From margiea at gbrmpa.gov.au Thu Jun 1 00:09:12 2006 From: margiea at gbrmpa.gov.au (Margie Atkinson) Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 14:09:12 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] coral bleaching: response to Goreau In-Reply-To: <3B23CF4E-6170-4C2A-B51D-33DA5F147265@bestweb.net> References: <20060531041333.31960.qmail@web31810.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <447E4CF0.3030705@gbrmpa.gov.au> <07AE3D95-2BB2-4848-9EDE-80B67771D3A7@bestweb.net> <447E5870.4000300@gbrmpa.gov.au> <3B23CF4E-6170-4C2A-B51D-33DA5F147265@bestweb.net> Message-ID: <447E6868.5070201@gbrmpa.gov.au> Dear Tom I take your point that there are varying levels of expertise and awareness in this arena. I guess my main point originally was that there is a substantial body of knowledge out there amongst coral collectors and aquarists that might be of value to science - and that as far as I can see it has not really been tapped into. I'm a strong supporter of collaborative efforts and lateral thinking because there is generally value to be gained by all participants in the process - I think there would be interest on both sides for this particular dialogue to proceed. I would be interested to see if other "listers" have any suggestions as to how this could be achieved. Best wishes Margie Thomas Goreau wrote: Dear Margie, I'm a field man who has never kept a tank, but it seems to me that awareness of the need for lighting, circulation, and filtering systems is in advance of understanding the importance of feeding among all but the most skilled hobbyists. As you saw Sprung did not seem aware of it. Several hobbyists have told me that they are aware of the need to feed for best results, but many are not. Best wishes, Tom On May 31, 2006, at 11:01 PM, Margie Atkinson wrote: Dear Tom I'm no expert aquarist either, however these days the people (in Australia at least) who keep corals tend to be those who have made the effort to learn what is needed - generally starting with the easiest species and with experience moving on to the more challenging ones. The expense alone to set up a coral-focussed marine aquarium is enough to deter most from venturing into this arena unless they are serious about doing it properly! Its not just about knowing whether a species needs feeding - that is the easy bit - the technology available to keep aquarium lighting at appropriate levels, along with specilised filtration, temperature control, control of water movement (and habitat requirements generally), as well as knowledge about interspecific interactions has all changed dramatically in the last decade and these have been big contributors in the ability to keep the "difficult" species alive. Post harvest handling is also important and standards in this area have improved as well. Best wishes Margie Thomas Goreau wrote: Dear Margie, I am no aquariast, but I think that one reason many corals are regarded hard to keep alive in tanks is that so many people falsely think they don't need to be fed. The really successful coral growers all appear to recognize that feeding is crucial. Best wishes, Tom Thomas J. Goreau, PhD President Global Coral Reef Alliance 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139 617-864-4226 [1]goreau at bestweb.net [2]http://www.globalcoral.org On May 31, 2006, at 10:12 PM, Margie Atkinson wrote: Dear Listers I agree with the concept of starting a dialogue between coral researchers and coral collectors and aquarists - it is long overdue! I work in a management capacity with the commercial coral fishery on the GBR and have seen that there is a wealth of knowledge available from these collectors and the aquarium industry in general. Unfortunately there seems to have been little in the way of shared forums between the two sectors. Coral aquarists/enthusiasts often share their knowledge through list serves, online discussion groups and club meetings and newsletters - rarely through the published (scientific) literature. Most scientific papers dealing with physiology and ecology are not user friendly for the lay person so are unlikely to have been discovered by aquarists. I realise also that in many parts of the world commercial coral collection has a bad reputation for causing significant environmental impact, which may have contributed to the apparent lack of engagement between the two sectors. The knowledge base for keeping corals in aquariums is expanding exponentially and many species that, a few years ago, were deemed difficult to keep are now relatively easy - I'm sure some of the industry observations that have led to these developments could help ecologists and physiologists refine their hypotheses and experimental designs to better understand the mechanisms involved. Also, people who keep coral in domestic aquaria tend to be extremely passionate and observant about the occupants and recount extraordinary tales about what the corals do under various scenarios - maybe consideration of these "outliers" may assist our understanding of the fundamental processes that still elude us! Another area where there is considerable scope for intersection between researchers and the aquarium industry is that of field observations. On the GBR, coral is collected via a small well-managed fishery that uses best practice approaches. Many collectors on the GBR have been in the industry a long time and have a strong sense of stewardship. They dive regularly (often daily) in places that scientists generally don't go - not just on the reef but in inter-reefal areas, so they have a good feel for broad coral community patterns over quite long timeframes as well as for the behaviour and distribution of a substantial number of coral species. Some of the collectors already feed into the GBRMPA's Bleachwatch program providing regular reports about the health of the reefs they collect from and the particular species that are bleaching and to what depth etc. It has been my experience also that many of the favoured aquarium corals that are assumed to be "rare" on coral reefs, especially in shallow water, are sometimes very abundant inter-reefally on sediment flats - again, places that scientists may not dive very often. This observation is supported by recent remote controlled video work coming out of the AIMS Seabed biodiversity project. I see that Shashank has mentioned Julian's book - another good reference for aquarium corals is: Borneman, E.H., 2001: Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry and Natural History. TFH Publications, New Jersey and Microcosm Books, Vermont pp 464. Regards Margie shashank Keshavmurthy wrote: Dear Listers It is interesting to see that finally the debate on the coral energy aquisition has surfaced... most of the resarch papers till now say that there is major contribution of Carbon form zooxanthellae to corals....but, when in need the corals can adapt to the carbon aquisition heterotrophically....??????? We all need to get lots of information from aquarists around the world.... If you will see the book written by "Julian Spring" on the aquarium corals...it gives the mode of nutrition as autotrophy and heterotrophy to most of the corals described in his book.... we as researchers may just dont know what really is happening out there.... here i agree totally with Tom....we still need to get lots work done so as to understand the true feeding habits of corals... Recent paper by "Palardy et al, MEPS (2005) 300: 79-89, Effects of upwelling, depth, morphology and polyp size on feeding in three species of Panamanian corals"...looks at what corals are eating... Collaboration with aquarists is needed to really understand about the energy aquisition in corals in more detail... more and more people are looking at zooxanthellae since it is believed to be "the source of Carbon" and "the factor for/of coral bleaching response"... question is how much is the symbiotic dependency? there are many studies showing that the corals can survive without the presence of zooxanthellae...it may not be for long time and may not be see in natural enviroment....but we do see many sea anemones in coral reefs, bleached and still surviving.... i think it is like, do corals want to feed on zooplankton when they loose zooxanthellae? does it take some time to switch between the modes of nutrition acquisition? combination of stress factors may be disturbing the switching between the modes for instance, when kept in aquarium tank in dark..it is only one stress and corals can survive with the zooplankton being fed...that means they are able to switch between the modes..? hmm...its pretty complex out there..and coral physiology is more and more challenging...this is my view... Regards shashank "the role of infinitely small in nature is infinitely large"-Louis Pasteur Keshavmurthy Shashank phD candidate Kochi University, Graduate School of Kuroshio Science Laboratory of Environmental Conservation Otsu 200, Monobe, Nankoku-shi 783-8502, Kochi, Japan alt. id: [3]shashank at cc.kochi-u.ac.jp phone: 81 080 3925 3889 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around [4]http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list [5]Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [6]http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list -- Margie Atkinson Project Manager Fisheries Issues Group Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority PO Box 1379, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia Tel: (61) 07 4750 0735 Fax: (61) 07 4772 6093 Mob: 0438 387 303 -- Margie Atkinson Project Manager Fisheries Issues Group Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority PO Box 1379, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia Tel: (61) 07 4750 0735 Fax: (61) 07 4772 6093 Mob: 0438 387 303 Thomas J. Goreau, PhD President Global Coral Reef Alliance 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139 617-864-4226 [7]goreau at bestweb.net [8]http://www.globalcoral.org -- Margie Atkinson Project Manager Fisheries Issues Group Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority PO Box 1379, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia Tel: (61) 07 4750 0735 Fax: (61) 07 4772 6093 Mob: 0438 387 303 References 1. mailto:goreau at bestweb.net 2. http://www.globalcoral.org/ 3. mailto:shashank at cc.kochi-u.ac.jp 4. http://mail.yahoo.com/ 5. mailto:Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov 6. http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list 7. mailto:goreau at bestweb.net 8. http://www.globalcoral.org/ From bethead345 at hotmail.com Thu Jun 1 07:04:49 2006 From: bethead345 at hotmail.com (di ha) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 11:04:49 +0000 Subject: [Coral-List] coral bleaching: response to Goreau Message-ID: Dear Tom and Margie, As someone who sits on both sides of the fence (research and aquarium keeping) the information and knowledge know on both sides is interesting/varied and not well communicated. Yes many aquarium owners in the begin know little about feeding corals, however with the high cost of purchasing each piece the last thing you want (and can afford) is for the coral to die. When I was in working in the aquarium trade I instructed/taught each customer how to feed the coral they had bought. I know of a number of shops (In Australia) that sell "green water" (marine algae cultures) and rotifer/green water mixes by the litre as well as a number of commercial products for feeding coral and inverts (that in some case won't be removed by protein skimming well that is what the bottle said). For the case of large corals Euphyllia's, cataphyllia's and favities/favia hand feeding is done, placing small pieces of fish/prawn/octopus onto the tentacles. I did get some strange looks from customer when I explained what to do, however this was normally replaced by questions on their next visit like "what else can I feed my corals? we sat there for hours watching the coral eat the food! and what corals eat what food?" As to how we share or learn from each other can be as simple as a researcher joining an aquarium club. A number have host nights where they all gather at a members house or at an aquarium shop and discuss new filtration ideas, refuge tanks being one of interest in Australia for the last few years, to natural condensed light vs 250 watt 20,000 kelvin metal halides vs fluoros as well as swapping coral fragments harvested from their home aquariums. Another possibility is publishing journals in aquarium magazines. With the advent of googling and scholar google some of the questions being raised by hobbists are highly technical. A copy of Charlie Verons "corals of the world" are a must for the serious aquarium keeper as are a number of the more technical marine biology reference books. As is identifying corals to the species level and learning how to propagate them. Hope this helps and not raises more issues/questions Dion > Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 14:09:12 +1000> From: margiea at gbrmpa.gov.au> To: goreau at bestweb.net> CC: lyle.jnr at cairnsmarine.com; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] coral bleaching: response to Goreau> > > Dear Tom> I take your point that there are varying levels of expertise and> awareness in this arena. I guess my main point originally was that> there is a substantial body of knowledge out there amongst coral> collectors and aquarists that might be of value to science - and that> as far as I can see it has not really been tapped into. I'm a strong> supporter of collaborative efforts and lateral thinking because there> is generally value to be gained by all participants in the process - I> think there would be interest on both sides for this particular> dialogue to proceed. I would be interested to see if other "listers"> have any suggestions as to how this could be achieved.> Best wishes> Margie> Thomas Goreau wrote:> > Dear Margie,> > I'm a field man who has never kept a tank, but it seems to me that> awareness of the need for lighting, circulation, and filtering systems> is in advance of understanding the importance of feeding among all but> the most skilled hobbyists. As you saw Sprung did not seem aware of> it. Several hobbyists have told me that they are aware of the need to> feed for best results, but many are not.> > Best wishes,> > Tom> > On May 31, 2006, at 11:01 PM, Margie Atkinson wrote:> > Dear Tom> I'm no expert aquarist either, however these days the people (in> Australia at least) who keep corals tend to be those who have made> the effort to learn what is needed - generally starting with the> easiest species and with experience moving on to the more> challenging ones. The expense alone to set up a coral-focussed> marine aquarium is enough to deter most from venturing into this> arena unless they are serious about doing it properly!> Its not just about knowing whether a species needs feeding - that> is the easy bit - the technology available to keep aquarium> lighting at appropriate levels, along with specilised filtration,> temperature control, control of water movement (and habitat> requirements generally), as well as knowledge about interspecific> interactions has all changed dramatically in the last decade and> these have been big contributors in the ability to keep the> "difficult" species alive. Post harvest handling is also important> and standards in this area have improved as well.> Best wishes> Margie> Thomas Goreau wrote:> > Dear Margie,> > I am no aquariast, but I think that one reason many corals are> regarded hard to keep alive in tanks is that so many people falsely> think they don't need to be fed. The really successful coral growers> all appear to recognize that feeding is crucial.> > Best wishes,> > Tom> > Thomas J. Goreau, PhD> President> Global Coral Reef Alliance> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139> 617-864-4226> [1]goreau at bestweb.net> [2]http://www.globalcoral.org> > On May 31, 2006, at 10:12 PM, Margie Atkinson wrote:> > Dear Listers> I agree with the concept of starting a dialogue between coral> researchers and coral collectors and aquarists - it is long> overdue!> I work in a management capacity with the commercial coral fishery> on the GBR and have seen that there is a wealth of knowledge> available from these collectors and the aquarium industry in> general. Unfortunately there seems to have been little in the way> of shared forums between the two sectors. Coral> aquarists/enthusiasts often share their knowledge through list> serves, online discussion groups and club meetings and newsletters> - rarely through the published (scientific) literature. Most> scientific papers dealing with physiology and ecology are not user> friendly for the lay person so are unlikely to have been discovered> by aquarists.> I realise also that in many parts of the world commercial coral> collection has a bad reputation for causing significant> environmental impact, which may have contributed to the apparent> lack of engagement between the two sectors.> The knowledge base for keeping corals in aquariums is expanding> exponentially and many species that, a few years ago, were deemed> difficult to keep are now relatively easy - I'm sure some of the> industry observations that have led to these developments could> help ecologists and physiologists refine their hypotheses and> experimental designs to better understand the mechanisms involved.> Also, people who keep coral in domestic aquaria tend to be> extremely passionate and observant about the occupants and recount> extraordinary tales about what the corals do under various> scenarios - maybe consideration of these "outliers" may assist our> understanding of the fundamental processes that still elude us!> Another area where there is considerable scope for intersection> between researchers and the aquarium industry is that of field> observations. On the GBR, coral is collected via a small> well-managed fishery that uses best practice approaches. Many> collectors on the GBR have been in the industry a long time and> have a strong sense of stewardship. They dive regularly (often> daily) in places that scientists generally don't go - not just on> the reef but in inter-reefal areas, so they have a good feel for> broad coral community patterns over quite long timeframes as well> as for the behaviour and distribution of a substantial number of> coral species.> Some of the collectors already feed into the GBRMPA's Bleachwatch> program providing regular reports about the health of the reefs> they collect from and the particular species that are bleaching and> to what depth etc. It has been my experience also that many of the> favoured aquarium corals that are assumed to be "rare" on coral> reefs, especially in shallow water, are sometimes very abundant> inter-reefally on sediment flats - again, places that scientists> may not dive very often. This observation is supported by recent> remote controlled video work coming out of the AIMS Seabed> biodiversity project.> I see that Shashank has mentioned Julian's book - another good> reference for aquarium corals is:> Borneman, E.H., 2001: Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry and> Natural History. TFH Publications, New Jersey and Microcosm Books,> Vermont pp 464.> Regards> Margie> shashank Keshavmurthy wrote:> > Dear Listers> It is interesting to see that finally the debate> on the coral energy aquisition has surfaced...> > most of the resarch papers till now say that> there is major contribution of Carbon form> zooxanthellae to corals....but, when in need the> corals can adapt to the carbon aquisition> heterotrophically....???????> > We all need to get lots of information from> aquarists around the world....> > If you will see the book written by "Julian> Spring" on the aquarium corals...it gives the> mode of nutrition as autotrophy and heterotrophy> to most of the corals described in his book....> > we as researchers may just dont know what really> is happening out there....> > here i agree totally with Tom....we still need to> get lots work done so as to understand the true> feeding habits of corals...> > Recent paper by "Palardy et al, MEPS (2005) 300:> 79-89, Effects of upwelling, depth, morphology> and polyp size on feeding in three species of> Panamanian corals"...looks at what corals are> eating...> > Collaboration with aquarists is needed to really> understand about the energy aquisition in corals> in more detail...> > more and more people are looking at zooxanthellae> since it is believed to be "the source of Carbon"> and "the factor for/of coral bleaching> response"...> > question is how much is the symbiotic dependency?> there are many studies showing that the corals> can survive without the presence of> zooxanthellae...it may not be for long time and> may not be see in natural enviroment....but we do> see many sea anemones in coral reefs, bleached> and still surviving....> > i think it is like, do corals want to feed on> zooplankton when they loose zooxanthellae?> does it take some time to switch between the> modes of nutrition acquisition?> combination of stress factors may be disturbing> the switching between the modes> > for instance, when kept in aquarium tank in> dark..it is only one stress and corals can> survive with the zooplankton being fed...that> means they are able to switch between the> modes..?> > hmm...its pretty complex out there..and coral> physiology is more and more challenging...this is> my view...> > Regards> shashank> > > > > "the role of infinitely small in nature is infinitely large"-Louis Pasteur> > > Keshavmurthy Shashank> phD candidate> Kochi University, Graduate School of Kuroshio Science> Laboratory of Environmental Conservation> Otsu 200, Monobe, Nankoku-shi> 783-8502, Kochi, Japan> alt. id: [3]shashank at cc.kochi-u.ac.jp> phone: 81 080 3925 3889> > __________________________________________________> Do You Yahoo!?> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around> [4]http://mail.yahoo.com> _______________________________________________> Coral-List mailing list> [5]Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> [6]http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list> > > --> Margie Atkinson> Project Manager> Fisheries Issues Group> Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority> PO Box 1379, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia> Tel: (61) 07 4750 0735 Fax: (61) 07 4772 6093> Mob: 0438 387 303> > --> Margie Atkinson> Project Manager> Fisheries Issues Group> Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority> PO Box 1379, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia> Tel: (61) 07 4750 0735 Fax: (61) 07 4772 6093> Mob: 0438 387 303> > Thomas J. Goreau, PhD> > President> > Global Coral Reef Alliance> > 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139> > 617-864-4226> > [7]goreau at bestweb.net> > [8]http://www.globalcoral.org> > --> Margie Atkinson> Project Manager> Fisheries Issues Group> Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority> PO Box 1379, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia> Tel: (61) 07 4750 0735 Fax: (61) 07 4772 6093> Mob: 0438 387 303> > References> > 1. mailto:goreau at bestweb.net> 2. http://www.globalcoral.org/> 3. mailto:shashank at cc.kochi-u.ac.jp> 4. http://mail.yahoo.com/> 5. mailto:Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> 6. http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list> 7. mailto:goreau at bestweb.net> 8. http://www.globalcoral.org/> _______________________________________________> Coral-List mailing list> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ From iamshanky15 at yahoo.com Thu Jun 1 07:01:43 2006 From: iamshanky15 at yahoo.com (shashank Keshavmurthy) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 04:01:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] coral bleaching: response to Goreau In-Reply-To: <447E6868.5070201@gbrmpa.gov.au> Message-ID: <20060601110143.52012.qmail@web31811.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Listers, Tom the recent post was very informative.... I also read some listers mentioning about "Starvation"..... As Tom points out.....we need to remember some things before we bring up the word starvation.... 1. Zooplankton availability in coral reef area...there are "n" number of animals feeding on zoopalnkton...and almost all of them are motile!!!! 2. Poor corals being non-motile...have to wait for zooplantkon to reach at least as near as their tentacles can reach!!! So, it is like, even if they want to eat..they can't !!!!! Instead of" starvation"...the right pharse can be" food availability"...wich depends on abundance of surrounding zooplankton feeders.... the "food availability" is not at all problem in aquarium tanks.... actually after reading so many messages today...i visited some reef aquarists web sites to see actually what they are feeding..and i see that it is heaven out there for the corals!!!... I also saw recently one paper that deals with "depleted rates of zooplankton in coral reef waters" if I am not wrong..because I am unable to recollect where I saw this paper and in which journal....(i was not searching for this topic that time!!!).... some of my thoughts again.... Regards Shashank "the role of infinitely small in nature is infinitely large"-Louis Pasteur Keshavmurthy Shashank phD candidate Kochi University, Graduate School of Kuroshio Science Laboratory of Environmental Conservation Otsu 200, Monobe, Nankoku-shi 783-8502, Kochi, Japan alt. id: shashank at cc.kochi-u.ac.jp phone: 81 080 3925 3889 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov Thu Jun 1 09:04:17 2006 From: Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov (Mark Eakin) Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 09:04:17 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] starvation? In-Reply-To: <000001c684d4$9e48eb70$0176ab81@GOLIATH> References: <000001c684d4$9e48eb70$0176ab81@GOLIATH> Message-ID: Follow-up to the mass bleaching in the Caribbean has revealed that coral death from large scale thermal stress results from a wide range of causes. Some of the corals died very quickly (ca. 1 week). This is probably thermal stress. Some died within a few weeks. Lack of nutrition from zooxanthellae and loss of reserves probably contributed here (starvation). Some died later, often from disease. I think when dealing with the press and public, the message that thermal stress and bleaching may result in mortality is the important message. The rest is for us to debate. Cheers, Mark On May 31, 2006, at 1:06 PM, jmcmanus wrote: > Most likely we are dealing with two phenomena in severe bleaching > events: > > 1. Stresses related to the loss of Symbiodinium > 2. Thermal stress per se. > > All organisms have upper thermal tolerance limits, set by various > physiological mechanisms (oxygen uptake, other aspects of metabolism, > protein and enzyme production, etc.). Many organisms live nearer > the upper > than the lower tolerance limits, which is why it is usually safer to > transport marine organisms in colder water than they are used to > than in > warmer water. During periods of very warm water, other species on a > reef may > die suddenly, such as mollusks and fish. It may be that coral death > that is > too quick to be explained in terms of starvation may not > necessarily be > related to the loss of the Symbiodinium. > > Cheers! > > John > > John W. McManus, PhD > Professor, Marine Biology and Fisheries > Coral Reef Ecology and Management Laboratory (CREM Lab) > Director, National Center for Coral Reef Research (NCORE) > Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science > University of Miami, 33149 > Office: 305-421-4814/4820, Fax: 305-421-4910, Website: > www.ncoremiami.org > > If I cannot build it, I do not understand it. -- Richard Feynman, > Nobel > Laureate > > > -----Original Message----- > From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Julian > Sprung > Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 10:15 AM > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > Subject: [Coral-List] starvation? > > As a follow up to the post I just sent, I have not yet seen this > recent > paper in Nature and look forward to reading it- My comments about > starvation > are not in any way intended to dismiss the conclusions of the paper. > > I am only commenting on what I believe to be true with regard to > temperature > induced bleaching and mass die off of corals-- that the majority of > the die > off usually occurs in a matter of days, far too quickly to be > caused by > starvation. > > It is an interesting point to compare what can be achieved in an > aquarium > with respect to food inputs as opposed to food supply on reefs. In > general > the live and particulate food supply on reefs is greater than what > is the > norm for most aquariums, but I agree aquariums could achieve higher > inputs > to meet the demands of a particular coral, given the effort of an > aquarist > to make it happen. The idea that some corals might not be able to > get enough > food in the wild if they lack zooxanthellae is new to me- if true, > it would > mean I have to revise my opinion about starvation as being too broad! > > Julian > > > >> ---------- >> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov on behalf of Andr?a > Grottoli >> Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 3:37 PM >> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; goreau at bestweb.net >> Subject: [Coral-List] coral bleaching: response to Goreau >> >> Dear Tom, >> >> I read your contribution on the coral list about >> coral bleaching with interest. As the lead >> author of the recent Nature paper on >> heterotrophic plasticity in bleached corals, I >> would like to comment. You stated: >> >> "The recent paper that claims to have discovered "for the first time" >> that corals eat zooplankton and can survive bleaching better if >> fed is >> not new either. The fact that corals don't get their carbon from >> zooxanthellae is also very old knowledge, but for decades people have >> ignored the old literature and have mistaken the net oxygen >> balance to >> assume that corals are also autotrophic in carbon. This recent >> error has >> become dogma, despite being wrong, because nowadays people don't read >> the literature or ask those who know it. The first radiocarbon tracer >> experiments, done by Thomas F. Goreau and Nora I. Goreau more than 50 >> years ago showed that very little zooxanthella carbon translocation >> contributed to coral carbon, and that corals relied on zooplankton >> for >> the vast bulk of their carbon needs. They kept corals completely >> bleached in the dark for years, feeding them on zooplankton. So >> survival >> of bleached fed corals has been known for over half a century and >> is not >> a "new discovery" at all. Like so much else in the current >> literature." >> >> I would like to point out that our paper showed >> that only one species, Montipora capitata, >> consumed enough zooplankton to meet all of its >> metabolic demand heterotrophically when >> bleached. When healthy, M. capitata met less >> than 15% of its metabolic demand >> heterotrophically. The other two species we >> studied, Porites compressa and Porites lobata, >> only met 21-35% of their daily metabolic demand >> heterotrophically when they were either healthy >> or bleached. In all cases, our corals were >> exposed to naturally occurring zooplankton on the >> reef. Thus under natural reef conditions, not >> all bleached corals can meet all of their >> metabolic needs heterotrophically. Under >> artificially fed conditions (i.e., coral exposed >> to higher than ambient concentrations of >> zooplankton or brine shrimp in tanks), things can >> be quite different. As you pointed out, the >> fact that corals do get some fixed carbon from >> zooplankton has been know for a very long >> time. However, the fact that when bleached at >> least one species can increase heterotrophic >> feeding to meet all of its metabolic needs while >> two others could not, is novel. Our results >> suggest that not all species of corals would be > >> able to meet their metabolic demand when >> maintained in the dark under natural >> concentrations and abundance of zooplankton (i.e, >> P compress and P lobata probably could not get >> all of their energy needs met heterotrophically >> when bleached under darkness... but this would >> need to be specifically tested). In addition, >> bleaching induced by keeping corals in the dark >> is not necessarily the same as >> temperature-induced bleaching. The chain of >> physiological stress responses that occur under >> high temperature include free radical and stress >> protein production, making any heterotrophic >> responses under tempreature-induced bleaching >> possibly quite different than hetertrophic >> responses under sustained darkness. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Andrea Grottoli >> >> ******************************************************* >> Andr?a G. Grottoli, Assistant Professor >> Ohio State University >> Department of Geological Sciences >> 125 South Oval Mall >> Columbus, OH 43210-1398 >> office: 614-292-5782 >> lab: 614-292-7415 >> fax: 614-292-7688 >> email: grottoli.1 at osu.edu >> web: www.geology.ohio-state.edu/~grottoli >> Office location: 329 Mendenhall Labs >> >> ******************************************************* >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Coral-List mailing list >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > > > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------ C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D. Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Satellite Applications and Research Satellite Oceanography & Climate Division e-mail: mark.eakin at noaa.gov url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5308 1335 East West Hwy Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 301-713-2857 x109 Fax: 301-713-3136 The contents of this message are mine personally and do not necessarily reflect any position of the Government or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. From riskmj at univmail.cis.mcmaster.ca Thu Jun 1 08:12:23 2006 From: riskmj at univmail.cis.mcmaster.ca (Michael Risk) Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 08:12:23 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Heat;light, food, and bleaching, continued In-Reply-To: <9B3C0CCE-42C9-471A-9E06-3112433A4453@bestweb.net> Message-ID: Hi Tom. Thank you for those kind words-although telling the -list that "most of the papers are garbage except those by Mike Risk" (sic) is perhaps an exaggeration, and is without doubt a comment that will come back to haunt us both. I insist I am quite capable of producing garbage. Your main point, I think (as one whose hair long since turned grey), is well-taken. Rather than stand on the shoulders of giants who have gone before, coral reef ecology sometimes seems to prefer reinventing several wheels. I have no easy solution. In an ideal world, grant-review panels would be objective, and sort for originality; manuscript reviewers would be familiar with pre-existing literature, and would reject work that was not original. Perhaps some of the blame may be laid at the feet of an academic system in which one's income depends on quantity over quality. You may be interested in a little paper from 2003 (Marine Geology 202: 71-78, "Smoke signals from corals.") I was in Indonesia during the 1997 "haze" event, which was caused by the Suharto government (plus some small land-holders) setting fires on Borneo to clear canefields and "vacant" land. The smoke, which spin-doctors quickly morphed into "haze", covered much of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, creating a public health problem of some magnitude. I recall taking the train from Bogor to Jakarta, and the horizontal visibility was sometimes <100 metres. Everybody except the unprepared "belander" was wearing masks. It occurred to me that this plume of smoke would shade the corals. Make a long story short: corals under the haze shifted their metabolism towards more heterotrophy, then shifted back again to autotrophy when the haze had passed. (One needs a zillion analyses to show this.) Another example of the plasticity of these critters. Of interest is the possibility of retrospective determination of similar metabolic shifts, via skeletal analyses. Mike From billy.causey at noaa.gov Thu Jun 1 11:53:01 2006 From: billy.causey at noaa.gov (Billy Causey) Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:53:01 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] starvation? References: <000001c684d4$9e48eb70$0176ab81@GOLIATH> Message-ID: <447F0D5D.EFF438D6@noaa.gov> Excellent points Mark! Billy Mark Eakin wrote: > Follow-up to the mass bleaching in the Caribbean has revealed that > coral death from large scale thermal stress results from a wide range > of causes. Some of the corals died very quickly (ca. 1 week). This > is probably thermal stress. Some died within a few weeks. Lack of > nutrition from zooxanthellae and loss of reserves probably > contributed here (starvation). Some died later, often from disease. > > I think when dealing with the press and public, the message that > thermal stress and bleaching may result in mortality is the important > message. The rest is for us to debate. > > Cheers, > Mark > > On May 31, 2006, at 1:06 PM, jmcmanus wrote: > > > Most likely we are dealing with two phenomena in severe bleaching > > events: > > > > 1. Stresses related to the loss of Symbiodinium > > 2. Thermal stress per se. > > > > All organisms have upper thermal tolerance limits, set by various > > physiological mechanisms (oxygen uptake, other aspects of metabolism, > > protein and enzyme production, etc.). Many organisms live nearer > > the upper > > than the lower tolerance limits, which is why it is usually safer to > > transport marine organisms in colder water than they are used to > > than in > > warmer water. During periods of very warm water, other species on a > > reef may > > die suddenly, such as mollusks and fish. It may be that coral death > > that is > > too quick to be explained in terms of starvation may not > > necessarily be > > related to the loss of the Symbiodinium. > > > > Cheers! > > > > John > > > > John W. McManus, PhD > > Professor, Marine Biology and Fisheries > > Coral Reef Ecology and Management Laboratory (CREM Lab) > > Director, National Center for Coral Reef Research (NCORE) > > Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science > > University of Miami, 33149 > > Office: 305-421-4814/4820, Fax: 305-421-4910, Website: > > www.ncoremiami.org > > > > If I cannot build it, I do not understand it. -- Richard Feynman, > > Nobel > > Laureate > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > > [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Julian > > Sprung > > Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 10:15 AM > > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > > Subject: [Coral-List] starvation? > > > > As a follow up to the post I just sent, I have not yet seen this > > recent > > paper in Nature and look forward to reading it- My comments about > > starvation > > are not in any way intended to dismiss the conclusions of the paper. > > > > I am only commenting on what I believe to be true with regard to > > temperature > > induced bleaching and mass die off of corals-- that the majority of > > the die > > off usually occurs in a matter of days, far too quickly to be > > caused by > > starvation. > > > > It is an interesting point to compare what can be achieved in an > > aquarium > > with respect to food inputs as opposed to food supply on reefs. In > > general > > the live and particulate food supply on reefs is greater than what > > is the > > norm for most aquariums, but I agree aquariums could achieve higher > > inputs > > to meet the demands of a particular coral, given the effort of an > > aquarist > > to make it happen. The idea that some corals might not be able to > > get enough > > food in the wild if they lack zooxanthellae is new to me- if true, > > it would > > mean I have to revise my opinion about starvation as being too broad! > > > > Julian > > > > > > > >> ---------- > >> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov on behalf of Andr?a > > Grottoli > >> Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 3:37 PM > >> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; goreau at bestweb.net > >> Subject: [Coral-List] coral bleaching: response to Goreau > >> > >> Dear Tom, > >> > >> I read your contribution on the coral list about > >> coral bleaching with interest. As the lead > >> author of the recent Nature paper on > >> heterotrophic plasticity in bleached corals, I > >> would like to comment. You stated: > >> > >> "The recent paper that claims to have discovered "for the first time" > >> that corals eat zooplankton and can survive bleaching better if > >> fed is > >> not new either. The fact that corals don't get their carbon from > >> zooxanthellae is also very old knowledge, but for decades people have > >> ignored the old literature and have mistaken the net oxygen > >> balance to > >> assume that corals are also autotrophic in carbon. This recent > >> error has > >> become dogma, despite being wrong, because nowadays people don't read > >> the literature or ask those who know