/kirc > ____________________________________________ > E lawe i ke a'o a malama, a e 'oi mau ka na'auao. > (He who takes his > teachings and applies them increases his knowledge.) > > > -----Original Message----- > From: pacaqts [mailto:pacaqts at tm.net.my] > Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 11:43 AM > To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers > > > Dear Coral - List Members, > > Though MPAs have a great many benefits with regards > to observations , > statements in a stack of MPA pubs, etc. - where may > I quickly find direct > research and studies references that "do the > numbers?" The politicians and > Gov. economic advisers simply say to us 'Yeah, well > good & fine - talk is > talk - but show us the figures - where you can prove > to us that fisheries > stocks are indeed enhanced by MPAs?" > > I need case examples with those numbers and not just > words, observations, > and perhaps institutional / academic 'whitewashing'. > An example of numbers > would be a historical record of past catch landings > vs those after the MPA > establishment - with direct, verifiable correlation > to the MPA of course. > Anyone comment on Apo? > > Any assistance would be well appreciated here. > > Many thanks, > Don Baker > Lankayan-Billean-Tegaipil MPA > Sabah, Malaysia > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Everything you'll ever need on one web page from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts http://uk.my.yahoo.com ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Thu Mar 7 18:25:28 2002 From: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu (John McManus) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 18:25:28 -0500 Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: The series of Alcala and Russ papers on Sumilon Island did not start before the reserve was in place. However, the studies went through a period in which fishing was permitted and then banned again. They showed that the reserve had substantially more fish (like double?) as a reserve than when it was not. They also showed that the loss of 20% of the fishing ground to non-fishing status was more than made up for by the increased fishing catch. The full story is across a string of papers in the ecological and fisheries literature, plus a summary in Naga. There are also good success stories being written up about the Apo reef reserve. Bob Pomeroy, in a talk before the USCRTF last December, reported that coral cover had doubled and fish abundances had increased ten-fold over a ten year period following the establishment of the reserve in Masinloc, Philippines. That is entirely believable, given that our studies in Bolinao just up the coast showed that overall fish abundances were fished down to between 1/10th and 1/100th of less fished reefs, and the coral cover was severely reduced by blast fishing. Again, I stress that the worse the overall situation before the reserve, the more likely a little protection is going to show remarkable results. Note that we are also talking about reefs that did not phase shift entirely to algal dominance, which would have reduced the positive effects of the reserves substantially. Cheers! John _________________________________________________________ John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida 33149. jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tel. (305) 361-4814 Fax (305) 361-4910 www.ncoremiami.org -----Original Message----- From: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov]On Behalf Of Sale Peter Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 4:31 PM To: John McManus Cc: pacaqts; coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov Subject: RE: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Be careful. There are lots of papers that show an increase in stock within the reserve, and many that claim an increase in fishery yield. But I do not believe there are any papers that demonstrate convincingly that an MPA has enhanced yield in the non-protected, fished area around it to an extent that exceeds the potential loss to the fishery by creating the reserve, and removing that (reserve) area from the former fishing grounds. Reserves PROBABLY enhance fisheries, but the data are not yet in. Garry Russ may be able to amplify this (or correct it). Peter Sale ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From mtupper at guam.uog.edu Thu Mar 7 18:53:02 2002 From: mtupper at guam.uog.edu (Mark Tupper) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 09:53:02 +1000 Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: Don, By MPAs "enhancing fisheries stocks", I presume you mean increasing catches to the point that the loss of fishing grounds is mitigated for, which is the true test of whether or not an MPA actually enhances fisheries. There are very few studies that have directly tested the role of MPAs in enhancing fishery yields, but here are some useful references: McClanahan TR, Kaunda-Arara B 1996. Fishery recovery in a coral-reef park and its effect on the adjacent fishery. McClanahan TR, Mangi S. 2000. Spillover of fishes from a marine park and its effect on the adjacent fishery. Both studies found evidence of spillover and increased CPUE/catch per unit area from marine parks in Kenya, but concluded that "the catch per area increase was insufficient to compensate for the lost area over this early period of the park's establishment." Roberts CM, Bohnsack JA, Gell F, Hawkins JP, Goodridge R. 2001. Effects of marine reserves on adjacent fisheries. Science 294: 1920. (also see responses to this article published in the Feb 15th issue of Science, vol 295, page 1733.) Roberts et al found fishery-wide increases in catch per unit effort three to five years after reserve implementation (CPUE dropped in the first two years as fishing effort was concentrated into a smaller area). Outside of the coral reef realm, there is strong evidence that the temporary closure of the groundfish fishery on Georges Bank (NW Atlantic) greatly increased spawning biomass of sea scallops. Go to www.seascallop.com and click on "Closed Area Fishery". Given that there are probably a couple of thousand MPAs in existence at this point, there is precious little evidence to suggest that they can provide the level of fisheries benefits claimed by many scientists. However, the fact that most MPAs have failed to meet their management objectives is most likely due to problems in their management (lack of institutional or community capacity, poor enforcement, insufficient funding, lack of technical expertise, etc.), as opposed to MPAs "not working" in a purely ecological sense. Furthermore, even if they were managed effectively, many MPAs are probably too new to show significant fisheries benefits. You might want to read the following: Alder J. 1996. Have tropical marine protected areas worked? An initial analysis of their success. Coastal Management 24: 97-114. McClanahan TR. 1999. Is there a future for coral reef parks in poor tropical countries? Coral Reefs 18: 321-325. In summary, there is very little direct evidence that "fisheries stocks are enhanced by MPAs". This is for a number of reasons, including the following: 1. Studies directly testing the effects of MPAs on fisheries yields have rarely been conducted or are not yet published. 2. Most MPAs are not sufficiently well-managed (i.e. they are "paper parks" lacking enforcement, funding etc.) or are not old enough to meet their fisheries objectives. Cheers and good luck with politicians etc., Dr. Mark Tupper, Assistant Professor University of Guam Marine Laboratory UOG Station, Mangilao Guam 96923, USA Tel. 671-735-2185; Fax 671-734-6767 Coordinator, Marine Protected Areas Research Group http://www.uog.edu/marinelab/mpa/index.html From jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Thu Mar 7 21:19:41 2002 From: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu (John McManus) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 21:19:41 -0500 Subject: MPAs -- Wrong null hypothesis? Message-ID: I have long been puzzled by the resistance to MPAs found among some scientists. It seems to me to be intuitively clear that if you fish heavily, stocks will decline, and if you stop fishing, and have not irreversibly altered the habitat, stocks should increase. I have certainly seen no reasonable evidence that this is not the case. I suggest that we have been using the wrong null hypothesis. We have been treating the reserve as if it were a "treatment", when in fact, it is the lack of, or removal of, a treatment (fishing pressure). The null hypothesis should be that a reduction in fishing pressure should lead over time to a return toward (if not to) natural abundances of fish. The alternative hypothesis, and the one that should carry the burden of proof, is that reducing fishing pressure does NOT result in a return toward natural levels of abundance. Where the alternative turns out to be true, one should investigate why it was true. Was it because the habitat had not yet returned to reasonable normalcy? Is the result likely to be because the study period was too short? Or, is it truly because reducing fishing pressure does not generally result in increases in fish abundance. The labeling is mostly important because most scientists are deeply concerned about reducing Type I error (the chance that you say something is true that is not), and pay little heed to Type II error (the chance that you say something is not true when it is). The error should relate to the alternate hypothesis, and the null hypothesis should be accepted in the absence of sufficient evidence that the alternative is true. Thus, the null hypothesis is that which arises most naturally from simple common sense, and the alternative is the challenge to that logic. If we construct tests of high power, lots of sample units, long time frames, etc., then we minimize Type II error, and the designation of hypotheses is not as important. However, the fact is that exceedingly few studies of MPAs have been conducted in such a way as to minimize Type II error. And, because of our arrangement of hypotheses, we have encouraged stakeholders and managers to wait around while we challenge a null hypothesis that heavy fishing is generally completely irreversible and thus reserves are useless. I also propose that we keep separate the question of the increase of fish catch balancing out the loss of fishing grounds. Obviously, this depends greatly on how much fishing ground is being lost, how much the fish populations had been reduced around the reserve, as well as factors such as the mobility of fish in and out of the reserve. This is thus a question of design -- how big, what shape, etc., and not one of "are MPAs effective or not". I know of many tens of small reserves, on the order of 1/4th to 2 sq. km, that have been put in by coastal communities in heavily fished areas, and have not heard of any that resulted in people complaining that the reserve did not increase in fish abundance. Rather, there are many cases of fishers fishing preferentially around the edges of these reserves, indicating that abundances are indeed higher in the reserves. So, "do the reserves gain more fish compared to heavily fished areas nearby of similar habitat type?" -- in all the cases I know of, published or unpublished, the answer is yes. "Did the reserve's output make up for the loss in fishing ground?" -- that would depend entirely on local circumstances. And, evaluating "making up for" should generally include weighing nonfishery benefits into the equation. I suggest that we stop worrying about "are reserves effective?" until strong evidence shows that most of them (with real fishing exclusions) are not. Instead, we should focus on how big, what shape, where, etc. Cheers! John _________________________________________________________ John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida 33149. jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tel. (305) 361-4814 Fax (305) 361-4910 www.ncoremiami.org ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From mtupper at guam.uog.edu Thu Mar 7 23:49:11 2002 From: mtupper at guam.uog.edu (Mark Tupper) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 14:49:11 +1000 Subject: Fw: MPAs -- Wrong null hypothesis? Message-ID: John McManus wrote: > I suggest that we stop worrying about "are reserves effective?" until > strong evidence shows that most of them (with real fishing exclusions) are not. > Instead, we should focus on how big, what shape, where, etc. I understand and agree with the thrust of John's message. I think there is ample evidence to show that reserves CAN be effective, given sufficient management and funding capacity and adequate design (e.g. reserves large enough to encompass target species home range, etc.). I have no doubt that significant reductions in fishing pressure will help fish populations to rebound. However, asking whether reserves ARE effective is a different question altogether. So far, broad scale assessments of MPAs have indicated that most of them do not meet their management objectives. This is in many (most?) cases not a question of biology or ecology but one of politics and economics. It's fine to say that a reserve needs to be this big or that shape to enhance fisheries, but getting all stakeholders to agree on MPA specifics is often impossible, and hammering MPA plans past objecting resource users will always lead to poor compliance. Before I ramble any further, I'll try to sum this up succinctly. Most MPAs are basically "paper parks" that do not meet their resource management goals. This fact has little to do with the ecological effects of protective management on fish production, but is based mainly on institutional and community capacity to properly manage MPAs. Thus, the proper question is not "are MPAs effective", but "can MPAs be effectively managed for a given community or fishery". I would submit that the answer to that question is likely to be location and/or fishery-dependent. Cheers, Mark Tupper Dr. Mark Tupper, Assistant Professor University of Guam Marine Laboratory UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923, USA Tel. 671-735-2185; Fax 671-734-6767 Coordinator, Marine Protected Areas Research Group http://www.uog.edu/marinelab/mpa/index.html ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From pacaqts at tm.net.my Fri Mar 8 06:57:10 2002 From: pacaqts at tm.net.my (pacaqts) Date: Fri, 08 Mar 2002 19:57:10 +0800 Subject: Many Thanks to All / MPA & Numbers Message-ID: Dear Coral-Lers, Many thanks to the quick replies and references. Fyi. We are finalizing a MPA here in Sabah - NE of Sandakan. But the Sabah State Gov wants the 'numbers.' Yes, typically they are the 'politicians' - based from a 'rice-bowl' syndrome that is difficult to convince on just 'institutional / academic 'heresay [their words].'' And typically business & science often does not mix well. Cheers to all, Don Baker LBT-MPA Sandakan, Sabah Malaysia From marionh at coralina.org Fri Mar 8 08:02:08 2002 From: marionh at coralina.org (Marion Howard) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 08:02:08 -0500 Subject: RV: article, "Study makes case for marine reserves" 11-30-01 Message-ID: For Don Baker, Here is a useful Caribbean study. Regards, Marion Howard > >Subject: article, "Study makes case for marine reserves" 11-30-01 > > > >> http://www.msnbc.com/news/665222.asp#BODY >> >> Study makes case for marine reserves >> Fishermen benefit by giving young fish a place to grow >> >> >> ASSOCIATED PRESS >> >> Nov. 30 - Fishermen haul in more and bigger catches when there is a marine >> reserve nearby that provides a safe haven for young fish, a new study >> suggests. In a study appearing in the journal Science, researchers report >> that the catch of fishermen in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia increased >> by 46 to 90 percent within five years after officials closed more than a >> third of the fishing grounds to fishing. >> A FLORIDA refuge, created to provide security for the nation's major >> space launch facility, has led to the development of fishing grounds which >> have produced a series of world records for trophy-sized fish, the study >> found. >> "Having a protected area near fishing grounds allows the fish to >> increase in both size and quantity," said James Bohnsack, a researcher for >> the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a co-author of the >> study. >> >> REAL-WORLD CASE >> Bohnsack said that the government created an estuarine sanctuary, >> called the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, in 1962 to provide >> security for the nearby Kennedy Space Center, the launch port for the >> nation's manned space program. >> Advertisement >> Within a decade, he said, sport fishermen started noticing they >were >> catching more and bigger black drum, red drum and sea trout. Bohnsack said >> that more world record-sized fish of the three species have now been >caught >> within 62 miles of the reserve than in all the other Florida waters >> combined. >> He said that having a reserve nearby allowed the black drum, which >> can live for more than 70 years, to grow to their full size of more than >100 >> pounds. When there was no such protected area, the fish were more apt to >be >> caught at a younger age, said Bohnsack. >> Bigger fish also means more fish, he said. Large fish tend to lay >> more eggs than smaller ones. This increases the numbers in the next >> generation. >> >> CARIBBEAN EXAMPLE >> In St. Lucia, the study says that local subsistence fishermen >> resisted plans to close 35 percent of the coral reef fishing grounds, but >> the government did so anyway. >> For two years, the total catch was severely reduced, the study >found. >> But within five years, the catch had soared. Now fishermen are proposing >> that the fishing reserve be expanded. >> "Marine reserves are like money in the bank for fishers," a >co-author >> of the study, Fiona Gell of the University of York, said in a statement. >> "They protect breeding stocks and supply adjacent fisheries with young >> fish." >> She said the study shows that fish increase in number and size when >> they have a refuge nearby where no fishing is allowed. >> "If you want to keep a population going, you have to provide safe >> havens where fish and their habitats can flourish," said Gell. >> >> Background on the study is online at >www.seaweb.org/ScienceNovember30.html. >> >> >> >> >> >> > > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From marionh at coralina.org Fri Mar 8 11:39:23 2002 From: marionh at coralina.org (Marion Howard) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 16:39:23 GMT Subject: RV: article, "Study makes case for marine reserves" Message-ID: 11-30-01 Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 11:37:12 -0500 Sender: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Jim Hendee and Don Baker, Sorry - I didn't check the web sites again before I posted this. Apparently the first one listed is dead but the second one, Sea Web, is active. It has a link to Science and other potentially useful references. Also see the article from MPA News copied below: *** Citing Benefits of No-Take Areas, Scientists Call for New Networks of Marine Reserves *** There is now compelling scientific evidence that no-take areas -- or marine reserves -- conserve both biodiversity and fisheries, and could help replenish depleted fish stocks, according to a consensus statement signed by 160 marine-science academics from around the world. Released February 17 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the statement is the culmination of a three-year, international effort to advance scientific understanding of marine reserves. "All around the world there are different experiences, but the basic message is the same: marine reserves work, and they work fast," said Jane Lubchenco (Oregon State University, USA), a past president of AAAS and a leader of the three-year effort. "It is no longer a question of whether to set aside fully protected areas in the ocean, but where to establish them." The consensus statement recommends that marine resource managers use reserves as a "central management tool" for achieving long-term fishery and conservation benefits. It concludes that networks of reserves, rather than isolated single reserves, will be necessary to buffer against environmental variability and catastrophes. * Increases in population density, biomass * The academic effort to develop a better scientific understanding of marine reserves grew out of the 1997 AAAS meeting, where scientists reviewed the state of the oceans and identified research priorities. Following that meeting, several researchers formed a team, based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (University of California, Santa Barbara), to examine the effects of reserves on fish populations. The team's study of more than 100 reserves from around the world indicated that after one to two years of protection, these reserves averaged a 91% increase in population density, 192% increase in biomass, and 23% increase in species diversity as compared to reference sites. The consensus statement also noted that in the few studies that have examined the effects of reserves on fish populations in adjacent waters, the size and abundance of exploited species has increased. "The results are startling and consistent," said Robert Warner of the University of California, Santa Barbara, a leader of the academic effort. The consensus statement follows the release last November of another document from scientists in support of marine reserves. A committee of the US National Research Council (NRC) released a 150-page report urging marine resource managers to increase their use of marine reserves as a supplement to conventional management tools (MPA News 2:5). The report, Marine Protected Areas: Tools for Sustaining Ocean Ecosystems, assessed the scientific basis of techniques for locating, designing, and implementing reserves. Megan Dethier (University of Washington, US), who assisted with the first draft of the consensus statement, said the statement's brevity -- three pages -- reflected its intended purpose. "We wanted to make a [statement] that was short and direct enough to be readily usable by the press, NGOs, etc., to help 'spread the word', rather than a complex scientific document that would not be 'picked up' in the way that this one clearly has been," said Dethier. For more information: Jane Lubchenco, Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Tel: +1 541 737 5337; E-mail: lubchenj at bcc.orst.edu. Robert Warner, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Tel: +1 805 893 2941; E-mail: warner at lifesci.ucsb.edu. _______________ * BOX: Consensus statement is online * An electronic version of the consensus statement on marine reserves is available online at the following websites: http://www.compassonline.org/frame.html or http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/Consensus _______________ * BOX: Conclusions of the Consensus Statement * - Reserves conserve both fisheries and biodiversity. - To meet goals for fisheries and biodiversity conservation, reserves must encompass the diversity of marine habitats. - Reserves are the best way to protect resident species and provide heritage protection to important habitats. - Reserves must be established and operated in the context of other management tools. - Reserves need a dedicated program to monitor and evaluate their impacts both within and outside their boundaries. - Reserves provide a critical benchmark for the evaluation of threats to ocean communities. - Networks of reserves will be necessary for long-term fishery and conservation benefits. - Existing scientific information justifies the immediate application of fully protected marine reserves as a central management tool. >From "Scientific Consensus Statement on Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas," released February 17 at the 2001 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), San Francisco, California, USA. _______________ _______________ For anyone who works with or is interested in MPAs and doesn't receive this excellent newsletter, please see subscription information below: "For a free subscription, send an e-mail message to mpanews at u.washington.edu. Please type "subscribe" on the subject line, and include your name, mailing address, and daytime phone number in the text of the message. Also, please note whether you would like your subscription to be delivered electronically or in paper format." Marion -----Original Message----- De: Jim Hendee Para: Marion Howard Fecha: Viernes 8 de Marzo de 2002 08:50 AM Asunto: Re: RV: article, "Study makes case for marine reserves" 11-30-01 >Unfortunately, that link seems to be a dead one, at least for me... > >Marion Howard wrote: > >> For Don Baker, >> >> Here is a useful Caribbean study. >> >> Regards, >> Marion Howard >> >> > >> >Subject: article, "Study makes case for marine reserves" 11-30-01 >> > >> > >> > >> >> http://www.msnbc.com/news/665222.asp#BODY >> >> >> >> Study makes case for marine reserves >> >> Fishermen benefit by giving young fish a place to grow >> >> >> >> >> >> ASSOCIATED PRESS >> >> >> >> Nov. 30 - Fishermen haul in more and bigger catches when there is a >> marine >> >> reserve nearby that provides a safe haven for young fish, a new study >> >> suggests. In a study appearing in the journal Science, researchers report >> >> that the catch of fishermen in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia >> increased >> >> by 46 to 90 percent within five years after officials closed more than a >> >> third of the fishing grounds to fishing. >> >> A FLORIDA refuge, created to provide security for the nation's major >> >> space launch facility, has led to the development of fishing grounds >> which >> >> have produced a series of world records for trophy-sized fish, the study >> >> found. >> >> "Having a protected area near fishing grounds allows the fish to >> >> increase in both size and quantity," said James Bohnsack, a researcher >> for >> >> the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a co-author of >> the >> >> study. >> >> >> >> REAL-WORLD CASE >> >> Bohnsack said that the government created an estuarine sanctuary, >> >> called the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, in 1962 to provide >> >> security for the nearby Kennedy Space Center, the launch port for the >> >> nation's manned space program. >> >> Advertisement >> >> Within a decade, he said, sport fishermen started noticing they >> >were >> >> catching more and bigger black drum, red drum and sea trout. Bohnsack >> said >> >> that more world record-sized fish of the three species have now been >> >caught >> >> within 62 miles of the reserve than in all the other Florida waters >> >> combined. >> >> He said that having a reserve nearby allowed the black drum, which >> >> can live for more than 70 years, to grow to their full size of more than >> >100 >> >> pounds. When there was no such protected area, the fish were more apt to >> >be >> >> caught at a younger age, said Bohnsack. >> >> Bigger fish also means more fish, he said. Large fish tend to lay >> >> more eggs than smaller ones. This increases the numbers in the next >> >> generation. >> >> >> >> CARIBBEAN EXAMPLE >> >> In St. Lucia, the study says that local subsistence fishermen >> >> resisted plans to close 35 percent of the coral reef fishing grounds, but >> >> the government did so anyway. >> >> For two years, the total catch was severely reduced, the study >> >found. >> >> But within five years, the catch had soared. Now fishermen are proposing >> >> that the fishing reserve be expanded. >> >> "Marine reserves are like money in the bank for fishers," a >> >co-author >> >> of the study, Fiona Gell of the University of York, said in a statement. >> >> "They protect breeding stocks and supply adjacent fisheries with young >> >> fish." >> >> She said the study shows that fish increase in number and size >> when >> >> they have a refuge nearby where no fishing is allowed. >> >> "If you want to keep a population going, you have to provide safe >> >> havens where fish and their habitats can flourish," said Gell. >> >> >> >> Background on the study is online at >> >www.seaweb.org/ScienceNovember30.html. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > >> > >> ~~~~~~~ >> For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the >> digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the >> menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From kamlaruby at intnet.mu Fri Mar 8 11:54:06 2002 From: kamlaruby at intnet.mu (Ruby Moothien Pillay) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 20:54:06 +0400 Subject: Devastation of fauna.High SST/solar radiation??? Message-ID: Dear coral listers Something strange happened to one of our study sites recently on the eastern coast of the island. In fact we noticed at one of our shallowest monitoring station (approx.1metre) that most of the tabular corals had bleached completely and died and also most adult eels,holothurians, octopus, juvenile fish and crustaceans and so on had died and were either floating to the surface or lying on the sea bed. The striking thing was the absence of alive/dead large sized fishes. However, only Stegastes spp. were alive among the branching corals. Can a sudden rise in SST or solar radiation or both cause such devastation of the fauna?does this explain the absence of large fish which might had had time to swim away???But why were Stegastes spp. so resistant?We have excluded things like illegal fishing (poisons etc ) as this is most improbable as we noticed that most foliose Montiporas within that site and corals (even tabular ) at a nearby relatively deeper site (1.5-2 metres) were not affected. Thank you for your comments Sincerely, Ruby Ruby Moothien Pillay Project Officer Mauritius Oceanography Institute 4th floor, France Centre, Victoria Avenue Quatre Bornes, Mauritius Tel:+427 4434 Fax: +427 4433 From sjameson at coralseas.com Fri Mar 8 11:57:14 2002 From: sjameson at coralseas.com (Stephen C Jameson) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 02 11:57:14 -0500 Subject: The 3 Screen Doors Message-ID: Dear Coral-Listers, I was right in the middle of writing a letter to the Editor of MPA News responding to their recent discussion on the "definition" of an MPA when Mark's insightful comment appeared (below) Mark Tupper wrote today: >Before I ramble any further, I'll try to sum this up succinctly. Most MPAs >are basically "paper parks" that do not meet their resource management >goals. This fact has little to do with the ecological effects of protective >management on fish production, but is based mainly on institutional and >community capacity to properly manage MPAs. Thus, the proper question is not >"are MPAs effective", but "can MPAs be effectively managed for a given >community or fishery". I would submit that the answer to that question is >likely to be location and/or fishery-dependent. I'll also be brief: As the first NOAA manager of the Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary (back in the late 1970's) and subsequent manager of two other US National Marine Sanctuaries (MONITOR and Channel Islands) and a University of Guam Marine Lab alumnus (Hafa Day Mark) - I have often asked myself "can MPA's be effectively managed". Unless we have control over pollutants coming in from the land, air and via external currents, we are trying to manage the proverbial "submarine with 3 screen doors". We might have success on the land side, but the air and current sides are usually international, as well as large-scale national problems, and not easily mitigated. Being now in the private sector, I would take a more "business plan approach" towards establishing a new MPA - or in pouring more money into an existing one that has a poor track record of success (i.e., I'd take a very hard look at the feasibility of succeeding over the long run considering the 3 screen doors). PS. The gist of my MPA News "letter to the editor" is: "If MPA's aren't really "protected" (from the 3 screen doors) then we shouldn't be calling them "marine protected areas" or "fully-protected areas" or any other form of "protected" area. If the term "MPA" or any of it's derivations is continued to be used, it should be something that is earned or certified. In this day and age with all the built-in stresses imposed on coral reefs, an area is not "magically or instantaneously protected" via an MPA designation process - protection must be fought for - and it may never be attained. 