[Coral-List] The State of the List

Lore Ayoub layoub at mail.marine.usf.edu
Mon Mar 20 14:04:45 EST 2006


Jon, thank you for your well-put defense of the current discussion - this
is a forum, after all. And our research is ineffectual without influence
and awareness in wider circles ie the public.

Lore

> 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
>
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>






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