it. The first radiocarbon tracer > >> experiments, done by Thomas F. Goreau and Nora I. Goreau more than 50 > >> years ago showed that very little zooxanthella carbon translocation > >> contributed to coral carbon, and that corals relied on zooplankton > >> for > >> the vast bulk of their carbon needs. They kept corals completely > >> bleached in the dark for years, feeding them on zooplankton. So > >> survival > >> of bleached fed corals has been known for over half a century and > >> is not > >> a "new discovery" at all. Like so much else in the current > >> literature." > >> > >> I would like to point out that our paper showed > >> that only one species, Montipora capitata, > >> consumed enough zooplankton to meet all of its > >> metabolic demand heterotrophically when > >> bleached. When healthy, M. capitata met less > >> than 15% of its metabolic demand > >> heterotrophically. The other two species we > >> studied, Porites compressa and Porites lobata, > >> only met 21-35% of their daily metabolic demand > >> heterotrophically when they were either healthy > >> or bleached. In all cases, our corals were > >> exposed to naturally occurring zooplankton on the > >> reef. Thus under natural reef conditions, not > >> all bleached corals can meet all of their > >> metabolic needs heterotrophically. Under > >> artificially fed conditions (i.e., coral exposed > >> to higher than ambient concentrations of > >> zooplankton or brine shrimp in tanks), things can > >> be quite different. As you pointed out, the > >> fact that corals do get some fixed carbon from > >> zooplankton has been know for a very long > >> time. However, the fact that when bleached at > >> least one species can increase heterotrophic > >> feeding to meet all of its metabolic needs while > >> two others could not, is novel. Our results > >> suggest that not all species of corals would be > > >> able to meet their metabolic demand when > >> maintained in the dark under natural > >> concentrations and abundance of zooplankton (i.e, > >> P compress and P lobata probably could not get > >> all of their energy needs met heterotrophically > >> when bleached under darkness... but this would > >> need to be specifically tested). In addition, > >> bleaching induced by keeping corals in the dark > >> is not necessarily the same as > >> temperature-induced bleaching. The chain of > >> physiological stress responses that occur under > >> high temperature include free radical and stress > >> protein production, making any heterotrophic > >> responses under tempreature-induced bleaching > >> possibly quite different than hetertrophic > >> responses under sustained darkness. > >> > >> Sincerely, > >> > >> Andrea Grottoli > >> > >> ******************************************************* > >> Andr?a G. Grottoli, Assistant Professor > >> Ohio State University > >> Department of Geological Sciences > >> 125 South Oval Mall > >> Columbus, OH 43210-1398 > >> office: 614-292-5782 > >> lab: 614-292-7415 > >> fax: 614-292-7688 > >> email: grottoli.1 at osu.edu > >> web: www.geology.ohio-state.edu/~grottoli > >> Office location: 329 Mendenhall Labs > >> > >> ******************************************************* > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Coral-List mailing list > >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > >> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > >> > >> > > _______________________________________________ > > Coral-List mailing list > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Coral-List mailing list > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------ > C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D. > Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch > National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration > Center for Satellite Applications and Research > Satellite Oceanography & Climate Division > e-mail: mark.eakin at noaa.gov > url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov > > E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5308 > 1335 East West Hwy > Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 > 301-713-2857 x109 Fax: 301-713-3136 > > The contents of this message are mine personally and do not > necessarily reflect any position of the Government or the National > Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list -- ---- Billy D. Causey Superintendent Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary P.O. Box 500368 Marathon, FL 33050 phone: (305) 743-2437 x26 fax: (305) 743-2357 http://floridakeys.noaa.gov From lad at reef.org Thu Jun 1 10:54:05 2006 From: lad at reef.org (Lad Akins) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 10:54:05 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] coral starvation/feeding project? Message-ID: HI all, These discussions regarding bleaching, thermal stress and "starvation" have been very interesting, civil and enjoyable! They also bring to mind night diving recollections and thoughts about a potential research project. During night dives with students and novice divers it has often been a fun practice to shine our dive lights on or near large corals and watch what happens to the microfauna attracted to the light. Of course, the numerous worms and other critters swarm around the lights and invariably bump into the extended tentacles of hungry corals. These corals were quick to take advantage of an easy meal. "Feeding the corals" for a few minutes was always interesting and educational, prompting great post-dive discussions. As this thread has so aptly illuminated (no pun intended), feeding of corals during bleaching events (or thermal stress?) MAY reduce the long or even short term effects of the event. Any takers on implementation of a study to regularly "feed" corals in situ as they begin to bleach and compare the effects to unfed corals? Should be easy to do on regularly dived reefs by marking the corals to be fed and those to be left alone and let visiting divers take part in the study by feeding. I would assume that even a short period of focused feeding would provide much more prey than the corals would ordinarily see in an evening of darkness. I would be interested in helping to implement the diver portion of this study if anyone out there is interested in study design and data analysis. Just a thought. Thanks for the great discussions. Best Fishes, Lad ********* Lad Akins Executive Director REEF 98300 Overseas Hwy Key Largo FL 33037 (305) 852-0030 x-2# www.reef.org From grottoli.1 at osu.edu Thu Jun 1 12:30:16 2006 From: grottoli.1 at osu.edu (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Andr=E9a?= Grottoli) Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 12:30:16 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral feeding In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060601120634.02226b08@osu.edu> Dear Coral-listers: There has been quite a bit of discussion about what corals eat, how much they eat, and what some of the downstream effects of feeding are. I would like to point you to a few publications from my group involving corals studied in situ on the reef. We have found that coral feeding rate varies among species, with depth, with zooplankton abundance, and with bleaching. However, what they eat is always the same. We have also found that of all six species of corals we have examined, at all depths and health status, that they all eat zooplankton predominantly in the 200-400 micron size class, and that their diet consists primarily of crab zoea, amphipods, and isopods or shrimp (corals studied include: Montipora capitata in Hawaii, Porites compressa in Hawaii, Porites lobata in Hawaii, Pavona clavus in the Gulf of Panama, and Pavona gigantea in the Gulf of Panama, and Pocillopora damicornis in the Gulf of Panama). Other work by Ken Sebens group has shown the effect of flow on feeding and that tentacle structure affects zooplankton capture capability. Others have also shown that bacteria and/or particles can make up a measurable amount of fixed carbon in the diet. In addition, my group has natural abundance isotopic evidence that both photosynthetically and heterotrophically acquired fixed carbon is incorporated into the coral (this is from a combination of field and tank studies). Our research strongly supports the idea that corals are both photoautotrophic and heterotrophic. What is emerging however, is that the relative proportion of fixed carbon acquired via one mechanism or the other, varies among species, and with bleaching vs. healthy status. In other words, there is no single formula that would apply to all corals, but rather a several alternative photo vs hetero combinations that can vary with bleaching. I have included a list of references here for those who might be interested. Sincerely, Andrea Grottoli Published papers; 1- Grottoli AG, Rodrigues LJ, Palardy JE. (2006) Heterotrophic Plasticity and Resilience in Bleached Corals. Nature 440: 1186-1189 doi:10.1038/nature04565 2- Palardy JE, Grottoli AG, Matthews KA. (2006) Effect of naturally changing zooplankton concentrations on feeding rates of two coral species in the Eastern Pacific. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 331(1):99-107 3- Palardy JE, Grottoli AG, Matthews K (2005) The effect of temperature, depth, morphology, and polyp size on feeding in three species of Panamanian corals. Marine Ecology Progress Series 300:79-89 4- Rodrigues LJ, Grottoli AG (in press) Calcification rate and the stable carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen isotopes in the skeleton, host tissue, and zooxanthellae of bleached and recovering Hawaiian corals. Geochimica et CosmochimicaGrottoli AG, Rodrigues LJ, Juarez C (2004) Lipids and stable carbon isotopes in two species of Hawaiian corals, Porites compressa and Montipora verrucosa, following a bleaching event. Marine Biology 145: 621-631 5- Grottoli AG (2002) Effect of light and brine shrimp levels on the skeletal d13C values of the Hawaiian coral Porites compressa: a tank experiment. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 66: 1955-1967 6- Grottoli AG (1999) Variability in stable isotopes and maximum linear skeletal extension in reef corals in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Marine Biology 135:437-449 7- Grottoli AG, Wellington GM (1999) Effects of light and zooplankton on skeletal d13C values in the Eastern Pacific corals Pavona clavus and P. gigantea. Coral Reefs 18:29-41 other related papers in preps include: 1- Palardy, JE, Rodrigues, LJ, Grottoli, AG. (in prep) Feeding behavior changes with the loss of facilitative interactions on coral reefs. 2- Rodrigues LJ, Grottoli AG (in prep) Energy reserves and metabolism in bleached and recovering Porites compressa and Montipora capitata corals from Hawaii. 3- Rodrigues LJ, Grottoli AG, Lesser MP (in prep) Long-term changes in the chlorophyll fluorescence of bleached and recovering corals from Hawaii. ******************************************************* Andr?a G. Grottoli, Assistant Professor Ohio State University Department of Geological Sciences 125 South Oval Mall Columbus, OH 43210-1398 office: 614-292-5782 lab: 614-292-7415 fax: 614-292-7688 email: grottoli.1 at osu.edu web: www.geology.ohio-state.edu/~grottoli Office location: 329 Mendenhall Labs ******************************************************* From cnidaria at earthlink.net Thu Jun 1 14:16:13 2006 From: cnidaria at earthlink.net (James M. Cervino (Marine Biologist)) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 14:16:13 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [Coral-List] Coral feeding Message-ID: <18481206.1149185774043.JavaMail.root@elwamui-hybrid.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Dear Andrea, When you say; "into the coral" are you saying that this translocated photosynthate in the form of carbon is going directly into the host issues and not to mucus bi-products? Or are you saying that the translocasted photosynthate or carbon that goes directly to the mucus (which we know is substantial) is part of the "into the coral quote" ? Because If you are saying that the mucus products that are the result of translocated photosynthate defines corals as autotrophic then this is incorrect, because none of this material is going towards the energy buget thus making them heterotrophic. Much of the oxygen is lost into the water-column. Davy and Cook have also shown that During thermal bleaching host release factors or HRF diverts surplus carbon away from storage compounds to translocated compounds such as glycerol which is found in mucus and within host tissues. Cheers, James I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what they killed, there would be no more wars. Abbie Hoffman From grottoli.1 at osu.edu Thu Jun 1 14:43:45 2006 From: grottoli.1 at osu.edu (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Andr=E9a?= Grottoli) Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 14:43:45 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral feeding In-Reply-To: <18481206.1149185774043.JavaMail.root@elwamui-hybrid.atl.sa .earthlink.net> References: <18481206.1149185774043.JavaMail.root@elwamui-hybrid.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060601143751.021081b0@osu.edu> Dear James Our data shows that both photosynthetically, and heterotrophically acquired carbon is found in the coral tissues and skeleton. We have not directly measured how much carbon from either source contributes to the mucus, or what role mucus plays in this whole scenario. Sincerely, Andrea Grottoli At 02:16 PM 6/1/2006, you wrote: >Dear Andrea, > >When you say; "into the coral" are you saying >that this translocated photosynthate in the form >of carbon is going directly into the host issues >and not to mucus bi-products? Or are you saying >that the translocasted photosynthate or carbon >that goes directly to the mucus (which we know >is substantial) is part of the "into the coral >quote" ? Because If you are saying that the >mucus products that are the result of >translocated photosynthate defines corals as >autotrophic then this is incorrect, because none >of this material is going towards the energy >buget thus making them heterotrophic. Much of >the oxygen is lost into the water-column. > >Davy and Cook have also shown that During >thermal bleaching host release factors or HRF >diverts surplus carbon away from storage >compounds to translocated compounds such as >glycerol which is found in mucus and within host tissues. > >Cheers, James > > > > > >I believe in compulsory cannibalism. >If people were forced to eat what they killed, >there would be no more wars. >Abbie Hoffman ******************************************************* Andr?a G. Grottoli, Assistant Professor Ohio State University Department of Geological Sciences 125 South Oval Mall Columbus, OH 43210-1398 office: 614-292-5782 lab: 614-292-7415 fax: 614-292-7688 email: grottoli.1 at osu.edu web: www.geology.ohio-state.edu/~grottoli Office location: 329 Mendenhall Labs ******************************************************* From mekvinga at yahoo.com Thu Jun 1 15:00:35 2006 From: mekvinga at yahoo.com (Melissa Keyes) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 12:00:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] "Feeding coral" Message-ID: <20060601190035.4726.qmail@web50102.mail.yahoo.com> Lad, and Listers, What we would do, especially on "wormy" nights, would be to hold our lights so that the beam goes up and away from the coral of choice. Then, when a goodly accumulation of critters were attracted, the beam of light would be turned toward the coral, sending the hapless wormies diving into the polyps. Happy corals. Ceers, Melissa Keyes St. Croix, USVI __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From delbeek at waquarium.org Thu Jun 1 17:07:53 2006 From: delbeek at waquarium.org (Charles Delbeek) Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:07:53 -1000 Subject: [Coral-List] [SPAM] Re: coral bleaching: response to Goreau In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20060601103209.02aa4ee0@mail.waquarium.org> There are a couple of points in this discussion that I feel the need to address: 1) Shops selling phytoplankton as coral food - most research that I have read involving feeding in stony corals deals mainly with the ingestion of ZOOplankton. Soft corals, particularly azooxanthellate ones such as Dendronephthya have been shown to feed on phytoplankton. This makes sense to me since most of these corals lack nematocysts and their polyp structures appear to be more suited for sieving food from passing water than stinging and capturing it as can be seen in stony corals which all seem to have nematocysts ... why sting a phytoplankton cell to capture it which is basically a passive entity unlike a struggling copepod? I have a pet theory that people who report responses from corals when fed phytoplankton could be seeing the result of any number of factors such as the addition of nutrients, the decay of phytoplankton leading to increased nitrogen and phosphorous levels, to the increase in filter feeders and hence, an increase in reproduction of these i.e. more zooplankton being generated. 2) Feeding vs. non-feeding of corals in captivity - yes corals will feed on zooplankton and more meaty food in the case of corals with polyps large enough to take them. No one disputes this. What is in question is do corals in captivity need this? Given that nitrogen, phosphorous and organic nutrient levels are generally several times that found on natural reefs is this enough to keep the corals "happy"? The success of aquarists in Europe with stony and soft corals in the 1970s and 1980s, without any feeding, would tend to support this idea. 3) The role of dissolved nutrients - The Waikiki Aquarium has been keeping, propagating and spawning stony corals, mainly Acropora, Montipora etc since the late 1970s. We have never added any sort of zooplankton or phytoplankton to our systems. We use a saltwater well as a water source for the majority of our exhibit and they are semi-open systems. The well is 80ft down in coral rock, the chemistry of this water has been discussed in Atkinson et al. 1995, there is no zooplankton or phytoplankton in this water. That is not to say that there isn't any bacteria in the water, or that there could be plankton being generated in the systems themselves. All I can say with absolute certainty is that WE do not feed the corals. Yet, we have observed the release of eggs, sperm and egg/sperm bundles in corals such as Acropora, Sandalolitha, Montipora, Euphyllia and Goniopora. What our water IS rich in is nitrogen, phoshporous, iron, managense, carbon dioxide etc. ... so my feeling is that the zooxanthellae and perhaps the coral tissue itself, is getting more than enough of what they need from the water. 4) Increasing contact with the aquarium community - there is an annual conference in North America called The Marine Aquarium Conference of North America (MACNA), this year it will be held the weekend of Sept 23rd in Houston, Texas. This annual conference is the best place to meet with and observe what hobbyists are doing. There have been several marine scientists who have spoken at this conference such as Giselle Mueller-Parker, Daphne Fautin, Marlin Atkinson, Charlie Veron, Robert Myers, Bob Richmond, Cindy Hunter ... to name just a few. While there is some contact with hobbyists by the scientific community there is certainly room for much more. I think this sort of interaction will only increase for the simple fact that many of the up and coming marine scientists today have started off by keeping reef tanks as a hobby, and I am in fact seeing this already. There are of course other such conferences in Europe held in Germany, France, Belgium and The Netherlands. Next April there will be a conference in The Netherlands dealing specifically with the captive husbandry of corals in public aquariums, of which I am a member of the steering committee ... we would dearly love to have a strong representation from the scientific community especially in the field of coral nutrition, effects of UV, coral colouration, coral reproduction, etc etc. The days of marine scientists claiming it was impossible to keep live coral while hobbyists in Europe and elsewhere were already doing so, are thankfully behind us for the most part. Finally, I think one needs to be cautious about making sweeping generalizations about what corals need or don't need in terms of feeding when it is becoming increasingly obvious that the corals have various abilities to gather, use and process sources of nutrition spread across the genera. Aloha! J. Charles Delbeek M.Sc. Aquarium Biologist III Waikiki Aquarium, University of Hawaii 2777 Kalakaua Ave. Honolulu, HI, USA 96815 www.waquarium.org 808-923-9741 ext. 0 VOICE 808-923-1771 FAX From andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au Fri Jun 2 10:04:46 2006 From: andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au (Andrew Baird) Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 10:04:46 Subject: [Coral-List] starvation? Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20060602100446.01243538@mail.jcu.edu.au> Dear Corallist The following reference has some of the only data on species level rates of mortality on the GBR. Some die fast, some slow, possibly related to differing levels of heterotrophy and there was considerable variation between individuals in rates of recovery. Baird AH, Marshall PA (2002) Mortality, growth and reproduction in scleractinian corals following bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 237: 133-141 ABSTRACT: Despite extensive research into the coral bleaching phenomena there are very few data which examine the population biology of affected species. These data are required in order to predict the capacity of corals to respond to environmental change. We monitored individual colonies of 4common coral species for 8 mo following historically high sea-surface temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998 to compare their response to, and recovery from, thermal stress and to examine the effect of bleaching on growth and reproduction in 2 Acropora species. Platygyra daedalea and Porites lobata colonies took longer to bleach, longer to recover and longer to die. In contrast, Acropora hyacinthus and A. millepora colonies bleached quickly and most had either recovered, or died, within14 wk of the initial reports of bleaching. Whole colony mortality was high in A. hyacinthus (88%) and A. millepora (32%) and partial mortality rare. In contrast, most colonies of P. daedalea and P. lobata lost some tissue and few whole colonies died. The mean proportion of tissue lost per colony was 43 ? 6.6 % and 11 ? 1.1 % respectively. Consequently, observed hierarchies of species susceptibility will depend critically on the time since the onset of stress and must consider both whole and partial colony mortality. Colony mortality was highly dependent on visual estimates of the severity of bleaching but independent of size. Growth rates of Acropora colonies were highly variable and largely independent of the severity of bleaching. A. hyacinthus was more susceptible to bleaching than A. millepora with 45% of surviving colonies gravid compared to 88%. High whole-colony mortality combined with a reduction in the reproductive output of surviving Acropora suggests that recovery to former levels of abundance is likely to be slow. Dr Andrew H. Baird, Senior Research Fellow ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, 4811, Australia. Tel + 617 47814857, Fax: + 617 47251570, email: andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au http://www.coralcoe.org.au/research/baird.html From zforsman2001 at yahoo.com.au Fri Jun 2 04:13:37 2006 From: zforsman2001 at yahoo.com.au (Zac Forsman) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 01:13:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] coral feeding questions Message-ID: <20060602081337.22758.qmail@web31814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Great comments Charles! -I have one question though: the tanks at the Waikiki Aquarium all have live rock/sand/gravel. Might these serve as refugia for populations of all kinds of micro organisms that the corals could feed on? Increased nutrients might be used by the coral.. but they could also cause a bottom up trophic cascade that benefit the coral. Might also increase the detritus or 'marine snow' in the tank. I have one other question for Andrea: For the studies you mentioned that looked at zooplankton, did they arrive at those conclusions by looking at gut contents? Would that bias the counts towards critters with a hard carapace? Is anyone aware of any other controlled feeding studies out there? -Just curious, Zac Zac Forsman, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Biology 2450 Campus Rd. Honolulu HI, 96822 http://www2.hawaii.edu/~zac/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From cnidaria at earthlink.net Fri Jun 2 11:23:57 2006 From: cnidaria at earthlink.net (James M. Cervino (Marine Biologist)) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 11:23:57 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [Coral-List] Coral feeding Message-ID: <32729165.1149261838296.JavaMail.root@elwamui-mouette.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Dear List I would like to make a correction. Davy et al., 2001 did not investigate the effects of thermal stress and HRF effects (or other bleaching factors) on translocation, or host factor activity. However, I would like to pont out that this is an interesting paper to read it. All and all It would be interesting to see what would happen if thermal stress were applied . Here is the reference below: Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2001 Jun;129(2-3):487-94. The influence of "host release factor" on carbon release by zooxanthellae isolated from fed and starved Aiptasia pallida (Verrill). I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what they killed, there would be no more wars. Abbie Hoffman From szmanta at uncw.edu Fri Jun 2 10:08:48 2006 From: szmanta at uncw.edu (Szmant, Alina) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 10:08:48 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] coral feeding questions References: <20060602081337.22758.qmail@web31814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE146D3@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> Hello All: I have been standing by reading the discussion about feeding by corals, an old discussion indeed which has been on-going within the coral community for ca. 40 years or more. Thus it seems we learn slowly! I think the reason for that is that for some odd reason we seem to have a greater tendency to be polarized than some other disciplines of science: everything has to be black or white, we don't like shades of grey (or gray either). As one who has worked with both autotrophic and heterotrophic aspects of coral nutrition, I never felt that I had to characterize corals as belonging to either camp, but rather I wanted to provide some quantitative information about such phyiological activities of the corals I studied. My opinion is that corals are blessed with very adaptable and varied trophic abilities that have served the group well over hundreds of millions of years. While there is no doubt that some reef species are quite dependent on their algal symbionts, others are apparently less so and thus do well at depth and in shaded areas where the zoox may be just passengers looking for a good shelter to live in. My first studies were on Astrangia danae (or A. poculata) a facultatively zooxanthellate species where the dark brown colonies were found deeper and under overhangs, while the white ones were more in the open...go figure. More to the present ping-pong match: some old and recent references that (a) show that the multiple nutritional sources for reef corals has been long known and appreciated (Yonge 1973), and (b) some more recent studies that have shown that it's not just zooplankton that needs to be considered as heterotrophic food sources for corals. I remember being surprised in 1985 or 88 (getting old, can't remember which reef meeting) when Clive Wilkinson presented a paper showing data for coral filtration rates of phytoplankton (comparing them with sponges): I think he chose phytoplankton because he didn't realize the literature of the time told us that corals can't eat and digest such plant matter. Yonge, C.M. 1973. The nature of reef-building (hermatypic) corals. Bulletin of Marine Science 23: 1- 15. Wellington, G.M. 1982. An experimental analysis of the effects of light and zooplankton on coral zonation. Oecologia 52: 311-320. Rosenfeld et al. 1999. Sediments as a possible source of food for corals. Ecol Letters 2: 345-348 Anthony k. and K. Fabricius. 2000. Shifting roles of heterotrophy and autotrophy in coral energetics under varying turbidity. JEMBE 252: 221-253 Houbreque et al 2004. Importance of a micro-diet for scleractinian corals. MEPS 282: 151-160 Houbreque et al. 2004. Interactions between zooplankton feeding, photosynthesis and skeletal growth in the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata. J Exp Biol 207: 1461-1469 As a final anecdote: back in the early '80s when I was doing nightly dives trying to pin-point coral spawning, I kept seeing the corals bulge their oral disks and then spit out stuff just at dusk as they expanded their polyps. The first few times I got all excited thinking it was the beginning of spawning. But syringe samples I collected, when observed under the microscope, showed the stuff to be made of : sponge spicules, zooplankton carapace parts, lots of marine snow like material that was totally unrecognizable, zooxs, foram tests etc etc. In other words, anything they could get their little tentacles on but couldn't digest. As as a second final anecdote: a few years back a woman started a discussion on Coral-List suggesting that one reason corals were doing poorly was because as we overfish the world's oceans, we reduce the amount of N being cycled through these ecosystems. She suggested that corals may be mroe starved than they used to be when fishes living over the corals were more abundant. Judy Meyer showed back in 80s that corals grew faster when they had resident fish schools (Meyer, J.L. and E.T. Schultz. 1985. Migrating haemulid fishes as a source of nutrients and organic matter on coral reefs. Limnol. Oceanogr. 30:146-156.). In 1998 the worst bleaching year to date in the Florida Keys, inshore corals with large schools of grunts living on them bleached white as sheets in mid-June and were 100 % recovered by mid-September while more offshore corals that bleached later in the summer (temperatures heated up sooner inshore) suffered much death and tissue loss. These are the facts and I cannot tell you for sure why these two populations responded/recovered so differently to bleaching, but I suspect it was the high nutritional state of the corals due to fish feces as a food source. Regards, Alina Szmant ******************************************************************* Dr. Alina M. Szmant Coral Reef Research Group UNCW-Center for Marine Science 5600 Marvin K. Moss Ln Wilmington NC 28409 Tel: (910)962-2362 & Fax: (910)962-2410 Cell: (910)200-3913 email: szmanta at uncw.edu Web Page: http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta ****************************************************************** ________________________________ From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov on behalf of Zac Forsman Sent: Fri 6/2/2006 4:13 AM To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Cc: grottoli.1 at osu.edu Subject: [Coral-List] coral feeding questions Great comments Charles! -I have one question though: the tanks at the Waikiki Aquarium all have live rock/sand/gravel. Might these serve as refugia for populations of all kinds of micro organisms that the corals could feed on? Increased nutrients might be used by the coral.. but they could also cause a bottom up trophic cascade that benefit the coral. Might also increase the detritus or 'marine snow' in the tank. I have one other question for Andrea: For the studies you mentioned that looked at zooplankton, did they arrive at those conclusions by looking at gut contents? Would that bias the counts towards critters with a hard carapace? Is anyone aware of any other controlled feeding studies out there? -Just curious, Zac Zac Forsman, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Biology 2450 Campus Rd. Honolulu HI, 96822 http://www2.hawaii.edu/~zac/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From meaghan_johnson at tnc.org Fri Jun 2 15:23:52 2006 From: meaghan_johnson at tnc.org (Meaghan Johnson) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 15:23:52 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Marine Conservation Program Manager-The Nature Conservancy Message-ID: Please distribute widely. The Nature Conservancy's Florida Keys Program seeks a Marine Conservation Program Manager. The Marine Conservation Program Manager develops, manages, and advances conservation programs, plans, and methods for South Florida?s marine species and natural systems. This position provides technical leadership and support to projects of The Nature Conservancy?s (TNC) Florida Chapter, Southern U.S. Region, Mesoamerica and Caribbean Region and Global Marine Initiative. Please see full announcement at www.nature.org Select the link for Careers, then Browse All Careers. Search under Title, Marine Conservation Program Manager. From delbeek at waquarium.org Fri Jun 2 20:31:44 2006 From: delbeek at waquarium.org (delbeek at waquarium.org) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 00:31:44 -0000 Subject: [Coral-List] [SPAM] coral feeding questions In-Reply-To: <20060602081337.22758.qmail@web31814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20060603003144.CCF7D10125@waquarium.waquarium.org> Zac Forsman said: > Great comments Charles! > > -I have one question though: the tanks at the > Waikiki Aquarium all have live rock/sand/gravel. > Might these serve as refugia for populations of all > kinds of micro organisms that the corals could feed > on? Increased nutrients might be used by the coral.. > but they could also cause a bottom up trophic cascade > that benefit the coral. Might also increase the > detritus or 'marine snow' in the tank. That is entirely possible but then given the surface area of coral to volume of the systems, that is a pretty dense accumulation of mouths in a small space .. I doubt there could be enough plankton generated ... put that is just a gut feeling based on no data at all. :-) Also, I only claimed that there was no plankton in the incoming water and that we don't ADD any food to the tank in an attempt to feed the corals. Aloha! -- J. Charles Delbeek Aquarium Biologist III Waikiki Aquarium 2777 Kalakaua Ave. Honolulu, HI, 96815 (808)923-9741 From atj777 at attglobal.net Fri Jun 2 21:41:46 2006 From: atj777 at attglobal.net (atj777 at attglobal.net) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 11:41:46 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral nutrition (Andrew Trevor-Jones) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: G'day Folks, I'm new to the list but I do seem some very familiar names. My name is Andrew Trevor-Jones. I'm predominately an aquarist, but have a degree in marine biology. Unfortunately, when I graduated in 1982 there were very few jobs in the marine biology in Australia, so it is more of a hobby. I take a more complete view of nutrition, and include N, P and other elements/compounds, rather than just C. While organic carbon is very important to the survival of corals, they also need N and P. Yonge and Nicholls (1931) demonstrated the need for more than just carbon. It is my understanding that corals (on their own) are not able to convert inorganic carbon to organic carbon and so their only sources of organic carbon are from the zooxanthellae or prey capture (including "capture" of bacteria). The organic carbon is their main source of energy other than digesting their own tissues. The zooxanthellae rely on their host for N and P, but that is more a statement on the availability of inorganic N and P in the water column. The main source of N and P for the corals is likely to be prey capture, although Hoegh-Gulberg and Williamson (1999) demonstrated that at least one species of coral can take up and utilise inorganic nitrogen. Other studies have shown how prey capture by the corals can increase growth rates in both the coral and the zooxanthellae. The energy required for prey capture comes from the organic carbon so even if there isn't much prey around, the products of the zooxanthellae provide the energy for the coral to keep trying. I try to feed all the corals in my aquaria (which in itself is a lot of fun: http://www.petsforum.com/personal/Trevor-Jones/coralfeedingiii.html ) but I do know that many aquarists don't believe they need to or just couldn't be bothered. As Charles suggests, I think the survival of corals in aquaria without direct feeding is more due to the higher level of dissolved N and P coupled with the good lighting. Bleached corals are doubly disadvantaged. Not only are they missing the energy provided by the zooxanthellae that have left, but they have less energy they can use for prey capture. When they starve, it will not only be because of lack of organic carbon, but also the lack of N and P. Even if there was sufficient inorganic N and P in the water column, without organic carbon, the corals won't have the energy to utilise the N and P. This is just some of my thoughts on the subject. Andrew. coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Sent by: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov 03/06/2006 02:00 AM Please respond to coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov To coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov cc Subject Coral-List Digest, Vol 36, Issue 6 Send Coral-List mailing list submissions to coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov You can reach the person managing the list at coral-list-owner at coral.aoml.noaa.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Coral-List digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: [SPAM] Re: coral bleaching: response to Goreau (Charles Delbeek) 2. starvation? (Andrew Baird) 3. coral feeding questions (Zac Forsman) ----- Message from Charles Delbeek on Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:07:53 -1000 ----- To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Subject: Re: [Coral-List] [SPAM] Re: coral bleaching: response to Goreau There are a couple of points in this discussion that I feel the need to address: 1) Shops selling phytoplankton as coral food - most research that I have read involving feeding in stony corals deals mainly with the ingestion of ZOOplankton. Soft corals, particularly azooxanthellate ones such as Dendronephthya have been shown to feed on phytoplankton. This makes sense to me since most of these corals lack nematocysts and their polyp structures appear to be more suited for sieving food from passing water than stinging and capturing it as can be seen in stony corals which all seem to have nematocysts ... why sting a phytoplankton cell to capture it which is basically a passive entity unlike a struggling copepod? I have a pet theory that people who report responses from corals when fed phytoplankton could be seeing the result of any number of factors such as the addition of nutrients, the decay of phytoplankton leading to increased nitrogen and phosphorous levels, to the increase in filter feeders and hence, an increase in reproduction of these i.e. more zooplankton being generated. 2) Feeding vs. non-feeding of corals in captivity - yes corals will feed on zooplankton and more meaty food in the case of corals with polyps large enough to take them. No one disputes this. What is in question is do corals in captivity need this? Given that nitrogen, phosphorous and organic nutrient levels are generally several times that found on natural reefs is this enough to keep the corals "happy"? The success of aquarists in Europe with stony and soft corals in the 1970s and 1980s, without any feeding, would tend to support this idea. 3) The role of dissolved nutrients - The Waikiki Aquarium has been keeping, propagating and spawning stony corals, mainly Acropora, Montipora etc since the late 1970s. We have never added any sort of zooplankton or phytoplankton to our systems. We use a saltwater well as a water source for the majority of our exhibit and they are semi-open systems. The well is 80ft down in coral rock, the chemistry of this water has been discussed in Atkinson et al. 1995, there is no zooplankton or phytoplankton in this water. That is not to say that there isn't any bacteria in the water, or that there could be plankton being generated in the systems themselves. All I can say with absolute certainty is that WE do not feed the corals. Yet, we have observed the release of eggs, sperm and egg/sperm bundles in corals such as Acropora, Sandalolitha, Montipora, Euphyllia and Goniopora. What our water IS rich in is nitrogen, phoshporous, iron, managense, carbon dioxide etc. ... so my feeling is that the zooxanthellae and perhaps the coral tissue itself, is getting more than enough of what they need from the water. 