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 Web Site: www.coralseas.com ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From jsobel at oceanconservancy.org Fri Mar 8 12:24:56 2002 From: jsobel at oceanconservancy.org (Jack Sobel) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 12:24:56 -0500 Subject: coral-list-digest V7 #61 Questions Based on Don Baker Question, Discussion on MPA Benefits, & John McManus Response Message-ID: Can anyone provide any similarly conclusive, empirical evidence, using similar standards, that any other fishery management tool, other than reserves, has been directly responsible for improving long-term fishery yields in a tropical reef system? How about sustaining those fisheries? Sustaining the coral reef ecosystem? Preventing collapse, extirpation, and extinction of the more vulnerable fish populations? Preventing reef degradation? Maintaining natural diversity and intact systems? Could they be doing this without being implemented or implemented very incrementally or in very small areas? I'm not questioning whether some of these other tools do some of these things, just whether they can be demonstrated to do them with the same standard and rigor of proof that is being asked by some for reserves. I agree with much of the prior discussion on this topic, appreciate Don Baker's frustration in selling the MPA/Marine Reserve concept to skeptics, some of whom may have a strong short term political of financial stake in resisting them. There is certainly abundant published empirical evidence and a strong theoretical basis for the positive effects of "no-take" within reserves, including, but not limited to rebuilding fish populations and restoring natural communities/systems. There is an equally strong theoretical basis for the impact such rebuilding should have externally, including both common-sense and more sophisticated (?) modelling and numerical approaches, and increasing though more limited information on positive impacts adjacent to or outside of reserves, including fishery benefits. The issue of conclusively demonstrating that Marine Reserves will improve fish catches overall to everyone's satisfaction is a difficult one complicated by many factors, not the least of them being "control" issues (both spatial & temporal), replicibility, natural environmental/recruitment variability, interaction with the complicating effects of other management measures, changes in fishing patterns or effort external to the reserves, and a double standard or bias against reserves held by many. Given this and considering how few and how small existing reserves genarally are compared to the size of fished areas, its amazing that science has made as much progress as it has in demonstrating external changes and fishing benefits. As the evidence for reserve benefits continues to mount, people's comfort levels continue to grow, and especially as reserve size, number, and design improves, the evidence for external fisheries benefits will also continue to grow. There is much more to reserve benefits than just fishery benefits and they may not be the most important. ******************************************************** Jack A. Sobel, Director Ecosystem Programs The Ocean Conservancy 1725 DeSales St. NW, Suite #600 Washington, DC 20816 Phone: (202) 429-5609 or (202) 857-3270 Fax: (202) 872-0619 Email: jsobel at oceanconservancy.org Web: ******************************************************** -----Original Message----- From: owner-coral-list-digest at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:owner-coral-list-digest at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] Sent: March 08, 2002 12:01 AM To: coral-list-digest at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Subject: coral-list-digest V7 #61 ----- Original Message -----=20 From: pacaqts=20 To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov=20 Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 7:43 AM Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Dear Coral - List Members, Though MPAs have a great many benefits with regards to observations , = statements in a stack of MPA pubs, etc. - where may I quickly find = direct research and studies references that "do the numbers?" The = politicians and Gov. economic advisers simply say to us 'Yeah, well = good & fine - talk is talk - but show us the figures - where you can = prove to us that fisheries stocks are indeed enhanced by MPAs?" =20 I need case examples with those numbers and not just words, = observations, and perhaps institutional / academic 'whitewashing'. An = example of numbers would be a historical record of past catch landings = vs those after the MPA establishment - with direct, verifiable = correlation to the MPA of course. Anyone comment on Apo? Any assistance would be well appreciated here. Many thanks, Don Baker Lankayan-Billean-Tegaipil MPA Sabah, Malaysia - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 21:19:41 -0500 From: "John McManus" Subject: MPAs -- Wrong null hypothesis? I have long been puzzled by the resistance to MPAs found among some scientists. It seems to me to be intuitively clear that if you fish heavily, stocks will decline, and if you stop fishing, and have not irreversibly altered the habitat, stocks should increase. I have certainly seen no reasonable evidence that this is not the case. I suggest that we have been using the wrong null hypothesis. We have been treating the reserve as if it were a "treatment", when in fact, it is the lack of, or removal of, a treatment (fishing pressure). The null hypothesis should be that a reduction in fishing pressure should lead over time to a return toward (if not to) natural abundances of fish. The alternative hypothesis, and the one that should carry the burden of proof, is that reducing fishing pressure does NOT result in a return toward natural levels of abundance. Where the alternative turns out to be true, one should investigate why it was true. Was it because the habitat had not yet returned to reasonable normalcy? Is the result likely to be because the study period was too short? Or, is it truly because reducing fishing pressure does not generally result in increases in fish abundance. The labeling is mostly important because most scientists are deeply concerned about reducing Type I error (the chance that you say something is true that is not), and pay little heed to Type II error (the chance that you say something is not true when it is). The error should relate to the alternate hypothesis, and the null hypothesis should be accepted in the absence of sufficient evidence that the alternative is true. Thus, the null hypothesis is that which arises most naturally from simple common sense, and the alternative is the challenge to that logic. If we construct tests of high power, lots of sample units, long time frames, etc., then we minimize Type II error, and the designation of hypotheses is not as important. However, the fact is that exceedingly few studies of MPAs have been conducted in such a way as to minimize Type II error. And, because of our arrangement of hypotheses, we have encouraged stakeholders and managers to wait around while we challenge a null hypothesis that heavy fishing is generally completely irreversible and thus reserves are useless. I also propose that we keep separate the question of the increase of fish catch balancing out the loss of fishing grounds. Obviously, this depends greatly on how much fishing ground is being lost, how much the fish populations had been reduced around the reserve, as well as factors such as the mobility of fish in and out of the reserve. This is thus a question of design -- how big, what shape, etc., and not one of "are MPAs effective or not". I know of many tens of small reserves, on the order of 1/4th to 2 sq. km, that have been put in by coastal communities in heavily fished areas, and have not heard of any that resulted in people complaining that the reserve did not increase in fish abundance. Rather, there are many cases of fishers fishing preferentially around the edges of these reserves, indicating that abundances are indeed higher in the reserves. So, "do the reserves gain more fish compared to heavily fished areas nearby of similar habitat type?" -- in all the cases I know of, published or unpublished, the answer is yes. "Did the reserve's output make up for the loss in fishing ground?" -- that would depend entirely on local circumstances. And, evaluating "making up for" should generally include weighing nonfishery benefits into the equation. I suggest that we stop worrying about "are reserves effective?" until strong evidence shows that most of them (with real fishing exclusions) are not. Instead, we should focus on how big, what shape, where, etc. Cheers! John _________________________________________________________ John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida 33149. jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tel. (305) 361-4814 Fax (305) 361-4910 www.ncoremiami.org ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 14:49:11 +1000 From: "Mark Tupper" Subject: Fw: MPAs -- Wrong null hypothesis? John McManus wrote: > I suggest that we stop worrying about "are reserves effective?" until > strong evidence shows that most of them (with real fishing exclusions) are not. > Instead, we should focus on how big, what shape, where, etc. I understand and agree with the thrust of John's message. I think there is ample evidence to show that reserves CAN be effective, given sufficient management and funding capacity and adequate design (e.g. reserves large enough to encompass target species home range, etc.). I have no doubt that significant reductions in fishing pressure will help fish populations to rebound. However, asking whether reserves ARE effective is a different question altogether. So far, broad scale assessments of MPAs have indicated that most of them do not meet their management objectives. This is in many (most?) cases not a question of biology or ecology but one of politics and economics. It's fine to say that a reserve needs to be this big or that shape to enhance fisheries, but getting all stakeholders to agree on MPA specifics is often impossible, and hammering MPA plans past objecting resource users will always lead to poor compliance. Before I ramble any further, I'll try to sum this up succinctly. Most MPAs are basically "paper parks" that do not meet their resource management goals. This fact has little to do with the ecological effects of protective management on fish production, but is based mainly on institutional and community capacity to properly manage MPAs. Thus, the proper question is not "are MPAs effective", but "can MPAs be effectively managed for a given community or fishery". I would submit that the answer to that question is likely to be location and/or fishery-dependent. Cheers, Mark Tupper Dr. Mark Tupper, Assistant Professor University of Guam Marine Laboratory UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923, USA Tel. 671-735-2185; Fax 671-734-6767 Coordinator, Marine Protected Areas Research Group http://www.uog.edu/marinelab/mpa/index.html ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ------------------------------ End of coral-list-digest V7 #61 ******************************* ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From alcolado at ama.cu Fri Mar 8 13:16:07 2002 From: alcolado at ama.cu (alcolado at ama.cu) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 13:16:07 -0500 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Dear coral-lister, I decided to add a little more firewood to discussion on Debbie McKenzie's interesting coral starving-survival hypohesis. During an AGRRA assessment along the south and east of the Gulf of Batabano (SW Cuba; march 2001) the Cuban-International team observed a gradient of improving condition in Acropora palmata (from a situation where practically all colonies were dead along the south) in the extent we approximate to the huge Zapata swamp (which is supposed to enhance plankton productivity and where water becomes greenish and more turbid). The two Acropora palmata crests closest to Zapata swamp looked practically healthy. Another Cuban-International AGRRA assessment in the Archipelago Jardines de la Reina (SE Cuba) showed that Acropora palmata in the windward crests of Cayo Caballones, exposed to the oligotrophic ocean were virtually dead, while a small Acropora palmata crest located leeward of the same key and exposed to the most biological productive shelf of Cuba (varying from mesotrophic to eutrophic along a cross gradient towards mainland) was alive and really beautiful (mixed with dense thickets of live Acropora prolifera). Probably well fed Acropora palmata crests survived the massive mortality event(s) (cause unknown: coral bleaching, white band, patchy necrosis?) that killed the crests exposed to less nutrified and less productive oceanic waters. If so, McKenzie?s hypothesis, far from be discarded prematurely, has to be tested because it could explain differences in the fate of some coral reefs at small scale, and also explain some mismatches at larger scale when correlating coral bleaching with sea surface temperature. I fully agree that higher sea surface temperatures are the primary cause of coral bleaching, but the fate of corals ususally is conditioned by other complementary factors (cloudiness, sea surface roughness, water transparency, etc.), very probably included the degree of coral starvation. Cheers, Pedro M. Alcolado ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From jogden at seas.marine.usf.edu Fri Mar 8 13:40:52 2002 From: jogden at seas.marine.usf.edu (John C. Ogden) Date: Fri, 08 Mar 2002 13:40:52 -0500 Subject: Capt. Bobby Millender Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, Capt. Bobby Millender retired on February 28, 2002 after almost 25 years at the helm of the R/V BELLOWS. We estimate that in this time period over 2500 students and faculty have voyaged on the BELLOWS and experienced Bobby's unique style of seagoing education and hospitality. Of course, we intend to mark his retirement with an appropriate celebration. You will hear about this in due course. In the meantime, we would like to assemble for him a three ring, loose leaf binder of letters, testimonials, photographs, cartoons, amusing anecdotes-- in short anything that any "alum" of the R/V BELLOWS would care to send to us that will be memories for Bobby of you and of his long years of service to Florida's marine sciences community. Deborah Haynes in the FIO office will be your contact point. As a guideline consider preparing one, 8.5 x 11 three-ring binder page appropriately mounted, sheathed, punched, etc. Thanks for helping us to celebrate the distinguished career of a great RV Captain and Floridian. Best wishes, John Ogden, Director Florida Institute of Oceanography 830 First Street South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-553-1100 ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From James.Wiseman at intecengineering.com Fri Mar 8 14:20:45 2002 From: James.Wiseman at intecengineering.com (James Wiseman) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 13:20:45 -0600 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: An interesting post. There certainly can be many factors which differentiate these two "coral sets." I think it would be premature to settle on the conclusion that the corals that were living in the "greenish and more turbid" survived because they were well fed. Couldn't we just as easily conclude that these corals survived BECAUSE they were living in more turbid water. The turbid water corals were exposed to much lower light levels - a known factor in coral bleaching. Sincerely James Wiseman Houston TX -----Original Message----- From: alcolado at ama.cu [mailto:alcolado at ama.cu] Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 12:16 PM To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov Cc: debimack at auracom.com Subject: Coral starving and survival Dear coral-lister, I decided to add a little more firewood to discussion on Debbie McKenzie's interesting coral starving-survival hypohesis. During an AGRRA assessment along the south and east of the Gulf of Batabano (SW Cuba; march 2001) the Cuban-International team observed a gradient of improving condition in Acropora palmata (from a situation where practically all colonies were dead along the south) in the extent we approximate to the huge Zapata swamp (which is supposed to enhance plankton productivity and where water becomes greenish and more turbid). The two Acropora palmata crests closest to Zapata swamp looked practically healthy. Another Cuban-International AGRRA assessment in the Archipelago Jardines de la Reina (SE Cuba) showed that Acropora palmata in the windward crests of Cayo Caballones, exposed to the oligotrophic ocean were virtually dead, while a small Acropora palmata crest located leeward of the same key and exposed to the most biological productive shelf of Cuba (varying from mesotrophic to eutrophic along a cross gradient towards mainland) was alive and really beautiful (mixed with dense thickets of live Acropora prolifera). Probably well fed Acropora palmata crests survived the massive mortality event(s) (cause unknown: coral bleaching, white band, patchy necrosis?) that killed the crests exposed to less nutrified and less productive oceanic waters. If so, McKenzie's hypothesis, far from be discarded prematurely, has to be tested because it could explain differences in the fate of some coral reefs at small scale, and also explain some mismatches at larger scale when correlating coral bleaching with sea surface temperature. I fully agree that higher sea surface temperatures are the primary cause of coral bleaching, but the fate of corals ususally is conditioned by other complementary factors (cloudiness, sea surface roughness, water transparency, etc.), very probably included the degree of coral starvation. Cheers, Pedro M. Alcolado ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From warrior at bu.edu Fri Mar 8 16:36:32 2002 From: warrior at bu.edu (Jamie D. Bechtel) Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 16:36:32 -0500 Subject: Sea urchin mortality at the Johnson Atoll Message-ID: Hello all - I would like to add to Haris's suggestions. I suggest that the entire echinoid complex should be surveyed when surveying Echinothrix and Diadema during either preliminary studies or during or after a die-off. Having just completed five years of monitoring the recovery of echinoid populations in Discovery Bay, it has become apparent that that the entire echinoid complex may be playing an integral role in the recovery process. Following a die-off of Diadema, we might see a loss of conspecifics as well. It was hard to verify this in Jamaica as the historic data focused on D. antillarum and T. ventricosus. However, as D. antillarum recruited back to Jamaica's north coast other species became more numerous as well. We have done some experimental work that further implies a relationship between species. (manuscripts submitted). With regards to Johnson Atoll, any estimates on percent loss of the two species? Cheers, Jamie Bechtel Jamie D. Bechtel, Ph.D., J.D. Boston University Department of Biology 5 Cummington Street Boston, MA 02215 (617) 353-6969 warrior at bu.edu ___________________________ Original Message Lindsey Hays, the refuge manager at the Johnson Atoll, reports widespread mortality of Echinothrix (and maybe Diadema as well) all around the Atoll. It seems that most of the sea urchins got sick and died rapidly. He is making efforts to collect samples, so that the pathogens and the hosts can be identified. This may turn out to be a localized phenomenon, but this is what we initially thought about the Diadema mortality in the Caribbean as well. Just in case it spreads, it would be very useful for people in other areas in the Pacific (particularly Hawaii and the Marshall Islands) to be ready for it. Surveys to determine population density of Echinothrix and Diadema done now in unaffected areas can provide data that will become extremely valuable. It would also be a good idea to know ahead of time what to do if the mortality should appear elsewhere. It is all common sense, but when things are happening in a hurry, it is good to have a list. If you notice sick or dying sea urchins anywhere in the central Pacific: 1.Note the date of the observation, and also note the date that populations were last seen to be healthy. 2. Collect specimens. Some should be kept in 95% ethanol, some in 5% formaldehyde, some frozen and (if possible) some should be cooled down on ice for fast shipment to a microbiologist. 3. If there are still healthy-looking animals around, collect some of these too, so that their bacterial fauna can be compared with that of the sick ones. 4. If you have the time and the inclination, mark areas where the mortality is occurring and areas where it does not seam to have reached yet. Then monitor these areas by counting numbers of healthy, sick and dead animals. 5. Keep looking, even after the time that it seems that all the Echinothrix is dead. You may notice new ones emerging after a while (it happened with Diadema antillarum). 6. Don't expect the tests to stay around for very long. They break down to unrecognizable ossicles in a matter of days (parrot fish may help). I hope that none of this will be necessary, because whatever is killing the sea urchins at the Johnson Atoll will remain there. Lindsay Hayes did a great job of contacting people as soon as he realized that something was amiss. I wanted to spread the world around more widely in case things get worse. Haris Lessios **************************** H.A. Lessios Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa, Panama Telephone: +507/212-8708 Fax: +507/212-8790 or 212-8791 >From the US (domestic call): 202/786-2099 x 8708 Mail address: >From the USA: Unit 0948 APO AA 34002-0948 >From elsewhere: Box 2072 Balboa, Panama ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ----- Original Message ----- From: Harilaos Lessios To: Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 4:14 PM Subject: Sea urchin mortality at the Johnson Atoll > Lindsey Hays, the refuge manager at the Johnson Atoll, reports widespread mortality of Echinothrix (and maybe Diadema as well) all around the Atoll. It seems that most of the sea urchins got sick and died rapidly. He is making efforts to collect samples, so that the pathogens and the hosts can be identified. > > This may turn out to be a localized phenomenon, but this is what we initially thought about the Diadema mortality in the Caribbean as well. Just in case it spreads, it would be very useful for people in other areas in the Pacific (particularly Hawaii and the Marshall Islands) to be ready for it. Surveys to determine population density of Echinothrix and Diadema done now in unaffected areas can provide data that will become extremely valuable. > > It would also be a good idea to know ahead of time what to do if the mortality should appear elsewhere. It is all common sense, but when things are happening in a hurry, it is good to have a list. If you notice sick or dying sea urchins anywhere in the central Pacific: > > 1.Note the date of the observation, and also note the date that populations were last seen to be healthy. > > 2. Collect specimens. Some should be kept in 95% ethanol, some in 5% formaldehyde, some frozen and (if possible) some should be cooled down on ice for fast shipment to a microbiologist. > > 3. If there are still healthy-looking animals around, collect some of these too, so that their bacterial fauna can be compared with that of the sick ones. > > 4. If you have the time and the inclination, mark areas where the mortality is occurring and areas where it does not seam to have reached yet. Then monitor these areas by counting numbers of healthy, sick and dead animals. > > 5. Keep looking, even after the time that it seems that all the Echinothrix is dead. You may notice new ones emerging after a while (it happened with Diadema antillarum). > > 6. Don't expect the tests to stay around for very long. They break down to unrecognizable ossicles in a matter of days (parrot fish may help). > > I hope that none of this will be necessary, because whatever is killing the sea urchins at the Johnson Atoll will remain there. Lindsay Hayes did a great job of contacting people as soon as he realized that something was amiss. I wanted to spread the world around more widely in case things get worse. > > Haris Lessios > > **************************** > H.A. Lessios > Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute > Balboa, Panama > > Telephone: +507/212-8708 > Fax: +507/212-8790 or 212-8791 > >From the US (domestic call): 202/786-2099 x 8708 > Mail address: > >From the USA: > Unit 0948 > APO AA 34002-0948 > >From elsewhere: > Box 2072 > Balboa, Panama > > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Fri Mar 8 21:48:41 2002 From: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov (owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov) Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 02:48:41 GMT Subject: No subject Message-ID: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 20:21:42 -0400 From: "Kai Wulf" To: Cc: From bogus@does.not.exist.com Fri Mar 8 19:15:29 2002 From: bogus@does.not.exist.com () Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 20:15:29 -0400 Subject: [campam] Fw: MPA Benefits - In Numbers Message-ID: The report by Fiona Gell, Callum Roberts and Renata Goodridge entitled "The fishery effects of the Soufriere Marine Management Area 1995/6 to 2000/1", Environment Department, University of York, UK, should provide some answers (including numbers). Basically, the study shows the stocks of some economically important fin-fish species tripled in the Marine Reserves and doubled in the adjacent fishing areas since inception of the Marine Management Area. You might want to request a copy of the report from Dr. Roberts at the following email address: cr10 at york.ac.uk Kind regards, Kai Wulf Manager Soufriere Marine Management Area P.O. Box 305, 3 Bay Street Soufriere St. Lucia, West Indies Phone: (758) 459-5500 Fax: (758) 459-7799 Email: smma at candw.lc Website: http://www.smma.org.lc -----Original Message----- From: lyndon robertson [mailto:lynrobert at hotmail.com] Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 7:22 PM To: campam at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [campam] Fw: MPA Benefits - In Numbers I came across a well documented case study from the Phillipines. I will check and try to give the exact reference >From: avk.uneprcuja at cwjamaica.com >Reply-To: campam at yahoogroups.com >To: >Subject: [campam] Fw: MPA Benefits - In Numbers >Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 10:18:39 -0500 > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: pacaqts >To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov >Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 4:43 PM >Subject: MPA Benefits - In Numbers > > >Dear Coral - List Members, > >Though MPAs have a great many benefits with regards to observations , >statements in a stack of MPA pubs, etc. - where may I quickly find direct >research and studies references that "do the numbers?" The politicians and >Gov. economic advisers simply say to us 'Yeah, well good & fine - talk is >talk - but show us the figures - where you can prove to us that fisheries >stocks are indeed enhanced by MPAs?" > >I need case examples with those numbers and not just words, observations, >and perhaps institutional / academic 'whitewashing'. An example of >numbers would be a historical record of past catch landings vs those after >the MPA establishment - with direct, verifiable correlation to the MPA of >course. Anyone comment on Apo? > >Any assistance would be well appreciated here. > >Many thanks, >Don Baker >Lankayan-Billean-Tegaipil MPA >Sabah, Malaysia _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com To Post a message, send it to: campam at eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: campam-unsubscribe at eGroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From cnidaria at pop.earthlink.net Sat Mar 9 10:09:10 2002 From: cnidaria at pop.earthlink.net (James M. Cervino) Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 10:09:10 -0500 Subject: Bio-active compounds? Message-ID: Hi Ruby, I will answer under your comments below. RUBY: Something strange happened to one of our study sites recently on the eastern coast of the island. In fact we noticed at one of our shallowest monitoring station (approx.1metre) that most of the tabular corals had bleached completely and died and also most adult eels,holothurians, octopus, juvenile fish and crustaceans and so on had died and were either floating to the surface or lying on the sea bed. JAMES: What were the temperatures? I have exposed corals (Gonipora, Euphyllia spp. and Acroporids) in the same tank to sub-lethal temperatures (starting at 28 