[Coral-List] The State of the List

[Jonathan Shrives]

Dear Jim,

In response to the last few threads about Guana Cay
(Oh no I hear you cry - not MORE Guana Cay - but just
bare with me a minute!), I feel that it's an important
part of the list to have such debates. So what if its
been the focus of a week's worth of e-mails? I'm
currently researching corals as part of my PhD, and
I've seen some big names make valuable contributions
on this list. There have been references bounded
around that I have dug out, and found to be really
useful in furthering my research. As a junior
researcher, starting my career, I have found the list
to be an invaluable tool. I have spent the last year
trawling through publisher's websites, Web of
Knowledge, Google Scholar, and other such online
journal search engines, and yet the list has always
provided me with some of the best references to hunt
out.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, big deal! Viva
the List! I believe it's in the nature of us all to
get passionate about what we believe in - and thus get
focused on certain issues - otherwise we wouldn't be
coral scientists ( it isn't like we do it for the
money! ). I believe that the list will go on long
after the Guana Cay debate, and still contribute
massively to the causes of research and conservation.
I don't think there are many researchers who don't
know that every reef out there is under threat from
localised and global anthropogenic pollution. However
I think it is important to see how Guana Cay goes. I
think it's important to see how scientists and
conservationists fare up against powerful,
money-centric developers and governments. I think it's
a mini-case study on the backdoor of Florida, that
will one day, I'm afraid, be a problem faced by any
researcher in any part of the world. Maybe we should
all re-train and become environmental lawyers?!

In summary, I don't think contributors to the list
should feel bullied or guilt-tripped into
concentrating on other issues (certainly not by the
CEO's of ecotourism companies!). The List is what it
is, and if someone isn't happy with it - then
unsubscribe! - that’s their problem not ours.

Thanks once again for all your efforts Jim and
Listers. Life would be a lot more difficult without
the list!

Cheers

Jon Shrives


Jonathan Shrives
Tropical Ecology Research Group
University of Oxford