4) Increasing contact with the aquarium community - there is an annual conference in North America called The Marine Aquarium Conference of North America (MACNA), this year it will be held the weekend of Sept 23rd in Houston, Texas. This annual conference is the best place to meet with and observe what hobbyists are doing. There have been several marine scientists who have spoken at this conference such as Giselle Mueller-Parker, Daphne Fautin, Marlin Atkinson, Charlie Veron, Robert Myers, Bob Richmond, Cindy Hunter ... to name just a few. While there is some contact with hobbyists by the scientific community there is certainly room for much more. I think this sort of interaction will only increase for the simple fact that many of the up and coming marine scientists today have started off by keeping reef tanks as a hobby, and I am in fact seeing this already. There are of course other such conferences in Europe held in Germany, France, Belgium and The Netherlands. Next April there will be a conference in The Netherlands dealing specifically with the captive husbandry of corals in public aquariums, of which I am a member of the steering committee ... we would dearly love to have a strong representation from the scientific community especially in the field of coral nutrition, effects of UV, coral colouration, coral reproduction, etc etc. The days of marine scientists claiming it was impossible to keep live coral while hobbyists in Europe and elsewhere were already doing so, are thankfully behind us for the most part. Finally, I think one needs to be cautious about making sweeping generalizations about what corals need or don't need in terms of feeding when it is becoming increasingly obvious that the corals have various abilities to gather, use and process sources of nutrition spread across the genera. Aloha! J. Charles Delbeek M.Sc. Aquarium Biologist III Waikiki Aquarium, University of Hawaii 2777 Kalakaua Ave. Honolulu, HI, USA 96815 www.waquarium.org 808-923-9741 ext. 0 VOICE 808-923-1771 FAX ----- Message from Andrew Baird on Fri, 02 Jun 2006 10:04:46 ----- To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Subject: [Coral-List] starvation? Dear Corallist The following reference has some of the only data on species level rates of mortality on the GBR. Some die fast, some slow, possibly related to differing levels of heterotrophy and there was considerable variation between individuals in rates of recovery. Baird AH, Marshall PA (2002) Mortality, growth and reproduction in scleractinian corals following bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 237: 133-141 ABSTRACT: Despite extensive research into the coral bleaching phenomena there are very few data which examine the population biology of affected species. These data are required in order to predict the capacity of corals to respond to environmental change. We monitored individual colonies of 4common coral species for 8 mo following historically high sea-surface temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998 to compare their response to, and recovery from, thermal stress and to examine the effect of bleaching on growth and reproduction in 2 Acropora species. Platygyra daedalea and Porites lobata colonies took longer to bleach, longer to recover and longer to die. In contrast, Acropora hyacinthus and A. millepora colonies bleached quickly and most had either recovered, or died, within14 wk of the initial reports of bleaching. Whole colony mortality was high in A. hyacinthus (88%) and A. millepora (32%) and partial mortality rare. In contrast, most colonies of P. daedalea and P. lobata lost some tissue and few whole colonies died. The mean proportion of tissue lost per colony was 43 ? 6.6 % and 11 ? 1.1 % respectively. Consequently, observed hierarchies of species susceptibility will depend critically on the time since the onset of stress and must consider both whole and partial colony mortality. Colony mortality was highly dependent on visual estimates of the severity of bleaching but independent of size. Growth rates of Acropora colonies were highly variable and largely independent of the severity of bleaching. A. hyacinthus was more susceptible to bleaching than A. millepora with 45% of surviving colonies gravid compared to 88%. High whole-colony mortality combined with a reduction in the reproductive output of surviving Acropora suggests that recovery to former levels of abundance is likely to be slow. Dr Andrew H. Baird, Senior Research Fellow ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, 4811, Australia. Tel + 617 47814857, Fax: + 617 47251570, email: andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au http://www.coralcoe.org.au/research/baird.html ----- Message from Zac Forsman on Fri, 2 Jun 2006 01:13:37 -0700 (PDT) ----- To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov cc: grottoli.1 at osu.edu Subject: [Coral-List] coral feeding questions Great comments Charles! -I have one question though: the tanks at the Waikiki Aquarium all have live rock/sand/gravel. Might these serve as refugia for populations of all kinds of micro organisms that the corals could feed on? Increased nutrients might be used by the coral.. but they could also cause a bottom up trophic cascade that benefit the coral. Might also increase the detritus or 'marine snow' in the tank. I have one other question for Andrea: For the studies you mentioned that looked at zooplankton, did they arrive at those conclusions by looking at gut contents? Would that bias the counts towards critters with a hard carapace? Is anyone aware of any other controlled feeding studies out there? -Just curious, Zac Zac Forsman, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Biology 2450 Campus Rd. Honolulu HI, 96822 http://www2.hawaii.edu/~zac/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From esther.peters at verizon.net Mon Jun 5 13:58:20 2006 From: esther.peters at verizon.net (Esther Peters) Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2006 13:58:20 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Heat;light, food, and bleaching, continued References: Message-ID: <448470BC.2040101@verizon.net> This has been a most interesting thread, but no one has mentioned looking at the composition and structure of the tissues of corals under different conditions and in different species to help explain the gross appearances and physiological and biochemical patterns observed (structure = function). I have had many students now who have learned the basics of histology and histotechniques (the study of cells and tissues). Most of them have continued with these tools to study coral diseases, with most focusing on those caused by microbial pathogens. Yet more data can be collected using these tools to help answer some of the questions posed in this thread. To begin, Thomas F. Goreau did some of the first work in using histology and immunohistochemistry to examine the location of enzymes in corals (I must apologize to Tom if I don't get this correct as I'm many miles from the copy I have of his father's dissertation). I have not had the opportunity to pursue this kind of work, but from the tissue sections I've made of many species of corals I have many questions. For example, the gastrodermal cells of stony coral species that never contain symbiotic algae (such as Balanophyllia) and cold-water corals that may acquire the zooxanthellae (such as Astrangia) are often loaded with eosinophilic (probably) proteinaceous vesicles, suggestive of zymogens (precursors to digestive enzymes), in addition to the eosinophilic granular gland cells of the mesenterial filaments. If so, this might be a good indicator of species that depend more heavily on zooplankton for nutrition. Tropical species, such as Montastraea, lack such granules in the gastrodermis. Another unanswered question (to my mind, anyway) is whether some corals might be able to degrade/digest zooxanthellae. This is based on my observations of zooxanthellae debris in the gastrodermal cells of some species (nonbleached, normally pigmented), which are not found in others. Histology (using both light and electron microscopy procedures) can also provide visual records of the kinds of cell and tissue damage associated with bleaching, which probably provide insights into whether the bleached corals can recover. For example, I have found zooxanthellae expulsion by exocytosis, in which cellular integrity remained and even a few algal cells in good condition in the gastrodermis (but too few to color the coral tissue) and the coral tissue in fair condition. On the other hand, I have also seen damaged zooxanthellae remaining in gastrodermal cells (probably loss of photosynthetic pigments so the tissue now was translucent) with necrosis of coral cells as well or corals which had sloughing of intact gastrodermal cells and algae (the epidermis and mesoglea were still intact). In these latter cases, I suspect the coral is not going to recover, but I have not done the long-term sampling to confirm this. We (myself and my students) also have more evidence that just because there is a layer of apparently normally pigmented tissue covering the coral skeleton, it does not mean that the coral is in good health. Subcellular to cellular changes can be present that might be either reversible (recovery can occur) or irreversible (death will occur). Thus, percent coral cover data can mean many things! More field and laboratory studies should take advantage of our growing knowledge of coral histology (through collaborations with a growing group of coral histologists and the Coral Disease and Health Consortium) to provide the visual records of tissue condition to aid in interpretation of gross observations, physiological measurements, and biochemical analyses. Esther Peters, Ph.D. Michael Risk wrote: > Hi Tom. > > Thank you for those kind words-although telling the -list that "most of > the papers are garbage except those by Mike Risk" (sic) is perhaps an > exaggeration, and is without doubt a comment that will come back to > haunt us both. I insist I am quite capable of producing garbage. > > Your main point, I think (as one whose hair long since turned grey), is > well-taken. Rather than stand on the shoulders of giants who have gone > before, coral reef ecology sometimes seems to prefer reinventing > several wheels. I have no easy solution. In an ideal world, > grant-review panels would be objective, and sort for originality; > manuscript reviewers would be familiar with pre-existing literature, > and would reject work that was not original. Perhaps some of the blame > may be laid at the feet of an academic system in which one's income > depends on quantity over quality. > > You may be interested in a little paper from 2003 (Marine Geology 202: > 71-78, "Smoke signals from corals.") > > I was in Indonesia during the 1997 "haze" event, which was caused by > the Suharto government (plus some small land-holders) setting fires on > Borneo to clear canefields and "vacant" land. The smoke, which > spin-doctors quickly morphed into "haze", covered much of Indonesia, > Singapore and Malaysia, creating a public health problem of some > magnitude. I recall taking the train from Bogor to Jakarta, and the > horizontal visibility was sometimes <100 metres. Everybody except the > unprepared "belander" was wearing masks. > > It occurred to me that this plume of smoke would shade the corals. Make > a long story short: corals under the haze shifted their metabolism > towards more heterotrophy, then shifted back again to autotrophy when > the haze had passed. (One needs a zillion analyses to show this.) > > Another example of the plasticity of these critters. Of interest is the > possibility of retrospective determination of similar metabolic shifts, > via skeletal analyses. > > Mike > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > From reedkc at comcast.net Mon Jun 5 18:22:13 2006 From: reedkc at comcast.net (Keven Reed) Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2006 18:22:13 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Color vision in fishes References: <20060527140411.90104.qmail@web53903.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <006101c688ee$7f7732b0$6401a8c0@VALUED664B84C7> Dear Kristen, Though my comments may not be of interest to many of the coral professionals out there, I feel compelled to make some statements that I hope you will find pertinent to your work, and perhaps of interest to anyone working with animal light sensors of any wavelength in the marine environment; whether the animal is an anthozoan, cubozoan, teleost or a fish in the class chondrichthyes. Before one gets to the lab or experimental design, here's the basic expectations for an animal's visual sensor on this planet: Since about 50% of the wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum of our nearest star arrive at sea level (after filtration through a variable atmosphere), then it stands to reason that terrestrial animals and animals near the surface of the water (coastal) may see some of the hues of what humans perceive as 'color vision', approx' 400-700 nanometers wavelengths of energy. Every biologist knows however, that many vertebrate animals have only dichromatic color vision (two cone receptor types or opsins), most New World monkeys only have dichromatic color vision, most Old World Apes and humans have trichromatic color perception (three functional cone types), but many remarkable birds and goldfish/carp (Cyprinids) have four functional cone types! The fourth color vision receptor in goldfish turned out to be in the near ultraviolet wavelength of the upper 300 nanometer range (Neumeyer, 1985 & 1988). The answer to your question is: I'm sure that different species of shallow water marine fish have color perception to differing degrees. I can't give you a species list that states which ones are dichromats, trichromats, or perhaps tetrachromatic like the freshwater goldfish. I'd love to see that list if any researcher has gone there (especially in a scleractinian munching scarid). Now, remember that blue shift in the ocean (red wavelengths are filtered out at shallow depths) if you are trying to hypothesize about which colors in the reef environment our tropical coral fish should see. I'll demonstrate with the attachments of the 'blue rice coral', Montipora flabellata, that I photographed in shallow water at Hanauma Bay, Oahu: without a strobe, the naked eye sees a bluish colony; but, in the strobe photo blue rice coral actually is a pinkish color (sorry, the two photos are different magnification). Of course if the marine animal is from the abyss, or terrestrial animal is strongly nocturnal, there's not as much need (if any) for color vision. Consequently, the retina from those species demonstrate less cone receptor types and the rod receptors start to predominate. Thus, one shouldn't expect a deep water fish to have as much color perception as a shallow water coral reef fish. If I interpreted Baker & Smith's 1982 figure (Solar spectral irradiance at different depths, z, in clear ocean water) correctly, then about 90% of UVA & UVB combined (400 to 290 nm) is filtered out in the near surface waters/first 3.5 meters of depth. So, may not need to look too hard for UV receptor in coral reef fish eyes--even the diurnally active ones. If anyone is still reading this, let's go one visual step beyond the fishes' color perception (variable by species) to another visual sense: polarized light perception. Dr. Craig Hawryshyn who works on salmon perception at the University of Victoria, was working with McFarland about twenty years ago when he discovered that carp/goldfish were able to detect polarized ultraviolet light (not just ultraviolet 'color'). Reminder--the degree of polarization of light penetrating the coastal or reef crest water depends on the angle of the sun above the horizon. Hawryshyn and a team of divers showed that significant, detectable levels of polarized light penetrated at least 60 feet in cloudy water (article by Joseph Alper in Sea Frontiers). I believe in the ocean, polarization varies from 50 to 90 percent. I would love to have my statements above corrected/updated by researchers as my current interests are in yet another coral direction. A footnote of embarrassment: I once confused 'opsin' with 'opsonin'--don't! The visual proteins are opsins. An antibody facilitating phagocytosis by leukocytes is an 'opsonin'. Cheers, Keven Keven Reed, O.D. Orange Park, FL 32003 ----- Original Message ----- From: Kristen Hoss To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 10:04 AM Subject: [Coral-List] Color vision in fishes Hello all, I have had conflicting reports about color vision in fishes. From the resources I have read it seems to me that coral reef fishes have color vision which is designed to enhance detection of conspecifics and certain morphological patterns contrasting with the reef; whereas nocturnal fishes see in black and white. First I would like to know if this general statement is accurate. Second I would like to know more about color vision in deep water fishes, pelagic fishes and if possible freshwater fishes. Any references would be appreciated as would general statements about if they see in color or black and white and why. I am a wildlife biologist, marine ecologist and an educator. The purpose of this question is to clear up misconceptions between my colleagues and myself about what we have learned over the years, thus to provide a better education for the students and ourselves. Thank you for your time- Kristen Hoss Co-Assistant Director Science Eye --------------------------------- Feel free to call! Free PC-to-PC calls. Low rates on PC-to-Phone. Get Yahoo! Messenger with Voice _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From jos at reefcheck.org Tue Jun 6 02:28:12 2006 From: jos at reefcheck.org (Jos Hill) Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 16:28:12 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] volunteer internship - Reef Check Australia Message-ID: <24fd123ec51f29b799bc5cacbab75979@reefcheck.org> Reef Check Australia is looking for some motivated and independent people to assist with the coordination of the 2007 survey season for our Great Barrier Reef Project. If you want to gain experience in coral reef monitoring and team management this is an outstanding opportunity! Position 3: Research Project. January-June 2007 Project Officer The Project Officer position will involve the planning, coordination and leadership of Reef Check research teams to survey up to 30 sites on the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. You will also be responsible for data management, analysis and the creation of a scientific report. Additional responsibilities subject to interest include helping to design a school education program, fundraising event coordination and grant writing. Reef Check Australia has 30 trained volunteers and works with 15 dive operators on the Great Barrier Reef Project. Good communication, motivation, delegation and social skills are therefore essential. Minimum Rescue Diver required, however an insured instructor is preferred. The position is entirely volunteer. However, we can provide applicants with some support in applying to other foundations for funds to support themselves during their stay in Australia. Required skills and qualifications: ? Tertiary qualification in marine biology ? Rescue diver with a minimum of 50 logged dives ? Current first aid, CPR and oxygen provider qualifications ? Proven experience with team leadership and coordination of projects ? Good communication skills, both verbal and written ? Ability to take initiative and work independently Desired skills and qualifications: ? Divemaster or Instructor with full insurance ? Experience with coral reef monitoring Why Work for Reef Check Australia? ? Part of the United Nation?s official International coral reef monitoring program ? Strong scientific reputation ? Work with likeminded people at the cutting edge of coral reef conservation Benefits to you include the opportunity to: ? Enhance your research skills ? Enhance team management skills ? Enhance project coordination skills ? Contribute to Australia?s long-term data set ? Take part in the most comprehensive Reef Check Training program in the world ? Work with like-minded professionals and volunteers at one of the world?s leading centres of tropical marine science ? Log up to 100 dives at some of Australia?s most spectacular coral reefs ? Potential for ongoing opportunities with Reef Check Applicants should send their resume to Jos Hill at jos at reefcheck.org Jos Hill Executive Director Reef Check Australia PO Box 404 Townsville QLD 4810 Email: jos at reefcheck.org General enquiries: support at reefcheckaustralia.org Tel: +61 (0)7 4724 3950 Mob: +61 (0) 415 446 646 www.reefcheckaustralia.org www.reefcheck.org From matz at whitney.ufl.edu Tue Jun 6 09:42:37 2006 From: matz at whitney.ufl.edu (mikhail matz) Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:42:37 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Color vision in fishes In-Reply-To: <006101c688ee$7f7732b0$6401a8c0@VALUED664B84C7> References: <20060527140411.90104.qmail@web53903.mail.yahoo.com> <006101c688ee$7f7732b0$6401a8c0@VALUED664B84C7> Message-ID: <4485864D.3030506@whitney.ufl.edu> Hello folks, With respect to color vision in reef fishes and coral colours as possible visual targets, we have recently published a paper that may be of interest: *Matz, M. V.*, Marshall, N. J. and Vorobyev, M. Are corals colorful? /Photochem. //Photobiol/., 2006, *82*: 345-35. ABSTRACT Using in situ spectrometry data and visual system modeling, we investigate whether the colors conferred to the reef-building corals by GFP-like proteins would look colorful not only to humans, but also to fish occupying different ecological niches on the reef. Some GFP-like proteins, most notably fluorescent greens and nonfluorescent chromoproteins, indeed generate intense color signals. An unexpected finding was that fluorescent proteins might also make corals appear less colorful to fish, counterbalancing the effect of absorption by the photosynthetic pigments of the endosymbiotic algae, which might be a form of protection against herbivores. We conclude that GFP-determined coloration of corals may be an important factor in visual ecology of the reef fishes. Please let me know if you want a pdf (cannot attach things to list-directed messages) cheers Mikhail Keven Reed wrote: > Dear Kristen, > Though my comments may not be of interest to many of the coral professionals out there, I feel compelled to make some statements that I hope you will find pertinent to your work, and perhaps of interest to anyone working with animal light sensors of any wavelength in the marine environment; whether the animal is an anthozoan, cubozoan, teleost or a fish in the class chondrichthyes. > > Before one gets to the lab or experimental design, here's the basic expectations for an animal's visual sensor on this planet: Since about 50% of the wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum of our nearest star arrive at sea level (after filtration through a variable atmosphere), then it stands to reason that terrestrial animals and animals near the surface of the water (coastal) may see some of the hues of what humans perceive as 'color vision', approx' 400-700 nanometers wavelengths of energy. Every biologist knows however, that many vertebrate animals have only dichromatic color vision (two cone receptor types or opsins), most New World monkeys only have dichromatic color vision, most Old World Apes and humans have trichromatic color perception (three functional cone types), but many remarkable birds and goldfish/carp (Cyprinids) have four functional cone types! The fourth color vision receptor in goldfish turned out to be in the near ultraviolet wavelength of the upper 300 nanometer range (Neumeyer, 1985 & 1988). > > The answer to your question is: I'm sure that different species of shallow water marine fish have color perception to differing degrees. I can't give you a species list that states which ones are dichromats, trichromats, or perhaps tetrachromatic like the freshwater goldfish. I'd love to see that list if any researcher has gone there (especially in a scleractinian munching scarid). > Now, remember that blue shift in the ocean (red wavelengths are filtered out at shallow depths) if you are trying to hypothesize about which colors in the reef environment our tropical coral fish should see. I'll demonstrate with the attachments of the 'blue rice coral', Montipora flabellata, that I photographed in shallow water at Hanauma Bay, Oahu: without a strobe, the naked eye sees a bluish colony; but, in the strobe photo blue rice coral actually is a pinkish color (sorry, the two photos are different magnification). > > Of course if the marine animal is from the abyss, or terrestrial animal is strongly nocturnal, there's not as much need (if any) for color vision. Consequently, the retina from those species demonstrate less cone receptor types and the rod receptors start to predominate. Thus, one shouldn't expect a deep water fish to have as much color perception as a shallow water coral reef fish. > > If I interpreted Baker & Smith's 1982 figure (Solar spectral irradiance at different depths, z, in clear ocean water) correctly, then about 90% of UVA & UVB combined (400 to 290 nm) is filtered out in the near surface waters/first 3.5 meters of depth. So, may not need to look too hard for UV receptor in coral reef fish eyes--even the diurnally active ones. > > If anyone is still reading this, let's go one visual step beyond the fishes' color perception (variable by species) to another visual sense: polarized light perception. Dr. Craig Hawryshyn who works on salmon perception at the University of Victoria, was working with McFarland about twenty years ago when he discovered that carp/goldfish were able to detect polarized ultraviolet light (not just ultraviolet 'color'). Reminder--the degree of polarization of light penetrating the coastal or reef crest water depends on the angle of the sun above the horizon. Hawryshyn and a team of divers showed that significant, detectable levels of polarized light penetrated at least 60 feet in cloudy water (article by Joseph Alper in Sea Frontiers). I believe in the ocean, polarization varies from 50 to 90 percent. > > I would love to have my statements above corrected/updated by researchers as my current interests are in yet another coral direction. > > A footnote of embarrassment: I once confused 'opsin' with 'opsonin'--don't! The visual proteins are opsins. An antibody facilitating phagocytosis by leukocytes is an 'opsonin'. > > Cheers, > Keven > > Keven Reed, O.D. > Orange Park, FL 32003 > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Kristen Hoss > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 10:04 AM > Subject: [Coral-List] Color vision in fishes > > > Hello all, > > I have had conflicting reports about color vision in fishes. From the resources I have read it seems to me that coral reef fishes have color vision which is designed to enhance detection of conspecifics and certain morphological patterns contrasting with the reef; whereas nocturnal fishes see in black and white. > > First I would like to know if this general statement is accurate. Second I would like to know more about color vision in deep water fishes, pelagic fishes and if possible freshwater fishes. Any references would be appreciated as would general statements about if they see in color or black and white and why. > > I am a wildlife biologist, marine ecologist and an educator. The purpose of this question is to clear up misconceptions between my colleagues and myself about what we have learned over the years, thus to provide a better education for the students and ourselves. > > Thank you for your time- > > Kristen Hoss > Co-Assistant Director > Science Eye > > > --------------------------------- > Feel free to call! Free PC-to-PC calls. Low rates on PC-to-Phone. Get Yahoo! Messenger with Voice > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > -- Mikhail V. Matz Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience University of Florida 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd St Augustine FL 32080 phone 904-461-4025 fax 509-562-4749 web www.whitney.ufl.edu/research_programs/matz.htm From zakaid at npa.org.il Tue Jun 6 08:33:26 2006 From: zakaid at npa.org.il (=?windows-1255?B?4+XjIObr4OkgRGF2aWQgWmFrYWk=?=) Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 14:33:26 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] COTS samples Message-ID: Dear listers, During the last 2 years, as part of a our management plan, we collected more then a 100 Crown of Thorns Starfish, from 1-40 meters depth, at the Israeli Gulf of Aqaba (northern Red Sea). The animals were frozen at -20 Celsius. Are anyone interested to receive samples to use as part of an ongoing research or to whatever you may suggest? Best, David ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. David Zakai Red Sea Marine Biologist Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority P.O.Box 667, Eilat, Israel Tel +972-8-637-6829 Fax +972-8-637-5776 Mobile + 972-57-776-2308 Email zakaid at npa.org.il http://www.parks.org.il/ParksENG ------------------------------------------------------------------ From awyatt at echidna.id.au Tue Jun 6 21:49:46 2006 From: awyatt at echidna.id.au (Alex Wyatt) Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 09:49:46 +0800 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral Feeding Study Message-ID: <000001c689d4$a7faa050$29a0a8c0@BIGBLUE> Dear Coral-listers, Given the recent discussion regarding coral feeding I thought some may be interested in an upcoming project which aims to explore some of the issues raised regarding nutrition sources for corals. Broadly our study aims to investigate nutrition sources for Ningaloo Reef, a fringing reef system of key ecological importance off the west coast of Australia, particularly by comparing the role of oceanic nutrient sources, and therefore requiring ocean filtration, as opposed to internal reef sources. The study will be based on field investigations of stable isotope ratios and fatty acid composition of key functional groups across a range of trophic levels. Field studies will be complimented by laboratory experiments examining nutrient uptake and assimilation by corals under controlled environmental conditions supplied with various heterotrophic food sources. The results of these experiments will be essential for validating stable isotope data derived in situ on Ningaloo Reef, but will also provide stand-alone results pertaining to the trophic behaviour of the coral-zooxanthellae holobiont under changing environmental conditions, including those leading to bleaching (sensu Grottoli et al.). Further preliminary information is available at: http://www.perfectenglish.com.au/Wyatt et al_Reef-Ocean Coupling.pdf. Any comments or suggestions would be most appreciated. Regards, Alex Wyatt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alex S.J. Wyatt PhD Candidate School of Environmental Systems Engineering Mail Drop M015 The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway CRAWLEY WA 6009 AUSTRALIA Email: awyatt at graduate.uwa.edu.au Mob: +61 (0) 409 089 301 From mekvinga at yahoo.com Tue Jun 6 13:38:19 2006 From: mekvinga at yahoo.com (Melissa Keyes) Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 10:38:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Current temperatures and Radiant Heat vs. UV Message-ID: <20060606173819.96137.qmail@web50111.mail.yahoo.com> Hello, Listers, Yesterday, all the way to a depth of 31 meters (100 feet or so) the Caribbean Sea on the north side of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands was 27.5 degrees Celsius (82f). Deeper, there was a very slight thermocline, with the water at 26.5 C (80f) at 35 meters (about 115 feet) Air temps are very hot also, nights cooling to 26.5 C (80f) and day time high nearly 32 C (90f). I believe some of the corals, S. siderea and Agaricia species are beginning to show stress. I'll post new series photos "soon". I am enlarging my library of ID photos of corals to include Anemonies, which do bleach, and Palythoa. If there is a particular critter of which you would like series photos, please do not hesitate to write to me with specifics. The letter Monday from Keven Reed mentions that UVA and UVB is filtered out by 3.5 meters depth of seawater. Yesterday, I was paddling along about 23 meters (75 feet) deep when the sun came out from behind a cloud, and I definitely noticed the radiant heat. Perhaps radiant heat has been taken into account as a 'bleacher', and I am unaware of this. Ambiant seawater temperature and UV is all I have noticed folks discussing. Has anyone put a thermometer in the sun, at say, ten meters? I'll stop during my next dive and see what I might be able to record on my dive computer. Cheers, Melissa Keyes St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From chris.jeffrey at noaa.gov Wed Jun 7 15:44:09 2006 From: chris.jeffrey at noaa.gov (chris jeffrey) Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:44:09 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Habitat Digitizer Extension available for ArcGIS 9 Message-ID: <44872C89.5000901@noaa.gov> Hi Coral Listers, The Habitat Digitizer Extension is now available for use in ESRI's ArcGIS 9 software. The extension is designed to use a hierarchical classification scheme to delineate habitats by visually interpreting georeferenced images such as aerial photographs, satellite images, and side scan sonar. It allows users to create custom classification schemes and rapidly delineate and attribute polygons, lines, and points using simple menus. The extension allows new hierarchical classification schemes to be easily created, modified, and saved for use on future mapping projects. The extension started as an ArcView 3 project in 1999. It was written to assist a contractor with minimal ArcView skills to digitize benthic habitat maps of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/usvi_pr_mapping.html ), using a hard-coded classification scheme for that specific project. To make the digitizer more useful in other mapping applications, it was developed as an ArcView extension with the ability to import a user defined classification scheme. Since being made publicly available in 2001, the extension has been downloaded over 2500 times and is being used in many different marine and terrestrial applications. The new version of the extension for ArcGIS 9 makes the tool set available to the growing number of users working on the latest version of ESRI's mapping software. It contains all of the capabilities of the old version with additional tools to perform attribution error checking and to test shapefile compatibility. It is publicly available on ESRI's ArcScripts page at http://arcscripts.esri.com/details.asp?dbid=14603 For more information, contact Ken.Buja at noaa.gov -- ******************************************************** Christopher F.G. Jeffrey, Ph.D. Coral Reef Ecologist NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA/Biogeography Program 301.713.3028 x-134 (Tel) 301.713.4384 (Fax) http://biogeo.nos.noaa.gov/projects/reef_fish/ Mailing Address: National Ocean Service 1305 East-West Hwy, SSMC-4, N/SCI-1, #9213 Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281 ******************************************************* From shailen78_aqua at rediffmail.com Thu Jun 8 01:57:00 2006 From: shailen78_aqua at rediffmail.com (shailendrapratap sonkar) Date: 8 Jun 2006 05:57:00 -0000 Subject: [Coral-List] can we inhance the coral growth at genetic level??? Message-ID: <20060608055700.12850.qmail@webmail18.rediffmail.com> ? Dear coral listener, I am shailendra patap sonkar, MS in Marine Biotechnology, currently working as Research Fellow and pursuing my research work on ?Molecular diversity in Indian scleractinian coral population from Lakshdweep islands, India? using ITS and mt-SSU r RNA gene from National Institute of oceanography, India. Dear all, I have one question to know from you that how we can enhance the growth speed of all coral at genetic level. I have read that the growth of coral is very very slow so can we try to do some modification at genetic level to enhance the growth speed of these cnidarians?? Hope I will get some positive comments. I am currently looking for some lab, which can provide me training on interpretation and analysis molecular data to study of population genetic structure for a short period. It can be great help to me. I have no problem to share my publication that respective lab or person. Looking forward for concern positive reply. Regards shailendra PS ******************************* SHAILENDRA PRATAP SONKAR (Senior Research Fellow) Ph.D.scholar Gene lab, Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona paula, Goa - 403 004 INDIA. ********************************* Contact no: (Office): 0832-2450445/6 (Mobile): +919822135671 (Home) : 0547-2225595 alternate Email address: shailendraps at yahoo.com From eshinn at marine.usf.edu Thu Jun 8 09:10:54 2006 From: eshinn at marine.usf.edu (Gene Shinn) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 09:10:54 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] coral starvation and new ideas Message-ID: Like Alina Szmant I too enjoyed the coral feeding/starvation discussion and also remember the controversy from the 1960s when I thought Tom Goreau Sr. had answered the question. I hope this discussion helped Wade Lehmann who recently asked, "where is current research focused" I wanted to respond at the time but was tied up in other things. Wade asked "Where does the field need to be focused in the next 5-10 years in order to progress." That is a very good question (see little story at the end) but I would hope that Wade answers that question and decides to do what he thinks is important. That's the way science advances. What really got my attention was his question, "Is there a mechanism by which the public can browse current NSF/NOAA/etc grant funding to see where current funding has been directed?" (again enjoy little story at the end). For me this is a bothersome question. I can appreciate a young scientist wanting to be funded but it could be a mistake to go where the funding is. I worry that too many researchers are following well-worn paths and going where management thinks we should go. This approach is now pervasive in most all fields of science today, especially in government. The key word today is accountability which usually translates into more paperwork, multiple forms, quarterly reports, permit applications, and many paper chores that have little to do with doing the research. Of course we all want to be relevant but accountability is the double-edged sword. I worry about relevancy because what is thought to be relevant is usually determined by a committee or several layers of committees. New ideas that advance science seldom come from committees. The comments and work described by Ester Peters on the coral-list sounds like original research that I suspect was not decided upon by a committee, at least not a government committee. So, in conclusion I would hope Wade and others makes these decisions based on their own ideas. I think everyone will enjoy the little story I have repeated below. It is an amusing yet sad story written in 1948 by Leo Szilard, the man who convinced Einstein to write the letter that caused FDR to start the Manhattan project. I fear too much of this story has come to past. Gene Back to the Future In the April 8, 2002 Chemistry and Engineering News (vol. 80, No. 4) page 42 there is a story titled, Politics, Culture, and Science: The Golden Age Revisited, by Allen J. Bard. The story is his acceptance speech for receiving the Priestley Medal for chemistry. As the title suggests, he devotes a lot of the article to how-it-used-to-be, when kids could have Gilbert Chemistry sets and other toys now banned for being considered unsafe. Further in his acceptance speech he says, and I quote, "The situation is approaching that envisioned by Leo Szilard in 1948 in his amusing story, The Mark Gable Foundation, where the hero, sometime in the future, is asked by a wealthy entrepreneur, who believes that science has progressed too quickly, what he should do to retard this progress. The hero answers: "You could set up a foundation, with an annual endowment of thirty million dollars. Researchers in need of funds could apply for grants, if they could make a convincing case. Have ten committees, each composed of twelve scientists, appointed to pass on these applications. Take the most active scientists out of the laboratory and make them members of these committees. ?First of all, the best scientists would be removed from their laboratories and kept busy on committees passing on applications for funds. Secondly the scientific worker in need of funds would concentrate on problems which were considered promising and were pretty certain to lead to publishable results? By going after the obvious, pretty soon science would dry out. Science would become something like a parlor game? There would be fashions. Those who followed the fashions would get grants. Those who wouldn't would not." That was 1948! If only Szilard could have really predicted the future. He could have envisioned lengthy conference calls and how e-mail and the web would keep scientists out of the lab while recycling old information and filling out forms. -- No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS) ------------------------------------ ----------------------------------- E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor University of South Florida Marine Science Center (room 204) 140 Seventh Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Tel 727 553-1158---------------------------------- ----------------------------------- From laetitia.colon at free.fr Thu Jun 8 09:47:50 2006 From: laetitia.colon at free.fr (laetitia colon) Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 15:47:50 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora pests : flatworm and copepods In-Reply-To: <44872C89.5000901@noaa.gov> References: <44872C89.5000901@noaa.gov> Message-ID: <44882A86.1040109@free.fr> Hello Coral Listers, First of all, please excuse me by advance for my English. I'm searching some informations on the Acropora flatworm pest, specially if it has already been determined exactly. The French aquarists are confronted more and more with this pest. And at this time, the majority cannot identify the symptoms of an attack. Levamisole seems to be the only effective product. It seems also that we face an Tegastes acroporanus (?) introduction with Acropora frags. But there's not too much informations available on it, so I'm searching informations on symptoms and how to cure. thanks by advance Laetitia Colon From carpenpan1 at yahoo.com Thu Jun 8 16:33:39 2006 From: carpenpan1 at yahoo.com (Paul Blaine) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 13:33:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] calcium bicarbonate Message-ID: <20060608203339.86448.qmail@web33105.