increasing to 32-33C) which resulted in death to the Acroporid first via mass expulsion of the symbiotic alga, later the softer thicker tissue species followed (1 week longer). I became interested and immediately set up tanks to expose the Acroporid (alone without other species)to these temperatures. They did expel their algae eventually leading to bleaching? then death. However, this took a few days longer. I understand these were closed systems which are completely different from open natural marine aquatic systems. The surface of my tanks and skimmer were filled with phenols and other chemical compounds (secondary metabolites?) that might be highly toxic to a neighboring coral or fish. There is a paper titled chemical defenses mechanisms in corals (sort of chemical warfare of corals in close proximity) published in the last coral reef symposium?? (Eric Bornman have you seen this in aquaria? ) Also, the potential for micro-organisms to switch to pathogenic forms in stressed hosts has been discussed (Landsberg 1995. Marine Ecology Prog. Series Vol 22:83-100). Were there sponges next to the colonies? Also, sponges when stressed, produce powerful toxins as a possible defense mechanism. The production of noxious & odorous substances by sponges has been known in addition to the ability of some sponge organisms to cause a severe contact dermatitis (Yaffee & Stargardter, 1963). Toxic and antibiotic compounds from sponges have been identified (Jakowskaet al 1960; halstead 1965; Nigrelli et al 1967 and Russel 1967). A crude toxic aqueous extract isolated from H. viridis has been named "Halitoxin" (Baslow et al. 1969). Aqueous extracts of the sponge Toxa-docia violacea from Hawaiian waters contained hypotensive and paralytic agents as well (Baslow et al. 1967). If interested e- mail me for a complete reference list. This may be one of the many possible explanations why the fish are dying in the area of dying corals and sponges after thermal stress. These animals might have been hiding in the crevices of the Acroporids and other corals exposing them to harmful compounds? The corals are dying due to temperature increase (considering the temperatures are above the norm during the warmest month for an extended period (Goreau & Hayes 1994). Stegastes spp. has been known to be more heat tolerant that some of the Acroporid table-tops (personal observation). Acroporids seem to be the most sensitive to temperature stress and chemical exposure (NaCN, copper, gasoline etc.) , these species are a good indicator of environmental stress. To come to such conclusions as to why the fish died, there will be a need to conduct several tests for the characterization of secondary metabolites. The selection of novel producing organism's one must use a specific media, controlled conditions and biochemical manipulations which are all techniques that enhance the probability of generating novel secondary metabolites. Isolation, liquid-solid Chromatography is a good way to start. Thanks for posting this observation ! James -- ************************************ James M. Cervino PhD. Program Marine Science Program University of South Carolina e-mail:cnidaria at earthlink.net ************************************* From EricHugo at aol.com Sun Mar 10 09:11:10 2002 From: EricHugo at aol.com (EricHugo at aol.com) Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 09:11:10 EST Subject: Bio-active compounds? Message-ID: Hi James: Absolutely. Secondary metabolites can cause subtle to acute responses in closed systems, being produced from a large number of taxa - sponges and soft corals seeming to be among the most toxic to stony corals, but this is anecdotal. Also, Euphyllia and Goniopora seem to be among those somewhat more sensitive to certain other corals - such as Sinularia and Sarcophyton. I think, though, that this might be more artifact of a closed system. It was reassuring to find you found metabolites in skimmate as I had wondered about the efficacy of foam fractionation in removing them. Still, and despite their sometime potent effects, I am not sure one can compare the effects of metabolites in a closed system to the ocean unless, perhaps, that area is very isolated, cut off by a low tide, a small area, has a very high density of very toxic animals, has a very low turnover time, etc. The dilution of secondary metabolites by the ocean makes it seem to me unlikely that anything but sensitive species in very close proximity to the toxin producer would be affected. Also, it seems that for most competition involving bioactive compounds that there are degrees of susceptibility in the majority of cases. I didn't read the original post, and only saw your clip from it, but it sounds off the cuff a lot like a poisoning - I agree with that. I just don't think it likely that it is from a mass of secondary metabolites being produced and released (many such bioactive compounds are stored and not released, and those released may be only released under certain times/condtions rather than constantly). Perhaps if all the producers died and those compounds stored in their tissues were released, it could exacerbate the event, but the real question would be why did they die in the first place? Eric Hugo Borneman Department of Biology and Biochemistry Division in Ecology and Evolution 258, SR II University of Houston Houston, TX 77204 EBorneman at uh.edu or EricHugo at aol.com ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From kamlaruby at intnet.mu Sun Mar 10 13:27:36 2002 From: kamlaruby at intnet.mu (Ruby Moothien Pillay) Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 22:27:36 +0400 Subject: Bio-active compounds? Message-ID: Hi James Thanks very much for your response to my posting. In fact, this particular site was affected last year by thermal bleaching and some of the tabular corals suffered partial/total mortality and were later colonised by turf algae and boring sponges......so may be the sponges are partly responsible for the fish mortality I will very much appreciate if you could send me the complete reference list for the sponges. Thanks again for sharing your views Cheers Ruby Ruby Moothien Pillay Project Officer Mauritius Oceanography Institute 4th floor, France Centre, Victoria Avenue Quatre Bornes, Mauritius Tel:+427 4434 Fax: +427 4433 From h.sweatman at aims.gov.au Sun Mar 10 19:42:16 2002 From: h.sweatman at aims.gov.au (Hugh Sweatman) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 10:42:16 +1000 Subject: AIMS Status Report 5 Message-ID: Colleagues, Belated notification that AIMS Long Term Monitoring of the Great Barrier Reef: Status Report 5 (published last December) is available on-line. The report is available as a series of pdf files and there is an HTML version of the regional summaries with links to summaries for the individual survey reefs from the "Interactive Data Summaries" To find it, go to the AIMS reef monitoring index page www.aims.gov.au/reef-monitoring and look under "Reports" Effective presentation of monitoring results is a problem that is shared by many programs. Our main vehicles: the Status Reports, Interactive Data Summaries, Regional Survey reports and Issues pages, are continuously evolving. Any suggestions to assist that process would be gratefully received! Hugh Sweatman Long Term Monitoring Program, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB3 Townsville MC, Qld 4810 Australia ph: (07) 4753 4470 / +61 747 534470 [GMT +10] faxes: (07) 4772 5852 / (07) 4753 4288 www.aims.gov.au/reef-monitoring ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From d.barnes at aims.gov.au Sun Mar 10 22:17:26 2002 From: d.barnes at aims.gov.au (Dave Barnes) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 13:17:26 +1000 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Dear All, I suggest that you compare the depth to which skeleton is occupied by tissue in the two groups of corals. There is good evidence that this depth is decreased in starving and in stressed corals. There is also evidence that this depth (tissue thickness) is reduced following bleaching. Cheers - Dave Barnes. Dr Dave Barnes Australian Institute of Marine Science PMB 3, Mail Centre Townsville Qld 4810 Work tel: 61-(0)7-4753 4236 Work fax: 61-(0)7-4772 5852 Home tel: 61-(0)7-4778 8147 ----- Original Message ----- From: "James Wiseman" To: ; Sent: Saturday, March 09, 2002 5:20 AM Subject: RE: Coral starving and survival > An interesting post. > > There certainly can be many factors which differentiate these two "coral > sets." I think it would be premature to settle on the conclusion that > the > corals that were living in the "greenish and more turbid" survived > because > they were well fed. > > Couldn't we just as easily conclude that these corals survived BECAUSE > they > were living in more turbid water. The turbid water corals were exposed > to > much lower light levels - a known factor in coral bleaching. > > Sincerely > James Wiseman > Houston TX > > -----Original Message----- > From: alcolado at ama.cu [mailto:alcolado at ama.cu] > Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 12:16 PM > To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > Cc: debimack at auracom.com > Subject: Coral starving and survival > > > > Dear coral-lister, > I decided to add a little more firewood to discussion on Debbie > McKenzie's interesting coral starving-survival hypohesis. > During an AGRRA assessment along the south and east of the > Gulf of Batabano (SW Cuba; march 2001) the Cuban-International > team observed a gradient of improving condition in Acropora > palmata (from a situation where practically all colonies were dead > along the south) in the extent we approximate to the huge Zapata > swamp (which is supposed to enhance plankton productivity and > where water becomes greenish and more turbid). The two Acropora > palmata crests closest to Zapata swamp looked practically > healthy. > Another Cuban-International AGRRA assessment in the > Archipelago Jardines de la Reina (SE Cuba) showed that Acropora > palmata in the windward crests of Cayo Caballones, exposed to > the oligotrophic ocean were virtually dead, while a small Acropora > palmata crest located leeward of the same key and exposed to the > most biological productive shelf of Cuba (varying from mesotrophic > to eutrophic along a cross gradient towards mainland) was alive > and really beautiful (mixed with dense thickets of live Acropora > prolifera). > Probably well fed Acropora palmata crests survived the massive > mortality event(s) (cause unknown: coral bleaching, white band, > patchy necrosis?) that killed the crests exposed to less nutrified > and less productive oceanic waters. > If so, McKenzie's hypothesis, far from be discarded prematurely, > has to be tested because it could explain differences in the fate of > some coral reefs at small scale, and also explain some > mismatches at larger scale when correlating coral bleaching with > sea surface temperature. > I fully agree that higher sea surface temperatures are the primary > cause of coral bleaching, but the fate of corals ususally is > conditioned by other complementary factors (cloudiness, sea > surface roughness, water transparency, etc.), very probably > included the degree of coral starvation. > Cheers, > Pedro M. Alcolado > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From pamurray at oecsnrmu.org Mon Mar 11 07:23:31 2002 From: pamurray at oecsnrmu.org (Peter Murray) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 08:23:31 -0400 Subject: MPA benefits - in numbers Message-ID: Dob Baker might wish to check out the following Roberts, CM. 1997. Conectivity and management of Caribbean coral reefs. Science 278:1454-1457 Roberts CM and JP Hawkins. 1997. How small can a marine reserve be and still be effective? Coral Reefs(1997) 16:150 Roberts. 1997. Ecological advice for teh global fisheries crisis. TREE 12:35-38 Roberts CM and JP Hawkins. 2000. Fully-protected marine reserves: a guide. WWF Endangered Species Campaign, and Environment Department University of York. 131p. Cheers Peter A. Murray Programme Officer OECS NRMU Saint Lucia ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From alcolado at ama.cu Mon Mar 11 09:22:31 2002 From: alcolado at ama.cu (alcolado at ama.cu) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 09:22:31 -0500 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: You are right, James, refering to the alternative possibility that turbidity could be "protecting" corals in more inshore crests, and indeed I was considering that possibility in discussions with other colleagues. I referred only to the possibility (not concluding) that corals could (hypotheticaly, of course) be better fed, because I was focussing only on the discussion about MacKenzie's starving hypothesis, and trying to leave open that hipothesis (and promote testing it experimentally) in place of discarding it as some colleagues seem to prefer. Thanks again, James. Pedro Subject: RE: Coral starving and survival Date sent: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 13:20:45 -0600 From: "James Wiseman" To: , > An interesting post. > > There certainly can be many factors which differentiate these two "coral > sets." I think it would be premature to settle on the conclusion that the > corals that were living in the "greenish and more turbid" survived because > they were well fed. > > Couldn't we just as easily conclude that these corals survived BECAUSE > they were living in more turbid water. The turbid water corals were > exposed to much lower light levels - a known factor in coral bleaching. > > Sincerely > James Wiseman > Houston TX > > -----Original Message----- > From: alcolado at ama.cu [mailto:alcolado at ama.cu] > Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 12:16 PM > To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > Cc: debimack at auracom.com > Subject: Coral starving and survival > > > > Dear coral-lister, > I decided to add a little more firewood to discussion on Debbie > McKenzie's interesting coral starving-survival hypohesis. > During an AGRRA assessment along the south and east of the > Gulf of Batabano (SW Cuba; march 2001) the Cuban-International > team observed a gradient of improving condition in Acropora > palmata (from a situation where practically all colonies were dead > along the south) in the extent we approximate to the huge Zapata > swamp (which is supposed to enhance plankton productivity and > where water becomes greenish and more turbid). The two Acropora > palmata crests closest to Zapata swamp looked practically > healthy. > Another Cuban-International AGRRA assessment in the > Archipelago Jardines de la Reina (SE Cuba) showed that Acropora > palmata in the windward crests of Cayo Caballones, exposed to > the oligotrophic ocean were virtually dead, while a small Acropora > palmata crest located leeward of the same key and exposed to the > most biological productive shelf of Cuba (varying from mesotrophic to > eutrophic along a cross gradient towards mainland) was alive and really > beautiful (mixed with dense thickets of live Acropora prolifera). > Probably well fed Acropora palmata crests survived the massive mortality > event(s) (cause unknown: coral bleaching, white band, patchy necrosis?) > that killed the crests exposed to less nutrified and less productive > oceanic waters. If so, McKenzie's hypothesis, far from be discarded > prematurely, has to be tested because it could explain differences in the > fate of some coral reefs at small scale, and also explain some > mismatches at larger scale when correlating coral bleaching with sea > surface temperature. I fully agree that higher sea surface temperatures > are the primary cause of coral bleaching, but the fate of corals ususally > is conditioned by other complementary factors (cloudiness, sea surface > roughness, water transparency, etc.), very probably included the degree > of coral starvation. Cheers, Pedro M. Alcolado ~~~~~~~ For directions on > subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit > http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on > Coral-List Listserver. > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From alcolado at ama.cu Mon Mar 11 10:12:54 2002 From: alcolado at ama.cu (alcolado at ama.cu) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 10:12:54 -0500 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Dear Lance,, Thanks for your reply. Acropora palmata has coevolved with hurricanes and indeed is one of the most addapted species to those events. Furthermore, there has not been an apparent change in hurricane regime trends at least in Cuba. I am not talking about what is happening in zooplankton in the Caribbean or globat tropical region, I am only comparing corals exposed to different amounts of plankton availability at local scale. The hypothesis (not a conclussion) is that inshore corals could be better fed (more zooplankton) than windward ocean exposed ones (less zooplankton available) and so, possibly less prone to be affected by mortality agents. In other words, I am not talking about any trend of zooplankton in the Caribbean region, that maybe is like the way you say (increasing?), but maybe not if you consider that the probable lesser level of spawning (because of overfishing) could be conducting to lower zooplaknton concentrations, given the possible lesser amounts of eggs, larvae and juvenile. It is really an aspect very needed of research. It is interesting to point aout that zooplankton concentrations are decreasing in north cold latitudes (after comments I heard in this coral lists just in discussions about MacKenzie's hypothesis). All the best, Pedro From: "Lance K.B. Jordan" To: Subject: RE: Coral starving and survival Date sent: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 14:10:55 -0500 > Dear Pedro, > > I am not a coral expert, nor claim to be. But what you described is > typical throughout the Caribbean. I have read that hurricanes have > dictated the demise of A. palmata. Usually the main energy of hurricanes > occurs on the windward and exposed side of the island, hence the dead > palmata on the oligotrophic (clear water) side of the islands. This, in > my opinion, is a much more logical explanation than starvation. > > Corals are zooplanktivores. Zooplankton eat phytoplankton. Phytoplankton > need sunlight and nutrients to subsist. Humans have likely increased the > amount of nutrients in the world's oceans in addition to overexploiting > fisheries. Many fishes are zooplanktivore. So, not only have humans > increase the food source of zooplankton (by increasing the nutrient > concentrations which, in turn, increased phytoplankton populations) but > humans have decreased the number of possible zooplankton predators. > Therefore, it is highly probable that, rather than the idea that the > ocean's are starving, zooplankton concentrations have increased in recent > years. > > Your reply is welcome. > > Lance Jordan > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > [mailto:owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov]On Behalf Of > alcolado at ama.cu > Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 1:16 PM > To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > Cc: debimack at auracom.com > Subject: Coral starving and survival > > > > Dear coral-lister, > I decided to add a little more firewood to discussion on Debbie > McKenzie's interesting coral starving-survival hypohesis. > During an AGRRA assessment along the south and east of the > Gulf of Batabano (SW Cuba; march 2001) the Cuban- International > team observed a gradient of improving condition in Acropora > palmata (from a situation where practically all colonies were dead > along the south) in the extent we approximate to the huge Zapata > swamp (which is supposed to enhance plankton productivity and > where water becomes greenish and more turbid). The two Acropora > palmata crests closest to Zapata swamp looked practically > healthy. > Another Cuban-International AGRRA assessment in the > Archipelago Jardines de la Reina (SE Cuba) showed that Acropora > palmata in the windward crests of Cayo Caballones, exposed to > the oligotrophic ocean were virtually dead, while a small Acropora > palmata crest located leeward of the same key and exposed to the > most biological productive shelf of Cuba (varying from mesotrophic > to eutrophic along a cross gradient towards mainland) was alive > and really beautiful (mixed with dense thickets of live Acropora > prolifera). > Probably well fed Acropora palmata crests survived the massive > mortality event(s) (cause unknown: coral bleaching, white band, > patchy necrosis?) that killed the crests exposed to less nutrified > and less productive oceanic waters. > If so, McKenzie?s hypothesis, far from be discarded prematurely, > has to be tested because it could explain differences in the fate of > some coral reefs at small scale, and also explain some > mismatches at larger scale when correlating coral bleaching with > sea surface temperature. > I fully agree that higher sea surface temperatures are the primary > cause of coral bleaching, but the fate of corals ususally is > conditioned by other complementary factors (cloudiness, sea > surface roughness, water transparency, etc.), very probably > included the degree of coral starvation. > Cheers, > Pedro M. Alcolado > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From kochzius at uni-bremen.de Mon Mar 11 10:14:53 2002 From: kochzius at uni-bremen.de (kochzius at uni-bremen.de) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 16:14:53 +0100 Subject: MPA benefits - in numbers Message-ID: Hi coral-listers At 08:23 11.03.02 -0400, Peter A. Murray wrote: >Dob Baker might wish to check out the following > >Roberts, CM. 1997. Conectivity and management of Caribbean coral reefs. >Science 278:1454-1457 The discussion following this article is interesting as well: Fishery and Reef Management, Science 1998 March 27; 279: 2019-2025 (in Letters) (David R. Bellwood, Jeffrey M. Leis, Ilona C. Stobutzki; Peter F. Sale, Robert K. Cowen; Callum M. Roberts) Best fishes Marc ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> Marc Kochzius Zentrum fuer Marine Tropenoekologie (ZMT) Centre for Tropical Marine Ecology University of Bremen Fahrenheitstr. 6 28359 Bremen Germany Tel.:+49 +421 23800-57 (Office) please note new number! +49 +421 218-7679 (Lab) +49 +421 23800-21 (ZMT Secretary) Fax: +49 +421 23800-30 or -40 ZMT Webpage: www.zmt.uni-bremen.de Reef Webpage: www.oceanium.de <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From CSalt5 at aol.com Mon Mar 11 11:39:27 2002 From: CSalt5 at aol.com (CSalt5 at aol.com) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 11:39:27 EST Subject: Fiber Optic Cable impact assessment Message-ID: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is in the process of assembling a small group of scientists, lawyers, and biologists to prepare a report on past and possible future coral reef damage due to fiber optic cable deployment. Still needed: a part-time coral reef biologist or graduate student to accompany other members on field trips to nearshore areas of southeast Florida counties where fiber optic cable has been or may be laid across reefs. The corals biologist would also prepare a chapter discussing the findings of the field study and relevant biological issues. Please resond to this email address. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From EricHugo at aol.com Mon Mar 11 18:08:02 2002 From: EricHugo at aol.com (EricHugo at aol.com) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 18:08:02 EST Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Just a quick comment: I'm not sure you can attribute it all to zooplankton...particulate material, bacteria, and dissolved sources will also play a role, probably significant, in the heterotrophy of corals and their energy budget, reproductive output, etc. Eric Hugo Borneman Department of Biology and Biochemistry Division in Ecology and Evolution 258, SR II University of Houston Houston, TX 77204 EBorneman at uh.edu or EricHugo at aol.com ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From James.Spurgeon at jacobs.com Tue Mar 12 05:03:15 2002 From: James.Spurgeon at jacobs.com (Spurgeon, James) Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 10:03:15 -0000 Subject: MPA & Other Numbers! Message-ID: Don and others, Thanks for an interesting and informative discussion. A few additional views that may be of interest: As Jack Sobel mentions, there will of course be many other important benefits of MPAs to consider. A whole range of "numbers" can be generated in support of MPAs, both quantitative and monetary. However, many of the monetary benefits may not be so easy to appropriate (capture) at present (e.g. indirect use and non-use values) and hence are of less concern to politicians. This will change over time! The net social impacts of MPA options also need addressing, in particular relating to how livelihoods are affected. As Stephen Jameson suggests, a business plan approach would help enormously. There are numerous opportunities for identifying sources of finance for MPAs, and these resources need to be focused efficiently and effectively on enhancing and capturing benefits and tackling the root cause of coral degradation problems. Unfortunately, as Stephen highlights, many root causes occur outside the MPA - through the "3 screen doors". Radical national and international initiatives are needed to tackle these. Finally, as Don comments, "business and science" may not mix well. However, this must change if coral reefs are to stand any chance in the future. There are several important initiatives and changes in the pipeline involving the private sector and natural resource/biodiversity conservation that could have considerable beneficial consequences for coral reefs. The potential for benefit is enormous, although possible adverse side-effects must be carefully considered and minimised. The above points are all discussed further in a paper "Economic Valuation of Coral Reefs: The Next Ten Years", one of many papers to be included in the proceedings of an ICLARM 2001 workshop on "Economic Valuation and Policy Priorities for Sustainable Management of Coral Reefs", to be published by ICLARM in the next few months. Best wishes James James Spurgeon Principal Environmental Economist JacobsGIBB Ltd Tel: +44 (0)118 963 5000 Fax: +44 (0)118 926 3888 Email: james.spurgeon at jacobs.com -----Original Message----- From: pacaqts [mailto:pacaqts at tm.net.my] Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 11:57 AM To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov Subject: Many Thanks to All / MPA & Numbers Dear Coral-Lers, Many thanks to the quick replies and references. Fyi. We are finalizing a MPA here in Sabah - NE of Sandakan. But the Sabah State Gov wants the 'numbers.' Yes, typically they are the 'politicians' - based from a 'rice-bowl' syndrome that is difficult to convince on just 'institutional / academic 'heresay [their words].'' And typically business & science often does not mix well. Cheers to all, Don Baker LBT-MPA Sandakan, Sabah Malaysia ============================================================================== NOTICE - This communication may contain confidential and privileged information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any viewing, copying or distribution of, or reliance on this message by unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. ============================================================================== ------_=_NextPart_001_01C1C9AD.2081FEC0 Content-Type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Don and others
Thanks for an interesting and informative discussion.  A few additional views that may be of interest:
 
As Jack Sobel mentions, there will of course be many other important benefits of MPAs to consider.  A whole range of "numbers" can be generated in support of MPAs, both quantitative and monetary.  However, many of the monetary benefits may not be so easy to appropriate (capture) at present (e.g. indirect use and non-use values) and hence are of less concern to politicians.  This will change over time!  The net social impacts of MPA options also need addressing, in particular relating to how livelihoods are affected. 
 
As Stephen Jameson suggests, a business plan approach would help enormously.  There are numerous opportunities for identifying sources of finance for MPAs, and these resources need to be focused efficiently and effectively on enhancing and capturing benefits and tackling the root cause of coral degradation problems.  Unfortunately, as Stephen highlights, many root causes occur outside the MPA - through the "3 screen doors".  Radical national and international initiatives are needed to tackle these.     
 
Finally, as Don comments, "business and science" may not mix well.  However, this must change if coral reefs are to stand any chance in the future.  There are several important initiatives and changes in the pipeline involving the private sector and natural resource/biodiversity conservation that could have considerable beneficial consequences for coral reefs.  The potential for benefit is enormous, although possible adverse side-effects must be carefully considered and minimised.  
 
The above points are all discussed further in a paper "Economic Valuation of Coral Reefs: The Next Ten Years", one of many papers to be included in the proceedings of an ICLARM 2001 workshop on "Economic Valuation and Policy Priorities for Sustainable Management of Coral Reefs", to be published by ICLARM in the next few months.
 
Best wishes
James
 
James Spurgeon
Principal Environmental Economist
JacobsGIBB Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)118 963 5000
Fax: +44 (0)118 926 3888
Email: james.spurgeon at jacobs.com 
 
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: pacaqts [mailto:pacaqts at tm.net.my]
Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 11:57 AM
To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: Many Thanks to All / MPA & Numbers

Dear Coral-Lers,
 
Many thanks to the quick replies and references. Fyi. We are finalizing a MPA here in Sabah - NE of Sandakan. But the Sabah State Gov wants the 'numbers.'  Yes, typically they are the 'politicians' - based from a 'rice-bowl' syndrome that is difficult to convince on just 'institutional / academic 'heresay [their words].'' And typically business & science often does not mix well.
 
Cheers to all,
Don Baker
LBT-MPA
Sandakan, Sabah
Malaysia
 
 

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NOTICE - This communication may contain confidential and privileged information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any viewing, copying or distribution of, or reliance on this message by unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer.