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Greetings All, Here is a question for those of you who know cnidarian physiology, more specificly, stoney corals. I found an inexpensive source of calcium bicarbonate, around $5 US for 50 pounds. Can calcium bicarbonate be used to add calcium to a reef tank to promote coral growth? I am concerned with how this product would affect the pH and carbonate hardness? I am also wondering if it will dissolve into solution to be utilized by the corals for skeletal formation? Perhaps it would be best to add the calcium bicarbonate to RO water before adding to the reef tank? Thanks Paul Jarvis reef lover __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From kokovitz at msn.com Thu Jun 8 17:22:52 2006 From: kokovitz at msn.com (vitz vitz) Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 17:22:52 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora pests : flatworm and copepods In-Reply-To: <44882A86.1040109@free.fr> Message-ID: there's a whole discussion on the topic at reefs.org regarding treatments too -i sent you the link via my private email, as i figured it may not be linkable via the list -vitz >From: laetitia colon >CC: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora pests : flatworm and copepods >Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 15:47:50 +0200 > >Hello Coral Listers, > >First of all, please excuse me by advance for my English. >I'm searching some informations on the Acropora flatworm pest, specially >if it has already been determined exactly. >The French aquarists are confronted more and more with this pest. And at >this time, the majority cannot identify the symptoms of an attack. >Levamisole seems to be the only effective product. >It seems also that we face an Tegastes acroporanus (?) introduction with >Acropora frags. But there's not too much informations available on it, >so I'm searching informations on symptoms and how to cure. > >thanks by advance > >Laetitia Colon > > >_______________________________________________ >Coral-List mailing list >Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar ? get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/ From delbeek at waquarium.org Thu Jun 8 19:19:34 2006 From: delbeek at waquarium.org (Charles Delbeek) Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:19:34 -1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Flatworm predators Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20060608131516.02acf7a8@mail.waquarium.org> >From: laetitia colon >CC: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora pests : flatworm and copepods >Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 15:47:50 +0200 > >Hello Coral Listers, > >First of all, please excuse me by advance for my English. >I'm searching some informations on the Acropora flatworm pest, specially >if it has already been determined exactly. >The French aquarists are confronted more and more with this pest. And at >this time, the majority cannot identify the symptoms of an attack. >Levamisole seems to be the only effective product. >It seems also that we face an Tegastes acroporanus (?) introduction with >Acropora frags. But there's not too much informations available on it, >so I'm searching informations on symptoms and how to cure. > >thanks by advance > >Laetitia Colon Laetitia, Julian Sprung and I discuss this flatworm and treatments for it in The Reef Aquarium, volume 3, however, the Internet forum mentioned already is the best place to up to the minute information. In the TRA3, we discuss the possibility of using wrasses belonging to the genus Halichoeres to eradicate the worms. These have proven very successful in dealing with red flatworms (Convolutriloba retrogemma) infestations, but it is not clear if they would be effective with the Acropora flatworms. The two species I have experience with, H. melanurus and H. leucurus have been very effective. Aloha! J. Charles Delbeek M.Sc. Aquarium Biologist III Waikiki Aquarium, University of Hawaii 2777 Kalakaua Ave. Honolulu, HI, USA 96815 www.waquarium.org 808-923-9741 ext. 0 VOICE 808-923-1771 FAX From kirst.76 at hotmail.com Fri Jun 9 04:29:09 2006 From: kirst.76 at hotmail.com (Kirsten Abernethy) Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2006 08:29:09 +0000 Subject: [Coral-List] www.ConservationEvidence.com & coral reef management In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dear All, www.conservationevidence.com is a non-profit website which collates evidence on the effectiveness of conservation management practice. A major aim of the site is to provide a means for practitioners (such as wardens, site managers and conservation volunteers) to document their experiences on the effectiveness of different management techniques. It is hoped that this will then enable those involved in species or habitat management to improve conservation practice by learning lessons from each other. One way to collate this evidence is for individuals and organisations to submit case studies or ?cases? via www.conservationevidence.com. It need not be complicated and each of the main sections (Background, Action and Consequences) could comprise just a few sentences. For the case to be useful for others, there has to be some information on the consequences of the action. This could be, for example: the effect of establishing a no-take MPA on fish populations; or coral recruitment on an artificial reef substrate. At present, there are very few tropical marine case studies on the site, and all that are on the site are from published journals. We are very keen to add more marine cases, particularly from practitioner experience, as there is a wealth of knowledge and experience in tropical marine conservation that remains unpublished. This is a good opportunity to benefit global conservationists by sharing experience gained from your conservation project. We welcome information on the effectiveness of what may appear to be routine management ? there is often remarkably little information. Those interested in adding information can either add the information directly to the website or contact myself k.abernethy at uea.ac.uk, for advice and assistance. Kirsten Abernethy www.conservationevidence.com School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ United Kingdom _________________________________________________________________ realestate.com.au: the biggest address in property http://ninemsn.realestate.com.au From martin_moe at yahoo.com Fri Jun 9 11:32:29 2006 From: martin_moe at yahoo.com (Martin Moe) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2006 08:32:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] no cigar In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060609153230.71388.qmail@web60016.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Gene, Many thanks for taking a look at the sand sample. At least now I know that this is not oolitic sand, and I'll post your reply on the coral list so that anyone else that had an interest will be informed. Never having examined real oolitic sand microscopically, I wondered about the small, very consistant grain size (it looked smooth to me, but not very spherical) and the possibility of oolitic origin. Well now I know, many thanks. I enjoyed your post on scientific productivity and how committees and protocol can stifle innovation and achievement. I often observed that a single graduate student, with an idea, passion, good direction, a tiny room, and a modicum of funding could often surpass the creativity and production of a lab staffed with a number of professional scientists working on the same problems. Martin --- Gene Shinn wrote: > Dear Martin, Yesterday I took a look at the sand > sample under the > microscope. I did it with Dick Poore who is a > foraminifera expert > over at USGS. I wanted him to see it because I > suspected you had > miliolid sand..Milliolids are one of the most > common foraminifera > (protozoan with calcium carbonate shell) in Florida > Bay. They are of > uniform size and appear fairly spherical. I was > wrong. What you have > is well sorted angular carbonate sand particles > consisting of > bryozoan, molluskan, and foraminiferal fragments. > None of the grains > are spherical as an ooid would be but instead are > very angular. No > ooid coatings. Sorry about that. If they had been > ooids it would > have turned everything we know about them on its > ear. I would have > enjoyed that. Best Wishes, Gene PS" Since you put it > in the coral > list I will let you decide if we want to put this > there. > -- > > > No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS) > ------------------------------------ > ----------------------------------- > E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor > University of South Florida > Marine Science Center (room 204) > 140 Seventh Avenue South > St. Petersburg, FL 33701 > > Tel 727 553-1158---------------------------------- > ----------------------------------- > From oritbar at post.tau.ac.il Fri Jun 9 04:37:56 2006 From: oritbar at post.tau.ac.il (oritbar at post.tau.ac.il) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2006 11:37:56 +0300 Subject: [Coral-List] Flatworm predators In-Reply-To: <6.2.3.4.2.20060608131516.02acf7a8@mail.waquarium.org> References: <6.2.3.4.2.20060608131516.02acf7a8@mail.waquarium.org> Message-ID: <1149842276.44893364bd75c@webmail.tau.ac.il> Hello Laetitia, Charles and coral listers, I'v been working on similar worms inhabiting corals in Eilat (Red Sea). The worms we have in Eilat were identified as belonging to the Phylum Acoelomorpha and are not flatworms. My collegues Matthew Hooge, Maxina Ogunlana and Seth Tyler from the University of Maine identified one new species isolated from the coral Plesiastrea laxa. This new specie is called Waminoa brickneri (I can send whoever is interested a PDF copy of its description. I was observing many coral colonies inhabited by worms and also comparing the surface area of colonies with and without worms and found out that no physical damage is caused to the coral. I'm not at all sure that these worms are really a pest...I hope I will have an answer very soon. As for predators, I didn't see any fish (in the natural environment) that feeds on them. I hope this information helps Orit Barneah Zoolgy dept. Tel Aviv University' Israel Quoting Charles Delbeek : > > >From: laetitia colon > >CC: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > >Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora pests : flatworm and copepods > >Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 15:47:50 +0200 > > > >Hello Coral Listers, > > > >First of all, please excuse me by advance for my English. > >I'm searching some informations on the Acropora flatworm pest, specially > >if it has already been determined exactly. > >The French aquarists are confronted more and more with this pest. And at > >this time, the majority cannot identify the symptoms of an attack. > >Levamisole seems to be the only effective product. > >It seems also that we face an Tegastes acroporanus (?) introduction with > >Acropora frags. But there's not too much informations available on it, > >so I'm searching informations on symptoms and how to cure. > > > >thanks by advance > > > >Laetitia Colon > > Laetitia, Julian Sprung and I discuss this flatworm and treatments > for it in The Reef Aquarium, volume 3, however, the Internet forum > mentioned already is the best place to up to the minute information. > > In the TRA3, we discuss the possibility of using wrasses belonging to > the genus Halichoeres to eradicate the worms. These have proven very > successful in dealing with red flatworms (Convolutriloba retrogemma) > infestations, but it is not clear if they would be effective with the > Acropora flatworms. The two species I have experience with, H. > melanurus and H. leucurus have been very effective. > > Aloha! > > > J. Charles Delbeek M.Sc. > > Aquarium Biologist III > Waikiki Aquarium, > University of Hawaii > 2777 Kalakaua Ave. > Honolulu, HI, USA 96815 > www.waquarium.org > > 808-923-9741 ext. 0 VOICE > 808-923-1771 FAX > > > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > This Mail Was Scanned By Mail-seCure System > at the Tel-Aviv University CC. > ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. From reefball at reefball.com Sat Jun 10 13:48:48 2006 From: reefball at reefball.com (Todd Barber) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2006 13:48:48 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] can we inhance the coral growth at genetic level??? References: <20060608055700.12850.qmail@webmail18.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <004c01c68cb6$2342ba70$6401a8c0@reef8c359cb049> Dear Shailendra, Speeding up the growth rates of corals is probably not a very good idea. In general, the faster a coral grows, the more vunerable it is to injury stress, and disease. (This is of course a general statement and I am sure there are notable exceptions). Faster growing corals also tend to be less dense and more vunerable to storms such as hurricanes. Anyway, my point is that if you are going to manipulate anything at the genetic level, it should be to help species adapt better to the changes being force upon them by man such as heat stress, pollution stress, sedimentation stress, etc. or to promote better disease resistance. There may be fairly easy ways to do these just has humans have breed plants and animals for thousands of years. One approach is to select corals that have survived these stresses or diseases and propagate them...perhaps replanting over original ranges where a species was lost or threatened. Thanks, Todd R. Barber Chairman, Reef Ball Foundation 3305 Edwards Court, Greenville, NC 27858 941-720-7549 Cell 252-353-9094 Direct Skype Toddbarber MSN messenger reefball at hotmail.com reefball at reefball.com (email address) ----- Original Message ----- From: "shailendrapratap sonkar" To: Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2006 1:57 AM Subject: [Coral-List] can we inhance the coral growth at genetic level??? Dear coral listener, I am shailendra patap sonkar, MS in Marine Biotechnology, currently working as Research Fellow and pursuing my research work on "Molecular diversity in Indian scleractinian coral population from Lakshdweep islands, India" using ITS and mt-SSU r RNA gene from National Institute of oceanography, India. Dear all, I have one question to know from you that how we can enhance the growth speed of all coral at genetic level. I have read that the growth of coral is very very slow so can we try to do some modification at genetic level to enhance the growth speed of these cnidarians?? Hope I will get some positive comments. I am currently looking for some lab, which can provide me training on interpretation and analysis molecular data to study of population genetic structure for a short period. It can be great help to me. I have no problem to share my publication that respective lab or person. Looking forward for concern positive reply. Regards shailendra PS ******************************* SHAILENDRA PRATAP SONKAR (Senior Research Fellow) Ph.D.scholar Gene lab, Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona paula, Goa - 403 004 INDIA. ********************************* Contact no: (Office): 0832-2450445/6 (Mobile): +919822135671 (Home) : 0547-2225595 alternate Email address: shailendraps at yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From mekvinga at yahoo.com Sat Jun 10 17:46:29 2006 From: mekvinga at yahoo.com (Melissa Keyes) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2006 14:46:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Coral Food Message-ID: <20060610214629.21590.qmail@web50113.mail.yahoo.com> Hello, Listers, I know in an ideal situation coral can just eat what it has eaten all along. But, if one were to try to feed coral, what would be bad food? Other than Brussel's Sprouts, if someone were to dribble ground fish, maybe Tilapia, or as bad as a blenderized hotdog, would a coral be able to spit out what it didn't like? Cheers, Melissa Keyes St. Croix, U.S.Virgi Islands __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From martin_moe at yahoo.com Sun Jun 11 11:49:16 2006 From: martin_moe at yahoo.com (Martin Moe) Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2006 08:49:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Long Spine Urchin In-Reply-To: <490.2086817.31b5d553@aol.com> Message-ID: <20060611154918.28416.qmail@web60024.mail.yahoo.com> Hi Steve, Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, busy week... Thanks for the info on your situation and location, must be nice down there, that is when the hurricanes stay away. The aquatic world has changed so much in the last few decades, it's hard to believe how much. I've attached the abstract and an appendix from the report on the Diadema replacement experment that Ken Nedimyer and I did here in the Upper Keys. You will find it of interest. I think in your area the Diadema urchins would breed almost year round. A large healthy female can produce somewhere between 10 and 20 million eggs per spawn and they might spawn once or twice a month... Don't know for sure, the literature is not clear on this and there is probably a lot of variation. I think it would be worth while to concentrate them if possible. This would do two good things, 1. enhance the survival of the spawn of the breeding colony and 2. improve the ecology (less algae, more coral) of that specific reef area. Certainly the spawn of the urchins would be more successful and if the location of the reef is in an area where currents can carry the larvae to areas where they can settle and survive, it will help increase the numbers of Diadema urchins in that broad area. I would choose a section or patch of reef that is special in some way, one that is really worth preserving and concentrate the urchins on that site. The least that that would do would be to enhance coral growth, settlement and survival at that specific site, which seems like it would certainly be worth doing. Be very careful in moving the urchins, don't injure them, always keep then in water (except for brief movement from one net or container to another, try to keep them in nets as this will minimize tearing off the tube feet that have attached to a smooth surface, such as the inside of a plastic cooler. Move only a few at first to make sure that your methods are safe and that they will continue to survive for a week or so at the new location. Make sure that they have found a secure place in the rock/coral structure of the new location before you leave them. Choose a location that as rugose as possible, a lot of structure with caves and holes where they can find shelter. There are a number of people and institutions that are working with coral propagation, and in conjunction with the Mote Marine Laboratory I am working on propagation of Diadema. I'll pass your information on to others and maybe something will come of it. You might subscribe to the online Coral List, a lot of good information on coral reefs develops here from some of the most active and knowledgeable coral reef scientists in the world on that site. In fact, I'll copy this email to the coral list and perhaps you'll hear from some coral reef scientists that can give you additional advice on how you can help your particular environment. I'll have to remove the attachment, however, but I'll send it in a second email. (Bill, I sent him the paper you and Richard wrote on Death and resurrection of Caribbean coral reefs) Best, Martin --- WAVES2222 at aol.com wrote: > > Hi > Thank you so much for answering, and the paper that > you sent is eye opening > to say the least and everything in it is exactly > what is happening here. > I do not know if you know the island of Utila, as I > said we are in the Bay > Islands of Honduras, the next island to us most > people have heard of, Roatan. > Let me give you a little more info about us we are > approx 18 miles from the > mainland of Honduras, only really the south side of > Utila is inhabited, where > my resort is approx 1 to 1.5 miles from the small > town we have here. > The north side of the island is part of the Meso > American reef which comes > to us after Belize, apart from our reefs the other > main attraction we have are > our Whale Sharks which pass by the north of the > island. > I am not a marine biologist as I said I am just a > business person here on > the island, yes of course I have a business > interest in keeping our reefs well > but apart from that I am a fanatical diver and love > the ocean, I have done > over 5,000 dives on this island alone and dive most > days. > Stories from the past here on the island show what > it was like not to many > years ago, my boat captain who is in his 50???s > remembers when he was a teenager > fishing from a small paddle boat in the harbor and > falling in and having 2 > large Hammerheads around him instantly, the light > house here on the outside of > the harbor used to be light by hand, no one wanted > the job as the person who > had to paddle out to light it was always bumped by > sharks, we never see > sharks nowadays around the island on the reefs at > all, an occasional Nurse shark > but that is about it, since I have been diving here > I have only seen a > handful of sharks on the reef. > Again because of over fishing, the lobsters have > also disappeared; from old > stories there was a huge abundance of them. > I know that this is not just us, we are still very > lucky that we have some > very good coral here but this is where my concern > really starts, on the south > of the island we are getting more and more algae > and of course we feel that > it is stopping the new growth of coral as every > inch is covered. > This we believe is due to the lack of urchins and > of course the lack of > herbivorous fish, I do not know if we will ever be > able to reverse the situation > but I would like to know that I have tried > everything I can. > So any information you can send that may help, I > would really appreciate. > Also specific information that you may be able to > help me with or advise me > who I could contact. > Question like, > How often do urchins breed? > As we have not enough is it worth trying to > congregate them in an area so > they would have more breeding success and then > redistribute them? > Have they ever been ??????farm?????? bred is this a > possible way to repopulate? > Or if anyone has some suggestions I would love to > hear them. > Another thought I had is that I have some small > amounts of money to use to > try and help projects like this, I have the ideal > location, my resort is on > the beach with the reef only 50 yards away, I have > boats to get to other parts > of the island and I have accommodation, do you know > is there anyway I could > for an association with a Marine Biology department > of a college or University > that would like to send people here to get > ??????Field Experience?????? but not > just for one trip perhaps a constant presence to > help and advise us on this, I > have no idea I am just throwing up ideas and > hopefully one will come to > fruition at some stage. > We are also trying to regrow some Staghorn coral > but we are finding at the > moment that the algae is suffocating it so fast, we > have had limited success. > Sorry for my long rant here, as I said it is just I > am passionate about the > oceans and I really want to do something to help. > > > Steve Fox > Life's an Adventure Dive In. > > > All Inclusive Beach Front Dive Resort > Whale Shark Specialists of the Caribbean > PADI 5 STAR Gold Palm Instructor Development Centre > Email: _Steve at DeepBlueUtila.com_ > (mailto:Steve at DeepBlueUtila.com) > or _Waves2222 at aol.com_ (mailto:waves2222 at aol.com) > Websites: > _www.DeepBlueUtila.com_ > (http://www.deepblueutila.com/) > _www.UtilaWhaleSharkResearch.com_ > (http://www.utilawhalesharkresearch.com/) > Telephone > Shop: (504) 425 3211 > Cell: (504)916 8290 > Fax: (504) 425 3211 > E Fax: (801) 286 9482 > From the USA you will need to dial 011 before the > above numbers except e Fax > > > > > From rbjpeachey at aol.com Mon Jun 12 09:37:58 2006 From: rbjpeachey at aol.com (Dr Rita BJ Peachey) Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 08:37:58 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Undergraduate Study Abroad Opportunity - Bonaire Message-ID: <361.5b44b25.31bec83e@aol.com> Bon Bini (Greetings) Coral Listers, The deadline for the following student opportunity to study Tropical Marine Biology and Conservation in Bonaire has been extended. Please pass this on to undergrads that may be interested. Undergraduate Student Study Abroad Opportunity CIEE is offering a Tropical Marine Biology and Conservation study abroad program in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, this fall (2006). Student participants will register for 15-16 semester hours (22.5-24 quarter hours). The program consists of the following courses: Coral Reef Ecology, Scientific Methods using SCUBA, Human Ecology (Cultural History of Bonaire), Marine Park Management and Independent Study. The course descriptions can be found using the following link: http://ciee.org/program_search/program_detail.aspx?page=2 &sec=1&program_id=1739&type=part CIEE is an American, not-for-profit corporation that has 90 study abroad programs in 33 countries around the world. CIEE provides programs in language studies, social science, political science and natural science for American undergraduate students and the deadline for the fall program in Bonaire has been extended to June 20th, 2006. Prerequisites: Overall GPA 2.75 or better, 2 semesters of biology or environmental science, and a nationally recognized SCUBA certification (or PADI referral). Interested students should contact EWhitman at ciee.org or call 1-800-40-STUDY ASAP. Thanks in advance for passing this notice along. Cheers, Rita Peachey Rita BJ Peachey Resident Director Tropical Marine Biology and Conservation Program Kralendijk Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles rpeachey at ciee.org From lesk at bu.edu Mon Jun 12 15:03:15 2006 From: lesk at bu.edu (Les Kaufman) Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 15:03:15 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Diadema In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6A4B10E1-6A2C-4E2E-9A79-07B1083813CE@bu.edu> Assembled masses: Tom Capo at the RSMAS hatchery on Virginia Key is the guy, I believe the first guy, to develop replicable methods to rear Diadema antillarum. I don't know when you got involved in this Martin, but the effort I know of previous to Tom was by Bob Carpenter who managed to pull one individual through to juvenilehood at the old West Indies Marine Lab on St. Croix many years ago. At the time that was a tremendous accomplishment. Tom embarked on Diadema husbandery in part to help Alina Szmant, Judy Lang and I, who chipped in- again many years ago but much later than Carpenter's enterprise- to encourage him. Largely out of the goodness of his heart, Tom succeeded admirably and supplied experimental work by Alina and her lab, by my then grad student Jamie Bechtel in my lab (Jamie is at Conservation International now), and who knows who all else. We had visions of Diademaplums dancing in our heads, and at one point hoped to repopulate the Caribbean. The problem was, nobody seemed interested in paying for it. They preferred to wait. And wait. And... I guess to a limited extent they've been proved right, but waiting was no fun and the end results are still not very satisfactory. So, with deference to all who've tried and failed and those with the gumption to try again Let's tip our hat to Tom, who nailed the spiny beast, our hope and bane. Les From Rogers.Johne at epamail.epa.gov Mon Jun 12 17:23:57 2006 From: Rogers.Johne at epamail.epa.gov (Rogers.Johne at epamail.epa.gov) Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 16:23:57 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Student Services Contracts to support coral and coral symbiont research. Message-ID: The Gulf Ecology Division of the National Health and Environmental Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking recent graduates with a B.S. degree in biology, phycology, chemistry, ecology, environmental science, marine biology, computer science/modeling, mathematics, statistics, morphometrics, or related fields to provide contractual services to examine the effects of climate change and other stressors on cultures of coral symbionts (Symbiodinium spp.), to establish computer based, 3-dimensional models of various corals, and to evaluate previous and current coral reef monitoring programs. Detailed information concerning these positions can be found at http://www.epa.gov/oam/rtp_cmd/#current. Please carefully read the announcement for "Student Services, Gulf Breeze, FL, RFQ-RT-06-00169; it will provide information on applying for the contract. Contact Dr. John Rogers at 850-934-9326 or rogers.johne at epa.gov if you have technical questions regarding the contract; contact Dr. Raymond Wilhour at 850-934-9213 or wilhour.ray at epa.gov if you have questions concerning contract operations. From szmanta at uncw.edu Tue Jun 13 08:01:43 2006 From: szmanta at uncw.edu (Szmant, Alina) Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 08:01:43 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Diadema References: <6A4B10E1-6A2C-4E2E-9A79-07B1083813CE@bu.edu> Message-ID: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE14716@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> Hi Les: For the record, National Seagrant funded us in 2000 (Szmant ,Tom Capo and Margaret Miller co-PIs) to develop the techniques for mass rearing of Diadema for restoration purposes (together with mass rearing of coral larvae, a combination we proposed to be an attempt at ecological restoration of damaged reef sites). Tom was able to rear ca. 1000 Diadema from lab spawn and tested a range of temperatures, salinities and larval densities along the way, but had difficulty in the settlement stages. The lab reared Diadema in the 1 to 2 cm diameter size range that we outplanted in our experiments were for the most part rapidly eaten by reef dwelling predators (as were many of the adult we tranplanted from inshore areas to offshore Florida reefs). It was frustrating to see the babies eaten after all that work raising them. Margaret and I gave up hope for any major breakthroughs with that approach unless many orders of magnitude more Diadema could be reared, and also as we saw slow but steady recoevry of the species throughout the Caribbean. We didn't try to get any additional funding for this effort. In La Parguera PR baby urchins can be found all over the place in shallow water and are working their way down the reef slope. The reefs are so overfished it may make it easier for Diadema to recover there. I have ca. dozen of the lab spawned Diadema living in my aquaria at UNCW as lab pets for the past 5 years, and they are doing well. I gave a few to the Discovery Museum in Charlotte NC for their reef tank. It will be interesting to see how long these guys can live. Alina ******************************************************************* Dr. Alina M. Szmant Coral Reef Research Group UNCW-Center for Marine Science 5600 Marvin K. Moss Ln Wilmington NC 28409 Tel: (910)962-2362 & Fax: (910)962-2410 Cell: (910)200-3913 email: szmanta at uncw.edu Web Page: http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta ****************************************************************** ________________________________ From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov on behalf of Les Kaufman Sent: Mon 6/12/2006 3:03 PM To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Diadema Assembled masses: Tom Capo at the RSMAS hatchery on Virginia Key is the guy, I believe the first guy, to develop replicable methods to rear Diadema antillarum. I don't know when you got involved in this Martin, but the effort I know of previous to Tom was by Bob Carpenter who managed to pull one individual through to juvenilehood at the old West Indies Marine Lab on St. Croix many years ago. At the time that was a tremendous accomplishment. Tom embarked on Diadema husbandery in part to help Alina Szmant, Judy Lang and I, who chipped in- again many years ago but much later than Carpenter's enterprise- to encourage him. Largely out of the goodness of his heart, Tom succeeded admirably and supplied experimental work by Alina and her lab, by my then grad student Jamie Bechtel in my lab (Jamie is at Conservation International now), and who knows who all else. We had visions of Diademaplums dancing in our heads, and at one point hoped to repopulate the Caribbean. The problem was, nobody seemed interested in paying for it. They preferred to wait. And wait. And... I guess to a limited extent they've been proved right, but waiting was no fun and the end results are still not very satisfactory. So, with deference to all who've tried and failed and those with the gumption to try again Let's tip our hat to Tom, who nailed the spiny beast, our hope and bane. Les _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From duyl at nioz.nl Wed Jun 14 06:44:44 2006 From: duyl at nioz.nl (duyl at nioz.nl) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 12:44:44 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] a new coral cavity publication In-Reply-To: <00e501c68b31$1785a250$df02a8c0@unalsven> Message-ID: hi all, A pdf of the following publication is available upon request: Duyl, F. C. van., S. R. Scheffers, et al. (2006). "The effect of water exchange on bacterioplankton depletion and inorganic nutrient dynamic in coral reef cavities." Coral Reefs 25: 23-36. Please mail your requests directly to me E-mail: duyl at nioz.nl Fleur C. van Duyl Department of Biological Oceanography Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands E-mail: duyl at nioz.nl Tel.: +31 222-369543/369300 Fax: +31 222 319674 --------------------------------------------- ADDRESS FOR DELIVERIES NIOZ Landsdiep 4 1797 SZ 't Horntje, Texel The Netherlands From MedioD at halcrow.com Wed Jun 14 07:23:18 2006 From: MedioD at halcrow.com (Medio, David) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 12:23:18 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] Mangroves and buffer zones Message-ID: I have tried this one before and thank Peter Mumby and Peter Hogarth for providing some feedback. I would however appreciate anyone with specific quantitative examples of buffer zones (and their extent and/or distance from the proposed development) being either recommended or actually implemented around mangrove stands. I am looking really at some recent references covering the issue that can be used in defending 'the large the beeter' motto for buffer zones. Regards Dr David Medio Halcrow Group Ltd Visit our website at http://www.halcrow.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The contents of this email are confidential, for the sole use of the intended recipient at the email address to which it has been addressed and do not give rise to any binding legal obligation upon Halcrow companies unless subsequently confirmed on headed business notepaper sent by fax, letter or as an email attachment. Whilst reasonable care has been taken to avoid virus transmission, no responsibility for viruses is taken and it is your responsibility to carry out such checks as you feel appropriate. Emails supplied are as found and there's no guarantee that the messages contained within the body of the email have not been edited after receipt. If you receive this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and delete the message from your system. Thank you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From rbjpeachey at aol.com Wed Jun 14 09:37:51 2006 From: rbjpeachey at aol.com (Rita BJ Peachey) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 08:37:51 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Job Opportunity Message-ID: <271.b5e55ce.31c16b36@aol.com> Good Day Coral Listers: Applications for the following Job Opportunity will be accepted until 30 June 2006. Please pass along to folks who might be looking for an overseas experience teaching. Job Opportunity Marine Resource Management Instructor needed for Fall Semester 2006 The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) seeks an Instructor for a Study Abroad Program in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. The program offers students a comprehensive semester abroad including four undergraduate courses and independent research. The position is a semester-long appointment. Responsibilities include: teaching Marine Resource Management, directing student research projects, participation in scientific and cultural excursions, providing diving support for the Coral Reef Ecology and Fundamentals of Scientific Diving courses and participating in center activities such as weekly cookouts. The course description can be found using the following link: http://ciee.org/program_search/program_detail.aspx?page=2 &sec=1&program_id=1739&type=part. Qualifications: PhD in Marine Science, or other related discipline (ABDs are welcome to apply), scientific dive experience with a minimum of 50 dives, teaching experience, and a commitment to undergraduate field education. A stipend, travel expenses, housing and most meals are provided. Send CV, teaching philosophy statement and cover letter to rpeachey at ciee.org. CIEE is a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to helping people gain understanding, acquire knowledge, and develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world. Thank you, Rita Peachey Rita BJ Peachey Resident Director Tropical Marine Biology and Conservation Program Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles rpeachey at ciee.org From rvw at fit.edu Wed Jun 14 15:42:46 2006 From: rvw at fit.edu (Robert van Woesik) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 15:42:46 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] 2006 ISRS/TOC fellowship winners Message-ID: <000d01c68fea$b5dda980$6c4876a3@CORAL> Dear coral list, Each year, The Ocean Conservancy and ISRS co-fund a program of fellowships for graduate studies in coral reef science. Competition was fierce this year, with more than 80 proposals submitted. On behalf of ISRS President Nick Polunin I am pleased to announce the winners of this year's ISRS/TOC Graduate Fellowships in Coral Reef Science, listed below in alphabetical order: Wade Cooper, University of Miami, USA; Quantifying the effects of site quality on settlement and early post-settlement dynamics in Scleractinians; Annika Noreen, Southern Cross University, Australia; Corals at the extreme: connectivity and population dynamics of reef-building corals in subtropical eastern Australia; Carlos Toledo-Hernandez, University of Puerto Rico; Fungal community associated with diseased and healthy Gorgonia ventalina, the role of temperature stress and demographic consequences of aspergillosis to G. ventalina colonies; Karin Ulstrup, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia; Bleaching resilience of Acropora spp. associating with two phylogenetically different algal endosymbionts; Sheila Walsh, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA; Do predator-dominated coral reefs have higher fish biomass and potential harvest due to changes in growth rates?; Anabella Zuluaga-Montero, University of Puerto Rico; Aspergillosis in sea fans: phylogenetic relationship among Aspergillosis strains and patterns of prevalence. We are grateful to The Ocean Conservancy for their continuing support of deserving students of coral reef science. I would like to add my personal thanks to ISRS Recording Secretary Rob van Woesik and his fellowships committee for reviewing the proposals. Sincerely, Richard B. Aronson ISRS Vice President From lesk at bu.edu Wed Jun 14 21:36:30 2006 From: lesk at bu.edu (Les Kaufman) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 21:36:30 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] mangroves and buffer zone In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3BDC4D35-EDC1-46B7-9EF3-E861C47E2384@bu.edu> I do not know of examples of mangrove buffer zones, but have seen a specific example of what happens when they are lacking. Behind mangrove forests in mesic environments there is a transitional forest that is rich and unusual, and may play an important functional role in linking mangrove to upland habitats. It includes facultative mangrove-associated species such as (e.g., Caribbean) Pterocarpus officinalis, Hibiscus tiliaceus, (e.g., Pacific) Heriteira littoralis- you get the picture. This forest is often destroyed by land-based encroachment. It can be very extensive- the Pterocarpus forests of Belizean rivers extend along hundreds to thousands of meters of riverfront, which may provide some indication of their areal extent. These are now being destroyed in several parts of Belize by new real estate developments. Les From keryea at mail.nsysu.edu.tw Thu Jun 15 05:19:11 2006 From: keryea at mail.nsysu.edu.tw (Keryea Soong) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 17:19:11 +0800 Subject: [Coral-List] Research opportunity-Coral reefs and marine biodiversity Message-ID: <20060615091201.M5662@mail.nsysu.edu.tw> Dear All: My university is providing a marine research fellowship for advanced graduate students around the world. Topics concerning coral reefs and marine biodiversities are considered. The fellowship covers round-trip flights to Taiwan, 2-3 months of stipend. Please see attached file for details. Keryea Soong Institute of Marine Biology National Sun Yat-sen University Kaohsiung, Taiwan 804 886-7-5252000, x.5109 (office) 886-7-5255109 (office) 886-7-5255100 (fax) From MedioD at halcrow.com Thu Jun 15 05:52:33 2006 From: MedioD at halcrow.com (Medio, David) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 10:52:33 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] examples/case studies of mangrove degradation and or direct removal Message-ID: Can the forum kindly provide me with recent examples of significant degradation of mangrove stands possibly as a result of coastal development (e.g. ports) and or impacts caused by these developments (seepage, leakage, chronic pollution). Thanks and regards Dr David Medio Principal Environmental Scientist Halcrow Group Ltd, Arndale Centre Otley Rd, Leeds, LS6 2UL Tel +44 (0) 113 2208213; Fax +44 (0) 113 2742924 Mob 07739190968 Email: mediod at halcrow.com www.halcrow.com Visit our website at http://www.halcrow.