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------_=_NextPart_001_01C1C9AD.2081FEC0-- ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Ron.Hill at noaa.gov Tue Mar 12 12:50:45 2002 From: Ron.Hill at noaa.gov (Ron Hill) Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 11:50:45 -0600 Subject: Many Thanks to All / MPA & Numbers Message-ID: Don, The other place you might look for a comprehensive review of the literature as it was available a couple of years ago is the website: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9994.html There, the book: Marine Protected Areas: Tools for Sustaining Ocean Ecosystem (by the Committee on the Evaluation, Design, and Monitoring of Marine Reserves and Protected Areas in the United States, Ocean Studies Board, National Research Council) can be read on-line or ordered. It includes extensive bibliographic citations. There are also a few years of data on the web site of the National Marine Sanctuary-Florida Keys NMS -- you can follow the links from www.noaa.gov to the reports. This whole discussion has once again demonstrated how important linguistics can be. Respondents have talked about "marine protected areas" and "no-take" marine reserves as though they were the same thing when in fact I think most of us mean marine reserves to be: a subset of MPAs in which all extractive uses are prohibited. Additional points on the discussion: The goals (and the metrics for those goals) for both marine reserves and MPAs must be clear and explicitly stated in the management plan with reasonable time frames for occurrence. A build-up of spawning biomass in order to guard against future stock crashes or to increase fecundity are both elements of effectiveness but they may be manifest on different time scales than a goal to produce trophy fish for the surrounding fishing grounds. These goal must acknowledge the constraints of biology; too often the time frames are simply politically dictated. One more point, marine reserves that have "not worked" because there is no compliance (or have been in place for a short time) should not be used to show that marine reserves do not work as tools for fishery management. That's a little like establishing size limits, not enforcing them, and then saying that size limits are not effective for managing fisheries. We can not judge the ecological performance (effectiveness) of reserves with little or no compliance; we can only judge the effectiveness of the management effort. We know that the ecological underpinnings of marine reserves are sound. We have some demonstration that when they are implemented with reasonable compliance that conditions within the reserve change (increased abundance and biomass) and we have some demonstration that fisheries around the reserves (spill-over) can be enhanced. There is still a lot to learn about marine reserves and the functions they may serve in fishery management but that is what keeps us all interested. Cheers, ron Note: The views expressed in this message are the sole opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of the agency with which he is associated. pacaqts wrote: > Dear Coral-Lers, Many thanks to the quick replies and references. Fyi. We > are finalizing a MPA here in Sabah - NE of Sandakan. But the Sabah State > Gov wants the 'numbers.' Yes, typically they are the 'politicians' - > based from a 'rice-bowl' syndrome that is difficult to convince on just > 'institutional / academic 'heresay [their words].'' And typically business > & science often does not mix well. Cheers to all,Don BakerLBT-MPASandakan, > SabahMalaysia Ronald L. Hill, Ph.D. Research Fishery Biologist National Marine Fisheries Service Fishery Ecology Branch Ronald L. Hill, Ph.D. Research Fishery Biologist National Marine Fisheries Service Fishery Ecology Branch NOAA/NMFS 4700 Ave. U Fax: (409) 766-3508 Galveston Work: (409) 766-3519 TX 77551 USA Additional Information: Last Name Hill First Name Ronald Version 2.1 From sflumerfelt at coral.org Tue Mar 12 15:28:51 2002 From: sflumerfelt at coral.org (Sherry Flumerfelt) Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 12:28:51 -0800 Subject: Just 5 weeks to Dive In! Message-ID: [Apologies for cross-postings] Dive In To Earth Day Reminder http://divein.coralreefalliance.org Greetings again from Dive In To Earth Day headquarters! This e-mail is to remind those of you who haven't yet organized a Dive In To Earth Day activity, that Earth Day is coming up in just 6 weeks (April 22), so it's time to start planning your activity now! ----- WHY SHOULD I ORGANIZE A DIVE IN ACTIVITY? ----- By organizing a Dive In activity, you will be part of a global effort to raise awareness about the need to protect the world's oceans and marine ecosystems. Your activity will also help at the local level by improving the quality of the marine environment near you. Dive In is a great way to get your local community involved in marine conservation, and it's a great way for businesses to show clients that you care. It's easy, it's fun and it works. ------ WHAT IS DIVE IN TO EARTH DAY? ----- Dive In To Earth Day is an international Earth Day celebration with marine conservation activities taking place during the week of April 15-22 with a common theme: to remind the public that over 70% of the planet is covered by water and our marine resources need to be protected. ------ WHO CAN ORGANIZE A DIVE IN ACTIVITY? ------ Anyone can! It's easy. You don't have to be a diver and you don't have to live on the coast. All you need is a love for the underwater world and some creativity. Past organizers include dive shops and dive clubs, community groups, non-profit organizations, teachers, students, scientists, aquariums, etc. Joining the celebrations this year are celebrities and environmental heroes such as Dr. Sylvia Earle, Leonardo DiCaprio, Stan Waterman and William Shatner (see photos of our Host Committee at http://divein.coralreefalliance.org/HostCommittee). ----- WHAT KINDS OF ACTIVITIES ARE THERE? ----- Any marine-related conservation activity will do, whether it's cleaning trash from a beach, installing a mooring buoy, or doing a presentation for your local club or school. Over 50 countries have signed up to Dive In over the past three years. Examples of this year's activities include a fish count in Panama, a Sea Turtle Benefit dinner in Guam, a children's art contest in Italy and a beach cleanup in Bangladesh. To look through this year's activities, click on the "Find an Activity" link in the left navigation bar at: http://divein.coralreefalliance.org For highlights from 2001 visit: http://divein.coralreefalliance.org/2001highlights ----- HOW DO I ORGANIZE A DIVE IN ACTIVITY? ----- The Dive In To Earth Day website has plenty of tools and resources to help you organize your own Dive In Activity, such as tips for organizing an underwater or beach cleanup, tips for installing mooring buoys, fun names, and sample press releases. Just visit our "Tips for Organizers" page at: http://divein.coralreefalliance.org/toolsfororganizers. * Be sure to add your activity to the Dive In website so that people in your community can find your event. The more activities we have posted, the more successful Dive In will be as it will show the world and the media that people do care! The first 200 people to sign up will receive free posters. To search through the list of activities, or to add your own activity, go to http://divein.coralreefalliance.org and click on the "Find an Activity" or "Add an Activity" links in the navigation bar on the left. Don't forget to bring your camera to the Dive In activity, for a chance to win great prizes in the First Annual Dive In To Earth Day Photo Contest! For more information visit: http://divein.coralreefalliance.org/photocontest ----- I CAN'T ORGANIZE AN ACTIVITY. CAN I STILL HELP OUT? ----- Yes! We also need people to participate in activities. Check out the website closer to Earth Day to find an activity in your local community and Dive In! We also need help spreading the word about Dive In To Earth Day. You can help out by: - Posting the Dive In logo with a link on your website (http://divein.coralreefalliance.org/logoguidelines) - Forwarding this email to your colleagues, friends and family - Supporting Dive In by purchasing Dive In t-shirts and posters (http://divein.coralreefalliance.org/merchandise) ----- WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DIVE IN? ----- We all are! Dive In To Earth Day is a collaborative effort, bringing together non-governmental organizations, scientists, dive shops, schools and ocean lovers from around the world to help protect our planet's marine resources. Dive In To Earth Day was launched in 2000 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Earth Day. The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is once again coordinating the event with the help of Dive Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA), Earth Day Network, International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), Project AWARE Foundation and West Marine, as well as several Partner Organizations including Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) and Reef Check. If you have any further questions, please contact divein at coral.org. Thank you for Diving In To Earth Day! Regards, Sherry Flumerfelt Dive In To Earth Day Coordinator ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) 2014 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, CA 94704 Tel:(510) 848-0110 Fax:(510) 848-3720 Email: divein at coral.org Toll-free number:1-888-CORAL REEF http://divein.coralreefalliance.org/ http://www.coral.org/ "Working together to keep coral reefs alive." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From marygraydavidson at yahoo.com Tue Mar 12 18:17:30 2002 From: marygraydavidson at yahoo.com (Mary Gray Davidson) Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 17:17:30 -0600 Subject: CRTF National Action Plan Message-ID: Does anyone know where I can obtain a copy of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force National Action Plan released in the year 2000? Thank you for your reply. Mary Gray Davidson University of Iowa, J.D. 2002 Fellow, University of Iowa Center for Human Rights Tel: 319/338-4778 ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From pacaqts at tm.net.my Wed Mar 13 08:23:58 2002 From: pacaqts at tm.net.my (pacaqts) Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 21:23:58 +0800 Subject: MPA- Again Message-ID: Hello All @ Coral-L, On this MPA & Numbers issue... I am both surprised and disappointed that the 'numbers' simply are not 'readily available.' I am to assume that my 'political counterparts' know this as well - as they have challenged me for such. I think we - as scientists - need to make 'business & science' a bit more transparent in this year of 2002 or we will see more an more ecosystems compromised. This word 'compromise' was taken from a politician friend here in Sabah...as a 'cute-sy' term indicating 'eradication or modified [ecosystem] for commercial exploitation.' This is serious 'business' people and action is needed rather than 'arm-chair' rhetoric's based on 'who did that paper..or who knows who at whatever lab or institution.' Meanwhile....fish are raped from the reefs of Sabah-Sulu Sea with cyanide every day...a silent killer verses the bomb that 'makes a boom.' Giant clams are almost extinct in the region as a result of Taiwanese/Chinese [no difference except their flag & politics] pillaging. In short, I need to convince the Sabah State Gov that 'their rice bowl' will be filled too ...as well as the MPA being able to operate & survive - if eco-tourism 'foots-the-bill!'. Cheers, Don Baker LBT-MPA Sandakan-Sabah-Sulu Sea From jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Wed Mar 13 12:27:57 2002 From: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu (John McManus) Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 12:27:57 -0500 Subject: MPA- Again Message-ID: I think you may be asking for something that is either ten years away or not even possible. In the papers you have seen cited, there are several examples in which the increases in fish biomass were documented and others in which the total fisheries return was compared with and without the reserve. If you put a no-take zone in amidst heavy overfishing, the chances are very high that you will get more fish biomass in the reserve over time. As far as how much fisheries production you will get -- that is a very site specific and depends on many variables. I think in 5 or 10 years, the new agent-based modeling approaches many of us are working on may be able to give a crude idea of what that production might or might not be given specifics from your situation. However, you are talking about a complex ecological problem that is always likely to have a high degree of uncertainty in the "numbers". I agree that we need to do a lot more work in support of management decision-making. However, we certainly have enough information now on which to take action. Note that this is not much different than making predictions on the stock market (where the same new modeling approach is increasingly used). If we expect to make management decisions in the absence of uncertainty, we may have an infinite wait. Cheers! John _________________________________________________________ John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida 33149. jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tel. (305) 361-4814 Fax (305) 361-4600 www.ncoremiami.org From Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov Wed Mar 13 14:47:24 2002 From: Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov (Roger B Griffis) Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 14:47:24 -0500 Subject: CRTF National Action Plan Message-ID: Mary Gray Davidson wrote: > Does anyone know where I can obtain a copy of the U.S. Coral Reef Task > Force National Action Plan released in the year 2000? Reply: Copies of the "National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs" (US Coral Reef Task Force, 2000) and other information on the Task Force (accomplishment reports etc) are available from the cochairs or staff contacts listed below. Please note that this information is also available on the Task Force web site (http://coralreef.gov/) (WEB SITE IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE DUE TO COURT ORDERED SHUTDOWN OF SITES MAINTAINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR) Co-Chairs, U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Honorable Gale A. Norton Secretary of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW (MS 7229) Washington, D.C. 20240-0001 P: 202-208-3928 F: 202-208-4694 email: gale_norton at ios.doi.gov (NOTE: MOST DOINTERIOR EMAIL AND WEB SITES ARE NOT OPERATING DUE TO COURT ORDER) Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Under Secretary and Administrator National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce 14TH & CONST AVE NW RM. 5128 WASHINGTON DC 20230-0001 PH: (202)482-3436 FAX:(202)408-9674 Internet Address: Conrad.C.Lautenbacher at noaa.gov Staff contacts: Susan White US Fish and Wildlife Service Department of the Interior 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Rm 670 Arlington, VA 22203 ph: 703.358.2415 fx: 703.358.1929 email: susan_white at fws.gov Roger Griffis National Ocean Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1305 East West Highway (SSMC 10116/ORR) Silver Spring, MD 20910 P: 301-713-2989x115 F: 301-713-4389 email: roger.b.griffis at noaa.gov Mary Gray Davidson wrote: > Does anyone know where I can obtain a copy of the U.S. Coral Reef Task > Force National Action Plan released in the year 2000? > > Thank you for your reply. > > Mary Gray Davidson > University of Iowa, J.D. 2002 > Fellow, University of Iowa Center for Human Rights > Tel: 319/338-4778 > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Roger B. Griffis Policy Advisor National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce Roger B. Griffis Policy Advisor National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce NOAA/NOS/ORR Rm 10116 1305 East West Highway Pager: 877-632-5370 Silver Spring Fax: 301-713-4389 MD Work: 301-713-2989 x 115 20910 USA Additional Information: Last Name Griffis First Name Roger Version 2.1 From carlson at waquarium.org Wed Mar 13 14:59:23 2002 From: carlson at waquarium.org (Bruce Carlson) Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 09:59:23 -1000 Subject: quotation Message-ID: We are working on a short video program about coral reefs. A quote we want to use is something to this effect: "coral reefs are the crown jewels of planet earth" Can we ascribe this statement to someone out there, or has this phrase been used many times by many different authors? Thanks Bruce Carlson Waikiki Aquarium ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From mtupper at guam.uog.edu Wed Mar 13 20:33:02 2002 From: mtupper at guam.uog.edu (Mark Tupper) Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 11:33:02 +1000 Subject: MPA- Again Message-ID: Don and Coral-L, Two thoughts: 1. If you are planning these MPAs with eco-tourism in mind, then there are some "numbers" you can refer to. Murray Rudd (now at DFO in Nova Scotia - I don't believe he subscribes to this list) has done extensive research on nonextractive valuation of reef resources in the Turks & Caicos Islands. His research has shown that the nonconsumptive value of grouper and lobster to the dive tourism industry is high, and that depletion of grouper stocks may cost more to local economies than conservation of these stocks. To get the numbers, read: Rudd MA. 2001. The non-extractive value of spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Environmental Conservation 38: 226-234. Rudd MA, Danylchuk AJ, Gore SA, Tupper MH. 2002. Are marine protected areas in the Turks & Caicos Islands ecologically or economically valuable? In: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Economics of Marine Protected Areas. Fisheries Center Research Reports 9(8). (I don't have the page numbers handy, but you can order a copy at http://www.fisheries.ubc.ca/Reports/fcrr.htm). Rudd MA, Tupper MH. 2002. The impact of Nassau grouper size and abundance on scuba diver site selection and MPA economics. Coastal Management 30: 133-151. (This will be out in the April issue, contact me for a reprint). 2. If explosives, poisons and foreign fleets are that big a problem in Sabah's fisheries, then I wonder if it might not be better to put available time and money into reducing destructive fishing practices and illegal foreign fishing before establishing MPAs. Addressing those problems first might gain some support among the local fishing communities (at least those that don't use dynamite and/or cyanide). That, in turn, may help to establish MPAs with better compliance from local fishers. In effect you are showing your support for local fishers by "siding against the foreign fleets" (though I hate to phrase it in such combative terms). That's just off the top of my head, and I'd appreciate any comments/responses from other Coral Listers who may have experience with such issues Cheers, Mark Tupper Dr. Mark Tupper, Assistant Professor University of Guam Marine Laboratory UOG Station, Mangilao Guam 96923, USA Tel. 671-735-2185; Fax 671-734-6767 Coordinator, Marine Protected Areas Research Group http://www.uog.edu/marinelab/mpa/index.html From bneill at bestweb.net Thu Mar 14 10:13:11 2002 From: bneill at bestweb.net (Bruce Neill) Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 10:13:11 -0500 Subject: Echinoid Character Set Message-ID: In the spirit of the Tree of Life Initiative, and to facilitate communication among researchers interested in systematic analyses of regular echinoids, I would like to compile a morphological character-set potentially suitable for systematic analysis of any regular echinoid group. As characters are submitted, I will compile a list (citing the source (author and/or publication - if appropriate) of the characters). Once the character-set is completed, I will make it available on appropriate list-servers and any other media in which it might be suitably presented (e.g., the Echinoderm Newsletter). If you are interested in commenting on, or contributing to this character-set list, please reply to me (off-list) at bneill at bestweb.net. I will gather the addresses of those interested parties and proceed to compile the character-set. My apologies for cross-postings. Bruce Neill, Ph.D. bneill at bestweb.net ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Mark.Spalding at unep-wcmc.org Thu Mar 14 12:15:37 2002 From: Mark.Spalding at unep-wcmc.org (Mark Spalding) Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 17:15:37 +0000 Subject: World Atlas of Coral Reefs Message-ID: For those interested, a second print-run has just become available. We have incorporated a small number of corrections, and for any people who have copies of the first print-run you can down-load the corrected pages from our web-site: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/marine/coralatlas/index.htm Others may wish to look at sample pages on the same site. Finally, I will be leaving employment at UNEP-WCMC from today and will be working freelance. Although I hope to maintain a close association with UNEP-WCMC, queries relating to the Centre's work or interests should now be addressed to Ed Green, or to: information at unep-wcmc.org My personal contact details are below. All best Mark __________________________________________ Mark Spalding, PhD Consultant Marine Ecologist and Research Associate, Cambridge Coastal Research Unit University of Cambridge Home: 17 The Green, Ashley, Newmarket, CB8 9EB, UK e-mail: mark at mdspalding.co.uk Tel: +44 1638 730760 (Home) --------------------------------------------------------------- This E-mail and any attachments are private, intended solely for the use of the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, they have been sent to you in error: any use of information in them is strictly prohibited. The employer reserves the right to monitor the content of the message and any reply received. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From smangubhai at africaonline.co.ke Fri Mar 15 05:59:17 2002 From: smangubhai at africaonline.co.ke (Sangeeta Mangubhai) Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 13:59:17 +0300 Subject: Options for small island groups? Message-ID: Coral-listers, I am currently doing a paper looking at conservation/sustainable use options for reef resources of small islands/island groups and would like some assistance obtaining literature on 'real-life' examples from different parts of the world. I need to assess various options to determine their environmental and socio-economic costs and benefits, in the short and long term. The areas I lack information on: 1. Conservation Endowments 2. Rights Purchasing (e.go. Fishing Licenses) 3. Land Purchasing - I know of the TNC/Palmyra Atoll only - but a contact person for this project would be welcome. Can you please direct me to any of the following: (1) projects (and their contacts), (2) reports/papers, and/or (3) websites. In addition, I would be interested in hearing from those who have done similar assessments/options papers with regard to the assessment criteria they use to determine which is the more feasible options. This is a management orientated question - please let me know if there are other emailing lists I should try and contact and send them this query. Thank you in advance. Sangeeta *********************************************** Sangeeta Mangubhai P.O. Box 10135 Bamburi Mombasa KENYA Tel: +254-(011)-474-582 Email: smangubhai at africaonline.co.ke From McCarty_and_Peters at compuserve.com Fri Mar 15 09:03:19 2002 From: McCarty_and_Peters at compuserve.com (McCarty and Peters) Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 09:03:19 -0500 Subject: Seeking Course Information Message-ID: Dear All, The Education and Outreach Committee of the Coral Disease and Health Consortium (sponsored by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force and federal agencies) is compiling information on courses and training programs offered by institutions or individuals related to any aspect of coral health or disease (for example, basic coral biology, systematics, algal symbiosis, cnidarian physiology, microbiology, histopathology). If you teach a course or know of one being offered, please send the course title, institution, instructor and contact information, brief description, whether offered for credit to undergraduates or graduates, and approximate date(s) offered to me at mccarty_and_peters at compuserve.com This information will be presented in a report and other formats being prepared by the Consortium to help students and professionals identify resources for training in this field. Thank you very much! Esther Peters, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From shak at africaonline.co.ke Sat Mar 16 01:49:07 2002 From: shak at africaonline.co.ke (M.G. Visram) Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 09:49:07 +0300 Subject: Inquiry Message-ID: Dear coral listers, Does anyone know of an accurate and reliable method for estimating the areal density of zooxanthellae in Pocillopora damicornis besides the use of tin-foil paper, which I find neither acurate nor practical for this species due to the thin and intricate branching nature of the skeleton. many thanks, Shakil Visram From jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Sun Mar 17 16:41:30 2002 From: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu (John McManus) Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 16:41:30 -0500 Subject: Anyone working on agent-based reef models? Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, NCORE and its partner institutions will be setting up various activities involving people who are currently or will soon be applying agent-based models to coral reefs or related coastal environments, including coastal human communities. If this applies to you, please write us a short paragraph on the project you are involved with. Please copy to cdickman at rsmas.miami.edu. Cheers! John _________________________________________________________ John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida 33149. jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tel. (305) 361-4814 Fax (305) 361-4910 www.ncoremiami.org ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Sun Mar 17 16:51:32 2002 From: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu (John McManus) Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 16:51:32 -0500 Subject: Updating your information Message-ID: Dear Colleagues: Many of us who set up workshops often need to find specialists in particular areas. One of the best sources of such information, as well as email addresses, is the CHAMP Online Coral Researchers Directory. I find that some of the information there is long out-of-date. Thus, some people may be missing out on important opportunities. I encourage everyone to keep this information current. Cheers! John _________________________________________________________ John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida 33149. jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tel. (305) 361-4814 Fax (305) 361-4910 www.ncoremiami.org ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From skelton_p at hotmail.com Mon Mar 18 01:07:45 2002 From: skelton_p at hotmail.com (Posa A. Skelton) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 06:07:45 +0000 Subject: Coral Bleaching Nou Caledonia Message-ID: Dear Coral Listers, Below is a message from one of our GCRMN national coordinators in Noumea, New Caledonia. -------------------------------------------------------------------- >to whom it may concern, >this is just to point out the fact that large areas of bleaching is >occuring in New >Caledonia. >Further information will be sent later > > >------------------------------------------------------------------- >Pri?re de r?pondre ? env at province-sud.nc >Chef du service de l'environnement >DEVINCK Fran?ois Posa A. Skelton Marine Studies Programme The University of the South Pacific Suva, FIJI ISLANDS skelton_p at hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From michael.rard at univ-reunion.fr Mon Mar 18 03:52:14 2002 From: michael.rard at univ-reunion.fr (Michaël RARD) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 11:52:14 +0300 Subject: Coral Bleaching in Reunion Island Message-ID: Thank you Posa for this interessant information. Here, in Reunion Island is some bleaching in 2 sites, just because of the mud imported by the last hurricane Dina in january, but not now due to the sea T?C. And, to my mind and when I compare the sea temperature we have in our reefs, because of the rains due to the 2 hurricanes we have had since the beginning of this year, the seawater T?C is 1?C less than the last 2 years. So I think that this year, we will not have bleaching caused by too high temperatures, but perhaps due to rains and mud in freshwater imported by hurricanes. Many thanks, and have a nice day Micha?l -- Micha?l RARD Laboratoire d'Ecologie Marine, Universit? de la R?union 97715 Saint Denis messag CEDEX 9, France Tel : (262) 262-93-81-57, Fax : (262) 262-93-86-85 http://perso.wanadoo.fr/mika.dit.kl/html/ContactsMika.