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The contents of this email are confidential, for the sole use of the intended recipient at the email address to which it has been addressed and do not give rise to any binding legal obligation upon Halcrow companies unless subsequently confirmed on headed business notepaper sent by fax, letter or as an email attachment. Whilst reasonable care has been taken to avoid virus transmission, no responsibility for viruses is taken and it is your responsibility to carry out such checks as you feel appropriate. Emails supplied are as found and there's no guarantee that the messages contained within the body of the email have not been edited after receipt. If you receive this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and delete the message from your system. Thank you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From craig at consult-sea.com Thu Jun 15 08:56:28 2006 From: craig at consult-sea.com (Craig Rose) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 13:56:28 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] Conservation Manager Job - Thailand Message-ID: <003401c6907b$25f7ece0$b30a01bd@craigrose> Dear All, I was contacted regarding the attached job description, which I promised to distribute to those who might be interested. Hope it is of interest. Craig _______________________________ Dr. Craig Rose Managing Director S.E.A. consultants Ltd c/o Enterprise Centre 2nd Floor Armstrong Building University of Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU UK T: +44 (0)7779 004 374 E: craig at consult-sea.com W: www.consult-SEA.com Skype: dr_c_rose ________________________________ From martin_moe at yahoo.com Thu Jun 15 10:17:28 2006 From: martin_moe at yahoo.com (Martin Moe) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 07:17:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Diadema In-Reply-To: <6A4B10E1-6A2C-4E2E-9A79-07B1083813CE@bu.edu> Message-ID: <20060615141728.36264.qmail@web60020.mail.yahoo.com> Hi Les, I???m glad you brought up Tom Capo's contributions to Diadema culture. I???m well aware of Tom pioneering efforts in culturing Diadema. In fact, my hat has been at his feet, and at the feet of those he worked with, for quite some time. Actually my culture work on Diadema is basically an extension of Tom???s past work, but more on a pilot aquaculture scale based on Tom???s success in the laboratory. My work is part of a group of projects developed by Mote Marine Laboratories to investigate the possibilities of Diadema restoration on Florida reefs at a basic scientific level. Dr. Ken Leber, Director of the Center for Fisheries Enhancement, Dr. Kevan Main, Director of the Center for Aquaculture Research and Development, and Dr. David Vaughan, Executive Director of the Mote Tropical Research Laboratory and Director of the Center for Coral Reef Research are all principal scientists in charge of the various field and laboratory projects. Dr. Aaron Adams and Erich Bartles of the Mote Marine Laboratory, and Ken Nedimyer and me, adjunct scientists with Mote are also part of the team that is conducting these projects. And Tom Capo is a paid consultant (OK, the ???paid??? part is not much, he???s still working out of the goodness of his heart) and he is helping me with the initial Diadema culture project. We have to work out the basics of large scale culture of this urchin and also develop the techniques to make them the equal of the wild juveniles in terms of their ability to survive on the reefs. A big job, but we think we can do it. It still isn???t easy to get funding for Diadema research, our projects are all shoe string funded at this point, but the great importance of the presence of Diadema on the reefs, their ability in most situations to shift the ecology from algae dominance back to coral dominance, is becoming more and more evident to the scientific community and to managers of coral reef environments, and hopefully, Diadema research will be more adequately funded in the future. So for the sake of our coral reefs and all that they mean to our economy and our hearts, we will keep on trying, and view less then successful efforts as just learning experiences and keep on trying. Martin --- Les Kaufman wrote: > Assembled masses: > > Tom Capo at the RSMAS hatchery on Virginia Key is > the guy, I believe > the first guy, to develop replicable methods to rear > Diadema > antillarum. I don't know when you got involved in > this Martin, > but the effort I know of previous to Tom was by Bob > Carpenter who > managed to pull one individual through to > juvenilehood at the old > West Indies > Marine Lab on St. Croix many years ago. At the time > that was a > tremendous accomplishment. > > Tom embarked on Diadema husbandery in part to help > Alina Szmant, Judy > Lang and I, who chipped in- again many years ago but > much later than > Carpenter's enterprise- > to encourage him. Largely out of the goodness of > his heart, Tom > succeeded admirably and supplied experimental work > by Alina and her > lab, by my then grad > student Jamie Bechtel in my lab (Jamie is at > Conservation > International now), and who knows who all else. We > had visions of > Diademaplums dancing in our heads, and > at one point hoped to repopulate the Caribbean. The > problem was, > nobody seemed interested in paying for it. They > preferred to wait. > And wait. And... I guess to a limited > extent they've been proved right, but waiting was no > fun and the end > results are still not very satisfactory. > > So, with deference to all who've tried and failed > and those with the gumption to try again > Let's tip our hat to Tom, who nailed > the spiny beast, our hope and bane. > > Les > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > From goreau at bestweb.net Thu Jun 15 12:44:14 2006 From: goreau at bestweb.net (Thomas Goreau) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 12:44:14 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Corals, algae, and bacteria In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The following exchange on the role of algae and bacteria in coral reef degradation may be of interest to some readers. As usual I will be out of reach in the field and not able to reply for a long time. Thomas J. Goreau, PhD President Global Coral Reef Alliance 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139 617-864-4226 goreau at bestweb.net http://www.globalcoral.org > Dear Dr. Goreau, > > I'm a writer with Science magazine and I'm working > on > a news story for > our website on a paper coming out in Ecology > Letters. > Researchers show > that algae indirectly lead to coral death by > fostering > microbial > activity. Please find the manuscript attached. > > I wondered if you'd be willing to share your > thoughts > on these findings > as an outside researcher - how novel you believe > them > to be and what > implications they might have. If you have the time > to > chat, please let > me know a convenient time to reach you, preferably > at > some point > tomorrow. > > I look forward to hearing from you. > > Best, > Katie Unger > > Katie Unger > News writer > Science magazine > (202) 326-7089 > kunger at aaas.org > > >>> Tom Goreau 06/08 7:53 AM > >>> > Dear Katie Unger, > > To my surprise I am now in a place where I can > receive > and send email, and woke up very early with time to > read the paper you kindly sent before diving all > day. > I'd like to comment a little further on it. This > paper > uses new methods (both experimental and analytical) > to > look at algae coral bacterial interactions, and > provides much new insight that could not have been > reached previously. However the patterns found are > very complex, and not all of them fit the author's > generalizations. Much more work along these lines is > clearly needed. > > Previous work by Kline and Rohwer has clearly shown > that metabolizable sugars and organic commpounds > lead > to increased bacterial growth on corals, providing a > potential mechanism to explain these results. What > the > exuded organic compounds are, and their effects, are > likely to vary greatly between algae, bacteria, and > coral species. > > In my view the conclusions of the paper need to be a > little more careful, because of the wide range of > patterns they found, which do not fit a single > mechanism. It is imortant to realize that these have > application to the death of corals that are directly > overgrown by corals, some of which appear in the > field > to die soon after overgrowth, while others appear to > remain alive for a long time, even though they are > bleached for lack of light (I say this from decades > of > experience weeding algae off corals). > > But I think that the conclusions need to be tempered > > by the following: > > 1) There is no field evidence that corals die back > in > portions of the coral that are not directly > overgrown, > so this supports a mechanism of mortality inducecd > by > direct interaction or the indirect effects of > shading, > not that there is a distance effect stimulating > bacteria to kill corals not directly contacted by > algae. In eutrophic (nutrient rich) reefs we see the > last tips of corals remaining healthy and normaly > colored even after almost all the colony has been > smothered and killed. So I do not see the sort of > runaway positive feedback of algae killing corals > faster, that they imply. Furthermore in reefs where > we > have been able to eliminate land-based sources of > nutrients to reefs the algae very quickly die back, > and the corals recover, although this takes much > longer. > > 2) I do not think that this has any relationship to > coral disease. Disease is not mentioned except where > they quote our older papers mentioning that both > algae > overgrowth and diseases have greatly increased (but > not further alluded to in the conclusions). While it > is true that both are increasing, we sill see no > correlation between disease and eutrophication > phenomena in the field at all! I saw many reefs > smothered and killed by algae in areas near > land-based > sources of nutrient polllution long before diseases > became a problem. Conversely we see in the field > patchy areas of very high incidence of coral > diseases > that can be found in areas with essentially no algae > as well as those that are being smothered. In fact I > have been looking at both kinds of sites here in the > Turks and Caicos reefs in the last few days, and > have > seen the same in many other parts of the Caribbean, > Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Southeast Asia. > > Best wishes, > Tom > > Thomas J. Goreau, PhD > President > Global Coral Reef Alliance > 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139 > 617-864-4226 > goreau at bestweb.net > http://www.globalcoral.org > > --- Katie Unger wrote: > Dear Tom, > > I very much appreciate your taking the time to read > and comment on this > paper. Unfortunately, our deadlines with these > stories are very short, > and the story actually went up on the web last > night! Please find a > link to it here: > > http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/607/2 > > > I do hope we get a chance to speak at another time. > > Best, > Katie > Dear Katie, This is unfortunate because the ecological observations really don't support the broad conclusions of this paper, as Bruno rightly points out. The coral reef literature is full of this sort of overextended conclusions, and once these sorts of things appear in Science and Nature, those who have not made any observations themselves take them as gospel truth. Best wishes, Tom From goreau at bestweb.net Thu Jun 15 14:51:09 2006 From: goreau at bestweb.net (Thomas Goreau) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 14:51:09 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral, algae and microbes In-Reply-To: <4491A86B.7070300@nceas.ucsb.edu> References: <4491A86B.7070300@nceas.ucsb.edu> Message-ID: <667F9E19-F61C-4FD8-88C0-4B0F11B0C0EE@bestweb.net> Dear Jennifer, Thanks for your message, I guess they must have posted it? I do agree with your statements below fully. I think the data you have gotten is quite fascinating, an ingenious and valuable experimental and analytical approach, and shows a lot of different things may be going on depending on the specific algae-coral pairs. Congratulations: this is worthy of much more work! Because the short piece that Science is actually publishing somewhat simplifies and overextends your conclusions, i wanted to point out only that the field ecological data must be taken into account before people leap to conclusions that a bit of algae will kill all the corals, or that it is the cause of disease epidemics (or epizootics as Bert Williams will point out). I wish I had edited my final comment a bit, because I did not mean the end comments to seem so harsh. In fact they are aimed not at your very interesting paper but the many truly awful papers on reefs that have been published in Science and Nature in recent decades despite saying nothing new, just hidden behind poor scholarship and jargon- filled verbiage. It also reflects the fact that almost every time they ask me for comments, and I take the trouble to give a thoughtful response, they never run any of it! Good luck and best wishes, Tom On Jun 15, 2006, at 2:35 PM, Jennifer Smith wrote: > Dear Tom, > > I wanted to thank you for commenting on our recent Ecology Letters > paper on coral, algae and microbes. I agree with everything you > mentioned in your email. However, I would like to argue that in our > paper we do not claim that this mechanism is happening everywhere, > all the time. The goal of the study was to document the > *possibility* for this mechanism to exist. We showed that yes, it > can exist in the lab. We don't know how common or widespread it is > in the field but that it is likely to be concentration > dependent...the more algae, the more DOC, the more bacteria, the > more potential for coral mortality. This of course will be most > pronounced in areas that are already being degraded by impacts such > as overfishing and nutrient pollution. Further, not all corals and > not all algae are created equally. Some coral species are likely to > be more resistant and some algae are likely to release more DOC > than others. These are all questions that still need to be > addressed and that we hope will stimulate some very interesting > research in the near future. > Thanks again for your thoughts. > > Best Regards, > > Jennifer > Thomas J. Goreau, PhD President Global Coral Reef Alliance 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139 617-864-4226 goreau at bestweb.net http://www.globalcoral.org From paige.rothenberger at viczmp.com Thu Jun 15 14:21:11 2006 From: paige.rothenberger at viczmp.com (Paige Rothenberger) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 14:21:11 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership - Request for Preproposals Message-ID: <4491A517.2080408@viczmp.com> Apologies for cross postings The Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership (GCRP) invites preproposals for its citizen-driven habitat restoration projects. The partnership is seeking to fund on-the-ground activities throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Territories of the Caribbean which restore marine, estuarine, and riparian habitats benefiting living marine resources and provide educational and social benefits by significantly involving the community. The GCRP is a multi-year, regional partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community-based Restoration Program (CRP), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Gulf of Mexico Program - Gulf Ecological Management Sites (GEMS) Initiative, and the Gulf states and Caribbean territories. The purpose of this partnership is to strengthen the conservation efforts of the CRP and GEMS by supporting on-the-ground restoration activities and fostering local stewardship of ecologically significant areas. The full request for pre-proposals is posted at: http://www.gulfmex.org/ (link in upper right hand corner) For questions please contact: Kendal Keyes, Project Coordinator Gulf of Mexico Foundation (361) 882-3939, info at gulfmex.org <../../../../Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.IE5/MS58LRNF/info at gulfmex.org> From ingridn at system.ecology.su.se Thu Jun 15 16:02:11 2006 From: ingridn at system.ecology.su.se (Ingrid Nordemar) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:02:11 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] paper on coral starvation during elevated temperature Message-ID: <002b01c690b6$97bd48d0$f2aaed82@ninni01> Hi, I've been following the discussion on coral starvation/ need of particulate food on the list. For those interested, I can refer you to another paper on this topic in relation to other stressors: Nordemar, I., Nystr?m, M., Dizon, R. (2003) Effects of elevated seawater temperature and nitrate enrichment on the branching coral Porites cylindrica in the absence of particulate food. Mar. Biol. 142:669-677. Cheers, Ninni From keryea at mail.nsysu.edu.tw Thu Jun 15 21:56:39 2006 From: keryea at mail.nsysu.edu.tw (Keryea Soong) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 09:56:39 +0800 Subject: [Coral-List] Research opportunity in Taiwan, with more details Message-ID: <20060616015155.M51997@mail.nsysu.edu.tw> Fellowships for Kuroshio study at the Asia-Pacific Ocean Research Center, National Sun Yat-sen University The Asia-Pacific Ocean research Center (see http://140.117.93.1/~kuroshio) at National Sun Yat-sen University is awarding five fellowships in 2006 in support of master and doctoral students for their research topics on the biodiversity and biogeochemistry of the Kuroshio region. Applicants should plan to spend at least two to a maximum of three months at the research center in 2006. The fellowship funding includes: (a) Traveling allowance (for doctoral student only): round-trip economic coach air-fare (maximum NTD 40000; expiration date for six months). (b) Housing: NTD 3300 /month (to cover dormitory fee at the university). (c) Student health insurance: NTD 200 (d) Research fellow fund: Master student: NTD 8000/month Doctoral candidate: NTD 32000/month Non-candidate doctoral student: NTD 28000/month (NTD: New Taiwanese Dollar; Exchange rate: USD 1 is about NTD 31-32 in May 2006) Applicants have to consult with at least one of the Kuroshio Research Group members at the Asia-Pacific Ocean Research Center in the relevant field before submitting a formal application. They can be found at http://140.117.93.1/~kuroshio) Applicants should send (1) a CV, (2) a proposal including the title, description of the research to be conducted and how it connects to the applicants? dissertation research, (3) name of the corresponding member in the Kuroshio Research Group, (4) two letters of recommendation by e-mail sent to the Kuroshio Research Group member, Dr. K. Soong (keryea at mail.nsysu.edu.tw), with ?Recommendation to Kuroshio Application? in the subject line. Keryea Soong Institute of Marine Biology National Sun Yat-sen University Kaohsiung, Taiwan 804 886-7-5252000, x.5109 (office) 886-7-5255109 (office) 886-7-5255100 (fax) From craig at consult-sea.com Fri Jun 16 07:34:23 2006 From: craig at consult-sea.com (Craig Rose) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 12:34:23 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] Conservation Manager Job - Thailand - with info! In-Reply-To: <003401c6907b$25f7ece0$b30a01bd@craigrose> Message-ID: <001101c69138$d3697de0$b30a01bd@craigrose> Dear All, Apologies for sending the Thailand job as an attachment. I didn't realise it wouldn't be sent, but it makes sense not to send attachments around a large list such as this one. I have copied the info into this email. Please see their contact details below for applications. The link to their site is http://www.teaching-abroad.co.uk/projects/conservation/thailand.php. Regards, Craig Vacancy for: Conservation Manager - Thailand Our organisation Teaching & Projects Abroad are proud to be the leading organisation recruiting young people from the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and South Africa to do worthwhile voluntary work overseas. Annually we send two thousand enthusiastic volunteers to nineteen developing countries to teach conversational English and to gain work experience in the fields of medicine, journalism, veterinary science, and law and to participate in grass-root conservation projects. We put enormous importance on the welfare of our volunteers during their time with us overseas. Your role as Conservation Manager . Working in cooperation with our other staff you will be responsible for making each new arrival feel welcome and secure in their new environment. . You will be responsible for developing our conservation projects further, giving daily project briefings and leading groups in the field on mangrove projects, beach clean-ups, salvage dives and reef observation work. (Dive training will be given if necessary) . You will help maintain effective communication between our local office and our head office in the UK and with volunteers before their arrival in Thailand. Skills and attributes You will ideally have a degree and some work experience in marine biology. You must be enthusiastic at the prospect of working in a culturally diverse environment and you must respond well to others - possessing interpersonal customer service and team working skills. You will be energetic and relish the opportunity to work in a challenging environment. You should have basic IT skills including use of email and the Internet. A high standard of English, both written and spoken, is essential. As a new member of the team you will receive a full briefing either by our UK staff or local Thai staff and full on the job training at our conservation project base in Aonang, Thailand. The successful candidate can expect to be paid a competitive salary, inclusive of food, accommodation and transport. Applications must be received by 26th June 2006. Please send your CV and a covering letter to: davidlong at projects-abroad.org Teaching & Projects Abroad Aldsworth Parade Goring-by-Sea West Sussex BN12 4TX England Email: davidlong at projects-abroad.org Website: www.projects-abroad.co.uk From matz at whitney.ufl.edu Fri Jun 16 10:48:23 2006 From: matz at whitney.ufl.edu (mikhail matz) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:48:23 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] another coral color paper Message-ID: <4492C4B7.4060107@whitney.ufl.edu> Hello, Since there seems to be some interest in the subject, here is another paper of ours about evolution of coral color diversity: Field, S. F., Bulina, M. Y., Kelmanson, I. V., Bielawski J. P. and Matz, M. V. Adaptive evolution of multi-colored fluorescent proteins in reef-building corals. /J. Mol. Evol./, 2006, *62*:332-339. Abstract: Here we investigate the evolutionary scenarios that led to the appearance of fluorescent color diversity in reef-building corals. We show that the mutations that have been responsible for the generation of new cyan and red phenotypes from the ancestral green were fixed with the help of positive natural selection. This fact strongly suggests that the color diversity is a product of adaptive evolution. An unexpected finding was a set of residues arranged as an intermolecular binding interface, which was also identified as a target of positive selection but is nevertheless not related to color diversification. We hypothesize that multicolored fluorescent proteins evolved as part of a mechanism regulating the relationships between the coral and its algal endosymbionts (zooxanthellae). We envision that the effect of the proteins? fluorescence on algal physiology may be achieved not only through photosynthesis modulation, but also through regulatory photosensors analogous to phytochromes and cryptochromes of higher plants. Such a regulation would require relatively subtle, but spectrally precise, modifications of the light field. Evolution of such a mechanism would explain both the adaptive diversification of colors and the coevolutionary chase at the putative algae-protein binding interface in coral fluorescent proteins. I have lots of PDFs left.... cheers Misha -- Mikhail V. Matz Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience University of Florida 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd St Augustine FL 32080 phone 904-461-4025 fax 509-562-4749 web www.whitney.ufl.edu/research_programs/matz.htm From ltpv at stl.ru Sun Jun 18 05:05:21 2006 From: ltpv at stl.ru (Yuri Latypov) Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 20:05:21 +1100 Subject: [Coral-List] handbook Message-ID: <000e01c692b6$54934a80$609e5f55@r325m> Dear Listers, The field handbook "The common corals of Vietnam" is published. Latypov Yu. Ya. The common corals of Vietnam: field handbook. - Vladivostok: Far Eastern National University Press, 2006. - 144pp., fig. 8, color photos 98. (cost $6) In the book are described the majority (96 species) common of reef building corals found in waters of Vietnam. Color underwater photos with brief descriptions enable to determine a specific belonging of corals, which also are distributed on reefs of all tropical zone of Pacific and Indian ocean. This guide is interested for use by coralists, tourists, students, and people which are were interested in the underwater world. Yuri Latypov email: ltpv at stl.ru From tamsen_byfield at yahoo.com Sun Jun 18 01:21:20 2006 From: tamsen_byfield at yahoo.com (Tamsen Tremain Byfield) Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 06:21:20 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Coral-List] Frame-grabbing software Message-ID: <20060618052120.63435.qmail@web30515.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear List Members, Does anyone have any suggestions for a software package that can: 1) extract still images from digital video? 2) extract still images and run image analyses? This is for a video benthic habitat survey. The Department already owns an image-analysis package that does not grab stills so if there is a (less expensive) package that does only #1, better for the budget. Thank you, Tamsen Byfield CMEER Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand ___________________________________________________________ All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html From guillo_fore_g at yahoo.com Sun Jun 18 21:58:02 2006 From: guillo_fore_g at yahoo.com (guillermo forero) Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 20:58:02 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [Coral-List] I need information about Diadema die off Message-ID: <20060619015802.1754.qmail@web53513.mail.yahoo.com> I'm a colombian ecology student, i'm doing actually my graduate work in the development of the restoration of Diadema antillarum on Colombia's coasts. For Colombia doesn't have information of Diadema of past times, for that i need a favor from you, i need the article in pdf: Carpenter RC (1990) Mass mortality of Diadema antillarum I. Long-term effects on sea urchin population-dynamics and coral reef algal communities. Mar Biol 104:67?77 Thanks in advance for your help. Guillermo Forero __________________________________________________ Correo Yahoo! Espacio para todos tus mensajes, antivirus y antispam ?gratis! Reg?strate ya - http://correo.espanol.yahoo.com/ From capman at augsburg.edu Mon Jun 19 00:23:06 2006 From: capman at augsburg.edu (capman at augsburg.edu) Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 23:23:06 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Frame-grabbing software In-Reply-To: <20060618052120.63435.qmail@web30515.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060618052120.63435.qmail@web30515.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: >Dear List Members, > >Does anyone have any suggestions for a software package that can: > >1) extract still images from digital video? On a Macintosh, iMovie will do this. I'm quite certain Quicktime Pro will do so as well. Neither is outrageously expensive. These days new Macs seem to always come with iMovie already installed, actually. I don't know the PC side of things so well, but I suspect there are similar affordable options for PC. > >2) extract still images and run image analyses? For image analysis (but not frame capture) there is a free, downloadable image analysis program for Macintosh called NIH Image. See http://rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image/ There is also a very similar free program for PC called ImageJ (see the above link for information on ImageJ...look in the FAQ section). I hope this helps. > >This is for a video benthic habitat survey. The Department already >owns an image-analysis package that does not grab stills so if there >is a (less expensive) package that does only #1, better for the >budget. > >Thank you, >Tamsen Byfield >CMEER >Victoria University >Wellington, New Zealand > > > > > >___________________________________________________________ >All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity >and ease of use." - PC Magazine >http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html >_______________________________________________ >Coral-List mailing list >Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From godley-ESR at seaturtle.org Mon Jun 19 10:44:51 2006 From: godley-ESR at seaturtle.org (Brendan Godley) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 15:44:51 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] Multiple Appointments in Ecology and Conservation Message-ID: <04d001c693ae$ef5ab690$054dad90@trebgodley> Hi All Please see note below on positions becoming available with us very soon. Apologies if cross-posting means you receive multiple copies. With kind regards Brendan Dr. Brendan J. Godley Centre for Ecology & Conservation School of Biosciences University of Exeter Homepage . Editor-in-Chief, Endangered Species Research Multiple Appointments in Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus (UK) The School of Biosciences, University of Exeter is seeking to recruit up to four new staff for the second phase of growth on its Cornwall Campus. . These posts will build on the existing strengths on the Cornwall Campus, which currently consists of 13 academic staff. Posts are available at all levels up to chair. Chair / Reader in Ecology or Conservation Biology We are seeking to recruit someone who will provide leadership in the area of ecology and/or conservation biology following the retirement of Professor Bryant. We would be particularly interested in appointing someone with strengths in field ecology or conservation but encourage all interested parties to apply. Lectureships in Ecology and Conservation Biology We have between two and four lectureships available in the field of ecology and conservation biology. We are looking to build on our existing strengths and buoyant undergraduate and postgraduate degrees programmes in ecology and conservation. We would be particularly interested in recruiting vertebrate and plant ecologists, in population and community ecology and conservation biology and genetics. Timing Posts are available from September 2006 . Further information: Interested applicants are encouraged to approach Prof. M.R. Evans (m.r.evans at ex.ac.uk) or Prof. N.J. Talbot (n.j.talbot at ex.ac.uk). Further particulars: Positions in Ecology and Conservation Biology The School of Biosciences on the University of Exeter's Cornwall Campus has now been established for two years and currently consists of 13 academic staff (4 professors, 3 readers, 2 senior lecturers and 4 lecturers). This represents the end of the first phase of development, we are now seeking to recruit for the second phase and are planning for the third phase which will see the expansion of this group to approximately 30 academic staff. The staff on the Cornwall Campus all work within the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and future growth will be broadly within this area of biology. We have buoyant undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in ecology and conservation (currently recruiting 50 at undergraduate and 30 at postgraduate level). The group has a combined research income of about ?1.5M and a research postgraduate population of 25. Chair / Reader in Ecology and / or Conservation Biology Following the retirement of Professor Bryant, we are seeking to recruit someone to provide leadership in ecology and / or conservation biology and to inform the development of the group as we move into future. We would be interested in considering anyone whose research programme fell within the general areas of ecology or conservation biology. However, we would be particularly interested in recruiting someone with interests and expertise in field ecology. We would also benefit from recruiting someone whose work would utilise molecular or conservation genetics. The successful applicant will have a track record of obtaining external funding from a variety of sources, both governmental and non-governmental as appropriate for their research programme. He/she should have supervised research postgraduate students. Importantly the successful applicant will have a series of publications in high profile journals sufficient to be considered an international figure in the field by his/her peers. We would expect any recruit at this level to have a teaching load (at both undergraduate and postgraduate level) commensurate with the maintenance of their research programme and to participate in the leadership, management and administration of the school across both campuses. The successful applicant will be in a position to influence the appointment of the more junior positions. It may also be worth any applicants considering that between 2008 and 2012 the school of biosciences has plans to expand to 30-35 academic staff within ecology, evolution and conservation. These plans are externally funded as part of the development of the Combined Universities of Cornwall (of which the University of Exeter is a major partner) that is a crucial part of the EU funded initiative 'building the knowledge economy'. Lectureships in Ecology and Conservation Biology. We have between two and four lectureships available in the field of ecology and conservation biology, the precise number will depend on the level of appointment of the senior position. We have strengths in vertebrate conservation, behavioural ecology, population and evolutionary ecology. We are looking to build on our existing strengths and expand into new cognate areas. We also wish to maintain our buoyant undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in ecology and conservation and to some extent the appointments have to fit with teaching as well as research priorities. We are interested in considering any suitably qualified applicant but are particularly interested in recruiting vertebrate and plant ecologists, in population and community ecology and conservation biology and genetics. The successful applicant will have a track record of obtaining external funding. He/she should have contributed to the supervision of research postgraduate students and will have a series of publications in high profile journals both those specific to the field as well as more general publications. We would expect any recruit at this level to have a teaching load commensurate with the maintenance of their research programme. A contribution to teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level will be expected. Dr. Brendan J. Godley Lecturer in Conservation Biology Centre for Ecology & Conservation University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus UK Editor-in-Chief, Endangered Species Research Homepage From arvedlund at speedpost.net Mon Jun 19 14:35:56 2006 From: arvedlund at speedpost.net (Michael Arvedlund) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:35:56 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] Video to photo freeware available Message-ID: <1150742156.6280.264167655@webmail.messagingengine.com> Dear Tamsen I have good experience with the video frame grabber Video2Photo. Version 1.0 is freeware. A valid link for download is here: http://www.soft32.com/download_13575.html Should you experience any problems with the download, please contact me by email and I can then send a copy of the program to you. Cheers, Mike *************************************************** Dr. Michael Arvedlund Reef Consultants Raadmand Steins All? 16A, 208 2000 Frederiksberg Denmark - Europe E-Mail: arvedlund at speedpost.net Skype: arvedlundmichael Home-page: http://www.freewebs.com/michaelarvedlund/ Telephone: (+45)-7741-4696 ><(((?> ><(((?> ><(((?> ><(((?> ><(((?> ><(((?