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: Posa A. Skelton To: Cc: ; ; ; ; ; ; Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 9:07 AM Subject: Coral Bleaching Nou Caledonia > Dear Coral Listers, > > Below is a message from one of our GCRMN national coordinators in Noumea, > New Caledonia. > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > >to whom it may concern, > >this is just to point out the fact that large areas of bleaching is > >occuring in New > >Caledonia. > >Further information will be sent later > > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Pri?re de r?pondre ? env at province-sud.nc > >Chef du service de l'environnement > >DEVINCK Fran?ois > > > > Posa A. Skelton > Marine Studies Programme > The University of the South Pacific > Suva, FIJI ISLANDS > skelton_p at hotmail.com > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From smangubhai at africaonline.co.ke Mon Mar 18 06:54:34 2002 From: smangubhai at africaonline.co.ke (Sangeeta Mangubhai) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 14:54:34 +0300 Subject: Journal referencing? Message-ID: Apologies for my non-coral/technical query. Is there a website I can access to look through an electronic version of the "World List of Scientific Periodicals" (Butterworths, London"? Most my web searches have led me to libraries (for which I am not a member) or only to a library reference number. Thanks Sangeeta From T.Gardner at uea.ac.uk Mon Mar 18 10:32:28 2002 From: T.Gardner at uea.ac.uk (Toby Gardner) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 15:32:28 +0000 (GMT Standard Time) Subject: repeat message Message-ID: Apologies to the list. A message I originally sent 2 weeks ago has just reappeared in my in box, I presume everyone got it twice. Jim Hendee - Has something upset the server ? Toby Toby Gardner Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation School of Biological Sciences University East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ Tel: 01603 610340 Email: t.gardner at uea.ac.uk ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov Mon Mar 18 12:38:07 2002 From: Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 12:38:07 -0500 Subject: repeat message Message-ID: There are several reasons a message may not make it to you soon after it is sent. a) The person who sent it sent it from another email address from that which there are known to coral-list as. This happens a lot. For instance, Joe at somewhere.com sends a message, but he registered as Joe at email.somewhere.com. Or, the send is now at another institution, but forgot to let me (or better, majordomo at coral.aoml.noaa.gov) know. Quite often I just forward the message instead of hassling the sender and try to find out who the guy/gal was so I can change their email address for them. b) The message gets stopped in cyberspace because a server or route was temporarily down. c) The email queue on the coral-list server stacks up messages that were attempted to be delivered, but couldn't for whatever reason, then it tries again. d) Other. In other words, I haven't a clue. Please, when you change email addresses, let me know, or better yet, use the procedure as it was outlined to you when you got your Welcome Message. Thanks! Cheers, Jim Toby Gardner wrote: > Apologies to the list. > > A message I originally sent 2 weeks ago has just reappeared > in my in box, I presume everyone got it twice. > > Jim Hendee - Has something upset the server ? > > Toby > > Toby Gardner > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation > School of Biological Sciences > University East Anglia > Norwich NR4 7TJ > Tel: 01603 610340 > Email: t.gardner at uea.ac.uk > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov Mon Mar 18 12:38:07 2002 From: Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 12:38:07 -0500 Subject: repeat message Message-ID: There are several reasons a message may not make it to you soon after it is sent. a) The person who sent it sent it from another email address from that which there are known to coral-list as. This happens a lot. For instance, Joe at somewhere.com sends a message, but he registered as Joe at email.somewhere.com. Or, the send is now at another institution, but forgot to let me (or better, majordomo at coral.aoml.noaa.gov) know. Quite often I just forward the message instead of hassling the sender and try to find out who the guy/gal was so I can change their email address for them. b) The message gets stopped in cyberspace because a server or route was temporarily down. c) The email queue on the coral-list server stacks up messages that were attempted to be delivered, but couldn't for whatever reason, then it tries again. d) Other. In other words, I haven't a clue. Please, when you change email addresses, let me know, or better yet, use the procedure as it was outlined to you when you got your Welcome Message. Thanks! Cheers, Jim Toby Gardner wrote: > Apologies to the list. > > A message I originally sent 2 weeks ago has just reappeared > in my in box, I presume everyone got it twice. > > Jim Hendee - Has something upset the server ? > > Toby > > Toby Gardner > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation > School of Biological Sciences > University East Anglia > Norwich NR4 7TJ > Tel: 01603 610340 > Email: t.gardner at uea.ac.uk > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From mark.eakin at noaa.gov Mon Mar 18 13:30:38 2002 From: mark.eakin at noaa.gov (C. Mark Eakin) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 11:30:38 -0700 Subject: Inquiry Message-ID: People have also used wax and dye dip methods that assume that the amount of material retained on the skeleton is a reasonable estimate of surface area. In the former, the wax adhering to the skeleton is melted back off and weighed. In the latter, the dye is suspended in a known volume of sovlent and tested colorometrically. There are also photographic techniques that might be applicable, but could be difficult to apply to P. damicornis. See the following: Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1988). "A method for determining the surface area of corals." Coral Reefs 7(3): 113-116. Ben-Zion, M., Y. Achituv, et al. (1991). "A photographic, computerized method for measurements of surface area in Millepora." Symbiosis 10: 115-121. "M.G. Visram" wrote: > Dear coral listers, Does anyone know of an accurate and reliable method > for estimating the areal density of zooxanthellae in Pocillopora > damicornis besides the use of tin-foil paper, which I find neither acurate > nor practical for this species due to the thin and intricate branching > nature of the skeleton. many thanks, Shakil Visram -- C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D. Chief of NOAA Paleoclimatology Program and Director of the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA/National Geophysical Data Center 325 Broadway E/GC Boulder, CO 80305-3328 Voice: 303-497-6172 Fax: 303-497-6513 Internet: mark.eakin at noaa.gov http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo.html C. Mark Eakin Chief and Director of World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA / NGDC Paleoclimatology Program C. Mark Eakin Chief and Director of World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA / NGDC Paleoclimatology Program 325 Broadway, E/GCx3 Fax: 303-497-6513 Boulder Work: 303-497-6172 CO Conference Software Address 80305-3328 Specific Directory Server USA Additional Information: Last Name Eakin First Name C. Mark Version 2.1 From mark.eakin at noaa.gov Mon Mar 18 13:41:16 2002 From: mark.eakin at noaa.gov (C. Mark Eakin) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 11:41:16 -0700 Subject: Sea urchin mortality at the Johnson Atoll Message-ID: I suggest that people also should collect as wide a variety of physical data as possible. At least temperature and any unusual salinity values. here has been some indication that such infestations could be more destructive at higher temperatures. Data are needed to test this and other hypotheses that may link the diseases to physical factors. Mark Harilaos Lessios wrote: > Lindsey Hays, the refuge manager at the Johnson Atoll, reports widespread mortality of Echinothrix (and maybe Diadema as well) all around the Atoll. It seems that most of the sea urchins got sick and died rapidly. He is making efforts to collect samples, so that the pathogens and the hosts can be identified. > > This may turn out to be a localized phenomenon, but this is what we initially thought about the Diadema mortality in the Caribbean as well. Just in case it spreads, it would be very useful for people in other areas in the Pacific (particularly Hawaii and the Marshall Islands) to be ready for it. Surveys to determine population density of Echinothrix and Diadema done now in unaffected areas can provide data that will become extremely valuable. > > It would also be a good idea to know ahead of time what to do if the mortality should appear elsewhere. It is all common sense, but when things are happening in a hurry, it is good to have a list. If you notice sick or dying sea urchins anywhere in the central Pacific: > > 1.Note the date of the observation, and also note the date that populations were last seen to be healthy. > > 2. Collect specimens. Some should be kept in 95% ethanol, some in 5% formaldehyde, some frozen and (if possible) some should be cooled down on ice for fast shipment to a microbiologist. > > 3. If there are still healthy-looking animals around, collect some of these too, so that their bacterial fauna can be compared with that of the sick ones. > > 4. If you have the time and the inclination, mark areas where the mortality is occurring and areas where it does not seam to have reached yet. Then monitor these areas by counting numbers of healthy, sick and dead animals. > > 5. Keep looking, even after the time that it seems that all the Echinothrix is dead. You may notice new ones emerging after a while (it happened with Diadema antillarum). > > 6. Don't expect the tests to stay around for very long. They break down to unrecognizable ossicles in a matter of days (parrot fish may help). > > I hope that none of this will be necessary, because whatever is killing the sea urchins at the Johnson Atoll will remain there. Lindsay Hayes did a great job of contacting people as soon as he realized that something was amiss. I wanted to spread the world around more widely in case things get worse. > > Haris Lessios > > **************************** > H.A. Lessios > Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute > Balboa, Panama > > Telephone: +507/212-8708 > Fax: +507/212-8790 or 212-8791 > >From the US (domestic call): 202/786-2099 x 8708 > Mail address: > >From the USA: > Unit 0948 > APO AA 34002-0948 > >From elsewhere: > Box 2072 > Balboa, Panama > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. -- C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D. Chief of NOAA Paleoclimatology Program and Director of the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA/National Geophysical Data Center 325 Broadway E/GC Boulder, CO 80305-3328 Voice: 303-497-6172 Fax: 303-497-6513 Internet: mark.eakin at noaa.gov http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- C. Mark Eakin Chief and Director of World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA / NGDC Paleoclimatology Program C. Mark Eakin Chief and Director of World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA / NGDC Paleoclimatology Program 325 Broadway, E/GCx3 Fax: 303-497-6513 Boulder Work: 303-497-6172 CO Conference Software Address 80305-3328 Specific Directory Server USA Additional Information: Last Name Eakin First Name C. Mark Version 2.1 From jdwsn at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu Mon Mar 18 15:00:16 2002 From: jdwsn at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu (John Dawson) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 14:00:16 -0600 (CST) Subject: Inquiry Message-ID: A more recent publication: J. C. Bythell, P. Pan, J. Lee. Three-dimensional morphometric measurements of reef corals using underwater photogrammetry techniques. Coral Reefs (2001) 20: 193-199 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John P. Dawson Ph.D. candidate - Department of Geoscience 121 Trowbridge Hall | The University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA 52242 Tel: (319)-335-1805 | Fax: (319)-335-1821 | jdwsn at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Mon, 18 Mar 2002, C. Mark Eakin wrote: > People have also used wax and dye dip methods that assume that the amount of material retained on the skeleton is a > reasonable estimate of surface area. In the former, the wax adhering to the skeleton is melted back off and weighed. In the > latter, the dye is suspended in a known volume of sovlent and tested colorometrically. There are also photographic > techniques that might be applicable, but could be difficult to apply to P. damicornis. See the following: > > Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1988). "A method for determining the surface area of corals." Coral Reefs 7(3): 113-116. > > Ben-Zion, M., Y. Achituv, et al. (1991). "A photographic, computerized method for measurements of surface area in Millepora." > Symbiosis 10: 115-121. > > > "M.G. Visram" wrote: > Dear coral listers, Does anyone know of an accurate and reliable method for estimating the areal density of > zooxanthellae in Pocillopora damicornis besides the use of tin-foil paper, which I find neither acurate nor > practical for this species due to the thin and intricate branching nature of the skeleton. many thanks, Shakil > Visram > > -- > C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D. > Chief of NOAA Paleoclimatology Program and > Director of the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology > > NOAA/National Geophysical Data Center > 325 Broadway E/GC > Boulder, CO 80305-3328 > Voice: 303-497-6172 Fax: 303-497-6513 > Internet: mark.eakin at noaa.gov > http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo.html > > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Cheva.Heck at noaa.gov Mon Mar 18 15:23:00 2002 From: Cheva.Heck at noaa.gov (Cheva Heck) Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 15:23:00 -0500 Subject: NOAA Levies $112,000 in Penalties for Tortugas Reserve Violations Message-ID: For Immediate Release: March 14, 2002 Contact: Cheva Heck Public Affairs Officer Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 305.292.0311 305.304.0179 (cell) NOAA Levies $112,000 in Penalties for First Tortugas Ecological Reserve Violations Key West, Florida National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) attorneys have issued citations totaling $112,000 in the first eight cases against vessels charged with poaching in the highly protected waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary?s Tortugas Ecological Reserve. ?We hope the substantial penalties in these cases send the message that NOAA will not stand by while an unscrupulous few raid the waters of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve,? said Sanctuary Superintendent Billy Causey. ?We thank our partners, the United States Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for their assistance in ensuring that law-abiding citizens will see the reserve?s benefits become a reality.? Three of the eight cases involve shrimp boats observed by a United States Coast Guard cutter in the Tortugas North section of the reserve on January 22nd, 2002. ?A $20,000 citation was issued against Donald Tomko, operator, and G.F. Partnership, owner, of the Fishing Vessel (F/V) Green Flash of Ft. Myers, Florida. In addition, 1,773 lbs. of shrimp were seized and sold. ?A $20,000 citation was issued against Paul Mendres, operator, and Perseverance I LLC, owner, of the F/V Perseverance I of Ft. Myers, FL. In addition, 2,503 lbs. of shrimp were seized and sold. The Green Flash and the Perseverance I share the same owners, operating under different corporate names. ? A $12,000 citation was issued against Son Truong Vo, operator, and Nhan Tran, owner, of the F/V Daylight II of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. In addition, 1,062 lbs. of shrimp were seized and sold. A fourth Coast Guard case made on January 24, 2002 in Tortugas North resulted in a $12,000 citation against Paul Van Thai, owner/operator of the F/V Mayflower of D?Iberville, Mississippi. In addition, 5,207 lbs. of shrimp were seized and sold. On February 1, 2002, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers made cases against two vessels fishing for reef fish (such as snapper and grouper) in Tortugas North: ? A $12,000 citation was issued against Ernesto Oliver, operator, and Elio Quesada, owner of the F/V 3 Hermanos of Key West, Florida. In addition, 1,123 lbs. of mixed reef fish were seized and sold. ? A $12,000 citation was issued against Roberto Rojas, Jr., owner/operator of the F/V El Cheve of Key West, Florida. In addition, 1,047 lbs. of mixed reef fish were seized and sold. NOAA attorneys charged all six vessels with fishing in Tortugas North, entering Tortugas North without a permit and anchoring in Tortugas North without a permit. FWC officers made two additional cases on January 26, 2002 in the Tortugas South section of the reserve. ? A $12,000 citation was issued against Jose L. Miranda Corrales, operator, and Pablo and Pedro Rioseco, owners, of the F/V Francisco of Key West, Florida. In addition, the vessel abandoned 33 lbs. of yellowtail snapper. ? A $12,000 citation was issued against Horacio Gonzalez, owner/operator of the F/V El Sol of Key West, Florida. In addition, the vessel abandoned 239 lbs. of mixed reef fish. NOAA attorneys charged the two vessels with fishing in Tortugas South, entering Tortugas South and failing to maintain continuous transit, and anchoring in Tortugas South. ?The Tortugas reserve was established through a collaborative process in which commercial fishermen played a major role. The commercial fishing industry has had plenty of time to learn about the regulations,? said NOAA attorney Robin Jung. ? These cases should serve as a warning. In the future, penalties will most likely be even higher.? Regulations in the federal waters of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve took effect March 8, 2001, and rules in state waters followed on July 1, 2001. The entire reserve is closed to fishing and anchoring. Vessels may enter Tortugas North via a free, no-paperwork access permit. Visitors may dive in Tortugas North, and mooring boys are available. Vessels may enter Tortugas South only if they maintain continuous transit through the area with fishing gear stowed. Diving and snorkeling are prohibited. For more information on the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, visit the Sanctuary?s web site at http://www.fknms.nos.noaa.gov or call 305.292.0311. ##### From joshua at nova.edu Tue Mar 19 04:32:36 2002 From: joshua at nova.edu (Joshua Feingold) Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 03:32:36 -0600 Subject: Inquiry Message-ID: Shakil, I have had good success with the "wax method" to determine the surface area= =20 of complex shapes like the branches of Pocillopora. The basic method is to dry the coral to a constant weight, then dip it in=20 melted paraffin (paraplast), let the wax harden and then weigh the coral=20 and wax again. The surface area will be proportional to the increase in=20 weight. I used this technique on Psammocora and in standardization trials=20 found that wax weight was significantly correlated to coral surface area (p= =20 << 0.001, r =3D 0.996). This method was originally described and used on Pocillopora in Glynn &=20 D'Croz (1990) Experimental evidence for high temperature stress as the=20 cause of the El Ni=F1o-coincident coral mortality. Coral Reefs, 8:181-191. Cheers, Joshua Feingold Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center Dania Beach, Florida, USA At 09:49 AM 03/16/2002 +0300, you wrote: >Dear coral listers, > >Does anyone know of an accurate and reliable method for estimating the=20 >areal density of zooxanthellae in Pocillopora damicornis besides the use=20 >of tin-foil paper, which I find neither acurate nor practical for this=20 >species due to the thin and intricate branching nature of the skeleton. > >many thanks, > >Shakil Visram > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov Tue Mar 19 13:44:56 2002 From: Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 13:44:56 -0500 Subject: repeat message Message-ID: Sorry, I didn't mean to intimate the whole problem lies with the senders. I think it is also a problem with the mail queue, the priority of the messages (set by majordomo), and probably the nature of the actual server being so old. I sometimes look in the queue and see that some messages are a week old--for some reason they weren't able to make it out. We are transitioning to a new server, so hopefully the problem will go away soon. Thanks for your patience. cheers, Jim David Tapley wrote: > I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but I too receive late > messages from time to time, and I assume several others do as well. > > It has happened maybe three times since I subscribed a few months ago. > > Here is what happens: I start receiving messages from anywhere to a > few hours to several weeks old, one every few minutes. I have a > cluttered inbox, so I usually don't know it's happening until I see a > message arrive, but it's nowhere to be seen until I scroll up a > hundred messages or so and lo and behold, there it is, and there are > some other messages I didn't know where there. I then keep wathcing > as I check mail, and the derlayed messages trickle in for a day or > two. > > So I don't think the problem is with an individual sender or > recipient, it seems to be with the listserver. In this last bout I'd > estimate I received about thirty very delayed messages within a day > or two. > > Coral-list is the only list among the several to which I belong that > exhibits this phenomenon. > > Hope this helps. > > David > ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- > David W. Tapley vox: 978-542-6381 > Assistant Professor fax: 978-542-6863 > Introductory Biology Coordinator > Department of Biology > Salem State College > 352 Lafayette St. > Salem, MA 01970 dtapley at salemstate.edu > ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From b.p.horton at durham.ac.uk Tue Mar 19 14:03:14 2002 From: b.p.horton at durham.ac.uk (Ben Horton) Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 19:03:14 -0000 Subject: phd studentship; Durham, UK Message-ID: NERC Industrial Case Fellowship 2002: Sea-level change and coastal evolution: impacts on Wakatobi National Park, Indonesia. This Project has been awarded a NERC Industrial Case Studentship. For more information on how to apply, please contact Dr Ben Horton, Department of Geography, University of Durham, UK. Tel (+44 191) 374 2486; B.P.Horton at Durham.ac.uk; http://www.geography.dur.ac.uk/postgrad_info/index.html Deadline for applications: 9th April 2002 Supervisors: Dr Benjamin P. Horton, Professor Ian Shennan (University of Durham); Dr Charlotte Bryant (NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory); and Dr Tim Coles (Operation Wallacea Ltd). Detrimental changes to the marine environment, whether related to factors such as altered anthropogenic practices or climate variations, are a major concern to all those involved in research into, or the preservation of, modern reefs and their associated biota. Natural influences, such as tectonics and relative sea- level (RSL) change, have had a major effect on the marine environment and reef development through time. It is only through knowledge of past environmental change and influencing factors that we can hope to understand and quantify modern changes and human impact on the environment. Any changes to the marine environment of Wakatobi Marine National Park would affect the conservation value of the area, damage ecosystems and concern the dive and research tourism, and back-packer market of Operation Wallacea Ltd. The fieldwork will consist of 2 summer seasons within Wakotobi National Park, Indonesia, with subsequent analysis based at the University of Durham. The aims of this work are to: (1) To develop a quantitative palaeoenvironmental reconstruction technique that can be used to provide accurate reconstructions of Holocene sea-level history from a variety of sedimentary environments; (2) To generate a high-resolution age model that can be combined with precise reconstruction of former sea levels to examine decadal to century scale fluctuations of sea-level change; (3) To evaluate controlling factors, such as sea-level rise, influencing modern marine environments, thereby allowing evaluation of processes affecting local and regional carbonate and reef development of Wakatobi Marine National Park, SE Sulawesi. From Bprecht at pbsj.com Tue Mar 19 15:55:57 2002 From: Bprecht at pbsj.com (Precht, Bill) Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 14:55:57 -0600 Subject: Black Water Message-ID: Dear Coral-List: A.G.Mayor (1902) reported a phenomenon referred to as "black water" that nearly eliminated all the staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) at Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas, Florida in 1878. I bring this reference to the attention of the coral-list because of a moving area of "black water" that is presently being observed in the Gulf of Mexico off the southwest coast of Florida. I have attached clips and pieces of recent news highlights regarding this ongoing event below. To those working on reefs of Florida this will be interesting to follow. cheers, Bill William F. Precht ecological sciences Program Manager PBS&J see AG Mayor (1902) The Tortugas as a station for research in biology. Science 17:190-192 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- Scientists intrigued by mysterious 'black water' phenomenon; collection of samples to begin today Tuesday, March 19, 2002 Naples Daily News http://www.naplesnews.com/02/03/naples/d720561a.htm By CATHY ZOLLO, crzollo at naplesnews.com MARATHON KEY - Scientists, environmentalists and fishermen agreed Monday that there needs to be aggressive research into what caused the black water phenomenon over recent months in the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers for Mote Marine Laboratory and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary will try today to collect samples of the water that's been trapped in some areas of the Keys. Mote will send the samples to Florida Marine Research Institute for testing. Fishermen who've spent a lifetime on the water say they've never seen anything like the black mass of water that is now breaking up in the reefs and churning waters where the gulf meets the Atlantic. Most of the mass, which was first discovered south of Marco Island and heading south en masse, has dissipated in recent days, fishermen report. "It's still in the islands, still in the water. It's just mixed," said Tim Daniels, 58, and a fourth generation Keys fisherman. Now they say they're worried about what the fallout from its passage through sensitive habitat will be. Others wonder if they might be seeing some of its effects already. Since January when fishermen first noticed the black water, volunteers and researchers at Hidden Harbor Marine Environmental Project in Marathon Key say they've seen five turtles come in with unexplained pneumonia. The hospital takes in distressed and dying sea turtles, rehabilitates them and then releases them into the wild when that is possible. Oddly, the turtles seem only to have eaten sea sponges even though their diet is much more varied, said Richie Moretti, director of the project. "It's like there's nothing else out there for them to eat," said Sue Schaf, animal and education coordinator for the project. Fishermen noted that rafts of dead plants from the seabed followed the black water's movement through Florida Bay and into the Keys. They find the loss of habitat troubling, "You change the cycle of something in nature, and that's not good," said Rich Stiglitz, 48, who has been fishing the Keys since 1969. He and other fishermen have been watching the results of one imbalance that has left them with vast numbers of sea urchins chewing up sea grass and leaving no habitat for marine life behind. Researchers don't know what's causing the sea urchin boom. That phenomenon, growing in scope for more than a decade, is slowly taking over Florida Bay, Daniels said. Dr. Ellen Prager, associate dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, traveled to the Keys on Monday to have a look for herself and said fishermen's descriptions of the water sound like some kind of algae or bacteria bloom. "Different organisms can create different blooms in different ways in different colors," Prager said. And this bloom, if that's what it is, could be the ocean-going equivalent of a 100 years flood, said Dr. Charles Messing, a professor and marine biologist from Nova Southeastern University. "It may be something we've never seen before," he said. That a bloom might move south from the Naples area and down through the Keys was not unusual, said Brian Keller, science coordinator for the Keys Sanctuary, but he said the black water is, and it has their interest. "At this stage, we just don't have a good idea of the source of the water," he said. Its collection and testing is the beginning. Hindering the search for a cause will be the many factors at play in the gulf at the time the phenomenon showed up, Messing said. Those variables include the temperature, salinity and chemical composition of the water and how it was moving. Environmentalists in the Keys said with one voice that more money needs to go into funding research. "We never have enough money," said Nancy Klingenger, Florida Keys program manager for the Ocean Conservancy. "Ocean ecosystems are so complex. It's so difficult to learn about them." Other environmentalists also said the public should demand funding for research, but DeeVon Quirolo, executive director of Reef Relief, a worldwide grass-roots organization dedicated to protecting coral reefs, said governments already know some of what they need to do, but the impetus to do it must come from public outcry. "We do know that the amount of pollution that is increasing in our oceans needs to be reduced so we can have healthy, clean oceans. Policy-makers have to take steps." Fishermen aren't optimistic that a solution is on the horizon. They've been reporting to scientists and government agencies for years about urchins gobbling up the sea grass habitat only to be told it's being studied. Part of the problem, Daniels said, is the lack of communication between fishermen and the people who study the oceans. "They don't want that tag on their work," he said, "that commercial fishermen helped them." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- Editorial: Experts should urgently plunge into 'black water' Tuesday, March 19, 2002 http://www.naplesnews.com/02/03/perspective/d710558a.htm The Naples Daily News GULF OF MEXICO Experts should urgently plunge into 'black water' Black water. Most of us have never heard of it. Of more concern, supposed scientific experts from public agencies who are supposed to keep abreast of such phenomenon, do not know what is going on. Now that it has been on the front page - ours, on Sunday - environmental and public health agencies will be hard pressed to ignore a huge patch of the Gulf of Mexico between Collier County and the Florida Keys where fish and other wildlife have been dying off for months. Until now, concerns of commercial fisherman, some of whom have reported strange and serious skin diseases, have been easy to cast aside because they lack a big, powerful lobby. Answers are of extra urgency due to today's headlines about national security. A spate of red tides and the idea of a marine counterpart to a black hole in space imperiling underwater sanctuaries prompt additional public interest. Answers are in order. Given all the bureaucratic firepower lined up for such jobs, newly alerted experts ought to leap into action. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Commercial fishermen demand answers to 'black water' mystery Sunday, March 17, 2002 Naples Daily News http://www.naplesnews.com/02/03/naples/d599686a.htm By CATHY ZOLLO, crzollo at naplesnews.com Commercial fishermen along the Southwest Florida coast are reporting a massive dead zone that is almost devoid of marine life in an area of the Gulf of Mexico traditionally known as a rich fishing ground. They've dubbed it black water, and they're demanding that local, state and national government agencies find out what's causing it. Scientists who have heard of the phenomenon say they, too, need answers. "It's killed a lot of the bottom because recently a lot of little bottom plants are coming to the surface dead and rotten out in the Gulf," said Tim Daniels, 58, a Marathon Key fish-spotting pilot who has been flying over the Gulf for more than 20 years. Like Daniels, fishermen with decades on the water say they've often seen red tide but they've never seen anything like this - it doesn't have a foul smell, it isn't red tide and it isn't oil. They describe it as viscous and slimy water with what looks like spider webs in it. First sighted in January, the mass of black-colored water reached from 20 miles north of Marathon Key halfway to Naples. It stretched west almost 20 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Fishermen don't know if it's moved in from the north or offshore or if it originated in the coastal waters off Southwest Florida. Though somewhat smaller now than descriptions from January, the mass of water that is still quite large is moving into the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Created by Congress in 1990, the 2,800-square-mile Sanctuary adjacent to the Keys is the largest coral reef in the United States. It includes the productive waters of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the ecosystem is an extensive nursery, feeding and breeding ground that supports a variety of marine species and a multimillion-dollar fishing industry that brings in almost 20 million pounds of seafood each year. Billy Causey, superintendent of the Sanctuary, told the Naples Daily News recently that there is real concern in the scientific community about the overall health of the Gulf. Causey said contributing to the problems afflicting the shallow body is global warming, extended periods when the Gulf waters aren't cooling in the winter, and the growing impact of human activity along coastlines. "What we're seeing is part of a bigger picture," Causey said. "We're seeing accelerated problems around periods of elevated temperatures." Those problems, beginning in the early 1980s, include more frequent and longer lasting coral bleaching events that by 1990 were affecting stouter coral reefs closer to shore and more adapted to wide temperature swings. "There are places that are still beautiful but the shallow reefs would make you cry," said Causey, a Keys diver since the 1950s. Scientists with Mote Marine Laboratory based in Sarasota said they are aware of the black water phenomenon but hadn't yet been able to test water samples. Erich Bartels, staff biologist at the Lab's Center for Tropical Research in the Keys, said he'd only seen samples too old for testing that were brought in by crabbers. "If you held it up to the light, it had a blackish tint to it," he said. "...If you have black water, there is something going on. It's some kind of dead zone. We just don't know. We're trying to get samples." Mote is willing to send out testing kits to fishermen who might encounter the black water zone, but Bartels said in the absence of a kit, fishermen could put a sample in a clean bottle and keep it in a cool, dark place until they could get it to a lab. Karen Steidinger, senior biology research scientist for the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg, said she hadn't yet heard about the phenomenon. She said there's a summer release of brown water from the Shark River about 35 miles south of Marco Island, but she doubted the black water was that. The description relayed to her from fishermen didn't allow her to speculate on a cause. Steidinger said samples of the water that had been properly handled would provide the best answer. Black water surfaces Daniels said he first noticed the black water when he went out in mid-January, ahead of kingfish season, to see what fishermen had in store for 2002. When he was flying over water that was 50 feet deep and north of the Keys, Daniels began to notice a change in the water color. "I thought, 'What in the world is going on here?"' Daniels said. "I went out to the northwest and it was solid black. And I went to the west to get off of it - out to 70 or 80 feet of water north of the Marquesas (Islands) - and it was still there. I came back in and turned north of Key West and it went north. (More than) halfway to Naples from Key West, it was black across the whole place." Although there are almost no fish in the zone, Daniels said, the few that fishermen found there - and other fish that entered the water - reacted strangely. "You'd see them here and there, but they were jumping and running, not stopping - and acting different," Daniels said. "Like they didn't want to be there." Other pilots and fishermen report the same. Mike Richardson, based out of Everglades City, has been fish-spotting for 25 of his 50 years and said next to the normally green water, the black water stands out like night versus day. He's quit flying over it. "There's no sense going into it," he said. "You can't see anything." He hasn't seen dead fish in the water, though there have been numerous large fish kills in recent months off Southwest Florida. Most, according to the Florida Marine Research Institute, have been attributed to red tide - a naturally occurring microscopic organism in the water. Fishermen like Howie Grimm, 42, who has been in the business out of Everglades City since he was 15, insist the black water isn't red tide. "It's something totally different from anything I've seen," Grimm said. "We have to figure out what it is. There's no fish in it. It's like dead water." Richardson, too, has seen plenty of red tide, whose origins are still not fully understood by scientists. "This is not like anything I've ever seen," he said. When pilots from the air see boats move through a red tide zone, they often cut the reddish or brownish water to reveal green below. That doesn't occur in the black water. "This (dark) stuff goes all the way to the bottom," Richardson said. Boats that have 4 to 5 feet of hull below the surface cut through 35 to 40 feet of water and leave nothing but the same black water in their wakes. It's the same at depths of 15 feet, he said. "It didn't matter where they ran through it, nothing left a trail," Richardson said. Grimm has reported the phenomenon to officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but said he hasn't heard back yet. That it's affected the fishery, commercial fishermen have no doubt. "I've net-fished for mackerel all my life," Daniels said. "This is the first year that we haven't caught one Spanish mackerel in the Marathon area. They're not there." The southeast corner of Florida Bay, an area flushed by Atlantic waters, is the only place fishermen are catching mackerel, and they're doing it with hooks and lines, he said. Symptoms of a sick Gulf? Along with the newly discovered black water and coral bleaching, there have been other problems with the Gulf that have been documented for years. They include a New Jersey-sized dead zone coming off the Mississippi River outlet to the Gulf that consumes a larger area each summer. There are incidences of a contamination known as fibro papiloma in green turtles that live in Florida Bay. And now fishermen from Fort Myers Beach to the Keys wonder if there might be new problems to worry about. They said there have been bigger fish kills that aren't making it onto government reports. The largest, many say, occurred late last year about 30 miles off Tampa Bay. It had shrimpers pulling up netloads of dead and decaying fish off the bottom, they said. Some shrimpers based on Fort Myers Beach worry that a recent and unexplained slew of flesh-destroying infections they've seen among their number may be related to problems in the Gulf. The infection is diagnosed as cellulitis in three of their medical reports. They say it begins with a blister on the skin but swells to a large nodule before it erupts and then spreads. It can only be treated with stout antibiotics. It was mentioned by fisherman David Wellsley on CenterPoint, a 7 a.m. Sunday radio talk show hosted by Gary Burris and Ralf Brooks on WNOG-AM 1200 and 1270. Dan Basta, director of the National Marine Sanctuary program, will be the guest today, along with pilot Daniels, discussing the black water phenomenon as well as other problems with the Gulf. Two of the Fort Myers Beach fishermen who suffered the infections are Kevin Flanaghan, who nearly lost his foot, and Willie Sherwood. They work for different fleets; both run out of Fort Myers Beach. Both of them and others say there is fear among laborers in their line of work about the infection that seems to follow cuts doused with waters from the Gulf. Many report taking precautions such as bleaching their gear and washing up with heavy-duty anti-bacterial soap after pulling in their nets. The fishermen contend it's a new phenomenon. But some boat owners and local health officials speculated that the fishermen's compromising way of life - the drinking, long-term exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays and weeks at sea when they are never dry - is the culprit for their infections. The men won't lie about their lifestyles. They admit living from paycheck to paycheck, partying and drinking - then cleaning up for the most part when they're at sea. They call it coming off the hill. They'll work for 20 days or more catching fish - and then spend the money they earn in a few days ashore. But they also say folks in their line of work have been doing that for decades without the fear of this sort of infection. Ray Hoggard, 49, is among the many who say the infection is a hot topic. "It's common talk on the ship-to-ship radios," he said. A few times in recent weeks, boats have had to bring in for treatment some men who were stricken. "It's a hell of a coincidence or something's up," Hoggard said. Grant Erickson, 48, owner of Fort Myers' Erickson and Jensen Seafood, has a fleet of eight boats. He said he, too, hadn't seen the likes of these infections in the business that his family has been in for a half-century. "It seems like there's something on the bottom ... these boats (nets) drag the bottom," he said. "I don't think it's the lifestyle of the fishermen that's changed. If anything it's better than years past. There's nothing new except the infections." Dr. Mark Brown, an infectious disease specialist in Naples, said without seeing and testing the infections there is no way to identify the organism or organisms that caused them. He said the next logical step would be for someone to do an epidemiological study of the fishermen to compare them to a control group to find out what's causing the infections. Unless doctors are culturing the bug to see what it is, they may never find out, Brown said. "They need to find out if they all have the same bug," Brown said. "They're going to have to try harder to make a microbiological diagnosis of what germ is causing this. . . They may not even be looking." Health officials from Lee County, where the affected fisherman are based, said they investigate any of more than 70 communicable diseases and any odd health-related occurrence. "We need to gather a lot of information," said Dr. Judith Hartner, director of the Lee County Health Department. "The first step is somebody needs to report it." Three doctors who've seen the affected men said they didn't culture the organism that caused the infection. Brown said the symptoms of the infection - the swelling, fast pace and flesh-destroying nature as reported by the fishermen - sounds like Vibrio vulnificus, a common seagoing organism. However, he didn't speculate on why or if it might be on the rise among fishermen. According to a Johns Hopkins University Web site, the bug frequents areas where the water temperature remains high throughout the year and are most abundant in summer. The infection progresses at a rapid pace and can be fatal. Hartner said her agency needs to answer a number of questions before deciding if the infections warrant investigation. "Do the fishermen think it's unusual?" she asked. "If we do an investigation and we find out the cause, is there anything we can do to prevent it? We don't know that it's on the rise. It could be coincidence." ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From secretariat at icriforum.org Tue Mar 19 23:35:23 2002 From: secretariat at icriforum.org (Secretariat) Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 12:35:23 +0800 Subject: Invitation to ITMEMS 2 Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, As you may be aware of the ongoing preparations for the Second International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium (ITMEMS) to be organized by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) in Manila, Philippines on November 25-28, 2002, we are initially generating interest of participation among coastal management teams and managers as well as proposals for Case Studies on management practices at the global, regional and local levels. To make sure that ITMEMS 2 covers a range of relevant experiences, management practices and lessons learned from local community of developing countries to advanced technological applications in develop countries, it is the key objective of the ITMEMS 2 Organizing Committee to bring to as many network and program coastal managers and experts information on the holding of this event. The ICRI Organizing and Program Committees for ITMEMS 2 wish to solicit your assistance in disseminating the First Call for ITMEMS 2 to networks and contacts involved in coastal management in your country/area or regional unit to participate in multi-disciplinary discussions during concurrent workshop sessions and propose exemplary Case Studies on management of tropical ecosystems for presentation. Proposals should illustrate successes or inadequacies in management experiences. It is the aim of the Symposium to identify gaps and priorities for future management actions. Moreover, Symposium output and recommendations will be disseminated through ICRI member countries, partners and donor agencies for consideration in the implementation of management programs at all levels. Should you wish to know more about the organization of ITMEMS 2, information is available on web at www.icriforum.org . We would appreciate nomination from you or any assistance you could extend in disseminating this important information to your colleagues. Thank you. Sincerely, ROBERT S. JARA National Coordinator Philippines [Image] SECOND INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL MARINE ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM (2nd ITMEMS) Manila, Philippines 25-28 November, 2002 Organized by the: International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Tropical marine ecosystems are under increasing pressure from many sources, including coastal land use and development, pollution, unsustainable fishing and tourism and the impacts of global climate change. Therefore, effective management that promotes sustainable use of marine resources is essential. The 2nd International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium (2nd ITMEMS) will provide an opportunity for managers to engage in multidisciplinary discussions and sharing of experiences and lessons learned to identify gaps and priorities for future management action. The output and recommendations from the symposium will be disseminated through the partners of ICRI (including member countries, the International Coral Reef Action Network, IUCN, UNEP, WWF, the World Bank, donor agenices, etc.) and considered in the implementation of management programs for tropical ecosystems at local, national, regional and global levels. The 2nd ITMEMS will be conducted through a number of concurrent workshops that address the topics listed below. Each workshop will start with presentations of exemplary case studies that illustrate relevant experiences and lessons learned either by their successes or, equally important, their inadequacies. These will form as bases for subsequent facilitated discussions that aim to achieve clear recommendations and priorities for the management of tropical ecosystems in the future. The results of each workshop will then be reported to all participants and discussed in plenary sessions. The number of participants in each workshop group will be limited to approximately 20. Preliminary topics for workshop sessions: - co-management and social impacts of marine and coastal management; - economic benefits of conservation and sustainable use; - the role of the private sector in protection and management; - the role of protected areas and management; - monitoring to facilitate successful management; - management to mitigate the effects of climate change; - dissemination of information for coastal and marine management; - targeted research for management support; - securing sustainable funding for management; - restoration and rehabilitation of damaged ecosystems; and - achieving sustainable fisheries. The Organising Committee welcomes nominations of case studies (deadline 30th of April, 2002) that effectively illustrate relevant experiences and lessons learned in each of the topics. In addition, we are aiming to present examples from throughout the world and those of which have been implemented on a range of geographic scales from local to global. Also, feel free to contribute comments on the preliminary selection of topics and suggestions for the inclusion of additional topics. Case studies that facilitate the achievement of the goals of the symposium most effectively will then be invited for oral presentation. Cost of registration will be announced closer to the event. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ITMEMS 2 EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FORM NAME : ____________________________________________________ AFFILIATION/ : ____________________________________________________ INSTITUTION ADDRESS : ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ E-MAIL : ____________________________________________________ Topics of Most Interest (feel free to list more than one) Suggestion for Additional Topics Suggestion for Case Studies ________ Please fax completed form to ICRI Secretariat: +63 2 928 1225 / +63 2 926 2693 or e-mail to: secretariat at icriforum.org or olof.linden at cordio.org -- -- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) Joint Philippine-Sweden Secretariat 2nd/F FASPO Bldg. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Visayas Ave., Diliman, Quezon City, 1101 Philippines ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov Wed Mar 20 08:52:21 2002 From: Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov (Roger B Griffis) Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 08:52:21 -0500 Subject: NOAA Moves to Strengthen Protections for NW Hawaiian Islands coral ecosystem Message-ID: For distribution - Apologies for cross-postings News Release 3/18/2002 09:57 AM National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA MOVES TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTIONS FOR NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Ocean Agency Unveils Four Actions to Protect Corals, Designate Reserve as National Marine Sanctuary The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is announcing today four inter-related actions to protect marine life and the pristine condition of the ecosystem of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The agency's aim is to maintain strong protections for the nation's largest coral reef area and begin the process for designating the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve (Reserve) as a National Marine Sanctuary. "The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which contain approximately 70 percent of the nation's coral reefs, will be protected under this comprehensive proposal," said retired Navy VADM Conrad Lautenbacher, Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. "It's a great opportunity to safeguard this vibrant coral reef ecosystem for long-term environmental and economic benefits." Designating the Reserve as a National Marine Sanctuary would enable comprehensive and coordinated management of the area. The Reserve would be the nation's 14th National Marine Sanctuary, becoming part of a system of sanctuaries around the country. "The National Marine Sanctuaries are our nation's best vehicles for marine protection, in terms of ecosystem management, research, education and enforcement," said Robert Smith, NOAA's Reserve Coordinator for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Reserve. "Public input is critical to planning for the future of this remote and fragile marine wilderness. >From the outset, the public will be participants in considering how best to conserve biological, historical and cultural resources of global significance for future generations." The first set of actions is aimed at providing long term management of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands marine resources. They include: * Initiating the process for designating the Reserve as a National Marine Sanctuary * Issuing the draft Reserve Operations Plan for public comment The sanctuary proposal begins with a public scoping process that solicits information and comments from the public on the range and significance of issues related to the designation and management of the proposed sanctuary. The results of this scoping process will assist NOAA in drafting a management plan and an environmental impact statement. Scoping will be held for 60 days with public meetings beginning in April. Under the Sanctuaries Act, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council will have an opportunity to develop draft fishery regulations as part of the sanctuary designation process. The executive order creating the Reserve calls for a Reserve Operation Plan, which provides a guide for management of the Reserve during the sanctuary designation process. The draft plan addresses priority issues such as marine debris, cultural resources and enforcement. The draft Reserve Operations Plan is now available for public review and comment for sixty days. The final plan is expected shortly thereafter. Other measures include: * Release of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council's Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management Plan (CREFMP) for public comment * Release of a final rule concerning the harvest of precious corals The Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management Plan seeks to foster sustainable use of coral reef ecosystem resources in an ecologically and culturally sensitive manner; minimize adverse human impacts on coral reef ecosystems through establishment of marine protected areas; and provide for sustainable participation by fishing communities in the ecosystem fisheries. It was approved by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council in June 2001, and is the first ecosystem-based fishery management plan to be developed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Its release for public comment is the third step in developing a broad ecosystem-based management approach to the marine assets of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Some provisions of the CREFMP appear to be in conflict with the management regime for the Reserve and may require further action. The public has until 5 p.m. on May 18, 2002, to comment on the proposed plan to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries). The fourth part of the ecosystem-based strategy is a series of six management measures developed by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council that update the council's regulations implementing the Fishery Management Plan for Precious Corals. The measures set gear restrictions, size limits and definitions governing the harvest of precious-coral resources. Additionally, as required by the management regime for the Reserve, the harvesting of precious coral from the Reserve will be prohibited. The regulations will become effective April 17, 2002. "Currently, there is very little harvesting under way in this pristine part of our marine environment," said Charles Karnella, director of the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Area Office. "These management measures will help keep this area the valuable resource it is today." Comments on the proposed sanctuary designation and draft Reserve Operations Plan may be submitted to NOAA at any of the public scoping meetings, or in writing to the following address: Aulani Wilhelm, 6700 Kalanianaole Highway, #215, Honolulu, Hawaii 96825; or via email at nwhi at noaa.gov. Written comments on the proposed Coral Reef Ecosystems Fishery Management Plan may be sent to: Dr. Charles Karnella, Administrator; Pacific Islands Office, NOAA Fisheries; 1161 Kapiolani Blvd. Suite 110; Honolulu, HI 96815. NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's living marine resources through scientific research, management, enforcement, and conservation of o our marine mammals and other protected marine species and their habitat. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries, please visit http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) is dedicated to exploring, understanding, conserving and restoring the nation's coasts and oceans. NOS balances environmental protection with economic prosperity in fulfilling its mission of promoting safe navigation, supporting coastal communities, sustaining coastal habitats and mitigating coastal hazards. To learn more about NOS, please visit http://www.nos.noaa.gov Roger B. Griffis Policy Advisor National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce Roger B. Griffis Policy Advisor National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce NOAA/NOS/ORR Rm 10116 1305 East West Highway Pager: 877-632-5370 Silver Spring Fax: 301-713-4389 MD Work: 301-713-2989 x 115 20910 USA Additional Information: Last Name Griffis First Name Roger Version 2.1 From Laura.Kracker at noaa.gov Wed Mar 20 09:51:31 2002 From: Laura.Kracker at noaa.gov (Laura Kracker) Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 09:51:31 -0500 Subject: GIS/computer specialist Charleston Message-ID: Please post or forward attached job description as appropriate. Thank you! Laura Kracker _____________ Title: GIS/Computer Specialist Organization: NOAA/National Ocean Service - Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research Position Type: Contract Position Hourly Rate: $14.71 per hr. plus benefits Desirable Qualifications: ? Strong computer skills, ability to work as part of a team, good verbal and written communication skills ? Experience with GIS software and applications, Unix, Database Software (e.g. Oracle, Access), SQL, C++, Visual Basic, and Environmental Databases ? Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and familiarity with environmental applications OR ? Bachelor's degree in Geography or Environmental Science and experience with GIS software and applications Responsibilities: The incumbent will be primarily responsible for identifying data sources and data conversion techniques, accessing commonly used GIS data layers, and managing spatial data and metadata specific to project needs. The work involves managing and mapping spatial and tabular data, performing spatial analysis using GIS, managing relational databases, and accessing and processing data available in a variety of formats from various sources. Data manipulation tasks may involve reformatting data, assisting partners in meeting data format requirements, spatially enabling tabular data, processing in-situ and remotely sensed data. Incumbent will be responsible for documenting the source, evolution, and quality of data. Additional responsibilities will include developing capabilities and applications for serving spatial data over the Internet and computer programming in support of ecological modeling. This position requires an understanding of GIS software and a variety of data processing and computing tasks. To Apply: FAX Resume to (843) 762-8700 ATTN: Nancy Davey -- Laura M. Kracker, Phd. Research Scientist/GIS Specialist Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research (CCEHBR) NOAA/National Ocean Service 219 Fort Johnson Road Charleston, SC 29412-9100 Phone: 843-762-8640 Fax: 843-762-8700 e-mail: laura.kracker at noaa.gov http://www.chbr.noaa.gov --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: GIS specialist announce.wpd GIS specialist announce.wpd Type: WordPerfect Document (application/wordperfect5.1) Encoding: base64 From Ruth.Kelty at noaa.gov Wed Mar 20 11:41:34 2002 From: Ruth.Kelty at noaa.gov (Ruth Kelty) Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 11:41:34 -0500 Subject: clairification on Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies RFP Message-ID: Dear Corallisters, After getting several calls asking about the Coral Reef Ecosystem Study (CRES) RFP announced a two weeks ago, I am writing to clarify that the CRES funding opportunity is separate from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. The Coral Reef Conservation Program (part of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000) authorizes NOAA to make grants of financial assistance for coral reef conservation activities. That FRN, with the 2002 implementation guidelines, has not yet been published. The CRES RFP is being solicited by the CSCOR Coastal Ocean Program and is a competitive grant program supporting coral reef ecosystem studies addressing causes of regional declines in coral abundance and degradation of coral ecosystems. The complete FY 2002 Federal Register Notice for the Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies announcement of opportunity can be viewed at http://www.cop.noaa.gov/funding.html. Please call if you have questions. -Ruth -- Ruth Kelty, Ph.D. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC 4, rm. 8215 Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301) 713-3020 x133 Fax (301) 713-4353 ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From reefkeeper at earthlink.net Thu Mar 21 07:25:00 2002 From: reefkeeper at earthlink.net (Alexander Stone) Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 08:25:00 -0400 Subject: Help Stop Reef Fish Overfishing in the U.S. Caribbean Message-ID: Your Help Needed Before March 22nd! March 20, 2002 Dear Friends: I have signed onto ReefGuardian International's email Petition to Stop Overfishing of U.S. Caribbean Reef Fish. I hope you will do the same. U.S. Caribbean snappers and groupers continue to be overexploited. Yet a proposed federal rule would enthrone status quo reef fish catch levels. This could doom many snapper and grouper species to population collapse by keeping them from qualifying for badly needed rebuilding plans to reverse their overfishing. Please join me in telling the National Marine Fisheries Service to reject this rule. Just go to http://www.reefguardian.org/Campaigns/SaveOurReefFish/PetitionUSC.html. and sign the Petition to Stop Overfishing of U.S. Caribbean Reef Fish. Thanks a lot! ALEX Alexander Stone 2829 Bird Ave #5 Miami, FL 33133 ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Bprecht at pbsj.com Thu Mar 21 10:50:20 2002 From: Bprecht at pbsj.com (Precht, Bill) Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:50:20 -0600 Subject: More on Black Water Message-ID: Dear Coral-List: More interesting news clips regarding "Black water" ------------------------------------------------------- Satellite images show 'black water' progression, giving researchers some clues Thursday, March 21, 2002 Naples Daily News http://www.naplesnews.com/02/03/bonita/d756292a.htm By CATHY ZOLLO, crzollo at naplesnews.com While researchers around the state continued detective work Wednesday into what caused the mass of black water in Florida Bay, scientists from the University of South Florida were putting together a picture of its progression from satellite data. Dr. Frank Muller-Karger and Dr. Chuanmin Hu, of the university's remote sensing laboratory, said the pictures can't tell the whole story, but they might give clues about the source of the water. Hu said the black water first appeared on satellite images in mid-December about 30 to 60 miles north of the Keys. At its peak in early February, it was larger than Lake Okeechobee but began to diffuse into the surrounding Gulf of Mexico waters in recent weeks. Other scientists with the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg and the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota are testing samples of the water to see if the chemicals, dissolved matter and organisms in it might point to a source. Results from those tests should begin coming in today, said Beverly Roberts, research administrator for the institute. Fish spotter pilots were the first to discover the black water in January. Though fishermen didn't find dead fish in its wake, they report an abysmal season for those waters and unusual behavior in the few fish they did find. While the images from the private company Orbimage's SeaWiFS and a NASA satellite show that the water might be coming from the Shark River, not all the pictures are consistent with that possibility, Muller-Karger said. In some images, the water appears to be coming from the river, which has its outlet about 35 miles south of Marco Island. But Hu said the water doesn't quite behave like river runoff and settles to the bottom as it travels farther from the source. "Why, only in the center, do (the particles) appear to sink?" Hu asked. He said another possible source might be from some kind of underwater fountain spewing the black water from the seabed. "That would explain the isolated black water mass," he said. Hu is also looking at images from past years to see if the black water came and went before with no one noticing, though he pointed out that fishermen with decades on the water had never seen the phenomenon. "The samples will tell more of a story than the satellite images," he said. Researchers from the Mote Lab and others sent boats to collect the water in recent days. They found unusually dark water in pockets along the north side of the 126-mile chain of Keys. Along with a popular tourist spot, the chain is also home to the delicate coral reef ecosystem in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Scientists have speculated that it could be from an unknown algae or bacteria bloom or from fresh water somehow reaching the bay. Field testing of the water by Mote on Tuesday showed that it had normal salinity and oxygen content. The normal salinity wouldn't rule out river runoff, said Erich Mueller, director of Mote's Center for Tropical Research in the Keys. That could've returned as the water mixed with the gulf. "(River runoff) sounds right now like the most logical explanation, but it's certainly not a done deal," Mueller said. Satellite images show 'black water' progression, giving researchers some clues Thursday, March 21, 2002 Naples Daily News http://www.naplesnews.com/02/03/bonita/d756292a.htm By CATHY ZOLLO, crzollo at naplesnews.com While researchers around the state continued detective work Wednesday into what caused the mass of black water in Florida Bay, scientists from the University of South Florida were putting together a picture of its progression from satellite data. Dr. Frank Muller-Karger and Dr. Chuanmin Hu, of the university's remote sensing laboratory, said the pictures can't tell the whole story, but they might give clues about the source of the water. Hu said the black water first appeared on satellite images in mid-December about 30 to 60 miles north of the Keys. At its peak in early February, it was larger than Lake Okeechobee but began to diffuse into the surrounding Gulf of Mexico waters in recent weeks. Other scientists with the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg and the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota are testing samples of the water to see if the chemicals, dissolved matter and organisms in it might point to a source. Results from those tests should begin coming in today, said Beverly Roberts, research administrator for the institute. Fish spotter pilots were the first to discover the black water in January. Though fishermen didn't find dead fish in its wake, they report an abysmal season for those waters and unusual behavior in the few fish they did find. While the images from the private company Orbimage's SeaWiFS and a NASA satellite show that the water might be coming from the Shark River, not all the pictures are consistent with that possibility, Muller-Karger said. In some images, the water appears to be coming from the river, which has its outlet about 35 miles south of Marco Island. But Hu said the water doesn't quite behave like river runoff and settles to the bottom as it travels farther from the source. "Why, only in the center, do (the particles) appear to sink?" Hu asked. He said another possible source might be from some kind of underwater fountain spewing the black water from the seabed. "That would explain the isolated black water mass," he said. Hu is also looking at images from past years to see if the black water came and went before with no one noticing, though he pointed out that fishermen with decades on the water had never seen the phenomenon. "The samples will tell more of a story than the satellite images," he said. Researchers from the Mote Lab and others sent boats to collect the water in recent days. They found unusually dark water in pockets along the north side of the 126-mile chain of Keys. Along with a popular tourist spot, the chain is also home to the delicate coral reef ecosystem in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Scientists have speculated that it could be from an unknown algae or bacteria bloom or from fresh water somehow reaching the bay. Field testing of the water by Mote on Tuesday showed that it had normal salinity and oxygen content. The normal salinity wouldn't rule out river runoff, said Erich Mueller, director of Mote's Center for Tropical Research in the Keys. That could've returned as the water mixed with the gulf. "(River runoff) sounds right now like the most logical explanation, but it's certainly not a done deal," Mueller said. William F. Precht, P.G. Ecological Sciences Program Manager PBS&J 2001 NW 107th Avenue Miami, FL 33172 305-592-7275 fax:305-594-9574 1-800-597-7275 bprecht at pbsj.com ----- ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From michael.rard at univ-reunion.fr Fri Mar 22 01:40:50 2002 From: michael.rard at univ-reunion.fr (Michaël RARD) Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 09:40:50 +0300 Subject: zooxanthellae densities Message-ID: Dear all members, I'm a thesis student in Reunion Island (Indian Ocean), and I'm would like to know if anyone would have some references or reprints on coral zooxanthellae densities. In fact, one point of my studies is to determine the influence on antropogenic disturbances on the internal physiology (zooxanthellae densities, pigments and proteins contents), and I have some problems to find some references of this point. Many thanks for your help. Cheers, Micha?l -- Micha?l RARD Laboratoire d'Ecologie Marine, Universit? de la R?union 97715 Saint Denis messag CEDEX 9, France Tel : (262) 262-93-81-57, Fax : (262) 262-93-86-85 http://perso.wanadoo.fr/mika.dit.kl/html/ContactsMika.htm From michael.rard at univ-reunion.fr Fri Mar 22 06:31:04 2002 From: michael.rard at univ-reunion.fr (Michaël RARD) Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 14:31:04 +0300 Subject: I'm searching Ross Jones Message-ID: Hy all, Many thanks Phil for your information. Does anybody know the mail of Ross Jones please ? Many thanks in advance, Cheers, Micha?l -- Micha?l RARD Laboratoire d'Ecologie Marine, Universit? de la R?union 97715 Saint Denis messag CEDEX 9, France Tel : (262) 262-93-81-57, Fax : (262) 262-93-86-85 http://perso.wanadoo.fr/mika.dit.kl/html/ContactsMika.htm From stinapa at bonairelive.com Fri Mar 22 09:24:07 2002 From: stinapa at bonairelive.com (STINAPA Bonaire) Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 10:24:07 -0400 Subject: Vacancy notice: Manager Bonaire National Marine Park Message-ID: The FOUNDATION NATIONAL PARKS BONAIRE (STINAPA Bonaire) manages the = Bonaire National Marine Park and the Washington Slagbaai National Park = and advises the government and private entities. The organization staffs = 16 and strives for further professionalization. In this framework the = board of the Foundation is looking for a=20 MARINE PARK MANAGER Main characteristics of the function. The manager supports the committee in the strategic and financial policy = and takes part in the development and further professionalization of = STINAPA Bonaire. In first instance the manager is accountable to the = executive committee and in the future development to the general = manager, still to be appointed. The manager is responsible for the = management and maintenance of the Marine Park as well as the development = of information material of all educational programmes for the Marine = Park. The manager leads all employees of the marine park and is = responsible for a qualitative and quantitative personnel management The profile. The Marine Park Manager has had an education of at least a Bachelors = degree in Marine Biology but preferably a Masters degree. Experience in = management in a relevant function and excellent communicative skills = required. The functionary has a thorough command of the languages Dutch, = Papiamento and English, orally and in writing. The offer. The salary depends on age, education and experience. STINAPA Bonaire = offers excellent primary and secondary terms of employment. Your response. Should you be interested, then send your letter within 14 days after = publication of this advertisement, together with your curriculum vitae = to: =20 The Board of STINAPA Bonaire, P.O.Box 368 Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. = e-mail: stinapa at bonairelive.com = ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From cdh5 at cornell.edu Fri Mar 22 14:26:26 2002 From: cdh5 at cornell.edu (Drew Harvell) Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 14:26:26 -0500 Subject: Tropical Marine Science Course in Akumal, Mexico Message-ID: > SHOALS MARINE LABORATORY (Cornell University/University of New Hampshire) > announces continuation of its on-going course on the Yucatan Peninsula, in Akumal, Mexico. Faculty involved with the 8 week course this summer include Professors John Bruno, Drew Harvell, Bob Carpenter and Sean Grace. Tropical Marine Science and Research in Biology BIOSM 418 and BIOSM 499 (This course takes place in Akumal, Mexico) Twelve semester credits. JUNE 9 - AUGUST 4, 2002. Prerequisites: Recognized SCUBA certification, a medical examination, one full year of college level biology, and permission of instructors. Daily discussions and field work. Total cost $5,500. (Approximate cost, does not include airfare or meals). A course designed for students interested in learning about coral reef ecology and conservation in an environment where these topics are of immediate concern. Students will spend eight weeks in Akumal, Mexico, a small resort town located about 60 miles south of Cancun on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Housing will be provided by the Centro Ecologico Akumal (http://www.ceakumal.org/), a local organization dedicated to the sustainable development of Akumal and the protection of its coral reefs. The first two weeks will be spent studying basic coral reef ecology and learning the benthic fauna of the local reefs. During the following five weeks, students will participate in a reef monitoring project that will aid in the establishment of a marine park in Akumal. Each student is required to design and implement an independent research project, produce a written report of their findings and present their results during the final week of the course. For a detailed course description, please go to: http://www.sml.cornell.edu/college/pc-cctms.htm For more information, please contact Laurie Johnson -- Drew Harvell Professor Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology E- 321 Corson Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 VOICE: 607-254-4274 FAX: 607-255-8088 email:cdh5 at cornell.edu http://www.es.cornell.edu/harvell/harvell.html From emat2715 at postoffice.uri.edu Fri Mar 22 20:36:34 2002 From: emat2715 at postoffice.uri.edu (Liz Matthews) Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 10:36:34 +0900 Subject: community-based monitoring Message-ID: Dear Listers, The Palau Conservation Society is developing a strategy to more closely involve community members in the monitoring of marine conservation areas - both as a means to monitor the fish, invertebrates, etc. in the conservation areas as well as to create opportunities for local people to see for themselves the benefits of conservation. I would like to hear from any of you who have experience with community-based monitoring of coral reefs and marine resources. What has worked? What hasn't? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Liz Matthews > > >>><<>><<< <\\>< <\\>< Palau Conservation Society Box 1811 Koror, Palau 96940 tel: 680.488.3993 lizmat at palaunet.com emat2715 at postoffice.uri.edu ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From debimack at auracom.com Fri Mar 22 20:46:38 2002 From: debimack at auracom.com (Debbie MacKenzie) Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 21:46:38 -0400 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Hi Pedro, you wrote: >I decided to add a little more firewood to discussion on Debbie >McKenzie's interesting coral starving-survival hypohesis. >...//... >Probably well fed Acropora palmata crests survived the massive >mortality event(s) (cause unknown: coral bleaching, white band, >patchy necrosis?) that killed the crests exposed to less nutrified >and less productive oceanic waters. >If so, McKenzie's hypothesis, far from be discarded prematurely, >has to be tested because it could explain differences in the fate of >some coral reefs at small scale, and also explain some >mismatches at larger scale when correlating coral bleaching with >sea surface temperature. Thanks very much Pedro! It is well beyond my means to do anything about testing the hypothesis, but I really hope that someone will investigate it. Regarding the role of high temperatures in causing mass bleaching and death of corals, what do you make of the "Medieval Warm Period?" From what I've read, have not Acroporas a history of dominating Caribbean reefs for many thousands of years before the onset of their recent decline due to diseases and bleaching? If the "mass bleaching" cause of death were strictly the result of the recent temperature increase, should not the records from the "Medieval warm period" (about 1000 years ago) also show a period of decline in Acropora? Apparently today's higher temperatures are similar to what occurred at that time (although the existence of the Medieval warm period has been debated in some circles, there seems to be lots of evidence for it, from diverse areas of the globe). If temperatures as high as today's occurred a thousand years ago without causing mass mortality in corals, the corals must have had a greater resistance to heat stress in those days...a greater resilience attributable to what? Well, one main difference in their environment that comes to mind is the fact that the bulk of other forms of marine life involved in nutrient cycling was far greater 1000 years ago than it is today. (Here's a news clip that I noticed today about the Medieval warm period: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/134424204_warm22.html ) cheers, Debbie MacKenzie ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Curran at altc.freeserve.co.uk Sat Mar 23 04:37:11 2002 From: Curran at altc.freeserve.co.uk (Sarah Curran) Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 09:37:11 -0000 Subject: community-based monitoring Message-ID: Hi Liz, you may or may not already have this book but if not its very useful for CBCRM practitioners; citation is: Institute for rural reconstruction (IIRR), 1998. Partcipatory methods in community based coastal resource management. Pub IIRR Cavite, Philippines ISBN 0942717902 email iirr at cav.pworld.net.ph Its basically a 3 volume toolkit for managers and field workers and was produced from a workshop of around 30 practitioners over a couple of weeks of talks and editing sessions. Although many were from a Philippine backgrounds, the tools (from PRA to mangrove planting & coral reef fish census for communities to environmental education) are universal. I'm not sure if its still available, but it was so popular a couple of years back that I guess it should be. Sarah ----- Original Message ----- From: "Liz Matthews" To: "Coral-list" Sent: 23 March 2002 01:36 Subject: community-based monitoring > Dear Listers, > > The Palau Conservation Society is developing a strategy to more closely > involve community members in the monitoring of marine conservation areas > - both as a means to monitor the fish, invertebrates, etc. in the > conservation areas as well as to create opportunities for local people > to see for themselves the benefits of conservation. I would like to > hear from any of you who have experience with community-based monitoring > of coral reefs and marine resources. What has worked? What hasn't? Any > help is greatly appreciated. > > Thanks. > Liz Matthews > > > > >>><<>><<< <\\>< <\\>< > Palau Conservation Society > Box 1811 > Koror, Palau 96940 > > tel: 680.488.3993 > > lizmat at palaunet.com > emat2715 at postoffice.uri.edu > > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From riskmj at mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca Sat Mar 23 18:00:34 2002 From: riskmj at mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca (Mike Risk) Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 18:00:34 -0500 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Hello, and thanks for some interesting postings. Without getting into the validity, or lack thereof, of the starvation hypothesis: I think you have touched on a key point in mentioning the Medieval Warm. The problem is, the data do not exist. They should be sought, as indeed should those from the Little ice Age. Acropora arose in the Miocene, and quickly spread to become the predominant "weed" coral of Late Cenozoic and Modern reefs. It is abundant in fossil deposits, virtually always as storm-derived rubble: storm berms, beach windrows and the like. These storm deposits can range in elevation from metres below where the coral grew to, in the case of the Hurricane Alan berms on Jamaica, several metres above present sea level. (This should give pause to some who base sea-level estimates on dated Acropora, but it doesn't seem to have. I once saw a TV interview with a group who were suggesting catastrophically rapid sea level rises at the beginning of the Holocene-when they held up the key Acropora sample, and the camera zoomed in, one could plainly see it was Cliona-bored on all surfaces, whereas the theory was based on it having been found in life position. Yes, a colossal scientific blunder-but it got them a paper in Science.) If the coral deaths we see now are due to elevated sea surface temperatures, then Yes, you are correct, corals would have died like flies. This event would be recorded in storm berms of Acropora rubble, all over (say) the Caribbean, at approx. 1000 YBP. These deposits will have been overprinted by subsequent storms, overgrown by vegetation, and removed by 5-star hotels, but enough should remain for dating purposes. Finding berms on one island would not be sufficient-one would have to prove the coexistence of contemporaneous deposits, basin-wide. Paleotemperatures from these corals would nail down SST values. The deposits may very well be there, it's just that no one's ever looked systematically. A study of this nature would seem to be a natural, given the present slant of reefy thinking, but here's why no one's going to do it: Funding agencies these days do not fund hypothesis-testing, they fund more-of-the-same. To test this hypothesis, one would have to visit (say) a half-dozen different locations. At each location, extensive shoreline mapping would have to be done to describe the location and extent of storm deposits. From each of these, maybe a half-dozen samples would have to be dated. Hundreds of dates, months of field work. Maybe a half-million $ for testing an hypothesis, with no guaranteed result. Never happen-but it should. BTW: I do not discount sea-level curves based on Acropora, but I take them with a grain of salt. I trust curves based on mangrove peats, Tridacna, microatolls. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From abornbus at aaas.org Sun Mar 24 09:44:58 2002 From: abornbus at aaas.org (Alan Bornbusch) Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 09:44:58 -0500 Subject: community-based monitoring Message-ID: Dear Liz, The journal Conservation Biology in Practice had a recent article on this subject: Tawake, A. et al. 2001. Harvesting clams and data. Conservation Biology in Practice. 2(4):32-35. You might also check these websites for more information: www.BCNet.org www.BSPonline.org www.FOSonline.org Alan Alan H. Bornbusch, Ph.D. Director, Africa Program Directorate for International Programs American Association for the Advancement of Science 1200 New York Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20005 Tel. 202-326-6651/6650 Mobile 202-390-4946 Fax 202-289-4958 email: abornbus at aaas.org >>> Liz Matthews 03/22/02 08:36PM >>> Dear Listers, The Palau Conservation Society is developing a strategy to more closely involve community members in the monitoring of marine conservation areas - both as a means to monitor the fish, invertebrates, etc. in the conservation areas as well as to create opportunities for local people to see for themselves the benefits of conservation. I would like to hear from any of you who have experience with community-based monitoring of coral reefs and marine resources. What has worked? What hasn't? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Liz Matthews > > >>><<>><<< <\\>< <\\>< Palau Conservation Society Box 1811 Koror, Palau 96940 tel: 680.488.3993 lizmat at palaunet.com emat2715 at postoffice.uri.edu ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From C.C.C.Wabnitz at newcastle.ac.uk Sun Mar 24 17:48:34 2002 From: C.C.C.Wabnitz at newcastle.ac.uk (Colette Wabnitz) Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 22:48:34 +0000 Subject: community-based monitoring Message-ID: Dear Liz, One of the best website for the sort of information you are loooking for is: www.cbnrm.net/ Dr. Lars Soeftestad, the editor of the website, has tremendous experience in the area and would be delighted to help answer any particular questions you might have. Colette <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< Colette Wabnitz Dept of Marine Sciences and Coastal Management Ridley Building University of Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From gregorh at ucla.edu Sun Mar 24 20:02:06 2002 From: gregorh at ucla.edu (Gregor Hodgson) Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 17:02:06 -0800 Subject: community-based monitoring Message-ID: Liz, The Reef Check monitoring program was purpose-built to serve community-based monitoring needs and is now active in over 50 countries and is a formal partner with GCRMN/ICRI. It was designed so that it could be taught to experienced skin or scuba divers with only a few hours of training, and yet produce rigorous (i.e. publishable) scientific data on the impacts of humans on coral reefs. The approach was to be "eco-holistic" and include a broad spectrum of taxa but to limit the monitoring to key indicator organisms that would tell us 90% of what a manager would need to know to take action. Last week, in Palawan, Philippines, a colleague and I were able to teach an experienced aquarium fish fishermen how to do Reef Check in less than 1 hour. The fishermen spoke little English and had not graduated from high school, but he knew the taxonomy. Your inquiry is timely as Reef Check has organized a NOAA-funded W. Pacific Island regional training workshop during the first week of April 2002 in Palau in cooperation with GCRMN/SPREP and PICRC. Reef Check runs regular regional training workshops throughout the world, with continuing programs at our Regional Coral Reef Monitoring Training Center in Phuket, Thailand. Other upcoming workshops include and St. Johns, USVI in early May followed by Cebu, Philippines in last week of November 2002. Please contact our Program Manager, Jennifer K. Liebeler [Liebeler at ucla.edu] for details. More importantly, after five years of operation, Reef Check has now started to demonstrate measurable benefits to coral reefs and their human neighbors. That is, five years ago, we could only theorize that we expected stakeholders to develop an increased desire for stewardship through active engagement in monitoring the health of their local reefs. We now have several good examples where, according to the park managers, participation in Reef Check contributed to the initiation and/or operation of well managed Marine Protected Areas. Two examples where Reef Check helped to lead to success are: 1) Soufriere Marine Management Area in St. Lucia, Caribbean -- Kai Wulf 2) Gilutongan MPA in Cebu, Philippines -- Mike Ross (As an aside, I would urge anyone who doesn't believe that coral reef MPAs can work and benefit the surrounding areas to visit these MPAs.) Each of these MPAs has a long history involving many individuals, NGOs, government agencies etc., so Reef Check is only one small part of the picture. For details of how Reef Check contributed, pls contact the park managers directly. Our five-year global report on coral reef health will be released later this year. A non-profit Reef Check Foundation has been established to oversee our education, monitoring and management activities and we welcome new members. For more information about Reef Check please see the papers below and our website (www.ReefCheck.org) Hodgson, G. 2001 Reef Check: The first step in community-based management. Bull. Mar. Sci. 69(2): 861-868. Hodgson, G. 2000. Coral Reef Monitoring and Management Using Reef Check. Integrated Coastal Zone Management. 1(1): 169-176. Hodgson, G. 1999. Reef Check Global Survey Program: The first step in community-based management. In: I. Dight, R. Kenchington, J. Baldwin (eds). Proc. International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Symposium, Townsville, Australia, November 1999. pp 321-326. Hodgson, G. 1999. A global assessment of human effects on coral reefs. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 38 (5) 345-355. Regards, Greg Gregor Hodgson, PhD Professor (Visiting); Director, Reef Check Institute of Environment 1362 Hershey Hall Box 951496 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1496 Tel: 310-794-4985 Fax:310-825-0758 Website: www.ReefCheck.org -----Original Message----- From: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov]On Behalf Of Liz Matthews Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 5:37 PM To: Coral-list Subject: community-based monitoring Dear Listers, The Palau Conservation Society is developing a strategy to more closely involve community members in the monitoring of marine conservation areas - both as a means to monitor the fish, invertebrates, etc. in the conservation areas as well as to create opportunities for local people to see for themselves the benefits of conservation. I would like to hear from any of you who have experience with community-based monitoring of coral reefs and marine resources. What has worked? What hasn't? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Liz Matthews > > >>><<>><<< <\\>< <\\>< Palau Conservation Society Box 1811 Koror, Palau 96940 tel: 680.488.3993 lizmat at palaunet.com emat2715 at postoffice.uri.edu ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From coral_giac at yahoo.com Sun Mar 24 21:13:15 2002 From: coral_giac at yahoo.com (Hernandez Edwin) Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 18:13:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: MPA user perception surveys? Message-ID: Dear Coral-Listers. As part of our long-term studies at the Luis Pena Channel Marine Fishery Reserve, in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, we are actually carrying-out a user perception survey with the collaboration of the undergraduate students of the Ecology of Puerto Rico course at the University of Puerto Rico. This study is focused in understanding the perception of the MFR users, mostly local Culebra's residents, fishermen, students, Puerto Rican and foreign tourists, and recreational navigators. The main goal of this study is to identify major management and educational lagoons and to develop an educational strategy as part of a major management plan. However, we've had some trouble trying to locate literature on similar studies for comparison purposes. I'd like to know if somebody in the list is familiar with any On Line reference or any published study regarding user perception surveys regarding other MPAs elsewhere? Thanks for any help you can provide us. Regards. Edwin ===== Edwin A. Hernandez-Delgado, Ph.D. University of Puerto Rico Department of Biology Coral Reef Research Group P.O. Box 23360 San Juan, P.R. 00931-3360 Tel (787) 764-0000, x-4855; Fax (787) 764-2610 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Movies - coverage of the 74th Academy Awards? http://movies.yahoo.com/ ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov Mon Mar 25 11:56:29 2002 From: Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov (Mark Eakin) Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 09:56:29 -0700 Subject: Coral starving, survival & MWP Message-ID: Debbie, You have raised some good points regarding the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). As Mike pointed out in his response, the largest problem there is a lack of data. Esper et al. paper from last week's Science indicates that MWP temperatures may have been higher than estimated in earlier temperature reconstructions like Mann et al. 1999. However, the Esper et al. reconstruction does not show a dramatic and singular rise going into the MWP, unlike the nearly linear increase it shows for 1800-date. We need to keep in mind that these are temperate, Northern Hemisphere, terrestrial reconstructions. Even the Mann et al. reconstruction used a very small amount of marine data (mostly 1500-date) and reconstructed ocean surface data from functions primarily based on temperate, terrestrial data. You can compare a wide array of reconstruction data by looking at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/recons.html All of this points to the need for data on reef temperatures during the MWP. The climate system does not change in ways that are spatially consistent with temperate, Northern Hemisphere indices. Without real information on reef temperatures, I think comparisons with the MWP are a bit premature, but useful thoughts for building hypotheses. Mark Debbie MacKenzie wrote: > Hi Pedro, > > you wrote: > >I decided to add a little more firewood to discussion on Debbie > >McKenzie's interesting coral starving-survival hypohesis. > >...