> *************************************************** From booth at easternct.edu Mon Jun 19 12:42:45 2006 From: booth at easternct.edu (Charles Booth) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 12:42:45 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] image analysis using a PC Message-ID: From the NIH web page NIH Image ( http://rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image/about.html): A free PC version of Image, called Scion Image for Windows, is available from Scion Corporation. There is also Image/J, a Java program inspired by Image that "runs anywhere". Chuck Booth * * * * * * * Dr. Charles E. Booth Dept. of Biology Eastern Connecticut State University Willimantic, CT 06226 Ph: 860-465-5260 Email: booth at easternct.edu FAX: 860-465-5213 From karim.benmustapha at instm.rnrt.tn Tue Jun 20 03:33:13 2006 From: karim.benmustapha at instm.rnrt.tn (Kerim Ben Mustapha) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 09:33:13 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] multibeam Message-ID: <4497C0D9.4297.72D58B@localhost> Dear colleagues, I'm tunisian marine biologist working on sponges and on benthic habitats (seagrass and coralligenous), In order to let tunisia be more rational regarding the management of its benthic habitats towards a better conservation strategy, the Institute of Marine and Technology researchs (INSTM -Minister of Research and Technology) has just published an international call for tender regarding the acquisition of a multibeam echo sounder (bi frequencies). The multibeam will allow us to map seagrass meadows off the gabes gulf (up to 60 m depth through the 400 khz) and coral/coralligenous bio concretion mapping (up to 400 m through the 200 kHz). Thank you for forwarding this information Sincerely Karim Ben Mustapha Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer 2025 Salammb?.Tunis Tunisie. Phone + 216 71 730420 + 216 71 276 243 + 216 71 277 735. Fax + 216 71 732622 From sdalton at nmsc.edu.au Mon Jun 19 20:11:09 2006 From: sdalton at nmsc.edu.au (Steve Dalton) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 10:11:09 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] frame grabbing software In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060620094846.03f23580@mail> Hi Tamsen, in regards to frame grabbing software I may be no help, I have been using Imovie and final cut pro which can grab images however the resolution in not great and find that using the digital video and pausing the file is a better method to determine benthic cover. I have been using the method described in Page et al. 2001 Survey of benthic reef communities using underwater video, Australian Institute of Marine Science, which assigns five random point on the screen and by stopping the tape or downloaded file 60 time throughout a 30 metre transect I record three hundred points per transect. While watching the video on a high definition LCD screen I have a program called coral point count with excel extension (CPCe) running on a laptop and record the benthic categories underlying each point into individual cpc files. The program determines descriptive statistic on benthic categories that were assigned to the benthic category code file. I have found this method the be cost and time efficient and if you are having problems with determining the organisms underlying a point whilst paused you can move the image forward a frame or two to get a clearer image. You can get the CPC free by emailing Kevin Kohler (kevin at nova.edu) from Nova Southern University Oceanographic Centre. The program is great once you have assigned the benthic categories you need. If you are to use this program whilst determining benthic point on a video transect you need to set up dummy images for each transect which are opened up one at a time and random points assigned to each image, although the benthic categories are determined on the video tape image and not the stills image. If you want to use stills of the digital video transect you can take grabs using the capture card on the digital video recorder. Not sure on the resolution of these images will be determined by the camera used. Hope this helps Steven Dalton PhD student University of New England NMSC Postgraduate Representative National Marine Science Centre Bay Drive, Charlesworth Bay (PO Box J321) Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia 2450 Ph: 6648 3928 Mob: 0432 946 782 sdalton at nmsc.edu.au From Miriam.Schutter at wur.nl Tue Jun 20 05:33:49 2006 From: Miriam.Schutter at wur.nl (Schutter, Miriam) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 11:33:49 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] 1st announcement Coral Husbandry Symposium in Public Aquaria Message-ID: <7D030487F1A3D143A76F2A1E91F5703503852ABF@scomp0010> Dear Coral-listers, Max Janse asked me to put this announcement for the Coral Husbandry Symposium in Public Aquaria on the coral-list. This symposium will also serve as a platform to desseminate knowlegde that is generated within the European CoralZoo project, which aims to improve coral husbandry techniques for zoos and aquaria. Best regards, Miriam Schutter Miriam Schutter MSc. PhD student Wageningen University Aquaculture and Fisheries Group P.O. Box 338 6700 AH Wageningen The Netherlands www.marine.wur.nl www.zod.wau.nl/afi/ tel. +31 317 485147 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dear colleague, Please get your attention for a special symposium coming up in April 2007: the 1st International Symposium of Coral Husbandry in Public Aquaria at Burgers' Zoo, The Netherlands. This symposium will be the third in a row of specialized meetings, like the Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual (Orlando 2001) and Aquality (Lisboa 2004). The goal of this symposium is to compile reviews on specific husbandry subjects and to get state of the art research results on coral husbandry practices. It is tried to create a link between public aquaria and the scientific community. All presented papers will be published in a hardbound book: 'Advances in Coral Husbandry in Public aquaria' For further info, please check www.coralhusbandry.org Best regards, Max Janse (Curator Burgers' Ocean) Burgers' Zoo Antoon van Hooffplein 1 6816 SH Arnhem The Netherlands Ph. + int 26 4450373 Fax + int 26 4430776 M.Janse at burgerszoo.nl From mekvinga at yahoo.com Tue Jun 20 11:00:22 2006 From: mekvinga at yahoo.com (Melissa Keyes) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:00:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Migrating Diadema? Message-ID: <20060620150022.37787.qmail@web50102.mail.yahoo.com> Hello, All, Less than a week ago, I was coming into shore from diving deeper, nearing the one meter deep, "rocky" area where there are a lot of (perhaps several hundred) Diadema. Before I reached that area, in two to three meters, there was a scattered group of about twenty five to fifty Diademas, in an area of smooth hard bottom with few hiding places. I have been entertaining visiting relatives, and have been unable to closely watch this (?) event, to see if this group really was wandering to deeper water. Has this been observed before? What preditors besides Queen Trigger fish, Old Wife, does Diadema have? I did see one Queen Trigger last year in deep water, at the dropoff, so this kind of fish isn't a threat here on St Croix. Cheers, Melissa Keyes St Croix, US Virgin Islands (P.S.) To the person who wrote about coral food, I accidentally deleted your letter before reading, please write again. I haven't fed any corals yet. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Next-gen email? Have it all with the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta. From rvw at fit.edu Tue Jun 20 14:58:24 2006 From: rvw at fit.edu (Robert van Woesik) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:58:24 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Call for co-chairs of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium minisymposia Message-ID: <008601c6949b$820d0190$6c4876a3@CORAL> Dear 11th ICRS participant, As a lead up to the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (to be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA on July 7-11, 2008), the Scientific Program Committee (nested within the 11th ICRS Local Organizing Committee) has developed a proposed science program of concurrent sessions or Mini-Symposia that will be question-driven rather than declarative, and therefore group efforts to solve particular problems. The Science Program Committee is requesting proposals for Co-Chairs for Mini-Symposiums. (Co-Chairs must include at least 2 members from different institutes: one (or 2) established scientist(s) and at least one junior scientist (Ph.D student or post-doc). Each Mini-Symposium is driven by 3-4 well focused questions and the science program committee has outlined key questions within each. The following are the current Mini-Symposia: 1. Lessons from the past 2. Coral reef organisms as recorders of local & global environmental change 3. Coral reef physiology 4. Causes and consequences of coral bleaching 5. Diseases on coral reefs 6. Ecological processes on today's reef ecosystems 7. Reef resilience 8. Shifting baselines 9. Coral reef biodiversity 10. Reef connectivity 11. Coral reef monitoring - new technologies and approaches 12. Modeling concepts & processes on coral reefs 13. Socio-economics 14. Coral reef associated fisheries 15. Reef management 16. Reef restoration 17. Climate change 18. Suggestions for Other Mini-Symposia. We have developed an electronic database to facilitate your response to this Call For Mini-Symposium Co-Chairs: http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/sessions/ If you have interest in becoming a Co-Chair, please go to the link and submit information for the appropriate session. Please respond to this survey by August 1, 2006. Thank you for your interest. We look forward to an interesting and productive 11th ICRS and to seeing you there! Rob van Woesik Chair Science Committee, 11th ICRS Dr. Robert van Woesik Professor Department of Biological Sciences Florida Institute of Technology 150 West University Boulevard Melbourne Florida 32901-6988 USA Email: rvw at fit.edu http://www.fit.edu/~rvw/ Phone 321 674 7475 From Cheva.Heck at noaa.gov Tue Jun 20 19:43:35 2006 From: Cheva.Heck at noaa.gov (Cheva Heck) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 19:43:35 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] NOAA marine reserve shows increasing numbers, size of fish Message-ID: <44988827.2060005@noaa.gov> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 20, 2006 Contact: Cheva Heck Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 305.292.0311, Ext. 26 305.304.0179 (cell) AFTER FIVE YEARS OF PROTECTION, NOAA MARINE RESERVE SHOWS INCREASING NUMBERS, SIZE OF FISH As its fifth anniversary approaches, researchers find confirmation that the country?s largest marine reserve, part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, is fulfilling its goal of protecting the region?s marine life. Three studies examining the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, protected from fishing since July 2001, documented increasing numbers and sizes of commercially and recreationally important species of fish and other marine life. Because the Tortugas region is upstream from the Florida Keys reef tract, improvements in the reserve?s fish populations may help sustain fish stocks in the Keys and further north, as more and larger fish produce larvae that are carried away from the reserve on ocean currents. Adult fish may also move to areas outside the reserve as competition for space increases within. These fish then become available to the fishery, an effect known as spillover. Encompassing 151 square nautical miles in two sections, the Tortugas reserve is the largest of the sanctuary?s groundbreaking network of 24 areas set aside for special protection. Tortugas North protects the extensively deep coral reefs of Tortugas Bank and Sherwood Forest. Tortugas South protects Riley?s Hump, a low profile reef that is a spawning site for grouper, snapper, and valuable deepwater habitat found nowhere else in the sanctuary that supports commercially important golden crab, tilefish, and snowy grouper. In the journal, Bulletin of Marine Science, analyzing data collected between 1999 and 2004, Drs. Jerald Ault and Steven Smith of the University of Miami and James Bohnsack of NOAA Fisheries Service found increases in size and abundance inside the reserve compared to outside, including key species such as black grouper. ?Although the recovery process is still in an early stage, our results after three years are encouraging and suggest that no-take marine reserves, in conjunction with traditional management, can help build sustainable fisheries while protecting the Florida Keys coral reef ecosystem,? said the group in their latest journal publication. In the journal, Fisheries Bulletin, Michael Burton of NOAA Fisheries documents the reformation of a spawning aggregation of mutton snapper at Riley?s Hump. In 2001, the year the reserve was established, divers surveying Riley?s Hump observed a group of 10 mutton snapper in an apparent spawning aggregation. By 2004, this number had increased to 300. ?We conclude from behavior, timing and location that we are observing spawning aggregations of mutton snapper beginning to re-form on Riley?s Hump following more than two decades of intensive exploitation,? wrote Burton and coauthors Kenneth Brennan, Dr. Roldan Munoz, and Richard Parker, Jr. A NOAA technical memorandum documents evidence of the recovery of shrimp habitat in the former shrimping grounds included in the reserve. ?Collections of marine animals from bottom habitat near the northern boundary of Tortugas North strongly suggest that relaxation of trawling pressure has increased the amount and diversity of bottom dwelling marine animals in this region,? wrote Dr. Mark Fonseca, NOAA National Ocean Service principal investigator. ?The Tortugas Ecological Reserve may act as a refuge for the large pink shrimp targeted by the fishery, with samples from the reserve showing a higher density of these crustaceans than samples from areas open to fishing.? A final report to the sanctuary from the same researchers noted a significant increase in the abundance of large fish in the reserve relative to sites in Dry Tortugas National Park and unprotected areas. ?These increasing trends within the Tortugas Ecological Reserve are surprisingly evident among a variety of prominent species exploited by fisheries, including white grunt, yellowtail snapper, hog fish, and red grouper,? the researchers stated. In a consensus process that became a model for other efforts worldwide, a 25-member working group including commercial and recreational fishermen, divers, conservationists, researchers, agency representatives, and other concerned citizens designed the reserve. The Tortugas reserve boasts the highest water quality and the healthiest coral communities in the sanctuary. But prior to designation as a reserve, even these remote reefs faced threats of overfishing, plus damage from fishing gear and boat anchors. The ecological reserve now fully protects all marine life including fish, coral and other invertebrates, such as shrimp and lobster. Tortugas North remains open to diving, and the sanctuary has installed mooring buoys to protect the fragile coral reefs from anchor damage. Tortugas South is open only to vessels in transit and to researchers and educators holding a sanctuary permit. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects 2,896 square nautical miles of critical marine habitat including coral reef, hard bottom, seagrass meadows, mangrove communities, and sand flats. NOAA and the state of Florida manage the sanctuary. NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program seeks to increase public awareness of America?s marine resources and maritime heritage by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration, and educational programs. Today, the sanctuary program manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one coral reef ecosystem reserve that together encompass more than 150,000 square miles of America?s oceans and Great Lakes. NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation?s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects. - 30 - On the Web: NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov NOAA National Ocean Service: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/ Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: http://floridakeys.noaa.gov NOAA National Ocean Service NCCOS: http://ccmaserver.nos.noaa.gov/ From Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov Wed Jun 21 12:55:39 2006 From: Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 12:55:39 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] MPA Manager's Retreat Message-ID: <44997A0B.6070106@noaa.gov> Greetings! The proposed Caribbean MPA Managers meeting, originally scheduled for August 7 - 11, 2006 in La Parguera, Puerto Rico (see below) was found to be popular, but also at financial odds with the managers, mainly due to other meetings held for them in a similar time frame when only one or two meetings might be affordable in one year. Thus, we have worked closely with the organizers of the 59th annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute conference, and will make our presentation and seek input from the managers at that meeting, to be held from 6 Nov 2006 through 11 November 2006 in Belize City, Belize. We will give a presentation, have a special booth to show all the new features highlighted in the originally circulated message, and work closely with other presenters in the Caribbean Connectivity portion of the meeting, to underscore our goal of providing near real-time integrated data for MPA decision support. Please visit this URL for information on registering for the conference: http://www.gcfi.org/Conferences/59th/Belize59.htm I apologize to those of you who went through the effort of registering for the La Parguera meeting. I still hope that we will get a chance to meet with you in the near future and discuss ways in which the Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) stations and online software might work for you in MPA decision support. Please drop me a line if you wish to know more. Sincerely yours, Jim Hendee ---------------------------------------------------- James C. Hendee, Ph.D. Coral Health and Monitoring Program Ocean Chemistry Division Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce 4301 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, FL 33149-1026 Voice: (305) 361-4396 Fax: (305) 361-4447 Email: jim.hendee at noaa.gov Web: http://www.coral.noaa.gov --- In campam at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Hendee" wrote: Greetings! This message is an invitation to Caribbean MPA managers to meet with selected data suppliers and information systems engineers to help design a next generation Web-based tool to aid in management and research, based on the integration of near real-time and other data. The meeting will be held at La Parguera, Puerto Rico, August 7-11, 2006, at the Parador Villa Parguera near Phosphorescent Bay. NOAA has committed to integrating ocean data from a variety of sources under a project called the Integrated Ocean Observing System. NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program has also committed to integrating coral data from a variety of sources for the benefit of coral reef researchers and Marine Protected Area (MPA) managers, especially under the aegis of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrated Observing System program. NOAA Research and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are participating in this venture by providing Web-based software to integrate various near real-time data sources, and by providing an inference engine (artificial intelligence tool) to provide ecosystem forecasts for MPA decision support under a program called the Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON). ~~ What We Hope To Accomplish ~~ We hope to eventually be able to provide decision support for selected questions an MPA manager might have, such as: * Is increased weekend user activity negatively affecting water quality (turbidity, chlorophyll, nitrogen, wind/waves, for example)? * Can I detect a pollution event? * If there is an oil spill, can it be detected automatically and what direction will it travel? * When will selected fish/corals spawn (and where will they go)? * When will selected fish/invertebrates migrate? * Can I detect large ship intrusion into my MPA in time to stop a disaster on the reefs? * Can I detect large rainfall events, and how will these affect local run-off into my MPA? * How can I detect large-scale change in my reef systems? * When are conditions conducive to coral disease and/or bleaching? * When are conditions conducive to increased algal growth? * Can I detect significant harmful algal blooms in time to prevent fishing contaminated species? * Can I detect unauthorized access into my MPA? * How can I broadcast underwater live events (such as coral spawning or bleaching) and other outreach events to the public? * How can I see trends in environmental parameters through time, and can I receive notice when things change? After the meeting, a document will be prepared which summarizes the Caribbean MPA Managers' requirements for data and research support, as well as questions such as these. This document will be used to guide the ICON team and colleagues in developing the software, but also in providing guidance to other software developers and researchers of all relevant disciplines. ~~ Attendance and Support ~~ Through NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute, funds are being provided to support rooms for about 20 managers or their designates; however, there will be room for about 80 additional attendees in the conference hall. All attendees must provide their own air fare. The priority on selecting attendees will be for managers from as many representative Caribbean MPAs as possible; however, a few special guests who are data suppliers will also be in attendance. The selection of attendees will be made by the Program Managers and will be based mainly on location and who first registered; however, you will have a chance to apply for attendance based on special considerations. A Web Page describing more about the project, as well as details and the form for registering can be found at: http://www.coral.noaa.gov/mpa/retreat/ All 20 officially invited attendees will be asked to give a 20 minute presentation describing their coral reef MPA, but concentrating especially on what their data, research and socioeconomic needs are. It doesn't matter if particular data streams are currently available or not: part of the purpose of the meeting is to determine which research data sources need to be gained for effective management. In turn, the ICON team will meet with the invitees as necessary for follow-up on how we can help. The period for selection of the representative attendees will closed May 1, 2006. An announcement will be made shortly thereafter as to the supported and non-supported attendees. Non-supported attendees may continue to apply so long as the 100 slots are not filled. ~~ The New La Parguera Marine Reserve ICON/CREWS Station ~~ The La Parguera Marine Reserve is the site of the latest CREWS station, which is a data supplier to the ICON program. The University of Puerto Rico's Department of Marine Science at the Magueyes Island Marine Laboratory, and the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute (CCRI), are collaborating with AOML to maintain and operate this station. We anticipate being able to provide some support for attendees to visit the station and the laboratory. Here are some links for more information: * http://www.coral.noaa.gov/crw/crw_data_lppr1_Web_12.html (CREWS Data Report) * http://lppr1-log.blogspot.com/ (temporary station maintenance page) * http://www.coral.noaa.gov/noaa/icon/crews-install.pdf (CREWS station installation description) * http://cima.uprm.edu/magueyes.html (Magueyes Island Marine Laboratory) * http://www.cop.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreefs/current/ccri-factsheet-cr.html (Caribbean Coral Reef Institute) Thank you for your attention and support! Sincerely yours, The Program Managers Jim Hendee, NOAA/AOML Richard Appledoorn, UPRM/CCRI Brian Keller, FKNMS --- End forwarded message --- From cat64fish at yahoo.com Thu Jun 22 07:53:24 2006 From: cat64fish at yahoo.com (Jeffrey Low) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 19:53:24 +0800 (CST) Subject: [Coral-List] Coral disease? Which one? In-Reply-To: <44997A0B.6070106@noaa.gov> Message-ID: <20060622115324.18316.qmail@web35903.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi coral-listers, I would like to draw upon your collective knowledge on what I saw yesterday. I came across two Montipora (hispida?) colonies showing signs of die-off from apparent disease. The link below will take you to the series of photos I took (not very good ones, I'm afraid). http://www.flickr.com/photos/cat64fish/sets/72157594173810429/ I checked the web for what disease might be causing this die-off and it seems like some kind of "white" disease (White Plague was the closest I could determine). A few questions: 1. How do we determine the exact nature of this die-off? 2. If it is a "white" disease of some sort, how "contagious" is this disease to other coral colonies? 3. How worried should we be about this occurrance? Will be pandemic? 4. Is there anything we can do to prevent its spread? Assuming worse case scenrio of a "pandemic". The water conditions at the site silty, with usual visibility of 2m (5m on good days). Depth was approx. 2m (at or near the reef crest). It had been raining a few days beforehand, so there was a lot of algae in the water as well (not normal for this time of the year, usually). Hope someone can help. Cheers, Jeff Jim Hendee wrote: Greetings! The proposed Caribbean MPA Managers meeting, originally scheduled for August 7 - 11, 2006 in La Parguera, Puerto Rico (see below) was found to be popular, but also at financial odds with the managers, mainly due to other meetings held for them in a similar time frame when only one or two meetings might be affordable in one year. Thus, we have worked closely with the organizers of the 59th annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute conference, and will make our presentation and seek input from the managers at that meeting, to be held from 6 Nov 2006 through 11 November 2006 in Belize City, Belize. We will give a presentation, have a special booth to show all the new features highlighted in the originally circulated message, and work closely with other presenters in the Caribbean Connectivity portion of the meeting, to underscore our goal of providing near real-time integrated data for MPA decision support. Please visit this URL for information on registering for the conference: http://www.gcfi.org/Conferences/59th/Belize59.htm I apologize to those of you who went through the effort of registering for the La Parguera meeting. I still hope that we will get a chance to meet with you in the near future and discuss ways in which the Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) stations and online software might work for you in MPA decision support. Please drop me a line if you wish to know more. Sincerely yours, Jim Hendee ---------------------------------------------------- James C. Hendee, Ph.D. Coral Health and Monitoring Program Ocean Chemistry Division Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce 4301 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, FL 33149-1026 Voice: (305) 361-4396 Fax: (305) 361-4447 Email: jim.hendee at noaa.gov Web: http://www.coral.noaa.gov --- In campam at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Hendee" wrote: Greetings! This message is an invitation to Caribbean MPA managers to meet with selected data suppliers and information systems engineers to help design a next generation Web-based tool to aid in management and research, based on the integration of near real-time and other data. The meeting will be held at La Parguera, Puerto Rico, August 7-11, 2006, at the Parador Villa Parguera near Phosphorescent Bay. NOAA has committed to integrating ocean data from a variety of sources under a project called the Integrated Ocean Observing System. NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program has also committed to integrating coral data from a variety of sources for the benefit of coral reef researchers and Marine Protected Area (MPA) managers, especially under the aegis of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrated Observing System program. NOAA Research and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are participating in this venture by providing Web-based software to integrate various near real-time data sources, and by providing an inference engine (artificial intelligence tool) to provide ecosystem forecasts for MPA decision support under a program called the Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON). ~~ What We Hope To Accomplish ~~ We hope to eventually be able to provide decision support for selected questions an MPA manager might have, such as: * Is increased weekend user activity negatively affecting water quality (turbidity, chlorophyll, nitrogen, wind/waves, for example)? * Can I detect a pollution event? * If there is an oil spill, can it be detected automatically and what direction will it travel? * When will selected fish/corals spawn (and where will they go)? * When will selected fish/invertebrates migrate? * Can I detect large ship intrusion into my MPA in time to stop a disaster on the reefs? * Can I detect large rainfall events, and how will these affect local run-off into my MPA? * How can I detect large-scale change in my reef systems? * When are conditions conducive to coral disease and/or bleaching? * When are conditions conducive to increased algal growth? * Can I detect significant harmful algal blooms in time to prevent fishing contaminated species? * Can I detect unauthorized access into my MPA? * How can I broadcast underwater live events (such as coral spawning or bleaching) and other outreach events to the public? * How can I see trends in environmental parameters through time, and can I receive notice when things change? After the meeting, a document will be prepared which summarizes the Caribbean MPA Managers' requirements for data and research support, as well as questions such as these. This document will be used to guide the ICON team and colleagues in developing the software, but also in providing guidance to other software developers and researchers of all relevant disciplines. ~~ Attendance and Support ~~ Through NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute, funds are being provided to support rooms for about 20 managers or their designates; however, there will be room for about 80 additional attendees in the conference hall. All attendees must provide their own air fare. The priority on selecting attendees will be for managers from as many representative Caribbean MPAs as possible; however, a few special guests who are data suppliers will also be in attendance. The selection of attendees will be made by the Program Managers and will be based mainly on location and who first registered; however, you will have a chance to apply for attendance based on special considerations. A Web Page describing more about the project, as well as details and the form for registering can be found at: http://www.coral.noaa.gov/mpa/retreat/ All 20 officially invited attendees will be asked to give a 20 minute presentation describing their coral reef MPA, but concentrating especially on what their data, research and socioeconomic needs are. It doesn't matter if particular data streams are currently available or not: part of the purpose of the meeting is to determine which research data sources need to be gained for effective management. In turn, the ICON team will meet with the invitees as necessary for follow-up on how we can help. The period for selection of the representative attendees will closed May 1, 2006. An announcement will be made shortly thereafter as to the supported and non-supported attendees. Non-supported attendees may continue to apply so long as the 100 slots are not filled. ~~ The New La Parguera Marine Reserve ICON/CREWS Station ~~ The La Parguera Marine Reserve is the site of the latest CREWS station, which is a data supplier to the ICON program. The University of Puerto Rico's Department of Marine Science at the Magueyes Island Marine Laboratory, and the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute (CCRI), are collaborating with AOML to maintain and operate this station. We anticipate being able to provide some support for attendees to visit the station and the laboratory. Here are some links for more information: * http://www.coral.noaa.gov/crw/crw_data_lppr1_Web_12.html (CREWS Data Report) * http://lppr1-log.blogspot.com/ (temporary station maintenance page) * http://www.coral.noaa.gov/noaa/icon/crews-install.pdf (CREWS station installation description) * http://cima.uprm.edu/magueyes.html (Magueyes Island Marine Laboratory) * http://www.cop.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreefs/current/ccri-factsheet-cr.html (Caribbean Coral Reef Institute) Thank you for your attention and support! Sincerely yours, The Program Managers Jim Hendee, NOAA/AOML Richard Appledoorn, UPRM/CCRI Brian Keller, FKNMS --- End forwarded message --- _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list --------------------------------- Real people. Real questions. Real answers. Share what you know. From chenypff at post.tau.ac.il Thu Jun 22 08:00:45 2006 From: chenypff at post.tau.ac.il (chenypff at post.tau.ac.il) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:00:45 +0300 Subject: [Coral-List] (no subject) Message-ID: <1150977645.449a866d0a015@webmail.tau.ac.il> Hello dear members I was wondering if anyone have the /or working on the Zooxanthellae full length sequence or have any other information on the sequence level of it. Please advise. Chen Yoffe PhD student George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel Tel: 972-3-6407292 Fax: 972-3-6409403 E-mail: chenypff at post.tau.ac.il ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. From narduccia at stu.easternct.edu Thu Jun 22 08:53:50 2006 From: narduccia at stu.easternct.edu (Narducci,Amy L(student)) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 08:53:50 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] coral fluorescence Message-ID: <8591907D9D9EB84E813518E479F7C2D60369635D@ecsube1.ec-resnet.easternct.edu> Hi all, I'm looking for any information on coral fluorescence Thanks, AN From cnidaria at earthlink.net Thu Jun 22 09:29:32 2006 From: cnidaria at earthlink.net (James M. Cervino (Marine Biologist)) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 09:29:32 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [Coral-List] Coral disease? Which one? Message-ID: <163368.1150982972380.JavaMail.root@elwamui-darkeyed.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Dear Jeff, I saw this same pathology in the Bahamas (Guana Key) during Sept-Jan 2005-06 a research trip. This seems like a line of yellow bacterial colonies slowly growing on the surface enjoying the mucus layer on the top of the tissue. The tissue is smothered and is not a zooxanthellae infection due to the yellow microbial mat residing on the surfaces of the Porites it is effecting in the Bahamas. Janie McClanahan, my research assistant, has images of this pathology that is killing Porites and I will have her post these tomorrow to see if anyone else has seen this. James > I checked the web for what disease might be causing this die-off and it seems like some kind of "white" disease (White Plague was the closest I could determine). > > A few questions: > > 1. How do we determine the exact nature of this die-off? > 2. If it is a "white" disease of some sort, how "contagious" is this disease to other coral colonies? > 3. How worried should we be about this occurrance? Will be pandemic? > 4. Is there anything we can do to prevent its spread? Assuming worse case scenrio of a "pandemic". > > Th I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what they killed, there would be no more wars. Abbie Hoffman From chenypff at post.tau.ac.il Thu Jun 22 09:34:36 2006 From: chenypff at post.tau.ac.il (chenypff at post.tau.ac.il) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:34:36 +0300 Subject: [Coral-List] Zooxanthellae sequence Message-ID: <1150983276.449a9c6ca8b2e@webmail.tau.ac.il> Hello dear members I was wondering if anyone have the /or working on the Zooxanthellae full length sequence or have any other information on the sequence level of it. Please advise. Chen Yoffe PhD student George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel Tel: 972-3-6407292 Fax: 972-3-6409403 E-mail: chenypff at post.tau.ac.il ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. From mekvinga at yahoo.com Thu Jun 22 09:49:48 2006 From: mekvinga at yahoo.com (Melissa Keyes) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 06:49:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Re Coral disease? Which one? Message-ID: <20060622134948.48193.qmail@web50115.mail.yahoo.com> All, I 'googled' Pulau Satumu and found it to be near Singapore. I personally would not dive there. But the coral does look diverse, and very ill. This series of photos shows a disease that does not resemble any that I have observed here in the Caribbean. I might be so bold as to suggest that it looks as if it progresses at a very fast rate, much faster, and differently, from the White Plagues, seeing how there is apparent degradation of the structure of the calcarious structure of the coral. Jeff, if you could study your photos, and try to find and photograph the same individuals, from the ame angles and distances, your pictures might be helpful in some way. But I must warn you, it's a dull pastime. Cheers, Melissa Keyes St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Caribbean --------------------------------- Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. From anne.creason at noaa.gov Thu Jun 22 10:44:16 2006 From: anne.creason at noaa.gov (Anne Creason) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 10:44:16 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral Reef Trade Initiatives/Projects Message-ID: <449AACC0.8080901@noaa.gov> Coral Listers-- Please let me know (by e-mailing me directly) if you are aware of any lesser-known/small scale initiatives or projects (indirectly or directly) addressing the marine ornamental (aquarium) trade in coral reef species. Thanks-- Anne Creason anne.creason at noaa.gov From Chantal.Collier at dep.state.fl.us Thu Jun 22 14:28:15 2006 From: Chantal.Collier at dep.state.fl.us (Collier, Chantal) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 14:28:15 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] JOB OPPORTUNITY: Coral Reef Program Coordinator Message-ID: <943FD515DC6DA1448B46F948346DFB3375ABD2@tlhexsmb3.floridadep.net> PLEASE POST WIDELY Apologies for cross-postings. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, in partnership with Florida Gulf Coast University, seeks a Coral Reef Program Coordinator to work closely with the Program Manager in administering its Coral Reef Conservation Program. The Program Coordinator will provide technical support to lead the planning and implementation of the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative, and coordinate local action strategies addressing maritime industry and coastal construction impacts. The Coral Reef Program Coordinator is a full-time contract position in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Coral Reef Conservation Program, located in Miami, Florida. To apply, please view the full announcement at: http://www.fgcu.edu . Select the link for Employment Opportunities, then Search Postings. Search on Requisition ID number 0364. This vacancy announcement closes on July 5, 2006. This is a grant funded position with anticipated refunding for up to 3 or more years. Out of area applicants may apply, but relocation expenses to Miami, Florida are not available. For more information about the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative, please visit: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/programs/coral/ and http://www.southeastfloridareefs.net Thank you, Chantal Collier Coral Reef Program Manager Florida Department of Environmental Protection From eborneman at uh.edu Thu Jun 22 13:24:33 2006 From: eborneman at uh.edu (Eric Borneman) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 12:24:33 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral disease? Which one? In-Reply-To: <20060622115324.18316.qmail@web35903.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060622115324.18316.qmail@web35903.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <284479C1-8F6C-480E-9D44-8D796157DF10@uh.edu> To me, its hard to say if this is a result of predation by Acanthaster followed by a secondary colonization of something like a Beggiatoa or other microbe over the exposed tissue and or degenerating tissue. Could also be a response to a xenobiotic, previous cyobacterial overgrowth with secondary microbial coverage. Its too hard to say without samples and analysis. The fact that you only see it affecting one species...and appears patchy, does not lend credence to anything like a pandemic, and contagion in terms of virulence would not be possible without experimentation...and DO NOT do any in the field. There is a bad trend to do field infection experiments which in my view are very irresponsible. But, do keep an eye on it and in other locations and perhaps, if possible, send samples to the International Registry of Coral Pathology (contact them first for interest, availability of resources and proper fixation, storage and shipping protocols.) _______________________________ Eric Borneman Department of Biology and Biochemistry University of Houston Science and Research Bldg. II 4800 Calhoun Rd. Houston, TX 77204-5001 ph: 713-743-2667 On Jun 22, 2006, at 6:53 AM, Jeffrey Low wrote: > Hi coral-listers, > > I would like to draw upon your collective knowledge on what I saw > yesterday. > > I came across two Montipora (hispida?) colonies showing signs of > die-off from apparent disease. The link below will take you to the > series of photos I took (not very good ones, I'm afraid). > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/cat64fish/sets/72157594173810429/ > > I checked the web for what disease might be causing this die-off > and it seems like some kind of "white" disease (White Plague was > the closest I could determine). > > A few questions: > > 1. How do we determine the exact nature of this die-off? > 2. If it is a "white" disease of some sort, how "contagious" is > this disease to other coral colonies? > 3. How worried should we be about this occurrance? Will be pandemic? > 4. Is there anything we can do to prevent its spread? Assuming > worse case scenrio of a "pandemic". > > The water conditions at the site silty, with usual visibility of > 2m (5m on good days). Depth was approx. 2m (at or near the reef > crest). It had been raining a few days beforehand, so there was a > lot of algae in the water as well (not normal for this time of the > year, usually). > > Hope someone can help. > > Cheers, Jeff > > > > > > > Jim Hendee wrote: > Greetings! > > The proposed Caribbean MPA Managers meeting, originally scheduled > for August 7 - 11, 2006 in La Parguera, Puerto Rico (see below) was > found to be popular, but also at financial odds with the managers, > mainly due to other meetings held for them in a similar time frame > when > only one or two meetings might be affordable in one year. Thus, we > have > worked closely with the organizers of the 59th annual Gulf and > Caribbean > Fisheries Institute conference, and will make our presentation and > seek > input from the managers at that meeting, to be held from 6 Nov 2006 > through 11 November 2006 in Belize City, Belize. We will give a > presentation, have a special booth to show all the new features > highlighted in the originally circulated message, and work closely > with > other presenters in the Caribbean Connectivity portion of the meeting, > to underscore our goal of providing near real-time integrated data for > MPA decision support. Please visit this URL for information on > registering for the conference: > > http://www.gcfi.org/Conferences/59th/Belize59.htm > > I apologize to those of you who went through the effort of > registering for the La Parguera meeting. I still hope that we will get > a chance to meet with you in the near future and discuss ways in which > the Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) stations and online > software might work for you in MPA decision support. Please drop me a > line if you wish to know more. > > Sincerely yours, > Jim Hendee > > ---------------------------------------------------- > James C. Hendee, Ph.D. > Coral Health and Monitoring Program > Ocean Chemistry Division > Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory > National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration > U.S. Department of Commerce > 4301 Rickenbacker Causeway > Miami, FL 33149-1026 > > Voice: (305) 361-4396 > Fax: (305) 361-4447 > Email: jim.hendee at noaa.gov > Web: http://www.coral.noaa.gov > > > --- In campam at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Hendee" wrote: > > Greetings! > > This message is an invitation to Caribbean MPA managers to meet with > selected data suppliers and information systems engineers to help > design > a next generation Web-based tool to aid in management and research, > based on the integration of near real-time and other data. The meeting > will be held at La Parguera, Puerto Rico, August 7-11, 2006, at the > Parador Villa Parguera near Phosphorescent Bay. > > NOAA has committed to integrating ocean data from a variety of sources > under a project called the Integrated Ocean Observing System. NOAA's > Coral Reef Conservation Program has also committed to integrating > coral > data from a variety of sources for the benefit of coral reef > researchers > and Marine Protected Area (MPA) managers, especially under the > aegis of > the Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrated Observing System program. NOAA > Research and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory > (AOML) are participating in this venture by providing Web-based > software > to integrate various near real-time data sources, and by providing an > inference engine (artificial intelligence tool) to provide ecosystem > forecasts for MPA decision support under a program called the > Integrated > Coral Observing Network (ICON). > > > ~~ What We Hope To Accomplish ~~ > > We hope to eventually be able to provide decision support for selected > questions an MPA manager might have, such as: > > * Is increased weekend user activity negatively affecting water > quality (turbidity, chlorophyll, nitrogen, wind/waves, for example)? > * Can I detect a pollution event? > * If there is an oil spill, can it be detected automatically and > what direction will it travel? > * When will selected fish/corals spawn (and where will they go)? > * When will selected fish/invertebrates migrate? > * Can I detect large ship intrusion into my MPA in time to stop a > disaster on the reefs? > * Can I detect large rainfall events, and how will these affect > local run-off into my MPA? > * How can I detect large-scale change in my reef systems? > * When are conditions conducive to coral disease and/or bleaching? > * When are conditions conducive to increased algal growth? > * Can I detect significant harmful algal blooms in time to prevent > fishing contaminated species? > * Can I detect unauthorized access into my MPA? > * How can I broadcast underwater live events (such as coral spawning > or bleaching) and other outreach events to the public? > * How can I see trends in environmental parameters through time, and > can I receive notice when things change? > > After the meeting, a document will be prepared which summarizes the > Caribbean MPA Managers' requirements for data and research support, as > well as questions such as these. This document will be used to > guide the > ICON team and colleagues in developing the software, but also in > providing guidance to other software developers and researchers of all > relevant disciplines. > > > ~~ Attendance and Support ~~ > > Through NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the Caribbean > Coral > Reef Institute, funds are being provided to support rooms for about 20 > managers or their designates; however, there will be room for about 80 > additional attendees in the conference hall. All attendees must > provide > their own air fare. > > The priority on selecting attendees will be for managers from as many > representative Caribbean MPAs as possible; however, a few special > guests > who are data suppliers will also be in attendance. The selection of > attendees will be made by the Program Managers and will be based > mainly > on location and who first registered; however, you will have a > chance to > apply for attendance based on special considerations. > > A Web Page describing more about the project, as well as details > and the > form for registering can be found at: > > http://www.coral.noaa.gov/mpa/retreat/ > > All 20 officially invited attendees will be asked to give a 20 minute > presentation describing their coral reef MPA, but concentrating > especially on what their data, research and socioeconomic needs > are. It > doesn't matter if particular data streams are currently available or > not: part of the purpose of the meeting is to determine which research > data sources need to be gained for effective management. In turn, the > ICON team will meet with the invitees as necessary for follow-up on > how > we can help. > > The period for selection of the representative attendees will > closed May > 1, 2006. An announcement will be made shortly thereafter as to the > supported and non-supported attendees. Non-supported attendees may > continue to apply so long as the 100 slots are not filled. > > > ~~ The New La Parguera Marine Reserve ICON/CREWS Station ~~ > > The La Parguera Marine Reserve is the site of the latest CREWS > station, > which is a data supplier to the ICON program. The University of Puerto > Rico's Department of Marine Science at the Magueyes Island Marine > Laboratory, and the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute (CCRI), are > collaborating with AOML to maintain and operate this station. We > anticipate being able to provide some support for attendees to > visit the > station and the laboratory. Here are some links for more information: > > * http://www.coral.noaa.gov/crw/crw_data_lppr1_Web_12.html (CREWS > Data Report) > * http://lppr1-log.blogspot.com/ (temporary station maintenance page) > * http://www.coral.noaa.gov/noaa/icon/crews-install.pdf (CREWS > station installation description) > * http://cima.uprm.edu/magueyes.html (Magueyes Island Marine > Laboratory) > * > http://www.cop.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreefs/current/ccri- > factsheet-cr.html > (Caribbean Coral Reef Institute) > > Thank you for your attention and support! > > Sincerely yours, > The Program Managers > Jim Hendee, NOAA/AOML > Richard Appledoorn, UPRM/CCRI > Brian Keller, FKNMS > > --- End forwarded message --- > > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > > > --------------------------------- > > Real people. Real questions. Real answers. Share what you know. > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From Chantal.Collier at dep.state.fl.us Thu Jun 22 16:55:20 2006 From: Chantal.Collier at dep.state.fl.us (Collier, Chantal) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:55:20 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] JOB OPPORTUNITY: Office Manager-Coral Reef Conservation Program Message-ID: <943FD515DC6DA1448B46F948346DFB3375ABD5@tlhexsmb3.floridadep.net> PLEASE POST WIDELY Apologies for cross-postings. Office Manager - Coral Reef Conservation Program Agency: Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Location: Miami, FL Supervisor: FDEP Coral Reef Program Manager The Biscayne Bay Environmental Center Office Manager is a full-time position in the Coral Reef Conservation Program of the Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas. The purpose of this position is to oversee daily business operations and to provide administrative support to management. Duties will be split 70/30, or as needed, in support of both the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve (BBAP). Specific Job Duties include, but are not limited to: * Be proficient using Excel with basic knowledge of QuickBooks to reconcile and maintain accounts. * Become proficient in reviewing FDEP FLAIR/ASPIRE account reports. Prepare FLAIR correction memos, as needed. * Prepare, review and track credit card statements, invoices, timesheets, travel authorizations, contract and grant routing and other budget tracking needs. * Responsible for answering phones, directing calls, and greeting visitors. * Responsible for secretarial services, as needed, which include word processing, clerical, bookkeeping, and technical functions. * Maintain office related files and records. * Assist in the development of CRCP and BBAP-related project procedures and schedules. * Prepare and process purchase order requisitions, and obtain competitive bids from authorized vendors for goods and services. Maintain list of minority vendors. * Prepare contract initiation forms and assist with contract and grant management, as assigned. * Order office supplies, maintain postage meter, and handle all ingoing and outgoing express shipments and regular mail. * Responsible for conference room scheduling, meeting preparations and facilitation at both on-site and off-site venues. * Record meeting minutes and prepare meeting summaries. * Oversee office equipment maintenance contracts and building maintenance, including any building/equipment emergencies (e.g. AC, plumbing, copy machine, computers, etc). * Maintain log books and calendar schedule for state vehicles/vessel use. * Responsible for scheduling and overseeing cleaning and lawn service companies and building maintenance personnel. * Responsible for information services including stock and inventory of brochures and pamphlets. * Occasional piloting of BBEC boat, as needed. * Additional duties and special projects, as assigned. Requirements: * Minimum 5 years experience in a business environment, with at least 3 years of bookkeeping or accounting experience. Bachelor's degree preferred. * Experience with PC computers, Microsoft Word, Excel and Quickbooks software. Computer hardware/MIS skills a plus. * Purchasing, contracts and grant management experience preferred. * Excellent math and analytical skills. * Excellent organizational and writing skills. * Ability to multitask and meet tight deadlines. * Ability to work independently and complete tasks with attention to detail under minimal supervision. * Ability to communicate courteously and effectively with a diverse range of people. * Must have a valid Florida Drivers License. * Must be able to lift 35lbs. * Basic CPR/first aid and small boat handling and trailering experience a plus. Fax cover letter, resume, and contact information for 3 professional references to 305-795-3470 or email jimmy.lee at dep.state.fl.us . Local applicants only. Thank you, Chantal Collier Coral Reef Program Manager Florida Department of Environmental Protection From cat64fish at yahoo.com Fri Jun 23 02:44:53 2006 From: cat64fish at yahoo.com (Jeffrey Low) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:44:53 +0800 (CST) Subject: [Coral-List] Coral disease? Which one? In-Reply-To: <0J190065LK40WO70@correo.bbsr.edu> Message-ID: <20060623064454.92680.qmail@web35912.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Thanks Ross, Ken, Melissa, Julian, James, Ernesto and Francesca for your prompt responses: It seems I know even less about coral disease than I thought. Not that I knew much anyway. The general consensus seems to be that it is not a disease, but possibly a secondary colonisation by microbes - Beggiatoa was suggested, as it forms the white film seen in the images. A dying sponge or something sitting on the coral could have been the original cause of death of the tissue. I'd rule out COTS because we don't have them. I will try to schedule a visit next week and find the corals again, but currents at the site typically follow a biweekly cycle, so it may be not safe to dive there again until the week after. Maybe I will look at other sites in the interim, as suggested. Just some replies to other observations: Melissa Keyes: I 'googled' Pulau Satumu and found it to be near Singapore. I personally would not dive there. But the coral does look diverse, and very ill. Jeff: LOL ... I dive in those conditions all the time, so much so I sometimes don't know what to do when I dive in clear waters! But yes, the diversity is quite high (about 200 species of hard corals at last count). Melissa Keyes: This series of photos shows a disease that does not resemble any that I have observed here in the Caribbean ... it looks as if it progresses at a very fast rate, much faster, and differently, from the White Plagues, seeing how there is apparent degradation of the structure of the calcarious structure of the coral. Ernesto Weil: White syndromes usually advance quickly leaving clear white skeleton behind and do not show the bacterial mats. The silty condition and heavy rains might be favoring the development of the bacterial mat quickly. Jeff: Degradation can be very fast here in the tropics ... there is almost no way to identify "recently dead corals" based on the "whiteness" of its skeleton, simply because algal growth over the skeleton is quite rapid (how fast, I cannot say for sure, but a rough guess would be that within a week, it would be covered with algae and silt). Francesca: Any possibility that you have collected a fragment of the colony? Jeff: I'd have no idea what to do with the fragment even if I had collected it, so I did not, but ... as Eric suggested below: Eric Borneman: .... contagion in terms of virulence would not be possible without experimentation...and DO NOT do any in the field .... if possible, send samples to the International Registry of Coral Pathology (contact them first for interest, availability of resources and proper fixation, storage and shipping protocols.) Jeff: I do not intend to experiment in the field (in fact I do not have facilities to do much, except observe, at this point). But I wanted a quick response so that I would know what to do next, like check with the International Registry of Coral Pathology. Cheers, Jeff Send instant messages to your online friends http://asia.messenger.yahoo.com From reefball at reefball.com Thu Jun 22 13:30:06 2006 From: reefball at reefball.com (Todd Barber) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 13:30:06 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Step by Step Guide to Reef Restoration References: <1150983276.449a9c6ca8b2e@webmail.tau.ac.il> Message-ID: <006801c69621$80e471e0$6401a8c0@reef8c359cb049> Dear Listers, For several years, the Reef Ball Coral Team has been working on an in-depth manual that will guide grassroots organizations, scientists and restoration professionals through a step by step process for doing reef restoration work. That manual is due to be released in the next month or two. For those of you on this list that would like a free electronic version of this manual, please contact me with your email address and one will be emailed to you as soon as the manual is released from draft format. The manual is over 200 pages and fully illustrated so the PDF version will be large (likely around 10 MBs) so please make sure the email address you send me can handle a file of that size. The manual offers a comprehensive (illustrated) glossary of terms so that non-professionals can use the manual effectively. It also reveals many of the internal tools used by Reef Ball Foundation staff members for making recommendations about projects. For example, the manual explores the novel concept of effective protective void space [EPVS] and how to calculate it. (EPVS is a measurement of how much protective space is provided to reef fish or other reef dwelling marine life by a particular coral head, artificial reef, or other objects in the sea). The methods in the manual can be used in combination with a variety of artificial reef types, natural boulders or certain natural bottom types. Following the steps will help identify which rehabilitation options are best for specific projects. Chapter Titles include: Step 1: Determine Project Goals, Budget/Resources and Timeline Step 2: Determining if it is Better to Rehabilitate An Existing Reef or Build a New Reef Step 3: Damage Assessment. Step 4: Site Selection Step 4a: Determining Sites for Surveying Step 4b: Bottom Survey Step 5: Check Water Quality Step 6: Base Substrate Creation (Artificial Reef or natural) Step 6a: Determine which artificial reef type or substrate type for planting coral fragments Step 6b: Base Modules: Number, Sizes and Layout Step 6c: Construction of Modules Step 6d: Deployment and Anchoring Step 7: Coral Rescue Step 8: Gathering Imperiled Corals, Fragmenting, Propagation Step 9: Coral Planting Strategies and Planting Step 10: Monitoring Glossary of Reef Ball Coral Team Terms Also includes Reef Ball Coral Team Certification Levels, abbreviated Reef Ball construction training, Rehabilitation Ethics, and more. The manual is the text book that will be used to train Reef Ball Coral Team members and tests derived from its content will be used as part of the certification process for participation on our rehabilitation projects. I hope you will be as excited about this new manual as we are, consider it a "must read" for anyone doing reef rehabilitation work. Please contact me directly if you have any questions about the manual. Note: Currently the manual is only available in English. Thanks, Todd R. Barber Chairman, Reef Ball Foundation 3305 Edwards Court, Greenville, NC 27858 941-720-7549 Cell 252-353-9094 Direct Skype Toddbarber MSN messenger reefball at hotmail.com reefball at reefball.com (email address) From chwkins at yahoo.com Fri Jun 23 12:20:34 2006 From: chwkins at yahoo.com (Christopher Hawkins) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 09:20:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Human Dimensions Program Website and Mailing List Message-ID: <20060623162034.32979.qmail@web32804.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello all: We are pleased to announce the new website and mailing list for the Human Dimensions of Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Program at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Please note that the last link "Human Dimensions of Natural Resources? is under construction. We will most likely be using this space to discuss the various theories and research frameworks our program operates from. Our program is based around the concept that marine and coastal management and protection programs are enabled, valued, and ultimately benefit the social system, and as such, scientific information about people?s attitudes, preferences, values, motives, beliefs, use patterns, acceptability of various suites of management alternatives, and willingness to pay is important to managers. While we do collaborate with environmental economists from other universities when projects call for this information, our program does not have a strong focus on socio-economics. We primarily employ existing bodies of research and research concepts from social psychology, psychology, natural resource-based recreation, geography, and sociology to understand, among other things, the acceptability of possible management actions, the effects of current management structures, the interplay between specialization, demographics, and management support, as well as effective education/outreach communication tools. Much of the work we do has a long and rich history within, especially, the National Park Service and the US Forest Service, and is now being applied to coastal and marine management. We invite you to peruse our website at www.umass.edu/hd and to subscribe to our mailing list by sending an email with "subscribe HDCOASTAL first name last name? in the body of the email. If you have any trouble, send a message to Hawkins at forwild.umass.edu I will be moderating this list, but I will be out of town on a research trip from June 24-30. So, I may be unable to process any subscriptions until I return. Please feel free to send along any questions or comments. Best, Chris ><));> ><));> ><));> ><));> Christopher Hawkins, PhD student Human Dimensions Research Unit Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Program Department of Natural Resources Conservation 314 Holdsworth Hall University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003 413.545.3749 hawkins at forwild.umass.edu --------------------------------- Why keep checking for Mail? The all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta shows you when there are new messages. From rwalder at seaweb.org Fri Jun 23 12:06:55 2006 From: rwalder at seaweb.org (Reuven Walder) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:06:55 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] New Marine Photobank Website and Database Launched Message-ID: <74a9ad153b7a93297c202fc42e427759@seaweb.org> Greetings Coral List, The Marine Photobank was recently overhauled to better provide for the needs of researchers, educators, agencies, media and the public. Our galleries now house hundreds of images that highlight pressing ocean issues. Images and services are available for non-commercial, conservation purposes at no cost. Go to www.marinephotobank.org to sign up. Galleries topics include: - Reefs In Peril/Coral Bleaching - Fishing Methods - Marine Pollution and Trash - Marine Species of Concern - Marine Research and Education - Marine Souvenirs and Trade and more. Once you are registered, we encourage you to sign up for the ?My New Photo Alerts? service which allows you to receive a weekly posting when images have been uploaded to galleries of your interest. Please contribute your photos: Join the dozens of researchers, professional photographers, amateur photographers, NGO?s and others who have generously contributed images. Consider uploading images of your research, conservation program, educational efforts or other subjects as a way to enable others to learn about your work as well as engage the decision makers and public in ocean issues. Uploading your images is quite easy ? just complete the registration form and we?ll set you up. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Take care, Reuven Walder The Marine Photobank A project of SeaWeb (a registered NGO) www.marinephotobank.org marinephotobank at seaweb.org (202) 483-9570 From reefball at reefball.com Fri Jun 23 12:31:53 2006 From: reefball at reefball.com (Todd Barber) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:31:53 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Step by Step Guide to Reef Rehabilitation References: <1150983276.449a9c6ca8b2e@webmail.tau.ac.il> <006801c69621$80e471e0$6401a8c0@reef8c359cb049> Message-ID: <00f801c696e2$89864050$6401a8c0@reef8c359cb049> Hi Everyone, Thanks for the overwhelming number of requests for the rehabilitation manual. Please note because we are getting so many requests that I will not be able to individually reply to your emails to thank you for your interest. As soon as I send out the document after it is completed next month I will drop a note to the coral list and if for some reason you don't get your copy then you can recontact me then. Thanks, Todd R. Barber Chairman, Reef Ball Foundation 3305 Edwards Court, Greenville, NC 27858 941-720-7549 Cell 252-353-9094 Direct Skype Toddbarber MSN messenger reefball at hotmail.com reefball at reefball.com (email address) From dobura at africaonline.co.ke Fri Jun 23 12:35:24 2006 From: dobura at africaonline.co.ke (David Obura) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 19:35:24 +0300 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral disease? Which one? (Jeffrey Low) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi all, I have seen a similar condition but have been unsuccesful at finding my photos right now. It was in 2003 or 2004, on a single colony of Porites lutea at a site strongly affected by high currents and mangrove waters in the Kiunga Marine Reserve in northern Kenya, and where there is always a high incidence of a 'red/orange rust' that is common at other sites with estuarine influence across East Africa (sorry I don't have the descriptive name for this, but I have seen it in the catalogues of diseases). The white mat appeared to me to be necrotic tissue, or perhaps a heavy mucus impregnated with microbes, sloughing off. It was against a tissue border, so may have initiated from contact with something at the edge of the colony. I was not able to revisit the site within weeks to see if it progressed through and killed the colony. My impression, but without anything solid on this, is that it could have been a necrosis following some other insult to the tissue in that area. Regards, David Obura -- CORDIO East Africa #8/9 Kibaki Flats, Kenyatta Beach, Bamburi Beach P.O.BOX 10135 Mombasa 80101, Kenya Tel/fax: +254-41-548 6473; Tel: +254-41-548 0117 Mobile: 0733-851656 Email: dobura at cordioea.org -- From esther.peters at verizon.net Fri Jun 23 13:32:24 2006 From: esther.peters at verizon.net (Esther Peters) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 13:32:24 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral disease? Which one? References: <20060623064454.92680.qmail@web35912.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <449C25A8.90904@verizon.net> Dear Jeff and Coral-List, Good responses by Eric and the others. I wanted to add that years ago, on the El Negro Reef off the west coast of Puerto Rico, I observed 1 colony of Porites astreoides), and also 1 Diploria labyrinthiformis off Tague Bay, St. Croix, USVI, with a mat of fine white filaments on its surface, which I described as Beggiatoa net formation and discussed on p. 131 of this paper: Peters, E.C. 1984. A survey of cellular reactions to environmental stress and disease in Caribbean scleractinian corals. Helgol. Meeres. 37:113-137. I have not seen this since, although I have found an example of a small black band disease lesion on a coral at Looe Key with the entire central denuded skeleton covered by white filaments. Beggiatoa is one of the sulfur-cycle bacteria associated with this disease. I also wanted to point out that good observations are key to learning more about coral diseases and we still have much to learn. Since The Coral Disease Page was set up by my husband and me, much has been learned and we now have a better understanding of most of the diseases that were illustrated on that Web site. We have also been too busy to update it with all the information that has come out! We have been planning to take it down because the Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC) is planning to have a new Web site with continuous updating. However, like our site, it is still a largely volunteer effort and support has been limited for that project (one of many undertaken by the CDHC partners). Through workshops sponsored by the CDHC and research conducted by various scientists, we have learned that more than one microbial pathogen can be responsible for what we now term the "white syndromes." Like many human diseases, identifying the causal agent will probably require the use of multiple field and laboratory diagnostic techniques. Please keep reporting coral health concerns to this list, which will help everyone! And I apologize for the status of The Coral Disease Page, but our "spare time" was quickly taken up by growing family and other requests to help in the study of coral diseases! Esther Peters Jeffrey Low wrote: > Thanks Ross, Ken, Melissa, Julian, James, Ernesto and Francesca for your prompt responses: > > It seems I know even less about coral disease than I thought. Not that I knew much anyway. > > The general consensus seems to be that it is not a disease, but possibly a secondary colonisation by microbes - Beggiatoa was suggested, as it forms the white film seen in the images. > > A dying sponge or something sitting on the coral could have been the original cause of death of the tissue. I'd rule out COTS because we don't have them. > > I will try to schedule a visit next week and find the corals again, but currents at the site typically follow a biweekly cycle, so it may be not safe to dive there again until the week after. Maybe I will look at other sites in the interim, as suggested. > > Just some replies to other observations: > > Melissa Keyes: I 'googled' Pulau Satumu and found it to be near Singapore. I personally would not dive there. But the coral does look diverse, and very ill. > > Jeff: LOL ... I dive in those conditions all the time, so much so I sometimes don't know what to do when I dive in clear waters! But yes, the diversity is quite high (about 200 species of hard corals at last count). > > Melissa Keyes: This series of photos shows a disease that does not resemble any that I have observed here in the Caribbean ... it looks as if it progresses at a very fast rate, much faster, and differently, from the White Plagues, seeing how there is apparent degradation of the structure of the calcarious structure of the coral. > > Ernesto Weil: White syndromes usually advance quickly leaving clear white skeleton behind and do not show the bacterial mats. The silty condition and heavy rains might be favoring the development of the bacterial mat quickly. > > Jeff: Degradation can be very fast here in the tropics ... there is almost no way to identify "recently dead corals" based on the "whiteness" of its skeleton, simply because algal growth over the skeleton is quite rapid (how fast, I cannot say for sure, but a rough guess would be that within a week, it would be covered with algae and silt). > > > Francesca: Any possibility that you have collected a fragment of the colony? > > Jeff: I'd have no idea what to do with the fragment even if I had collected it, so I did not, but ... as Eric suggested below: > > Eric Borneman: .... contagion in terms of virulence would not be possible without experimentation...and DO NOT do any in the field .... if possible, send samples to the International Registry of Coral Pathology (contact them first for interest, availability of resources and proper fixation, storage and shipping protocols.) > > Jeff: I do not intend to experiment in the field (in fact I do not have facilities to do much, except observe, at this point). But I wanted a quick response so that I would know what to do next, like check with the International Registry of Coral Pathology. > > Cheers, Jeff > Send instant messages to your online friends http://asia.messenger.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > From david at trilliumfilms.net Fri Jun 23 15:03:51 2006 From: david at trilliumfilms.net (David McGuire) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:03:51 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] coral reef decline graphics Message-ID: Dear list I am completing a documentary on reef shark and coral reef conservation, and am seeking some simple graphics to demonstrate the severity of coral reef decline, either worldwide, in the Pacific, Hawaii specifically, and or bleaching events over the past decade. Are there graphics available that we can adapt - e.g. make dynamic - to emphasize the narration for a general audience? We would give full credits both on screen and in the credit roll. I have had difficulty getting other graphics from publications such as Nature and Science due to copyrights so I thought I would go to the source. thank you David McGuire, Producer Sharks:Stewards of the Reef Triilium Films Sausalito CA www.trilliumfilms.net From gte405r at mail.gatech.edu Fri Jun 23 18:00:36 2006 From: gte405r at mail.gatech.edu (Sara Edge) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 18:00:36 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Summary of Methods for Zoox Density with References Message-ID: <1151100036.449c6484db0fd@webmail.mail.gatech.edu> For those interested in what I found regarding counting zooxanthellae numbers and correlating with coral surface area. Here's a summary of what I plan to do: 1. freeze coral as soon after collecting as possible and keep in dark 2. water-pick tissue (I might try the air-brush method also) 3. centrifuge to pellet zoox. 4. fix zoox. in 5 ? 10% formalin:filtered seawater 5. hemocytometer count 6. surface area ? wax (branching morph) or aluminum foil (mounding morph) Below is a very brief outline of the different methods I found. I've included references for each (numbers in parentheses). It will be a few months before I know exactly what works for my system. (I will be in the field July/August). Preserve Samples o Wrap in foil to keep out light and freeze (3, 5) Zooxanthellae Count - Tissue removal: o Water pick (1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17) * creates large volume and foaming from mucus o Airbrush (5, 11) * less volume, not as quantitative o Dissolve tissue or skeleton (4, 14) o Scrape tissue and homogenize (15) - Fix/preserve: o 4% formalin:96% FSW (4) o 5% buffered formalin (9) o 10% formalin:90% FSW (5, 15) - Count: o Hemacytometer (all) Surface Area o Dry-to-wet weight ratio (4) o Wax coating (5, 6, 7) ? good for branching morphologies (11) o Foil (9, 14, 16, 17) ? good for mounding morphologies (11) o Varathane/dye (9, 18) o Photometric etc. * Leaf-area analyzer (8) * Weigh, photograph, cut out & weigh image, calculate s.a. (12) References: 1. Johannes, R.E. and W.J. Wiebe, Method for Determination of Coral Tissue Biomass and Composition. Limnology and Oceanography, 1970. 15(5): p. 822 - 824. 2. Tytler, E.M. and P.S. Davies, A method of isolating clean and viable zooxanthellae by density gradient centrifugation. Limnology and Oceanography, 1983. 28(6): p. 1266 - 1268. 3. Broadbent, A.D., G.B. Jones, and R.J. Jones, DMSP in corals and benthic algae from the Great Barrier Reef. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 2002. 55: p. 547 - 555. 4. Van Alstyne, K.L., P. Schupp, and M. Slattery, The distribution of dimethylsulfoniopropionate in tropical Pacific coral reef invertebrates. Coral Reefs, 2006. 5. Pillay, R.M., B. Willis, and H. Terashima, Trends in the density of zooxanthellae in Acropora millepora (Ehrenberg, 1834)at the Palm Island Group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Symbiosis, 2005. 38(209 - 226). 6. Vytopil, E. and B.L. Willis, Epifaunal community structure in Acropora spp. (Scleractinia) on the Great Barrier Reef: implications of coral morphology and habitat complexity. Coral Reefs, 2001. 20(281 - 288). 7. Stimson, J. and R.A. Kinzie III, The temporal pattern and rate of release of zooxanthellae from the reef coral Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus) under nitrogen-enrichment and control conditions. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 1991. 153: p. 63 - 74. 8. Muscatine, L., et al., The effect of external nutrient resources on the population dynamics of zooxanthellae in a reef coral. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 1989. 236: p. 311 - 324. 9. Hoegh-Guldberg, O. and J. Smith, The effect of sudden changes in temperature, light and salinity on the population density and export of zooxanthellae from the reef corals Stylophora pistillata Esper and Seriatopora hystrix Dana. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 1989. 129: p. 279 - 303. 10. Dustan, P., Distribution of zooxanthellae and photosynthetic chloroplast pigments of the reef-building coral Montastrea annularis Ellis and Solander in relation to depth on a West Indian coral reef. Bulletin of Marine Science, 1979. 29(1): p. 79 - 95. 11. Shokri, N., Protocol: The effect of reduced irradiance on coral growth and zooxanthellae density. (lab protocol provided via email) 12. Falkowski, P.G. and Z. Dubinsky, Light-shade adaptation of Stylophora pistillata, a hermatypic coral from the Gulf of Eilat. Nature, 1981. 289 (January 15): p. 172 - 174. 13. Cervino, J.M., et al., Zooxanthellae regulation in yellow blotch/band and other coral diseases contrasted with temperature related bleaching: in situ destruction vs expulsion Symbiosis 2004. 37(63 - 85). 14. Fagoonee, I., et al., The dynamics of zooxanthellae populations: A long-term study in the field. Science, 1999. 283(5403): p. 843-845. 15. Wilkerson, F.P., G.M. Parker, and L. Muscatine, Temporal patterns of cell division in natural populations of endosymbiotic algae. Limnology and Oceanography, 1983. 28(5): p. 1009 - 1014. 16. Marsh Jr., J.A., Primary productivity of reef-building calcareous red algae. Ecology, 1969. 51(2): p. 255 - 263. 17. Edmunds, P.J. and R.D. Gates, Normalizing physiological data for scleractinian corals. Coral Reefs, 2002. 21: p. 193?197. 18. Hoegh-Guldberg, O., A method for determining the surface area of corals. Coral Reefs, 1988. 7: p. 113-116. I hope this helps. Sara Edge Georgia Institute of Technology School of Biology 310 Ferst Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0230 gte405r at prism.gatech.edu "Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." -Calvin, The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes From jj111155 at hotmail.com Fri Jun 23 19:52:05 2006 From: jj111155 at hotmail.com (jeffrey jones) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 18:52:05 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] philippines ; an appeal for help Message-ID: hello please forgive as i am new to this field. my fillipina wife and i have started a foundation and submitted a proposal to create and operate a marine sanctuary within the subic bay freeport zone. our proposal has been accepted and a contract drawn up which includes the propogation and export of farm raised corals. still lots of details to iron out and if anyone is interested in helping out in any capacity your help would be greatly appreciated. please feel free to contact me at this address. thank you jeffrey jones From gj at fishion.org Sat Jun 24 02:28:56 2006 From: gj at fishion.org (GJ Gast) Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 08:28:56 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] Sudan expedition Message-ID: Dear all, There was some discussion a while ago about getting out the message. This is an opportunity for a rather positive one. We are currently for 2 weeks on a research and documentation expedition in 2 MPAs in Sudan. Essentially this is the start of long term monitoring of quite healthy reefs of which African Parks Foundation has taken up the management less than a year ago. The challenge is to combine reef conservation with the development of tourism and the need of the local inhabitants. You can follow the expedition and the highlights of the results on our weblog which we now manage to update daily (mostly). This weblog is primarily aimed at the general public so scientific nitty-gritty will be communicated later in a different fashion. Please do also spread this message. Best wishes, GJ -- GJ Gast - Fishion Consultancy Weblog Sudan expedition: www.africanparks-conservation.com/sudan-expedition.php From richardl at fiu.edu Sat Jun 24 14:43:00 2006 From: richardl at fiu.edu (Laurie Richardson) Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:43:00 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral disease? Which one? References: <20060623064454.92680.qmail@web35912.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <449C25A8.90904@verizon.net> Message-ID: <449D87B4.C88592AB@fiu.edu> Hi - I want to add to Esther's point about the rapidity of expansion of our knowledge about coral diseases and the difficulty of continually updating comprehensive coral disease websites (mainly because of the time commitments). NOAA's CHAMP (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) also has a coral disease website, which we (Jim Hendee and I) have not updated for a few years. We, too, are waiting for the new Coral Health and Disease Consortium website, which will be the most up to date and (hopefully) maintained on a regular basis. Laurie Esther Peters wrote: > Dear Jeff and Coral-List, > > Good responses by Eric and the others. I wanted to add that years ago, > on the El Negro Reef off the west coast of Puerto Rico, I observed 1 > colony of Porites astreoides), and also 1 Diploria labyrinthiformis off > Tague Bay, St. Croix, USVI, with a mat of fine white filaments on its > surface, which I described as Beggiatoa net formation and discussed on > p. 131 of this paper: > > Peters, E.C. 1984. A survey of cellular reactions to environmental > stress and disease in Caribbean scleractinian corals. Helgol. Meeres. > 37:113-137. > > I have not seen this since, although I have found an example of a small > black band disease lesion on a coral at Looe Key with the entire central > denuded skeleton covered by white filaments. Beggiatoa is one of the > sulfur-cycle bacteria associated with this disease. > > I also wanted to point out that good observations are key to learning > more about coral diseases and we still have much to learn. Since The > Coral Disease Page was set up by my husband and me, much has been > learned and we now have a better understanding of most of the diseases > that were illustrated on that Web site. We have also been too busy to > update it with all the information that has come out! We have been > planning to take it down because the Coral Disease and Health Consortium > (CDHC) is planning to have a new Web site with continuous updating. > However, like our site, it is still a largely volunteer effort and > support has been limited for that project (one of many undertaken by the > CDHC partners). Through workshops sponsored by the CDHC and research > conducted by various scientists, we have learned that more than one > microbial pathogen can be responsible for what we now term the "white > syndromes." Like many human diseases, identifying the causal agent will > probably require the use of multiple field and laboratory diagnostic > techniques. > > Please keep reporting coral health concerns to this list, which will > help everyone! And I apologize for the status of The Coral Disease > Page, but our "spare time" was quickly taken up by growing family and > other requests to help in the study of coral diseases! > > Esther Peters > > Jeffrey Low wrote: > > > Thanks Ross, Ken, Melissa, Julian, James, Ernesto and Francesca for your prompt responses: > > > > It seems I know even less about coral disease than I thought. Not that I knew much anyway. > > > > The general consensus seems to be that it is not a disease, but possibly a secondary colonisation by microbes - Beggiatoa was suggested, as it forms the white film seen in the images. > > > > A dying sponge or something sitting on the coral could have been the original cause of death of the tissue. I'd rule out COTS because we don't have them. > > > > I will try to schedule a visit next week and find the corals again, but currents at the site typically follow a biweekly cycle, so it may be not safe to dive there again until the week after. Maybe I will look at other sites in the interim, as suggested. > > > > Just some replies to other observations: > > > > Melissa Keyes: I 'googled' Pulau Satumu and found it to be near Singapore. I personally would not dive there. But the coral does look diverse, and very ill. > > > > Jeff: LOL ... I dive in those conditions all the time, so much so I sometimes don't know what to do when I dive in clear waters! But yes, the diversity is quite high (about 200 species of hard corals at last count). > > > > Melissa Keyes: This series of photos shows a disease that does not resemble any that I have observed here in the Caribbean ... it looks as if it progresses at a very fast rate, much faster, and differently, from the White Plagues, seeing how there is apparent degradation of the structure of the calcarious structure of the coral. > > > > Ernesto Weil: White syndromes usually advance quickly leaving clear white skeleton behind and do not show the bacterial mats. The silty condition and heavy rains might be favoring the development of the bacterial mat quickly. > > > > Jeff: Degradation can be very fast here in the tropics ... there is almost no way to identify "recently dead corals" based on the "whiteness" of its skeleton, simply because algal growth over the skeleton is quite rapid (how fast, I cannot say for sure, but a rough guess would be that within a week, it would be covered with algae and silt). > > > > > > Francesca: Any possibility that you have collected a fragment of the colony? > > > > Jeff: I'd have no idea what to do with the fragment even if I had collected it, so I did not, but ... as Eric suggested below: > > > > Eric Borneman: .... contagion in terms of virulence would not be possible without experimentation...and DO NOT do any in the field .... if possible, send samples to the International Registry of Coral Pathology (contact them first for interest, availability of resources and proper fixation, storage and shipping protocols.) > > > > Jeff: I do not intend to experiment in the field (in fact I do not have facilities to do much, except observe, at this point). But I wanted a quick response so that I would know what to do next, like check with the International Registry of Coral Pathology. > > > > Cheers, Jeff > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://asia.messenger.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > > Coral-List mailing list > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From serge.andrefouet at noumea.ird.nc Sun Jun 25 01:58:58 2006 From: serge.andrefouet at noumea.ird.nc (Serge Andrefouet) Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 01:58:58 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] 2nd announcement, coral reef biodiv. conf., New Caledonia Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20060625015008.016b29a8@mail.marine.usf.edu> Dear listers, On behalf of the organizing comittee, please note below: Second announcement for the coral reef biodiversity conference to be held in New Caledonia, 30 October- 4 November 2006 For further information about the final program of plenary sessions and conference sessions, please check out www.ird.nc/biodec New Deadlines July 15, 300 words abstract. To be printed in the conference proceedings. July 15, inscription and hotel booking (special Forum rates) For more information: Scientific Committee: Claude Payri, biodiv at noumea.ird.nc Forum Secretariat: Mina Vilayleck, infocom at noumea.ird.nc See you there Serge Serge Andrefouet UR Coreus - Institut de Recherche pour le D?veloppement (IRD) BP A5 - 98848 Noum?a cedex - Nouvelle Cal?donie T?l : (+687) 26 08 00 - Fax : (+687) 26 43 26 - andrefou at noumea.ird.nc From mekvinga at yahoo.com Sun Jun 25 13:50:49 2006 From: mekvinga at yahoo.com (Melissa Keyes) Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 10:50:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] White Plague's speed of consumption Message-ID: <20060625175050.35503.qmail@web50101.mail.yahoo.com> Hello, Listers, I am seeing numerous smaller corals just becoming infected with one of the White plagues, there are two types? Most of the larger C. natans have alreday succumbed. If anyone wishes, l will do a series of photos of several different individuals to show how quickly this disease kills. It's probably much quicker than most realize. Carpe Diem, Melissa Keyes, St Croix, US Virgin Islands --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta. From jos at reefcheck.org Mon Jun 26 20:48:19 2006 From: jos at reefcheck.org (Jos Hill) Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:48:19 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Volunteer project officer and education officer position Message-ID: <942b0fca4fd96bdb1d2bec1d02b609c8@reefcheck.org> Reef Check Australia Volunteer Internship Position Reef Check Australia is looking for some motivated and independent people to assist with the coordination of the 2007 survey season for our Great Barrier Reef Project. If you want to gain experience in coral reef monitoring and team management this is an outstanding opportunity! Position 1: Project Officer Position 2: Education Officer Project Officer. January-June 2007 The Project Officer position will involve the planning, coordination and leadership of Reef Check research teams to survey up to 40 sites on the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. You will also be responsible for data management, analysis and the creation of a scientific report. Additional responsibilities subject to interest include helping to design a school education program, fundraising event coordination and grant writing. Reef Check Australia has 35 trained volunteers and works with 15 dive operators on the Great Barrier Reef Project. Good communication, motivation, delegation and social skills are therefore essential. Minimum Rescue Diver required, however an insured instructor is preferred. The position is entirely volunteer. However, we can provide applicants with some support in applying to other foundations for funds to support themselves during their stay in Australia. Required skills and qualifications: ? Tertiary qualification in marine biology ? Rescue diver with a minimum of 50 logged dives ? Current first aid, CPR and oxygen provider qualifications ? Proven experience with team leadership and coordination of projects ? Good communication skills, both verbal and written ? Ability to take initiative and work independently Desired skills and qualifications: ? Divemaster or Instructor with full insurance ? Experience with coral reef monitoring Why Work for Reef Check Australia? ? Part of the United Nation?s official International coral reef monitoring program ? Strong scientific reputation ? Work with likeminded people at the cutting edge of coral reef conservation Benefits to you include the opportunity to: ? Enhance your research skills ? Enhance team management skills ? Enhance project coordination skills ? Contribute to Australia?s long-term data set ? Take part in the most comprehensive Reef Check Training program in the world ? Work with like-minded professionals and volunteers at one of the world?s leading centres of tropical marine science ? Log up to 100 dives at some of Australia?s most spectacular coral reefs ? Potential for ongoing opportunities with Reef Check Applicants should send their resume to Jos Hill at jos at reefcheck.org Education Officer. January-June 2007 The Education Officer position will involve assisting in the development of education materials for school groups (classroom and field activities) and tourists (presentation materials for dive boats) and in delivery of these materials. You will also have the opportunity to participate in Reef Check survey expeditions. The position is entirely volunteer. However, we can provide applicants with some support in applying to other foundations for funds to support themselves during their stay in Australia. Required skills and qualifications: ? Experience in developing environmental educational materials or an educational degree ? Good communication skills, both verbal and written ? Ability to take initiative and work independently If you want to participate in Reef Check surveys you will need: ? Rescue diver with a minimum of 50 logged dives ? Current first aid, CPR and oxygen provider qualifications Why Work for Reef Check Australia? ? Part of the United Nation?s official International coral reef monitoring program ? Strong scientific reputation ? Work with likeminded people at the cutting edge of coral reef conservation Benefits to you include the opportunity to: ? Team-work skills ? Learn coral reef research skills ? Project management skills ? Contribute to Australia?s long-term data set ? Take part in the most comprehensive Reef Check Training program in the world ? Work with like-minded professionals and volunteers at one of the world?s leading centres of tropical marine science ? Log up to 100 dives at some of Australia?s most spectacular coral reefs ? Potential for ongoing opportunities with Reef Check Applicants should send their resume to Jos Hill at jos at reefcheck.org Jos Hill Executive Director Reef Check Australia PO Box 404 Townsville QLD 4810 Email: jos at reefcheck.org General enquiries: support at reefcheckaustralia.org Tel: +61 (0)7 4724 3950 Mob: +61 (0) 415 446 646 www.reefcheckaustralia.org www.reefcheck.org From gbustamante at bellsouth.net Tue Jun 27 10:45:45 2006 From: gbustamante at bellsouth.net (Georgina Bustamante) Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:45:45 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] New web site: TNC Mesoamerican Reef Program In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dear colleagues, The Nature Conservancy's Mesoamerican Reef Program has just launched its new web site http://www.tncmar.net. It provides information on the program, links to its partners and others, news, learning tools, publications. The web page virtual library, still under construction, will also provide downloadable documents (publications or their abstracts; reports) useful for marine conservation scientists and practitioners in the Caribbean region and the rest of the world. In the next months, as part of the MAR Program Virtual Learning Center activities, we will be working on the development of downloadable digital courses that can be used by any interest party (those looking for self-training or instructors of training courses) on different aspects of coral reef conservation and marine protected areas management. We welcome all contributions from colleagues interested in posting a link or your published paper or training manual in our web page. Please contact me for details and visit our website!! Georgina Georgina Bustamante, Ph.D. Coordinator Learning Center The Nature Conservancy Mesoamerican Reef Program and Marine Conservation Science and Policy Private Consultant home office: 3800 N Hills Dr. #216 Hollywood, Florida 33021 U.S.A. tel/fax(request) 954-963-3626 (oncoming email address gbustamante at tnc.org) From Toby.Roxburgh at jacobs.com Tue Jun 27 12:05:13 2006 From: Toby.Roxburgh at jacobs.com (Roxburgh, Toby) Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 17:05:13 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] Case studies needed on economic valuation / incentives in marine resources management Message-ID: <8B47DC1CD00EAB45B1CC03B3FCAF787834A511@reamsg05.europe.jacobs.com> Dear Coral listers We're looking for people to present case studies of their work to stimulate discussions at a series of workshops under the theme of "Economic Valuation and Incentives in Marine Natural Resources Management", to be held at the International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium 3 (ITMEMS3) in October this year in Mexico (seehttp://www.itmems.org ). Case studies are invited that cover/relate to one or more of the potential topics under the proposed workshop titles at the end of this message. Case studies will need to demonstrate an applied problem/solution type approach (especially related to the topics below). Selection of individual case studies will be based on trying to get broad coverage of the following: * Either local, national, or regional perspectives * Different types of ecosystems (i.e. not only coral reefs), and * Different parts of the world. Note that the final titles/nature of the workshops will depend on the case studies submitted. However, time is limited! If you are interested in submitting and presenting a case study, please send an abstract (max 100 words) to us ideally by 8th July 2006 (i.e. in two weeks time). If potentially interested but can't meet this deadline please let us know ASAP. If selected, full case study write ups would then need to be submitted by 31st August 2006. Please submit abstracts and write ups by email to the contact details below following the guidelines on format/content on the ITMEMS webpage (http://www.itmems.org/presentation.htm). There may possibly be scope for some financial support to help a few presenters to attend the event. If submitting a case study and you require support to attend, please also send us a brief note on your circumstances. If you are interested in a wider role to help out with organisation of the workshops, please let us know. Please forward this email to anyone you think may be interested. Many thanks in advance Toby and James Please respond to either: Toby Roxburgh (Principal Environmental Consultant) Jacobs Jacobs House, London Rd., Reading, RG61BL, UK Tel: 0044 (0)118 9635298 Fax: 0044 (0)118 9263888 Email: toby.roxburgh at jacobs.com Web: www.jacobs.com / www.jacobs-babtie.co.uk and/or James Spurgeon (Technical Director) Jacobs Jacobs House, London Rd., Reading, RG61BL, UK Tel: 0044 (0)118 9635346 Fax: 0044 (0)118 9263888 Email: james.spurgeon at jacobs.com Web: www.jacobs.com / www.jacobs-babtie.co.uk PROPOSED WORKSHOP TITLES AND POTENTIAL CASE STUDY TOPICS (BULLETS): Workshop 1: Economic valuation of coastal ecosystems (technical/"how to" aspects) * Economic valuation approaches in practice (covering issues like Total Economic Value, Benefits Transfer, Contingent Valuation etc) * Economic impact analysis (expenditures, jobs, etc) * Integration of social aspects of value, especially how perceptions vary between stakeholders * Aggregation of values at different scales required by different end users * Development and need for guidance on economic valuation * Improving coverage of global tropical marine ecosystem values * Storage and access to information on values etc - e.g. databases (links with theme 6) Workshop 2: Application of economic valuation results (e.g. in ICZM, planning and policy) * Integration of ecosystem values into mapping (e.g. using GIS, remote sensing etc) * Use in spatial planning at site/MPA/local/national levels (EIAs, zoning, assessing compensation packages and alternative livelihood requirements for those losing out from proposals/MPAs etc) * Use of economic value information in setting national/regional coastal management, planning and conservation policy priorities (e.g. integrating values into national accounting, option appraisal using CBA/MCA etc) * Use of values in damage assessments, and enforcement of fines (links with theme 3) * Use of economic value info for advocacy, education and awareness raising (links with theme 9) Workshop 3: Economic Incentives * Review of potential economic incentives that could be introduced to control behaviour/impacts and raise revenues * Successes/problems and lessons learned from trying to implement new economic incentives (e.g. performance bonds, damages legislation, resource use charges, biodiversity offsets, tradable permits, tradable development rights etc) Workshop 4: Economic valuation for sustainable financing (links with theme 13) * Role of valuation in identifying sources of finance for MPA and coastal management (by identifying who benefits from or impacts resources and how/to what extent) * Use/better understanding of values in designing and implementing instruments to capture these values (e.g. fees, taxes, fines, permits, donations etc) NOTE: Depending on the case studies received, workshops 1 and 2 may be split between coral/other ecosystems or site level/national & regional levels. Workshops 3 and 4 may be combined into one, and possibly linked with the sustainable financing workshops. ============================================================================== 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. ============================================================================== From tamsen_byfield at yahoo.com Wed Jun 28 01:35:50 2006 From: tamsen_byfield at yahoo.com (Tamsen Tremain Byfield) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 06:35:50 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Coral-List] Thank you Message-ID: <20060628053551.13331.qmail@web30513.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello List, My sincere thanks to all who sent suggestions on frame-grabbing and image analysis software. Your replies listed a range of highly suitable software and have greatly facilitated the process. Now, if the weather will just cooperate... Thank you, Tamsen Byfield ___________________________________________________________ All New Yahoo! Mail ? Tired of Vi at gr@! come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html From chris at c-3.org.uk Wed Jun 28 07:34:40 2006 From: chris at c-3.org.uk (Chris Poonian) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:34:40 +0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Projects Coordinator Moheli Marine Park Message-ID: <5d30b4fe0606280434m190ddebeia4b2fe1a714d93ad@mail.gmail.com> Community Centred Conservation (C3) is a rapidly growing British NGO, currently working on Moheli, Comoros in collaboration with Moheli Marine Park. We are seeking a Projects Coordinator to take over day to day management of our interns and work programme. The duties of the Projects Coordinator will include: ? Recruitment and management of the team on Moheli ? Coordination of research, educational and conservation activities ? Budget management ? Liaison with project partners and stakeholders ? Reporting to local, regional and international organizations and donors ? Contributing to grant proposals to secure financial support for the programme ? Marketing and promotion Qualifications: ESSENTIAL: Advanced spoken /written French and English Staff management experience Budget management experience Bachelors degree or equivalent experience in a relevant subject Experience working in remote field locations Excellent presentation and report-writing skills DESIRABLE: Bilingual French / English Masters degree or equivalent experience in a relevant subject Grant-writing experience Boat-driving and scuba diving experience Equipment repair and maintenance experience Web design / publishing experience PACKAGE OFFERED: 1 year contract, starting August 2006 20 days annual leave Food and accommodation (own room in shared house) on Moheli Costs covered for attendance at regional and international conferences Personal laptop and mobile phone DAN medical insurance Successful applicant to cover travel costs to/from Moheli (approx ?700 from the UK) Please send a CV and covering letter to Patricia Davis patricia at c-3.org.uk before 7th July 2006. You must be able to attend an interview in London, UK between 10th and 14th July. Owing to the remote nature of our fieldwork activities and high number of expected applications, we are unable to respond to any speculative questions about this position. Further details will be discussed at interview. Please see our website www.c-3.org.uk for further information. -- Chris Poonian Projects Manager Community Centred Conservation (C3) c-3.org.uk To develop conservation efforts worldwide by building the capacity of local individuals and institutions through grassroots research and training initiatives From reefball at reefball.com Wed Jun 28 14:53:12 2006 From: reefball at reefball.com (Todd Barber) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 14:53:12 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Step by Step Coral Rehabilitation Guide References: <5d30b4fe0606280434m190ddebeia4b2fe1a714d93ad@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <178601c69ae4$1b5da220$6401a8c0@reef8c359cb049> Hi All, We have gotten far more requests for the manual than we anticipated, and many of you have noted that your email addresses cannot handle a 10 MB pdf file. Since our mail server won't allow us to push so much data outbound we are instead going to offer a link to a secure site that you can download the guide. When we send the link to everyone that requested a manual, if you still cannot download it we will be happy to email you the file on an individual basis. Sorry for any inconvience this may have caused. If you did not request a copy because your email could not accept the large file, just drop me a note (off list) and I will add you to the distribution list for the link. Thanks, Todd R. Barber Chairman, Reef Ball Foundation 3305 Edwards Court, Greenville, NC 27858 941-720-7549 Cell 252-353-9094 Direct Skype Toddbarber MSN messenger reefball at hotmail.com reefball at reefball.com (email address) From sflumerfelt at coral.org Tue Jun 27 22:01:29 2006 From: sflumerfelt at coral.org (Sherry Flumerfelt) Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:01:29 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Job Posting in PNG (Modified by Sherry Flumerfelt) Message-ID: <1be975ce6c5c4aae60c4cfe5cfe54a10@coral.org> Position: Volunteer Program Coordinator ? This is an exciting opportunity for anyone with an interest in diving, travel, and marine conservation. The successful candidate will travel extensively throughout Papua New Guinea, visiting world-renowned coral reefs, resorts and liveaboards, and playing a key role in ensuring the environmental sustainability of PNG?s tourism industry and economy. *The hiring will be done through Australian Volunteers International, so applicants must have Australian citizenship, or must be a permanent resident of Australia, with a valid return visa in their passport of nationality. Background The Papua New Guinea Divers' Association (PNGDA), a cooperative representing the interests of the dive industry in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), a non-profit coral reef conservation organization based out of the United States, are partnering on a nationwide Divers Education & Environment Programme (DEEP) for PNG. DEEP aims to: a. Promote integrated conservation and hospitality education for marine-based tourism staff, to ensure an environmentally sustainable marine tourism industry; b. Liase with Papua New Guinean conservation NGOs (non-government organizations) and international donor(s) to partner community marine initiatives with appropriate environmental support mechanisms; c. Coordinate the continuation of the PNGDA Environmental Mooring Programme PNGDA and CORAL are a seeking a full-time volunteer Program Coordinator for a two-year contract. The position is based out of Kimbe, and requires extensive travel throughout PNG. Start date is ideally in September 2006. Main Responsibility The successful candidate will work closely with the PNGDA Secretariat and the CORAL Programme Manager to manage and implement DEEP. Initial responsibilities include: ? Work closely with local NGOs, educational institutions, and the dive industry to design a nationwide sustainable marine tourism training programme to increase the number of nationals trained in marine tourism and ensure an environmentally-sustainable industry ? Deliver trainings to tour operators on sustainable marine recreation ? Manage the continuation of the Environmental Mooring Programme to enable the installation of environmental moorings around the country; establish an installation and maintenance training programme for resorts?and liveaboards in PNG ? Develop and implement fundraising plan for DEEP ? Serve as CORAL?s primary liaison in PNG, helping define programme objectives, and assist with planning, coordination and facilitation of CORAL workshops and meetings ? Promote the objectives of the PNGDA and CORAL by representing the interests of both organizations and DEEP to government agencies, NGOs, the private sector, donor agencies etc. ? Provide the PNGDA & CORAL with regular progress reports Skills & Qualifications ? Degree in marine biology, environmental studies, or related field ? Dive Master or Dive Instructor qualification ? High competency in English, written and oral ? Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills ? Strong education/public speaking skills ? Strong coordination and organizational skills ? Ability to plan and execute meetings, work sessions, and workshops ? Computer skills including Microsoft Office The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience in a number of areas which may include: ? Conservation education and awareness projects ? Preparation of project proposals ? Informal teaching and/or public speaking ? Experience with machinery and equipment; background in mooring installation and maintenance a plus ? Cross-cultural/international experience ? Experience working in tourism a plus Salary and Benefits This is a volunteer position to start, with the possibility of becoming a salaried position depending upon funding. The volunteer position will be managed through Australian Volunteers International (AVI). A minimal daily living allowance will be provided, as well as accommodations. AVI will also cover the costs of: ? medical examination and preparation ? Pre-Departure Training ? Flights ? Comprehensive insurance for the duration of the assignment For more information on how to apply, contact sflumerfelt at coral.org. Serious applicants only please. From egrossman at usgs.gov Wed Jun 28 18:58:17 2006 From: egrossman at usgs.gov (Eric Grossman) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:58:17 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Ship grounded on Rotuma Reef Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20060628155243.031fbee8@gscamnlm04.wr.usgs.gov> Aloha, For those interested in ship-grounding impacts to coral reefs and folks interested in responding, please email: Bruce Richmond Another bad day for coral reefs. Eric Grossman ---------------------------------------------- From the Rotuma web site hosted in Hawaii ( http://www.rotuma.net/): From Fijilive (15 June 2006) Bulou Ni Ceva Reported Stuck on Reef Passenger vessel MV Bulou Ni Ceva is reported to have run on a reef near Rotuma yesterday afternoon. Police confirm that the vessel was about to anchor when it was swept away by strong currents and winds to a reef. The passengers and the crew were rescued and are taking shelter at Lopta Village. __________ 16 June: the passengers and the crew of vessel MV Bulou Ni Ceva are still stranded at Lopta Village after the inter-island ship run on a reef near Rotuma on Wednesday afternoon. The captain is still awaiting the arrival of some parts from Suva to repair the vessel and sail back to the capital. Police confirm that the vessel was about to anchor when it was swept away by strong currents and winds to a reef. _____________ 17 June: Owners of a ship that ran aground on a reef near Rotuma hope to dispatch a team to the island to assess whether the vessel can be salvaged. The team is expected to leave this weekend in a chartered airplane to assess the damage sustained by the Bulou ni Ceva. Kadavu Provincial Council chairman Ratu Josateki Nawalowalo said the team would include officers from the Fiji Islands Maritime Services Authority, Kadavu Shipping directors and their insurance brokers to access the damage. "We are trying to ask the Transport ministry to help us on the issue and we have been negotiating for a plane to be chartered to Rotuma and expect to leave on Saturday or Monday," he said. He said the ship's 30-member crew were being sheltered at one of the villages on Rotuma and were being looked after by the people of that village. ______________ 20 June: "The information we got is that the ship is hard aground on a reef. That means to salvage her would be quite a job," Ratu Josateki said. "We hope by the end of this week to either salvage the ship or to bring the crew to Suva." Ministry of Transport chief executive officer Vuetasau Buatoka said the ministry was unable to help salvage the ship as there was no barge available. Note: As of Wed June 28th the ship is still on the reef and damage has not been assessed by shipping or Fiji government officials because of delays in air flights to Rotuma. The threat that the ship poses to the healthy reefs of Rotuma is unknown at this time. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Bruce Richmond U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Science Center 400 Natural Bridges Drive Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Phone: (831) 427-4731 Fax: (831) 427-4748 "The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eric E. Grossman, PhD Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey Western Coastal and Marine Geology Program Pacific Science Center 400 Natural Bridges Dr. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Phone: 831-427-4725 Fax: 831-427-4748 email: egrossman at usgs.gov http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/01/fieldwork3.html http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/research/projects/puget_coastalhab.html http://geology.usgs.gov/connections/bia/ls-puget_sound.htm http://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov/ From bogus@does.not.exist.com Wed Jun 28 19:40:45 2006 From: bogus@does.not.exist.com () Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 16:40:45 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Sustainable Financing Case Studies (Modified by Sherry Flumerfelt) Message-ID: <0407921568f1ff0ca87fa88c80e83326@local> Dear Coral Listers, We are also looking for people to present case studies of their work under the theme of "Sustainable Financing", at the International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium 3 (ITMEMS3) in October this year in Mexico . The goal of ITMEMS is to develop the capacities of coastal and marine managers to implement programs and projects that support the conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs and related ecosystems at the local, national, regional and global levels. If you are interested in submitting and presenting a case study on Sustainable Financing, related to the subjects listed below, please send an abstract (max 100 words) to us by 10th July 2006 (see contact information below). Please follow the guidelines presented at . There may be some financial support to help a few presenters to attend the event. If submitting a case study and you require support to attend, please also send us a brief note on your circumstances. We are looking for case studies on the following subjects: Workshop 1: System Level Protected Area Financing - Experience of Developing a System Level Protected Area Business Plan - Comparative Experiences with Operating Trust Funds for Financing of National PA Systems ? Panel Discussion Workshop 2: Site Level Finance and Business Planning - Implementing Site Level Business Plans - Cost and Revenue Accounting for Financial Planning - Standardizing Accounting Systems for MPAs Workshop 3: Site Level Revenue Generation Mechanisms - Site Level Revenue Generation Options for MPAs (examples of different options, pros and cons, etc.) - Case Studies of MPAs with successful diversified funding portfolios - Resources to assist with development of revenue generation mechanisms - Tourism Fees - Panel discussion Workshop 4: Beyond MPA Financing ? Group Discussion - Payments for marine and coastal ecosystem services - Examples of MPA Revenue Sharing with Local Stakeholders Please submit case studies to: Sherry Flumerfelt, Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), sflumerfelt at coral.org and Andrew Bovarnick, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), andrew.bovarnick at undp.org Best wishes, Sherry Flumerfelt Program Manager The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) http://www.coral.org From egrossman at usgs.gov Wed Jun 28 21:09:32 2006 From: egrossman at usgs.gov (Eric Grossman) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 18:09:32 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Ship grounded on Rotuma Reef Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20060628180758.031ca9d0@gscamnlm04.wr.usgs.gov> Aloha, For those of you interested in ship-grounding impacts to coral reefs and keen on responding to this crisis, please contact: Bruce Richmond Another bad day for coral reefs. Eric Grossman ---------------------------------------------- From the Rotuma web site hosted in Hawaii ( http://www.rotuma.net/): From Fijilive (15 June 2006) Bulou Ni Ceva Reported Stuck on Reef Passenger vessel MV Bulou Ni Ceva is reported to have run on a reef near Rotuma yesterday afternoon. Police confirm that the vessel was about to anchor when it was swept away by strong currents and winds to a reef. The passengers and the crew were rescued and are taking shelter at Lopta Village. __________ 16 June: the passengers and the crew of vessel MV Bulou Ni Ceva are still stranded at Lopta Village after the inter-island ship run on a reef near Rotuma on Wednesday afternoon. The captain is still awaiting the arrival of some parts from Suva to repair the vessel and sail back to the capital. Police confirm that the vessel was about to anchor when it was swept away by strong currents and winds to a reef. _____________ 17 June: Owners of a ship that ran aground on a reef near Rotuma hope to dispatch a team to the island to assess whether the vessel can be salvaged. The team is expected to leave this weekend in a chartered airplane to assess the damage sustained by the Bulou ni Ceva. Kadavu Provincial Council chairman Ratu Josateki Nawalowalo said the team would include officers from the Fiji Islands Maritime Services Authority, Kadavu Shipping directors and their insurance brokers to access the damage. "We are trying to ask the Transport ministry to help us on the issue and we have been negotiating for a plane to be chartered to Rotuma and expect to leave on Saturday or Monday," he said. He said the ship's 30-member crew were being sheltered at one of the villages on Rotuma and were being looked after by the people of that village. ______________ 20 June: "The information we got is that the ship is hard aground on a reef. That means to salvage her would be quite a job," Ratu Josateki said. "We hope by the end of this week to either salvage the ship or to bring the crew to Suva." Ministry of Transport chief executive officer Vuetasau Buatoka said the ministry was unable to help salvage the ship as there was no barge available. Note: As of Wed June 28th the ship is still on the reef and damage has not been assessed by shipping or Fiji government officials because of delays in air flights to Rotuma. The threat that the ship poses to the healthy reefs of Rotuma is unknown at this time. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Bruce Richmond U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Science Center 400 Natural Bridges Drive Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Phone: (831) 427-4731 Fax: (831) 427-4748 "The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eric E. Grossman, PhD Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey Western Coastal and Marine Geology Program Pacific Science Center 400 Natural Bridges Dr. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Phone: 831-427-4725 Fax: 831-427-4748 email: egrossman at usgs.gov http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/01/fieldwork3.html http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/research/projects/puget_coastalhab.html http://geology.usgs.gov/connections/bia/ls-puget_sound.htm http://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov/ From richard.n.griffiths at imperial.ac.uk Thu Jun 29 10:14:38 2006 From: richard.n.griffiths at imperial.ac.uk (Griffiths, Richard) Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 15:14:38 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] east african connectivity Message-ID: Dear listers. As part of an assessment of the MPA systems of Kenya Tanzania (as an MSc thesis), I was hoping to, however simplistically, to come up with an maximum 'separation distance' for MPAs in the region. Darwall and Guard (in 'Coral Reefs of the Indian Ocean) provide a figure for the speed of the East African Coastal Current of up to 3m/s during the South East Monsoon. If I assume larval duration for coral to be 4-72 hrs (given for Acroporids and Pocilloporids in Shanks et al 2003 - in Ecological Applications), is it then at all resonable to estimate a maximum separation (for coral larval connectivity for the shortest duration at the fastest annual speed) to be 3m/s*60secs*60mins*4hrs - e.g approx 40km? I know this is only ever going to be an approximation, but for my purposes (unless it is completely unreasonable) that may do fine. Any comments welcome as I am more of a policy man than a scientist. (Any other interesting thoughts or views on East African MPAs welcome too!). Many thanks, Richard Griffiths MSc candidate - Global Environmental Change and Policy, Imperial College