//... > >Probably well fed Acropora palmata crests survived the massive > >mortality event(s) (cause unknown: coral bleaching, white band, > >patchy necrosis?) that killed the crests exposed to less nutrified > >and less productive oceanic waters. > >If so, McKenzie's hypothesis, far from be discarded prematurely, > >has to be tested because it could explain differences in the fate of > >some coral reefs at small scale, and also explain some > >mismatches at larger scale when correlating coral bleaching with > >sea surface temperature. > > Thanks very much Pedro! > > It is well beyond my means to do anything about testing the hypothesis, > but > I really hope that someone will investigate it. > > Regarding the role of high temperatures in causing mass bleaching and > death > of corals, what do you make of the "Medieval Warm Period?" From what I've > read, have not Acroporas a history of dominating Caribbean reefs for many > thousands of years before the onset of their recent decline due to > diseases > and bleaching? If the "mass bleaching" cause of death were strictly the > result of the recent temperature increase, should not the records from the > > "Medieval warm period" (about 1000 years ago) also show a period of > decline > in Acropora? Apparently today's higher temperatures are similar to what > occurred at that time (although the existence of the Medieval warm period > has been debated in some circles, there seems to be lots of evidence for > it, from diverse areas of the globe). If temperatures as high as today's > occurred a thousand years ago without causing mass mortality in corals, > the > corals must have had a greater resistance to heat stress in those days...a > > greater resilience attributable to what? Well, one main difference in > their > environment that comes to mind is the fact that the bulk of other forms of > > marine life involved in nutrient cycling was far greater 1000 years ago > than it is today. (Here's a news clip that I noticed today about the > Medieval warm period: > http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/134424204_warm22.html ) > > cheers, > Debbie MacKenzie > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. -- C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D. Chief of NOAA Paleoclimatology Program and Director of the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA/National Geophysical Data Center 325 Broadway E/GC Boulder, CO 80305-3328 Voice: 303-497-6172 Fax: 303-497-6513 Internet: mark.eakin at noaa.gov http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo.html C. Mark Eakin Chief and Director of World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA / NGDC Paleoclimatology Program C. Mark Eakin Chief and Director of World Data Center for Paleoclimatology NOAA / NGDC Paleoclimatology Program 325 Broadway, E/GCx3 Fax: 303-497-6513 Boulder Work: 303-497-6172 CO Conference Software Address 80305-3328 Specific Directory Server USA Additional Information: Last Name Eakin First Name C. Mark Version 2.1 From woodley at uwimona.edu.jm Mon Mar 25 12:35:00 2002 From: woodley at uwimona.edu.jm (Jeremy Woodley) Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 12:35:00 -0500 (GMT-0500) Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Mike: the work you propose on the stratigraphy of Caribbean hurricane berms could indeed be informative about the recent history of climate and hurricanes. When you mention the Hurricane Allen berms on Jamaica, you might be thinking of the one just west of the Discovery Bay Marine Lab. It is c. 30m across, 1-2m high, and was built, not just by Allen, but by centuries of major storms since sea-level stabilised. Allen only added a new layer of rubble to the seaward slope. While you're at it, if you want to find when local sea-level stabilized, there's some mangrove peat under the sand in the back-reef lagoon in front of the Lab! Of course, Acropora palmata is a major contributor to hurricane berms even without the hypothesized mortality due to medieval bleaching. That is just as well for the proposal, since A. palmata may not be particularly prone to bleach. Ian Sandeman has been investigating the physiology of this. However, mortality in other corals might provide more ammunition to help storm waves bring palmata down. Dave Liddell and colleagues reported that other species made up about 40% of the material contributed to the berm by Allen. Jeremy Woodley 13 South St. West, Tel: (905) 627-0393 Dundas, Fax: (905) 627-3966 ON L9H 4C3, woodley at uwimona.edu.jm Canada. or jdwoodley at hotmail.com Centre for Marine Sciences, University of the West Indies (Mona), Kingston 7, Jamaica. On Sat, 23 Mar 2002, Mike Risk wrote: > Hello, and thanks for some interesting postings. > > Without getting into the validity, or lack thereof, of the starvation > hypothesis: I think you have touched on a key point in mentioning the > Medieval Warm. The problem is, the data do not exist. They should be sought, > as indeed should those from the Little ice Age. > > Acropora arose in the Miocene, and quickly spread to become the predominant > "weed" coral of Late Cenozoic and Modern reefs. It is abundant in fossil > deposits, virtually always as storm-derived rubble: storm berms, beach > windrows and the like. These storm deposits can range in elevation from > metres below where the coral grew to, in the case of the Hurricane Alan > berms on Jamaica, several metres above present sea level. (This should > give pause to some who base sea-level estimates on dated Acropora, but it > doesn't seem to have. I once saw a TV interview with a group who were > suggesting catastrophically rapid sea level rises at the beginning of the > Holocene-when they held up the key Acropora sample, and the camera zoomed > in, one could plainly see it was Cliona-bored on all surfaces, whereas the > theory was based on it having been found in life position. Yes, a colossal > scientific blunder-but it got them a paper in Science.) > > If the coral deaths we see now are due to elevated sea surface temperatures, > then Yes, you are correct, corals would have died like flies. This event > would be recorded in storm berms of Acropora rubble, all over (say) the > Caribbean, at approx. 1000 YBP. These deposits will have been overprinted by > subsequent storms, overgrown by vegetation, and removed by 5-star hotels, > but enough should remain for dating purposes. Finding berms on one island > would not be sufficient-one would have to prove the coexistence of > contemporaneous deposits, basin-wide. Paleotemperatures from these corals > would nail down SST values. The deposits may very well be there, it's just > that no one's ever looked systematically. > > A study of this nature would seem to be a natural, given the present slant > of > reefy thinking, but here's why no one's going to do it: Funding agencies > these days do not fund hypothesis-testing, they fund more-of-the-same. To > test this hypothesis, one would have to visit (say) a half-dozen different > locations. At each location, extensive shoreline mapping would have to be > done to describe the location and extent of storm deposits. From each of > these, maybe a half-dozen samples would have to be dated. Hundreds of dates, > months of field work. Maybe a half-million $ for > testing an hypothesis, with no guaranteed result. Never happen-but it > should. > > BTW: I do not discount sea-level curves based on Acropora, but I take them > with a grain of salt. I trust curves based on mangrove peats, Tridacna, > microatolls. > > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From eshinn at usgs.gov Mon Mar 25 14:41:54 2002 From: eshinn at usgs.gov (Gene Shinn) Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 14:41:54 -0500 Subject: black water event, additional historical information Message-ID: This report on the black water event of 1878 was sent to me last week by Walt Jaap of FMRI. You may want to dig further. Gene 20 March, 2002 TO: E.A. Shinn, et. al. FROM: Walt Jaap Reference: Black Water Intrusions With reference to recent reports of a mass of black water off the southwest Florida coast, the following historical information is offered to provide background. The following is a quote from the log of the Tortugas supply vessel Activa. The Activa supported the lighthouse and Fort Jefferson during this period. The black water phenomena was reported to be the cause of fish kills as well as coral die off (reported by Mayer, A.G. 1902. The Tortugas as a station for research in biology. Science 17: 190-192). The quote from the Activa as reported in Feinstein, Ceurveles, Hutton, and Snoek, 1955. Red Tide outbreaks on the west Florida coast. Report to the Florida State Board of Conservation. By the Marine Laboratory, University of Miami. 44 pp. The water "was very dark, like cypress water" The log reported that it was encountered during a voyage from Key West to Dry Tortugas. Was black water Red Tide, a mass of water from the Mississippi, run off out of Big Cypress and the Everglades? We don't know. I spoke to John W. Wells in about 1976 and he was unable to offer any insight (John was a Carnegie Institute researcher at Tortugas in 1932). He was a collaborator with T.W. Vaughn (Vaughan started working in Tortugas around 1910 and was an associate with A.G. Mayer who founded of the Tortugas lab). We have a mystery, surrounded by an enigma, within a conundrum. Black water is a fascinating subject. Corals that are that old (go back beyond 1878) have unique thin growth bands (according to Hudson) that should be looked at with isotopic techniques to see if we can learn more about the nature of Black Water. Is the black water mass reported today the same? Possibly, or possibly not. ------------------------------------ ----------------------------------- http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/african_dust/ | E. A. Shinn email eshinn at usgs.gov USGS Center for Coastal Geology | 600 4th St. South | voice (727) 803-8747 x3030 St.Petersburg, FL 33701 | fax (727) 803-2032 ------------------------------------ ----------------------------------- ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From adaley at coral.org Mon Mar 25 16:07:38 2002 From: adaley at coral.org (Anita Daley) Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 16:07:38 -0500 Subject: ICRIN Website Announcement Message-ID: Greetings to all who are involved with and concerned about coral reefs: I am pleased to announce the official release of the International Coral Reef Information Network (ICRIN) website! http://www.coralreef.org. * Interested in who is doing reef restoration work in the Philippines? * Wondering when the upcoming Second International Tropical Marine Ecosystem Management Symposium will be so you can save the date? (November 2002) * Or maybe you are interested in downloading a ?Coral Reefs and Bleaching? fact sheet to support your efforts to increase awareness of coral reef issues? Please visit http://www.coralreef.org to check out how ICRIN can support your coral reef-related work. Whether you focus your coral reef interests on science, management, conservation, education, policy or public awareness, ICRIN has tools, resources and information for all. Website highlights include: NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES --Coral Reef Community Calendar- a place to post and locate workshops, seminars, conferences, any events covering issues related to coral reefs (and related ecosystems) --Coral Reef Directory? an online database of coral reef contacts throughout the world. Many of you will receive an e-mail requesting that you update your information. Please enter your own organization if your institution is not listed. TOOLS AND RESOURCES: --Coral Reef Photobank- free digital images for all to use! Anyone can download and use an image for their reports or materials. We are always interested in building this collection; if you?d like to contribute, please e-mail icrin at coral.org --Downloadable Fact Sheets?print and distribute these flyers, or feel free to copy the text and paste it into your own materials --Teachers? Resources?a quick guide to coral reef resources for elementary level teachers GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC --General Coral Reef Information designed for the public: What is a coral reef? How Are They Threatened? Why Should I Care? What Can I do to Help? --Photobank (see above) We will be building this site with the aim to not only raise public awareness of coral reefs, but to support those working towards the same goal. ICRIN is also working to strengthen networking potential among all of us working to study and protect coral reefs and related ecosystems (more about ICRIN below). Feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Please contact icrin at coral.org. Thanks and happy surfing, Anita Daley ICRIN Manager MORE ABOUT ICRIN: The International Coral Reef Information Network (ICRIN) is a global public awareness initiative coordinated by the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL). ICRIN is designed to: draw public attention to vital coral reef issues and promote coral reef conservation, research and monitoring; strengthen partnerships among coral reef groups and provide information and tools to support their work; and reach the mainstream media in order to create and maintain a common concern among the general public for the health of coral reefs. ICRIN is an important component of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), delivering information derived from ICRI and ICRAN components to the public, key government decision-makers, businesses, coral reef conservation groups, potential funders and the media. As ICRIN disseminates coral reef information to the public on a global level, ICRIN supports ICRI?s and ICRAN?s efforts to protect coral reefs throughout the world. More about ICRIN: http://www.coralreef.org ___________________________________________________________ Anita Daley International Coral Reef Information Network Manager The Coral Reef Alliance 2014 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 848-0110 ext. 313 (510) 848-3720 fax http://www.coral.org http://www.coralreef.org "Working together to keep coral reefs alive." ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From nquinn at uwimona.edu.jm Mon Mar 25 17:34:00 2002 From: nquinn at uwimona.edu.jm (Norman Quinn) Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 17:34:00 -0500 Subject: Tropicial Marine Invertebrate Field Course - June 2002 Message-ID: From alcolado at ama.cu Tue Mar 26 09:25:13 2002 From: alcolado at ama.cu (alcolado at ama.cu) Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 09:25:13 -0500 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Eric Hugo Maybe you are right. Really I do not matter much about what they feed on. The fact is where they feed better an its possible consequences. Further, I do not conlude nor affirm anything, all are mere surmises or hipothesis to test. Abstraction can pave the road for some real science. all the best, Pedro From: EricHugo at aol.com Date sent: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 18:08:02 EST Subject: Re: Coral starving and survival To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > Just a quick comment: > > I'm not sure you can attribute it all to zooplankton...particulate > material, bacteria, and dissolved sources will also play a role, probably > significant, in the heterotrophy of corals and their energy budget, > reproductive output, etc. > > Eric Hugo Borneman > Department of Biology and Biochemistry > Division in Ecology and Evolution > 258, SR II > University of Houston > Houston, TX 77204 > > EBorneman at uh.edu or EricHugo at aol.com > > > > ~~~~~~~ > For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the > digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the > menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. > ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tue Mar 26 14:29:55 2002 From: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu (John McManus) Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 14:29:55 -0500 Subject: community-based monitoring Message-ID: Hi Liz, One approach to what you are doing is community-based ecological mapping. This is a key approach in the IIRR publication. Alan White, Jim Maragos and others published an excellent methods book on this for coral reefs about five years ago. It can help to involve non-scuba divers in a very productive way and would be a good compliment to Reef Check. I suggest you write to Alan at awhite at mozcom.com. Cheers! John _________________________________________________________ John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, Florida 33149. jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Tel. (305) 361-4814 Fax (305) 361-4910 www.ncoremiami.org -----Original Message----- From: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov]On Behalf Of Liz Matthews Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 8:37 PM To: Coral-list Subject: community-based monitoring Dear Listers, The Palau Conservation Society is developing a strategy to more closely involve community members in the monitoring of marine conservation areas - both as a means to monitor the fish, invertebrates, etc. in the conservation areas as well as to create opportunities for local people to see for themselves the benefits of conservation. I would like to hear from any of you who have experience with community-based monitoring of coral reefs and marine resources. What has worked? What hasn't? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Liz Matthews > > >>><<>><<< <\\>< <\\>< Palau Conservation Society Box 1811 Koror, Palau 96940 tel: 680.488.3993 lizmat at palaunet.com emat2715 at postoffice.uri.edu ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From debimack at auracom.com Tue Mar 26 19:18:43 2002 From: debimack at auracom.com (Debbie MacKenzie) Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 20:18:43 -0400 Subject: Coral starving and survival Message-ID: Dear coral list, The question of whether or not corals suffered heat-induced mortality during the Medieval Warm Period is an interesting one, and is one line of investigation that might shed some light on the recent coral mortality. It might help to validate or weaken the conclusion that today's bleaching events are purely cases of exceeding thermal thresholds characteristic of these species. But I don't think it is necessary to pursue the MWP angle to investigate whether or not elevated temperature is the only stressor involved in inducing today's mass bleaching events. Surely appropriate experiments could easily be devised to test the hypothesis that corals have varying amounts of food available, and that the pattern of food availability might be correlated to their ability to withstand transient episodes of thermal stress. You have several methods of measuring "condition," reflecting adequacy of food input, in corals - I can't imagine that it would be exceedingly complicated or expensive, but I don't know much about that side of your work... I agree with Pedro that it doesn't matter much exactly "what" the corals feed on - zooplankton, bacteria, particulate organic material - the bottom line is the nutritional status/reserves and resiliency that they might obtain. (If you looked at my barnacle article, which shows a declining trend in a sessile plankton feeder in Atlantic Canada, you'll see that barnacles here appear to be relatively very well fed by the organic material in a heavily sewage-polluted harbour - they are benefitting from a lot of food that is not-quite-zooplankton - but this is clearly allowing them to withstand "whatever" it is that is causing the disappearance of the barnacles on the open coast. ( http://www.fisherycrisis.com/barnacles.html ) - I know, it's not coral, but I think there are interesting similarities.) How have you tried to disprove the hypothesis that thermal stress is the primary cause of mass bleaching? It occurred to me, and I asked Ove Hoegh-Guldberg about this last year on this list...that an interesting test might be transplanting corals between the various regions of the Great Barrier Reef. Now, maybe I've got this all wrong, but I've gotten the impression that there are species of coral whose range spans the whole GBR (right or wrong?). If so, individuals of a given species living in the different regions of the reef would seem to have differing thermal thresholds - according to Ove's 1999 paper "Climate Change, Coral Bleaching and the Future of the World's Coral Reefs," the southern region temperature has averaged approx. 26C for the last century and the bleaching threshold there is 28.3C, while the central region has a long term average approx. 27C and a bleaching threshold of 29.2C, and the Northern region has averaged about 28C and has a bleaching threshold of 30C. The recent rising trend in water temperatures has raised each region approximately 1 degree C on average and in recent warm years the seasonal highs have been hitting the bleaching thresholds in all three regions. Everything has recently been ratcheted up by one degree, and the long term norms in the three regions vary by about one degree. So...the average temperature now in the central region is about 28C, which has been the long term average for the Northern region, and the average temperature in the southern region is approximately the same as the long term average that was well tolerated by corals living in the central region (27C). Therefore moving corals from the Northern and central regions to the regions further south should place them within the temperature ranges that they've successfully tolerated for at least a century...and the transplants should therefore demonstrate superior tolerance to heat stress and bleaching the next time that the "hotspots" hit the areas - that is, if the whole pathology is the simple result of an environment that exceeds their natural thermal tolerances. Does this make sense? Why or why not? I've read about other experiments that involved coral transplantation... Another question that comes to mind is, since many global warming scenarios predict shifts of species to higher latitudes (and some other marine species appear to be doing just that), why are the most southerly corals on the GBR also vulnerable? Have they not been living at the southerly limit of where these species can survive, the range limit based most likely on their lower thermal tolerance level? And should not at least some of them therefore be looking better, or expanding southward, since conditions have gotten warmer? cheers, Debbie MacKenzie ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From Bprecht at pbsj.com Wed Mar 27 09:33:01 2002 From: Bprecht at pbsj.com (Precht, Bill) Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 08:33:01 -0600 Subject: More on black water (Miami herald) Message-ID: Coral-List: This is the most recent news regarding the "Black Water" event? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Miami Herald, www.miami.com Posted on Wed, Mar. 27, 2002 Dying sponges offer clues about the `blob' BY CURTIS MORGAN cmorgan at herald.com A zone of dying sponges and coral off Key West has suddenly elevated the formation dubbed ''black water'' from scientific mystery to major environmental concern. In the first reliable underwater assessment of impact on marine life, a commercial diver documented enough damage to raise alarms that the baffling blob may have left a swath of unseen destruction in its wake as it slowly drifted from the Gulf of Mexico across Florida Bay over the last few months. ''This certainly sounds like it's the effects of something very nasty going on,'' Billy Causey, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, said Tuesday. The devastated sponges were observed over the weekend in the northwest channel off Key West by Ken Nedimyer, a member of the sanctuary's advisory council who collects specimens for the aquarium trade. ''The water was a creepy green at the surface and by the time I got to the bottom, it was really creepy and dark,'' wrote Nedimyer in an e-mail sent to the sanctuary and several of scientists studying the curious discoloration. He noted six species of rope sponge as the hardest hit, with 50 to 75 percent wiped out, as well as a number of other sponges dead or dying. Brain coral and starfish also seemed to be suffering. Fish in the area seemed healthy, though curiously unhungry. ''There's a real meltdown occuring down there right now,'' Nedimyer wrote. Before Nedimyer's report, scientists had not confirmed any toxic effects from the black water but Nedimyer's observations were serious enough that the sanctuary planned to dispatch its own divers to survey for more widespread damage. While the mass described as the color of sewer water is breaking up and shrinking, at one point it spanned several hundred miles. While scientists were still sorting through water samples, satellite images, weather reports and historical studies and observations, the sponge dieoff is another strong indicator that the culprit is an explosion of some sort of microscopic plankton, said Brian Keller, the sanctuary's science coordinator. During a series of algae blooms that plagued Florida Bay in the mid-1990s, sponges, which feed by filtering water, were among the first organisms to go, in vast acres, followed by seagrass beds. Those blooms did not kill fish, like red tide does, but fish do avoid the areas during outbreaks and lose forage and shelter until the areas recover, which can take years. ''The fact that it appears to be a fairly selective mortality indicates to me that it's not like some general toxin in the water column that would kill everything,'' Keller said. But Keller agreed it would take more study to issue a definitive word. A loose-knit team of state, federal and private scientists studying the patch plans to discuss the data and issue a list of probable causes, perhaps by week's end. As of now, ''it's a phenomenon about which we are uncertain,'' said Beverly Roberts, research administrator at the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg. It could be caused by anything from pollution to some sort of decaying plant material, perhaps flushed to sea from land. Scientists at the institute, the Mote Marine Laboratory in the Keys and Sarasota, and the University of South Florida were all analyzing data. Water samples have shown medium to high levels of two types of phytoplanktons, tiny plants so essential to the marine food chain that they're called ''the grass of the sea,'' Roberts said. ''It's eaten by a lot of smaller stages of the fishes,'' she said. They're normal in sea water but plankton or a variety of them can cause problems in high concentrations. The samples also detected low concentrations of another bottom plankton that produces ciguatera, a toxic that can sicken people who eat fish with high levels. But Roberts said it unlikely it played a major part. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/2941136.htm ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From tlgoulet at olemiss.edu Wed Mar 27 10:23:02 2002 From: tlgoulet at olemiss.edu (Tamar L. Goulet) Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 09:23:02 -0600 Subject: Marine Biology Summer Study in Belize Message-ID: Hi Y'all, The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) is offering two marine biology courses (8 credit hours) in beautiful Belize during June 1- June 30, 2002. If you are interested or know of someone that may be, please give them the information listed below. Thanks Tammy Goulet 2002 Summer Study in Belize General Description The University of Mississippi 2002 Summer Study in Belize offers two courses in marine biology taught by Ole Miss faculty. Students will live in Belize on South Water Caye, a strikingly picturesque island shaded by palm trees on the Belize barrier reef, the second largest expanse of barrier reef in the world. Eight hours of undergraduate credit in Biological Sciences (Biology 445 - Introduction to Coral Reef Ecology, Biology 446 - Fishes of the Tropics) may be earned. The courses offered are ecology-oriented classes with lectures and daily snorkeling excursions. Students will learn about coral-reef ecosystems from an ecological-evolution standpoint, and will participate in student research projects. Both courses offer exciting opportunities for students interested in field-oriented course work. What is included and what is not The cost of $4495.00 includes tuition for 8 semester hours of biology, housing and meals (except while in transit) during the program dates in Belize, land transportation costs within the country, and guides on all excursions. Also included is study abroad health insurance, which includes repatriation and medical evacuation benefits during the program dates. Not included in the costs are airfare from the student's home airport to Belize City and back, equipment for snorkeling, books, and personal spending money. Students will be met at the airport if we are informed in advance of their arrival times. Faculty The faculty members for the program are Dr. Tamar Goulet and Dr. Denis Goulet of the University of Mississippi biology department. Deadline Applications are accepted on a first come first serve basis until the class is full. We accept 15 students in total. All students must take both courses. Further Information Web site: http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/biology/belize.html Dr. Denis Goulet - dgoulet at olemiss.edu Applications Study Abroad Office The University of Mississippi P.O. Box 187 University, MS 38677 Phone: (662) 915-1508 Fax: (662) 915-1504 Email: abroad at olemiss.edu Tamar L. Goulet, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Biology University of Mississippi University, Mississippi 38677 USA Tel: (662) 915-7457 Fax: (662) 915-5144 Email: tlgoulet at olemiss.edu From Scoats at flaquarium.org Fri Mar 29 07:20:41 2002 From: Scoats at flaquarium.org (Sean Coats) Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 07:20:41 -0500 Subject: measuring coral growth Message-ID: Hello, I am trying to measure coral growth by using water displacement to measure volume change. The colonies that I intend to measure can be moved and cannot be damaged at the end of the study. I would like to be able to place the colony in a vessel of water of known surface area and measure the change in water height once the colony has been added, thus obtaining a volume that will change with growth. Has anyone measured coral growth in this manner before? If so, what type of vessel and measuring device did you use? Does anyone know if a company makes such a measuring device for items ranging in size from 1cm to 30 cm in diameter? Any help would be appreciated . Thanks R. Sean Coats Sr. Biologist The Florida Aquarium From gorgojo at moose-mail.com Fri Mar 29 12:36:26 2002 From: gorgojo at moose-mail.com (Patricia Cardenas) Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 12:36:26 -0500 Subject: Dendrogyra cylindrus Message-ID: I would appreciate if someone can send me information about this coral, and about coral restoration and transplant. Thanks Patricia C?rdenas Ecology Student http://www.care2.com - Get your Free e-mail account that helps save Wildlife! ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From info at reefresearch.org Sun Mar 31 09:28:53 2002 From: info at reefresearch.org (Coral Reef) Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 10:28:53 -0400 Subject: Volunteer Internship Message-ID: Please announce the following INTERNSHIP opportunity at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute Little Cayman, Cayman Islands to your students: See our website: http//:reefresearch.org or Interninfo at reefresearch.org Volunteer Internship: Structure and Diversity of Coral Reefs July 7 - 21 For students interested in assisting in a long-term research project with prior coral reef experience. Central Caribbean Marine Institute CCMI - USA P.O. Box 1461 Princeton, NJ 08540 (908) 527-2515 CCMI - Cayman PO Box 37 Little Cayman, Cayman Islands (345) 948-0107 ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver. From jch at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Sun Mar 31 12:06:05 2002 From: jch at coral.aoml.noaa.gov (coral-list admin) Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 17:06:05 GMT Subject: digests & etiquette Message-ID: Greetings, This is just a periodic reminder that if you wish, you can subscribe to the daily coral-list digest, or the weekly digest, instead of the standard coral-list receive-when-posted circulation. You can put two commands in a single message to majordomo at coral.aoml.noaa.gov : subscribe coral-list-daily unsubscribe coral-list if you wish to be added to the daily digest, or subscribe coral-list-digest unsubscribe coral-list if you wish to be added to the weekly digest. I am also attaching here an excerpt from the Welcome Message on coral-list etiquette as a reminder. Thank you so much for your interest and support of coral-list Cheers, Jim -- Etiquette -- 1) When responding to a posting to the list, do not respond *back* to the entire list unless you feel it is an answer everyone can benefit from. I think this is usually the case, but responses such as, "Yeah, tell me, too!" to the entire list will make you unpopular in a hurry. Double-check your "To: " line before sending. 2) Do not "flame" (i.e., scold) colleagues via the coral-list. If you feel compelled to chastise someone, please send them mail directly and flame away. 3) Please conduct as much preliminary research into a topic as possible before posting a query to the list. (In other words, you shouldn't expect others to do your research for you.) Please consider: o Your librarian (an extremely valuable resource) o The CHAMP Literature Abstracts area at the CHAMP Web site o The CHAMP Online Researcher's Directory (i.e., search for your topic, ask the experts directly) o The CHAMP (and other) Web sites' links page(s) o The coral-list archives (see below) But please *do* avail yourself of the list when you've exhausted other sources. IMPORTANT NOTE: To keep from getting irate responses from your colleagues, it is suggested that you relate your previous efforts to find information that were unsuccessful when you post a request. 4) Please carefully consider the purpose of coral-list before posting a message. This is a forum comprised primarily of researchers who devote major portions of their work time to the study of corals or coral-related issues. 5) Succinct postings are greatly appreciated by all. 6) Archives Archives of all previous coral-list messages (updated at the end of each month) can be found at this Web Page: http://www.coral.aoml.noaa.gov/lists/list-archives.html Please review these messages on topics that may have already been discussed in detail before you post new messages on the same topic. ~~~~~~~ For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the digests, please visit http://www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver.