From Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov Wed Aug 1 11:31:18 2007 From: Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov (Mark Eakin) Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 11:31:18 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Climate Change definitions In-Reply-To: <261652.51407.qm@web50403.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <261652.51407.qm@web50403.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <82749CF4-FFFD-412F-BBAC-6F684B0331AC@noaa.gov> On Jul 27, 2007, at 1:37 PM, Tom Williams wrote: > By the way what is the difference between "Golobal > Warming" and "Climate Change"...sorry I don't mean to > start any thing. Global warming, climate change, global climate change, and anthropogenic climate change are often used interchangeably to denote the changes that are occurring in our global climate system as a result of human releases of greenhouse gases. There are some valid differences between the terms and political input has also influenced the use of the terms. The term global warming has become more politically charged and was listed as a "banned term" for US federal communications by the current administration. Politics aside, the administration recommended term global climate change is far more accurate. The influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gases has not caused a consistent increase in temperatures around the globe, nor would this be expected. The change has been much more complex with some areas actually cooling at times, complex teleconnections between the oceans and atmosphere, and varied patterns of change in temperature and precipitation. While most glaciers and ice sheets have been shown to be melting at more rapid rates, there are others that are actually growing. However, whatever you call it, it is a major problem for coral reefs in much of the world. It is unfortunate that many areas, like those Tom pointed out, are the recipient of far more damaging local stress as well. Cheers, Mark ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------ 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 Highway 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 Felix.Martinez at noaa.gov Wed Aug 1 12:09:36 2007 From: Felix.Martinez at noaa.gov (Felix Martinez) Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:09:36 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral Reef Ecosystem session at 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting Message-ID: <46B0B040.1000204@noaa.gov> Dear Colleagues, The University of Hawaii Kewalo Marine Laboratory and NOAA's Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research are hosting the special topic session "Watersheds and Coral Reefs: Science, Policy and Implementation" (#076) at next year's 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Orlando . We encourage submission of abstracts focusing on integrated approaches to coral reef ecosystem management that incorporate the biophysical with the social sciences to address coral reef management from a watershed perspective. Abstract are due on October 02, 2007. The session description is as follows: *076 Watersheds and Coral Reefs: Science, Policy and Implementation* Robert Richmond, Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii at Manoa, richmond at hawaii.edu Felix Martinez, NOAA, Felix.Martinez at noaa.gov Michael Dowgiallo, NOAA, Michael.Dowgiallo at noaa.gov Coral reefs worldwide are being degraded by human-induced disturbances, resulting in ecological, economic and cultural losses. Runoff and sedimentation are among the greatest threats to coastal reefs surrounding high islands and adjacent to continental landmasses. Scientific data exist that identify key stressors, synergisms, and outcomes at the coral reef ecosystem, community and population levels. These data demonstrate that marine protected areas alone are insufficient for coral reef protection and that integrated watershed management practices in upland areas are also needed. Gaps in the effectiveness of environmental policy, legislation and regulatory enforcement have resulted in the continued degradation of U.S reefs. Several Pacific Islands, with intact resource stewardship and traditional leadership systems, have been able to apply research findings to coral reef management policies relatively quickly. Case histories in Micronesia and elsewhere provide insight on how biophysical data can be applied to manage human behaviors responsible for coral reef destruction, through the social sciences. Please note that this solicitation for abstracts does not constitute an offer for financial assistance to attend the meeting. For more information on this session and questions on the suitability of an abstract contact Dr. Bob Richmond or Dr. Felix Martinez . -- <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< Felix A. Martinez, Ph.D. NOAA/NOS/NCCOS Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research N/SCI2, SSMC4 Rm. 8326 ph: 301-713-3338 x153 1305 East-West Hwy. fax: 301-713-4044 Silver Spring, MD 20910 email: felix.martinez at noaa.gov Note: The content of this message does not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or of NOAA unless otherwise specified. The information therein is only for the use of the individuals or entities for which it was intended even if addressed incorrectly. If not the intended recipient, you may not use, copy, disseminate, or distribute the message or its content unless otherwise authorized. <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< -- <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< Felix A. Martinez, Ph.D. NOAA/NOS/NCCOS Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research N/SCI2, SSMC4 Rm. 8326 ph: 301-713-3338 x153 1305 East-West Hwy. fax: 301-713-4044 Silver Spring, MD 20910 email: felix.martinez at noaa.gov Note: The content of this message does not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or of NOAA unless otherwise specified. The information therein is only for the use of the individuals or entities for which it was intended even if addressed incorrectly. If not the intended recipient, you may not use, copy, disseminate, or distribute the message or its content unless otherwise authorized. <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< From d.petersen at rotterdamzoo.nl Wed Aug 1 22:33:08 2007 From: d.petersen at rotterdamzoo.nl (Dirk Petersen) Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2007 04:33:08 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] SECORE Workshop kick off Message-ID: <46B15E840200007A00007364@mail.blijdorp.nl> Today, the 3rd SECORE workshop has started in Rincon, Puerto Rico as announced previously. Please feel free to join the workshop participants on their adventure via the weblog at www.secore.org Tomorrow night, we will do the first night dive to check whether the Elkhorn coral is ready to spawn. Abstracts of the lectures given during the workshop will be available soon on the weblog. Best regards, Dirk Dr. Dirk Petersen Coordinator project SECORE From lirs at bigpond.com Thu Aug 2 00:35:33 2007 From: lirs at bigpond.com (Lizard Island Research Station) Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 14:35:33 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowships - call for applications Message-ID: <012101c7d4be$9f6e4ff0$0200a8c0@MANTARAY> The Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowships Program provides financial support for field-intensive coral reef research at Lizard Island Research Station on the Great Barrier Reef by outstanding PhD students from any university. The Australian Museum is pleased to announce that two Fellowships will be offered in 2008, each of up to three years' duration. The Ian Potter Doctoral Fellowship at Lizard Island is funded by The Ian Potter Foundation. The other Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship is funded by the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation. Preliminary applications are now invited for the 2008 Fellowships. The closing date is 28 September 2007. Further information and the preliminary application form are at http://www.lizardisland.net.au/research/doctoral_fellowships.htm Dr Anne Hoggett & Dr Lyle Vail, Directors Lizard Island Research Station PMB 37, Cairns QLD 4870, Australia Phone: + 61 (0)7 4060 3977 Fax: + 61 (0)7 4060 3055 lizard at austmus.gov.au www.lizardisland.net.au Lizard Island Research Station is a facility of the Australian Museum From eshinn at marine.usf.edu Thu Aug 2 13:26:45 2007 From: eshinn at marine.usf.edu (Gene Shinn) Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 13:26:45 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mark Eakin and climate change Message-ID: Mark, That is a well tempered statement and quite correct. You might be interested in this BBC website article linking Asian dust with warming and glacier melting. The full story will be in the Aug 2, issue of Nature. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/6926597.stm Interesting that while this article says Asian dust is causing warming NOAA has released several articles suggesting that African dust causes cooling that led to the reduced number of Atlantic hurricanes last summer. Interestingly the Virgin Island charter boat and insurance industry had that figured out in early July 2006 and made the decison not to move their charter boats to safe areas. Of course it is a more complicated story that just the dust reducing sunlight reaching the Atlantic. Gene -- 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 tmcclanahan at wcs.org Thu Aug 2 10:58:57 2007 From: tmcclanahan at wcs.org (Tim McClanahan) Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:58:57 +0300 Subject: [Coral-List] Caribbean Bleaching Spreadsheet Available Message-ID: Mark's early warning about coral bleaching in the Florida Keys reminded me that a spreadsheet has been developed for entering and partially analyzing bleaching category data, specifically for the Caribbean. To use it one needs to be able to identify corals to the genus or species and estimate the extent of bleaching of each colony. The method has the advantage of giving taxa and site-specific bleaching indices. It is available in the public folder below along with a slide show that explains the method in more detail. http://idisk.mac.com/trmcclanahan-Public?view=web The following papers present examples of a coordinated effort to study bleaching using this method in a large number of sites through the coordinated efforts of the authors. McClanahan, T. R., M. Ateweberhan, C. R. Sebastian, N. A. J. Graham, S. K. Wilson, M.M.M Guillaume, and H. Bruggemann 2007. Western Indian Ocean coral communities, bleaching responses, and susceptibility to extinction. Marine Ecology Progress Series 337:1-13. http://www.int-res.com/articles/feature/m337p001.pdf McClanahan, T. R., M. Ateweberhan, C. Ruiz Sebastian, N. A. J. Graham, S. K. Wilson, J. H. Bruggemann, and M. M. M. Guillaume. 2007. Predictability of coral bleaching from synoptic satellite and in situ temperature observations. Coral Reefs 10.1007/s00338-006-0193-7. ----------------------------------- Tim McClanahan ISRS, VP http://web.mac.com/trmcclanahan/iWeb/trmcclanahan/Welcome.html From joselyd_99 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 2 22:50:58 2007 From: joselyd_99 at yahoo.com (Joselyd) Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 19:50:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis Message-ID: <950732.50089.qm@web55812.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Hello, I was just wondering if anybody has seen A. cervicornis spawn or when they think they might spawn? Thanks! Sincerely, Joselyd "A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside." ~ Denis Waitley ~ Joselyd Garcia Graduate Student University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez P.O. Box 3415 Lajas, PR 00667-3415 --------------------------------- Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. From ckrediet at ufl.edu Fri Aug 3 11:35:10 2007 From: ckrediet at ufl.edu (Cory J. Krediet) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 11:35:10 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis In-Reply-To: <950732.50089.qm@web55812.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <200708031535.l73FZ2x41982670@smtp.ufl.edu> Dear Joselyd and Coral List, I am currently at Looe Key Reef in the FL Keys monitoring coral spawning as well. I have not seen the A. cervicornis go off yet but we did have some A. palmata spawn last night. We are expecting even more tonight. Best, cjk -- Cory J. Krediet Graduate Student University of Florida School of Natural Resources and Environment Interdisciplinary Ecology Program 908.930.6541 (cell) 352.273.8195 (lab) ckrediet at ufl.edu >< ( ( { ' > <> < ' } ) ) >< -----Original Message----- From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Joselyd Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 10:51 PM To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis Hello, I was just wondering if anybody has seen A. cervicornis spawn or when they think they might spawn? Thanks! Sincerely, Joselyd "A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside." ~ Denis Waitley ~ Joselyd Garcia Graduate Student University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez P.O. Box 3415 Lajas, PR 00667-3415 --------------------------------- Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From cac at gate.sinica.edu.tw Sat Aug 4 01:28:10 2007 From: cac at gate.sinica.edu.tw (Allen Chen) Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2007 13:28:10 +0800 Subject: [Coral-List] coral bleaching in the Kenting National Park, Taiwan Message-ID: Dear Coral-list, Starting from mid-late June, high SST (30C) is observed around the area of Southeast Taiwan, northern Philippine, and northern South China. Coral bleaching starts to develop in the mid July along the fringing reef at the Kenting National Park, Taiwan. Corals at shallow water (<5m) are bleaching intensively in the lat July. Over 45 hard coral species, mainly millepora and acroporids, are bleached at the first two surveys. Video transect surveys indicate over 70% of corals are affected. The most serious site is the fringing reef near the outlet of nuclear powerplant, where SST is measured at 35C degree at 3 m in depth. The coral bleaching can be ranked as the most serious bleaching event in the Kenting reef sincr the mass coral bleaching in 1998-1999. Hope this information will be helpful to monitoring the potential bleaching in those reefs around West Pacific. Cheers, Allen RCBAS, Taiwan From pascal.mege at gmail.com Fri Aug 3 19:37:22 2007 From: pascal.mege at gmail.com (buiscuil) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 19:37:22 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Spawning, Acropora palmata and blogs Message-ID: <6390f5290708031637s67cec911s2692b5a7b483c1@mail.gmail.com> Hello all, I was searching the web for interesting notes regarding the spawning of Acropora palmata and I found a couple of nice web pages having the particularity to be blogs updated daily during the spawning event. That is to say, probably just right now if we are all lucky! So, if like me you are interested by the spawning of A. palmata (recently listed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act for those who still do not know it) or any spawning of coral or just corals, you will be interested to check out these two blogs this week, after all that is what blogs are made for! One blog from a student of Prof. Iliana Baums in the Florida Keys at http://www.bio.psu.edu/people/faculty/baums/Spawn%202007.htm Another from the SECORE crew in Rincon, Puerto Rico (mostly representants from aquaria involved with A. palmata ; learn more on the webpage) at http://www.secore.org/ -- Pascal M?ge graduate student University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras From joselyd_99 at yahoo.com Sat Aug 4 11:26:08 2007 From: joselyd_99 at yahoo.com (Joselyd) Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2007 08:26:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis spawning Message-ID: <864669.70382.qm@web55803.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Hello, First, thank you to all of those who have replied to my message! I went to the field in La Parguera, PR starting two nights after the full moon until last night. I started monitoring the colonies from around 8 or 8:30 until 9:45pm. During these nights I did not witness Acropora cervicornis spawn. Just wondering if anybody witnessed A. cervicornis spawn? Thanks! Sincerely, Joselyd "A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside." ~ Denis Waitley ~ Joselyd Garcia Graduate Student University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez P.O. Box 3415 Lajas, PR 00667-3415 --------------------------------- Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. From pfisher at hawaii.edu Sat Aug 4 14:41:52 2007 From: pfisher at hawaii.edu (Pollyanna I Fisher) Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2007 08:41:52 -1000 Subject: [Coral-List] SEEDS Marine Ecology Student Field Trip In-Reply-To: <506813.9162.qm@web52107.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <506813.9162.qm@web52107.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: SEEDS Marine Ecology Student Field Trip The fall SEEDS student field trip will take place October 25-28, 2007 to Santa Barbara, California, hosted by the Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research Project (SBC). The field trip will center on the giant kelp forest ecosystems, the research focus of the SBC LTER. Activities will include: a field trip up one of the SBC LTER watersheds led by graduate students who do research there; a beach field trip and activity; an educational activity at the SBC LTER learning aquarium; a dinner that incorporates discussions and presentations focused on career options in marine science; and, some social time in Santa Barbara. All field trip expenses are covered for participants. More information and the application are available at http://www.esa.org/seeds/fieldtrips/upcoming.php. The application deadline is August 15, 2007. SEEDS Goal: SEEDS is an education program of the Ecological Society of America. Its mission is to diversify and advance the profession of ecology through opportunities that stimulate and nurture the interest of underrepresented students. Focused at the undergraduate level, opportunities sponsored by the program include student field trips, undergraduate research fellowships, ESA Annual Meeting travel awards, and campus ecology chapters. The core SEEDS program components offer hands-on, engaging experiences with ecology that exhibit the relevance and applications of the science. Each experience also provides opportunities to interact with a diverse group of ecologists and other motivated students to both broaden and deepen students? understanding of ecology and potential careers. I wish I was still an undergraduate and able to participate. The field trip I attended was one of the most rewarding and a great learning experience. Not to mention all of the great people I met. Please pass this on to any undergraduates who may qualify and are interested. Mahalo, P. Fisher-Pool From coral_giac at yahoo.com Sun Aug 5 17:31:15 2007 From: coral_giac at yahoo.com (Hernandez Edwin) Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 14:31:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis spawning In-Reply-To: <864669.70382.qm@web55803.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <648644.98869.qm@web30008.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Saludos, Joselyd and Coral listers: We checked on Acropora cervicornis spawning activity in our coral farms, as well as in wild colonies in Culebra Island, between the 4th and 6th evenings after this full moon. Reefs were inspected between 20:30 and 23:00 approx. each evening. No spawning activity was observed. Cheers. Edwin Edwin A. Hern?ndez-Delgado, Ph.D. Affiliate Researcher University of Puerto Rico Department of Biology Coral Reef Research Group P.O. Box 23360 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3360 Tel (787) 764-0000, x-2009 Fax (787) 764-2610 e-mail: coral_giac at yahoo.com --------------------------------- Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. From TAKANORI_SATO at env.go.jp Mon Aug 6 08:13:17 2007 From: TAKANORI_SATO at env.go.jp (=?ISO-2022-JP?B?GyRCOjRGIyEhP3JITxsoQg==?=) Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:13:17 +0900 Subject: [Coral-List] coral bleaching in Ishigaki Is., Okinawa, Japan Message-ID: <46B7105D.8020805@env.go.jp> Dear Coral-list, Coral bleaching is observed in Ishigaki Is. since late July. High SST(>30C) has continued around the southwest Ryukyu archipelago this summer. SST is measured at 35 degree C at the most affected area of bleaching (shallow lagoon) in the daytime. We at International Coal Reef Research and Monitoring Center have started collecting information on coral bleaching from various researchers and divers in Japan. We will release this information through our website soon (Sorry, in Japanese only). http://www.coremoc.go.jp/ Sincerely, Takanori ------------------------------------------------------- SATOH, Takanori International Coal Reef Research and Monitoring Center (Japan) From szmanta at uncw.edu Tue Aug 7 11:18:44 2007 From: szmanta at uncw.edu (Szmant, Alina) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 11:18:44 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Montastraea spawning Message-ID: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE15187@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> Hello All: There has been a number of postings about Acropora spawning in the Caribbean this past week but no listings of observations of spawning by the Montastraea annularis group. Has anyone observed these taxa to spawn over the past weekend? Any news would be appreciated (location, which morphs, time of spawning, % of colonies spawning). Many thanks, Alina Szmant P.S. When I get a free minute I will post a summary of past Acropora palmata spawn observations including fron years such as 1996 when we had the same lunar cycle as this year. That year we had extensive spawnings of A palmata both early and late August in the Florida keys. ******************************************************************* 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 buffonei at imsg.com Tue Aug 7 13:30:48 2007 From: buffonei at imsg.com (Ida Buffone) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 10:30:48 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Job Announcement - NEPA Environmental Regulations Specialist Message-ID: <2D543AF6-2E46-4C5A-839A-0967C458BE6C@mimectl> Greetings: I.M. Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG) [1]http://www.imsg.com/ has a job available for a NEPA Regulations Specialist to work at tje NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service in Long Beach, California. This is a full time position with an excellent benefits package including company paid health insurance as well as other benefits. If your are interested in applying for this postion, please send your resume to [2]jobs at imsg.com as indicated below in the job description. Thank you, IMSG Human Resources ______________________________________________________________________ ___________ I.M. Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG) [3]www.imsg.com is looking to hire a NEPA Regulations Specialist to work at the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Region in Long Beach, California in support of the Sustainable Fisheries Division's (SFD) mission. Responsibilities: ? Develop and lead coordination of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents in the form of technical writing and verbal communication. ? Provide assistance to SFD in preparing regulatory packages pertaining to the implementation of fishery management actions including amendments to fishery management plans, regulations to implement these plans, and associated administrative records. ? Analyze aquaculture policy and proposals and assist in the response to public inquiries. ? Perform environmental and economic impact analysis. ? Provide program support to SFD managers, biologists, and economists. Requirements: ? Master's degree in a related field is required. ? Excellent communications skills, both oral and written are essential. ? Fisheries management and policy experience is highly desirable. ? Familiarity with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other applicable environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act is desirable. ? Travel is anticipated for training purposes. To Apply: Please send your resume, a writing sample and a cover letter describing how your knowledge and skills fulfill the requirements of this position to [4]jobs at imsg.com with the following subject heading: NOA07029 -NEPA Regulations Specialist. Salary for this position is $45,000. IMSG is an equal opportunity employer. References 1. http://www.imsg.com/ 2. mailto:jobs at imsg.com 3. http://www.imsg.com/ 4. mailto:jobs at imsg.com From buffonei at imsg.com Tue Aug 7 13:33:04 2007 From: buffonei at imsg.com (Ida Buffone) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 10:33:04 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Job Announcement- Hypoxia and Harmful Algal Bloom Program Specialist Message-ID: Greetings: I.M. Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG) has a job available for a Hypoxia and Harmful Algal Bloom Program Specialist to work at the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) in Silver Spring, Maryland. If your are interested in applying for this postion, please send your resume to [1]jobs at imsg.com as indicated below in the job description. Thank you, IMSG Human Resources ______________________________________________________________________ ___________ I.M. Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG) [2]www.imsg.com is looking to hire a Hypoxia and Harmful Algal Bloom Program Specialist to provide leadership, oversight, and vision in advancing knowledge and reporting accomplishments from CSCOR research programs authorized by the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA). The successful candidate will be responsible for devising mechanisms to facilitate information and technology transfer to water quality and resource managers, and for collating and reporting project outputs and management-based outcomes in harmful algal bloom (HAB) and hypoxia research that are compliant with performance-related requirements stemming from the Government Performance and Results Act. This position will be located in the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) in the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), National Ocean Service (NOS), in Silver Spring, Maryland. Job Duties and Responsibilities: ? Produce a strategic planning document that describes the protocol for collating program outcomes for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reporting. ? Develop the management based outcome report for OMB. ? Coordinate workshops on HABs and hypoxia that might include the following: Regional Workshop for Harmful Algal Blooms in California Coastal Waters, developing the Implementation Plan for an Operational Observation System to Improve Monitoring of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone, and regional Ecosystem Prediction Workshop to Coordinate Hypoxia Research in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gulf of Maine HAB Research to Operations workshop. ? Produce reports from above workshops. ? Assist with development of HAB and hypoxia reports required by HABHRCA ? Develop web pages for HABHRCA legislation, HAB programs (ECOHAB, MERHAB, PCM, RDDTT), and hypoxia programs (NGOMEX, CHRP) ? Produce Fact Sheets describing HABHRCA legislation, and HAB and hypoxia programs. ? Produce newsletter articles and press releases on HABHRCA-related activities, and HAB and hypoxia program accomplishments. ? Coordination and oversight of CSCOR's HAB and hypoxia program perform ance planning, monitoring, and reporting activities. ? Contribute to short and long-term strategic planning for the HAB and hypoxia research areas. Job Requirements: ? Knowledge of the principles, theories, and practices of research on HABs and hypoxia. ? Ability to develop highly technical reports of program accomplishments and management applications. ? Knowledge of the performance and accountability related requirements incumbent on federal agencies. ? Experience with program planning and performance evaluation. ? Ability to coordinate and lead workshops for advancing strategic goals. ? Experience with developing outreach and related information on project outcomes. ? Experience with website organization and maintenance. ? Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills and the ability to effectively disseminate information to scientific and lay audiences ? Ability to interact with diverse individuals and groups, including a wide range of stakeholders, the HAB and hypoxia research and management communities, and Congress. ? Bachelor's Degree in marine science, biology, environmental policy, or a related field. ? Preference will be given to candidates that have 5+ years of experience in the areas of harmful algal blooms and/or hypoxia. ? Master's degree in a related field is desirable. To Apply: Please send your resume and three references in word format to [3]jobs at imsg.com with the following subject heading: NOA07027 - Hypoxia and HAB Program Specialist. Salary for this position is 60-70k. IMSG offers an excellent benefits package including company paid medical/dental benefits, three weeks vacation and tuition reimbursement. IMSG is an Equal Opportunity Employer. References 1. mailto:jobs at imsg.com 2. http://www.imsg.com/ 3. mailto:jobs at imsg.com From matz at mail.utexas.edu Tue Aug 7 23:13:10 2007 From: matz at mail.utexas.edu (mikhail matz) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 22:13:10 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Montastraea spawning In-Reply-To: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE15187@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> References: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE15187@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> Message-ID: <3AE7CC2F-4E48-4442-9C86-78550910E1DF@mail.utexas.edu> Hi all, Here at Looe Key we've seen one odd Montastrea faveolata releasing bundles on the night of 5th; the rest were not doing anything at all (from Aug 1 to 6). On the same night (Aug 5) Montastrea cavernosa spawned prodigiously starting from sunset (about 8 pm) and continuing well after 10 pm. We've seen lots of males, but only two females releasing gametes. Funny thing: on August 6 A. palmata went again (10:30 pm). The first A.palmata dribble was on the night of Aug 2 and then nothing until Aug 6. This night it looked like most of the colonies found at the site (Looe Key, buoy 10) were spawning, although it commonly was only part of the colony spawning. Really looking forward to the summary posting, Alina! cheers Misha Matz, Kim Ritchie et al from Mote Tropical Research Station On Aug 7, 2007, at 10:18 AM, Szmant, Alina wrote: > Hello All: > > There has been a number of postings about Acropora spawning in the > Caribbean this past week but no listings of observations of > spawning by the Montastraea annularis group. Has anyone observed > these taxa to spawn over the past weekend? Any news would be > appreciated (location, which morphs, time of spawning, % of > colonies spawning). > > Many thanks, > > Alina Szmant > > P.S. When I get a free minute I will post a summary of past > Acropora palmata spawn observations including fron years such as > 1996 when we had the same lunar cycle as this year. That year we > had extensive spawnings of A palmata both early and late August in > the Florida keys. > > ******************************************************************* > 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 > ****************************************************************** > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From miahnie at gmail.com Wed Aug 8 06:41:07 2007 From: miahnie at gmail.com (Miahnie Joy Pueblos) Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 18:41:07 +0800 Subject: [Coral-List] Mucus measurement Message-ID: Hello everyone! Does anyone know of a dye that would measure the amount of coral mucus in a water sample? I have read of dyes such as neutral red, coomassie blue to dye proteins and alcian blue dyeing transparent exopolymers. Any other dyes anyone know about? Thank you for your help. Sincerely, Miahnie -- Miahnie Joy J. Pueblos Bolinao Marine Laboratory The Marine Science Institute University of the Philippines Guiguiwanen, Bolinao Pangasinan, Philippines Telefax (075) 554-2755 Mobile +639163532370 miahnie at msi.upd.edu.ph miahnie at gmail.com From ctwiliams at yahoo.com Wed Aug 8 10:22:06 2007 From: ctwiliams at yahoo.com (Tom Williams) Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 07:22:06 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] PLoS - Open Access and SooMuch OnLine In-Reply-To: <3AE7CC2F-4E48-4442-9C86-78550910E1DF@mail.utexas.edu> Message-ID: <92899.66986.qm@web50404.mail.re2.yahoo.com> To All After all of the heat has settled regarding GW or CC Public Library of Science/OA has issued an article on the Decline of Corals in the Pacific which includes references to the influence of GW/CC, and excessive nutrients, and overfishing and show the value of the web and overwhelming info that is now and increasing available for many who ask for subjects to study. REF: Regional Decline of Coral Cover in the Indo-Pacific: Timing, Extent, and Subregional Comparisons John F. Bruno1*, Elizabeth R. Selig2* 1 Department of Marine Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America, 2 Curriculum in Ecology and Department of Marine Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America BUT ALSO CHECK OUT THE REFERENCES FOR THOSE NOW ON LINE. From Jennifer.Moore at noaa.gov Wed Aug 8 08:02:09 2007 From: Jennifer.Moore at noaa.gov (Jennifer Moore) Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:02:09 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora Spawn Blog Message-ID: <46B9B0C1.2070304@noaa.gov> To all: I have created a blog acroporaspawn.blogspot.com as a central location to post observation about this year's Caribbean Acropora spawn. I have seen a few posts to coral-list, but I was wondering if there are others out there who might be interested in having all the observations in one location. Access to this blog is open, just email me (jennifer.moore at noaa.gov ) to be added as an author and you can start blogging. I know I may be starting this a little late for some locations, but hopefully we will have another event after the next full moon. Cheers, Jennifer -- Jennifer Ann Moore Acropora Coordinator/GIS Coordinator Natural Resource Specialist NOAA Fisheries Service Protected Resources Division 263 13th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727)824-5312 phone (727)824-5309 fax jennifer.moore at noaa.gov http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/protres.htm To those who sacrificed careers of adventure in the wide-open spaces to wrestle for conservation in the policy arena. -- Jennifer Ann Moore Acropora Coordinator/GIS Coordinator Natural Resource Specialist NOAA Fisheries Service Protected Resources Division 263 13th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727)824-5312 phone (727)824-5309 fax jennifer.moore at noaa.gov http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/protres.htm To those who sacrificed careers of adventure in the wide-open spaces to wrestle for conservation in the policy arena. From Jennifer.Wheaton at MyFWC.com Wed Aug 8 13:53:18 2007 From: Jennifer.Wheaton at MyFWC.com (Wheaton, Jennifer) Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 13:53:18 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] FWC coral Research Administrator I Message-ID: <89E4B8C33455DD468022F3FA30CFEB8C038617CE@FWC-TLEX3.fwc.state.fl.us> The closing date for applying for the coral Research Administrator I position with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has been extended to 8/10/07. From Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov Wed Aug 8 16:57:57 2007 From: Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov (Mark Eakin) Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:57:57 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Western Pacific Bleaching Message-ID: <670EB293-053D-4AFA-88B8-B1B646113E97@noaa.gov> Warming has been seen in the region from the northern Philippines to southern Japan and Korea. NOAA Coral Reef Watch data reveal sea surface temperatures of 30-32 degrees and Coral Bleaching HotSpots reveal water temperatures of up to 2.9 degrees above the maximum monthly mean. The warmest thermal stress accumulation is currently found in the region south of Taipei and northwest of Luzon. Our Degree Heating Week product reveals that the waters off the Luzon coast now exceed 10 degree weeks of thermal stress. Reports, including two on the Coral List, indicate that bleaching is already underway at Kenting National Park, Taiwan, Ishigaki Island, Japan, and the Philippines. Another large region of heat stress can be seen in the region east of the Mariana Islands and northwest of Wake Island. The SST anomalies and HotSpots are not as high in this region and are currently of less threat to coral reef systems. Our 24 index sites around the globe can be found at: http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/CB_indices/ coral_bleaching_indices.html Current HotSpot and Degree Heating Week charts, HDF data, and GoogleEarth products can be found at: http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/index.html Please report any bleaching observations from this region to the Coral List and to ReefBase at http://www.reefbase.org/contribute/ bleachingreport.aspx Cheers, Mark ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------ 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 Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 301-713-2857 x109 Fax: 301-713-3136 From oveh at uq.edu.au Wed Aug 8 21:32:09 2007 From: oveh at uq.edu.au (Ove Hoegh-Guldberg) Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 11:32:09 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Discuss Bruno and Selig (2007) Message-ID: <6C62167D152FAD4F91D2D6C8392D1DF003726095@UQEXMB1.soe.uq.edu.au> Dear list, A new study released today by Bruno & Selig in PLoS Biology shows some very interesting if not worrying trends in the decline of coral communities throughout the Indo-Pacific (inclu. Great Barrier Reef). This is an important paper. Join in the discussion that has begun at www.climateshifts.org. Regards, Ove Ove Hoegh-Guldberg Professor and Director Centre for Marine Studies The University of Queensland St Lucia 4072 Queensland, Australia From kayanne at eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp Thu Aug 9 07:58:49 2007 From: kayanne at eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp (Hajime Kayanne) Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 20:58:49 +0900 Subject: [Coral-List] Western Pacific Bleaching In-Reply-To: <670EB293-053D-4AFA-88B8-B1B646113E97@noaa.gov> References: <670EB293-053D-4AFA-88B8-B1B646113E97@noaa.gov> Message-ID: Mark and list, As was quickly reported from Sato-san on 6 August at this ML, Ishigaki Is reef, the most flourished reef in Japan, is now heavily bleached. Shiraho reef known by its large distribution of Heliopora coerulea, is 60-70% bleached and some of the corals were already dead. Sea water temperature at Shirao reef increased over 33 degree centigrade during daytime, and never decreased below 30 degree centigrade even during nighttime since 21 July (measured by Tokyo Institute of Technology), and the bleaching started since 23 July. On 2 to 4 August, we conducted a survey along our 3.2 km long permanent transect, along which we recorded coral community change since before the 1998 bleaching and published: Kayanne, Harii, Ide and Akimoto (2002) Recovery of coral populations after the 1998 bleaching on Shiraho Reef, in the southern Ryukyus, NW Pacific. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 239, 93-103. 50 to 90 % colonies of Porites lutea, Pavona frondifera, various species of Acropora, Pocillopora and Montipora aequituberculata were bleached and some of them were already dead. 70 % of Montipora digitata was bleached. Heliopora coerulea, on the other hand, was rarely bleached. Porites cylindrica was also bleached, but in an area near Heliopora distribution was not bleached. The species difference was almost the same as that at 1998 bleaching event, except that Porites lutea, which was bleached but recovered its symbiotic algae after one month bleaching was already dead for the colonies along the shoreside. The situation seems to be more severe than that in 1998. Since 5 August, two typhoons passed near Ryukyu Islands, and I hope they reduced seawater temperature to stop the bleaching. Best wishes, Hajime Kayanne At 4:57 PM -0400 07.8.8, Mark Eakin wrote: >Warming has been seen in the region from the northern Philippines to >southern Japan and Korea. NOAA Coral Reef Watch data reveal sea >surface temperatures of 30-32 degrees and Coral Bleaching HotSpots >reveal water temperatures of up to 2.9 degrees above the maximum >monthly mean. The warmest thermal stress accumulation is currently >found in the region south of Taipei and northwest of Luzon. Our >Degree Heating Week product reveals that the waters off the Luzon >coast now exceed 10 degree weeks of thermal stress. Reports, >including two on the Coral List, indicate that bleaching is already >underway at Kenting National Park, Taiwan, Ishigaki Island, Japan, >and the Philippines. > >Another large region of heat stress can be seen in the region east of >the Mariana Islands and northwest of Wake Island. The SST anomalies >and HotSpots are not as high in this region and are currently of less >threat to coral reef systems. > >Our 24 index sites around the globe can be found at: >http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/CB_indices/ >coral_bleaching_indices.html > >Current HotSpot and Degree Heating Week charts, HDF data, and >GoogleEarth products can be found at: >http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/index.html > >Please report any bleaching observations from this region to the >Coral List and to ReefBase at http://www.reefbase.org/contribute/ >bleachingreport.aspx > >Cheers, >Mark > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >------------------------ >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 Highway >Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 >301-713-2857 x109 Fax: 301-713-3136 > > >_______________________________________________ >Coral-List mailing list >Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list -- Hajime Kayanne Dept Earth & Planetary Science, Univ Tokyo From Marci.Wulff at noaa.gov Thu Aug 9 11:04:07 2007 From: Marci.Wulff at noaa.gov (Marci Wulff) Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:04:07 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral Reef Management Fellowship Available Message-ID: <46BB2CE7.800@noaa.gov> Please spread the word... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is pleased to announce the availability of four (4), two-year fellowship positions under the Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program. The positions will be located in Pago Pago, American Samoa; Adelup, Guam; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Background information: The NOAA Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program was established to respond to the need for additional coral reef management capacity and capability in the U.S. Flag islands. The program matches highly qualified recipients of bachelor's and master's degrees with hosts from the coral reef management programs within the U.S. Flag Pacific and Caribbean Islands. This opportunity offers a competitive salary and professional development training as well as conference travel and relocation expense reimbursement. The program is funded and managed by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program in conjunction with the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) and the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). Hosts for the NOAA Coral Reef Management Fellowship include the coastal and marine resource management agencies of American Samoa, CNMI, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Applications are currently being accepted for positions in American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and CNMI. To apply and for more information on the Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program go to: http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/fellowship.html or contact Marci.Wulff at noaa.gov . Applications are being accepted through August 31, 2007. -- Marci Wulff NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program 1305 East-West Hwy. Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: 301-713-3155 ext. 176 Fax: 301-713-4389 Email: Marci.Wulff at noaa.gov From andrei670 at hotmail.com Fri Aug 10 01:32:24 2007 From: andrei670 at hotmail.com (Andrei Salcedo G) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 05:32:24 +0000 Subject: [Coral-List] LARVAE STAINING Message-ID: greatings to all listers. I am now carring on a study on the population dynamics of the brooding species manicina areolata in colombian Caribbean. i want to estimate de reproductive effort through larvae counting. i have been searching the web for methods of staining, but i have no data. the problem is that all the methods are too complex beacuse of the equipment they use and that is stuff we dont have in our lab; otherwise the methods referred in the articles take me to books we rather have. i am looking for a method for simple staining useful for microscopic observations of larvae and gamets.thank you again for your help. the list will have notice of the results when they are ready. ANDREI SALCEDO GREBECHOV Dendrobates; Sociedad de Turismo Biol?gico Turismo y Ciencia SOCIO FUNDADOR Bi?logo universidad Javeriana Colombia _________________________________________________________________ Explore the seven wonders of the world http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=7+wonders+world&mkt=en-US&form=QBRE From dragon25fire at yahoo.com Fri Aug 10 12:11:51 2007 From: dragon25fire at yahoo.com (DAN BIELTZ) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:11:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] thesis on corals Message-ID: <80190.40367.qm@web35412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> To all coral list members, Hello, my name is Dan Bieltz and I am a graduate student at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA USA. I am conducting my MS thesis on the coral species P. damicornis and plan to do a metal analysis on the coral skeleton and tissues using ICP-MS. I was wondering if anyone had some insight on a protocol to follow in relation to preparation. I found some journal articles but they usually are studies on toxic metals within the coral skeletons and require vigorous procedures. Thank you for your time all. Dan Bieltz Chatham University Pittsburgh, PA (330) 261-3327 --------------------------------- Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. From acohen at whoi.edu Fri Aug 10 15:50:36 2007 From: acohen at whoi.edu (Anne Cohen) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:50:36 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Fall AGU session B27: Frontiers in Biomineralization Research: Processes, Geochemical Signatures and Responses to Global Change Message-ID: <46BCC18C.4060205@whoi.edu> Dear Colleagues, The following session at the AGU fall meeting in San Francisco will focus on all aspects of Biomineralization: the fundamental processes involved in shell building, the implications of these processes for interpreting paleoclimate proxies, and the vulnerability of shells and skeletons to global climate changes, particularly ocean temperatures and saturation state. We encourage you to submit your abstract for the Sept. 6 deadline. Anne Cohen Jess Adkins Dan McCorkle David Gillikin B27: Frontiers in Biomineralization Research: Processes, Geochemical Signatures and Responses to Global Change Description: The composition and mineralogy of biominerals reflect the chemical and physical environments from which they formed. However, interpreting these signatures is not straightforward because conditions within the mineralization environment are influenced by biological processes, and usually differ from external conditions. Unraveling these biological effects requires an understanding of fundamental pathways and processes of biomineralization. Such insights are also key to understanding and predicting the response of shelled organisms to past and future changes in global climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide. Much of our current knowledge of biomineralization stems from analyses of field specimens, but complementary insights into biomineral formation are now being gained through laboratory precipitation studies of inorganic analogs, culturing studies of biomineralizing organisms, and modeling studies. With this multi-pronged approach, the physical basis of biomineralization may be elucidated, the superimposed effects of biological processes on environmental proxies quantified, and the response of biomineralizers to global change and ocean acidification better understood. We invite papers from field, laboratory, and theoretical studies of biogenic and abiogenic systems related to this rapidly developing research arena. Note that our session is formally linked to, and will run in conjunction with, session PP24: Chemical and Isotopic Composition of Marine Carbonate Skeletons: Physiological Versus Environmental Control , chaired by Anders Meibom and Anton Eisenhauer. -- Anne L. Cohen Department of Geology and Geophysics Mailstop 23 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole, MA, 02543 USA office 508 289 2958 lab 508 289 4836 fax: 508 289 2183 email: acohen at whoi.edu From j.marcus at fisheries.ubc.ca Fri Aug 10 17:26:48 2007 From: j.marcus at fisheries.ubc.ca (Jean Marcus) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:26:48 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Two job postings for Project Seahorse Message-ID: Two job postings for Project Seahorse, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia Project Seahorse ([1]www.projectseahorse.org) is an interdisciplinary and international organisation committed to the conservation and sustainable use of the worlds coastal marine ecosystems. Based at the University of British Columbia (Canada), Project Seahorse works in partnership with the Zoological Society of London (UK) and the John G. Shedd Aquarium (USA). The Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation (Philippines) is also an integral part of Project Seahorse. 1. RESEARCH ASSISTANT The Research Assistant will support various teaching and research activities of the Project Seahorse Director. She/he will collaborate with the Director and other team members to produce scientific papers and reports. The Research Assistant will also establish long-distance links to collegiate and volunteer groups around the world and respond to general research and conservation queries from colleagues, the media, and the public. She/he will assist in organizing special events hosted by Project Seahorse and coordinate the preparation of newsletters and annual reports. We are looking for somebody with a strong work ethic who can function independently, exercise common sense, use discretion, and communicate effectively. Qualifications: - University degree (preferably Masters of Science) in a relative biological science; - Excellent research and organizational skills; - Two years of relevant experience in conservation-related research and management; - Language skills and experience in developing countries is an asset; - Evidence of ability to complete projects; - Robust database management skills; - Excellent computer management and graphic skills; - Familiarity with all elements involved in producing scientific research; - Familiarity with issues in aquatic conservation. Please send a cover letter and your curriculum vitae to Ms. Shannon Charney ([2] s.charney at fisheries.ubc.ca). Deadline: Monday, September 3rd, 2007 or until post filled. This full-time position is an initial one year appointment, with strong potential for renewal. The successful candidate will be based at the Fisheries Centre in the University of British Columbia. "UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. We encourage all qualified persons to apply" 2. PROGRAMME MANAGER The Programme Manager is responsible for ensuring that Project Seahorse executes its research and conservation activities professionally, efficiently and effectively. As a member of Project Seahorse leadership team, she/he will participate in strategic planning, policy development, systems development and fundraising planning. The Programme Manager provides guidance for post doctoral fellows, graduate students, research assistants, and research staff in the Philippines. The incumbent will build and foster effective relationships with partners and collaborators, and develop new research partnership opportunities. Additionally, the position oversees financial management, compliance with requirements of UBC, our partner institutions and donors, and ensures that the leadership team has financial information to make decisions. We are looking for somebody with a strong work ethic who can function independently, exercise common sense, use discretion, and communicate effectively. Qualifications: - PhD in a biological or environmental science (possibly social sciences if related to conservation) and at least 2 years of postdoctoral experience (preferably in practical conservation); - Strong interpersonal, leadership and visionary skills, with a proven track record of developing relationships with stakeholders and supporting a dynamic and creative team; - Experience working in or with developing countries and in a variety of cultural settings; - Proven project management skills; - Experience in a non-governmental organization highly desirable; - Proven ability to manage complex financial arrangements and to prepare and effectively monitor budgets is essential. - Willing and able to travel, sometimes for several weeks. Please send a cover letter and your curriculum vitae to Ms. Shannon Charney ([3] s.charney at fisheries.ubc.ca). Deadline: Monday, September 3rd, 2007 or until post filled. This full-time position is an initial one year appointment, with strong potential for renewal. The successful candidate will be based at the Fisheries Centre in the University of British Columbia. "UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. We encourage all qualified persons to apply" References 1. http://www.projectseahorse.org/ 2. mailto:s.charney at fisheries.ubc.ca 3. mailto:s.charney at fisheries.ubc.ca From cac at gate.sinica.edu.tw Fri Aug 10 20:31:01 2007 From: cac at gate.sinica.edu.tw (Allen Chen) Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 08:31:01 +0800 Subject: [Coral-List] postdoc position on coral associated microbial diversity and coral disease, Academia Sinica, Taiwan Message-ID: <241032F9-973F-48E8-BEFB-C9FD0D504102@gate.sinica.edu.tw> Dear coral-list, A postdoc position on coral associated microbial diversity and coral disease is immediately available in the Microbial Diversity lab, Research Centre for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. This postdoc is expected to conduct field sampling, molecular microbiology, and bioinformatics for a joint research project on the cyanobacteriosponge outbreak in the Green Island, Taiwan. For detail, please contact Dr. Sen-Lin Tang (sltang at gate.sinica.edu.tw) directly, at Research Centre for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Cheers, Allen RCBAS, Taiwan From peterhouk at gmail.com Fri Aug 10 20:20:51 2007 From: peterhouk at gmail.com (Peter Houk) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:20:51 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Mariana Islands bleaching Message-ID: Greetings, A bleaching report from Saipan Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Manta-tows revealed that shallow (0-5 m) coral communities around Saipan started showing signs of bleaching in early August. Follow-up transect and quadrat surveys at long-term monitoring stations thus far revealed that10 - 15 % of shallow water, tabulate Acropora and encrusting Montipora colonies are currently bleaching. Notably, at the 10-12 m depth no such bleaching is yet observed. Minimal coloration remains at the base of many of these bleached colonies. A bit more detailed information was also posted on the reefbase website. Peter *************************************************** Dr. Peter Houk Marine Biologist CNMI Division of Environmental Quality Saipan, MP. 96950 www.cnmicoralreef.net/monitoring From samantha_birch at hotmail.com Fri Aug 10 23:17:00 2007 From: samantha_birch at hotmail.com (Samantha Birch) Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:17:00 -0000 Subject: [Coral-List] Fw: We had a spawning this past Tuesday and Wednesday Message-ID: Dear Coral List, There was a spawning event on the Big Island of Hawaii earlier this week and as of yet no-one has been able to identify whether the eggs are coral spawn or other. The Department of Health here on Hawaii have determined they are not fish eggs and we are all curious to find out what they are. Attached are some images- can anyone help identify whether they are in fact coral spawn and if so, what species? Thank you in advance! Samantha Birch Reef Teacher Kahalu'u Bay The Kohala Center From eborneman at uh.edu Sun Aug 12 08:13:37 2007 From: eborneman at uh.edu (Eric Borneman) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 07:13:37 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis spawning In-Reply-To: <648644.98869.qm@web30008.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <648644.98869.qm@web30008.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear list: During the 3rd SECORE workshop (www.secore.org), we checked on mature branches of A. cervicornis at Bajo Gallardo and from colonies in Rincon, Puerto Rico. There were no visible gametes in the polyps and no spawning was observed from Aug 3-9. Best Eric Borneman __________________________ Eric Borneman Dept. of Biology and Biochemistry University of Houston Science and Research Bldg. II 4800 Calhoun Rd. Houston, TX 77204-5001 On Aug 5, 2007, at 4:31 PM, Hernandez Edwin wrote: > Saludos, Joselyd and Coral listers: > > We checked on Acropora cervicornis spawning activity in our coral > farms, as well as in wild colonies in Culebra Island, between the > 4th and 6th evenings after this full moon. Reefs were inspected > between 20:30 and 23:00 approx. each evening. No spawning activity > was observed. > > Cheers. > > Edwin > > > Edwin A. Hern?ndez-Delgado, Ph.D. > Affiliate Researcher > > University of Puerto Rico > Department of Biology > Coral Reef Research Group > P.O. Box 23360 > San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3360 > > Tel (787) 764-0000, x-2009 > Fax (787) 764-2610 > > e-mail: coral_giac at yahoo.com > > --------------------------------- > Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. > Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From osmarjljr at terra.com.br Sat Aug 11 20:05:50 2007 From: osmarjljr at terra.com.br (Osmar Luiz Jr) Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 21:05:50 -0300 Subject: [Coral-List] Fw: Coral Worse Off Than Believed SCIENCE NOW 08 2007 Message-ID: <026901c7dc74$8b7116f0$a400a8c0@NOTEBOOK> Subject: Coral Worse Off Than Believed SCIENCE NOW 08 2007 Coral Worse Off Than Believed By Amy Coombs ScienceNOW Daily News The first large-scale analysis of the world's largest reef system indicates that coral destruction is faster and more widespread than researchers previously thought. Over the past 2 decades, coral has disappeared at five times the rate of Earth's rainforests. Long considered a hotbed of biodiversity, the Indian and Pacific oceans are home to 75% of the world's coral reefs. For years, conservationists have been trying to document coral loss in the Indo-Pacific region, which encompasses Hawaii, Australia, and Southeast Asia, but its large size has frustrated efforts. All researchers had to go on were scattered reef studies, which no one has attempted to integrate due to the large number of national, international, and nonprofit groups collecting the data. Undaunted, John Bruno, a marine biologist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and colleagues spent 3 years compiling over 6000 independent surveys. In all, the data spanned 4 decades and recorded the status of more than 2600 reefs. The team then combed through data collected by the many different parties working in the area, searching for historical and geographic coral loss patterns. The results were not pretty. Over 3000 square kilometers of living coral reef are lost each year, the team found, and the speed of destruction is no lower in protected habitats such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Conservationists had previously believed that accelerated declines started in the 1990s, but the researchers found reports of widespread loss dating back to the 1960s, when pollution, deforestation, and over-fishing trends began. Reefs vanished at an annual rate of 1% during the 1980s, with declines climbing through the 1990s to the current rate of 2%--nearly five times the pace of rainforest elimination, say the authors. Global warming, pollution, and over-fishing remain the likely culprits, the team reports online today in PLoS One. As each square kilometer of coral reef can generates hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for local economies through tourism and sustainable fishing--and because numerous species depend on coral for survival--the losses will have huge economic and ecologic impacts, the authors conclude. "Much of the previous information on the decline of reefs in the Pacific region has rested on pretty scant data," says Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a biologist at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. "[This paper] systematically looks at reef decline and finds an unambiguous and highly significant statistical trend." Nancy Knowlton, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, California, adds that the findings challenge widely-held beliefs about the global status of coral reefs. Prior to this study, researchers thought that Indo-Pacific reefs were in better shape than those in other parts of the world she says. "Here we learn that this guarded optimism was without basis? there are no bright spots." Related sites NOAA site on coral disease http://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/diseases/ Researchers' site, with coral photos http://www.unc.edu/~brunoj/Bruno%20lab/Home.html Esta mensagem foi verificada pelo E-mail Protegido Terra. Scan engine: McAfee VirusScan / Atualizado em 09/08/2007 / Vers?o: 5.1.00/5094 Proteja o seu e-mail Terra: http://mail.terra.com.br/ -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.11.10/943 - Release Date: 8/8/2007 17:38 From allison.billiam at gmail.com Sun Aug 12 09:46:48 2007 From: allison.billiam at gmail.com (William Allison) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:46:48 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] (searchable?) archives pre-mid-2003? Message-ID: <1eab821b0708120646g6532fe13va203d91dfeb720fd@mail.gmail.com> Hi, I can't seem to find (1) early coral-list archives or (2) a means of searching the available archives on-line or (3) on-line information/instructions about 1 & 2. What gives? Bill From jim.hendee at noaa.gov Sun Aug 12 19:30:55 2007 From: jim.hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:30:55 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] (searchable?) archives pre-mid-2003? In-Reply-To: <1eab821b0708120646g6532fe13va203d91dfeb720fd@mail.gmail.com> References: <1eab821b0708120646g6532fe13va203d91dfeb720fd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <46BF982F.6040709@noaa.gov> Archives from 1995 to 2003 can be found at, http://www.coral.noaa.gov/lists/archives.shtml while the newer archives can be found at, http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/pipermail/coral-list/ Since the earlier archives load as one big file you can use your search function. However, the later archives do not (yet) have a search function. Sorry about that. Cheers, Jim William Allison wrote: > Hi, I can't seem to find (1) early coral-list archives or (2) a means > of searching the available archives on-line or (3) on-line > information/instructions about 1 & 2. > What gives? > Bill > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > From ctwiliams at yahoo.com Sun Aug 12 22:53:56 2007 From: ctwiliams at yahoo.com (Tom Williams) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:53:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Thanks to Jim - archives pre-mid-2003 I hope you get Sunday Pay/Com-Time In-Reply-To: <46BF982F.6040709@noaa.gov> Message-ID: <570826.3895.qm@web50405.mail.re2.yahoo.com> TO ALL Thanks to Jim for such valiant service to a very large group of prima donas and others - You should not be working on saturdays and sundays BUT THANKS for your efforts TOM --- Jim Hendee wrote: > Archives from 1995 to 2003 can be found at, > http://www.coral.noaa.gov/lists/archives.shtml > while the newer archives can be found at, > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/pipermail/coral-list/ > > Since the earlier archives load as one big file you > can use your search > function. However, the later archives do not (yet) > have a search > function. Sorry about that. > > Cheers, > Jim > > William Allison wrote: > > Hi, I can't seem to find (1) early coral-list > archives or (2) a means > > of searching the available archives on-line or (3) > on-line > > information/instructions about 1 & 2. > > What gives? > > Bill > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 jos at reefcheck.org Sun Aug 12 23:27:22 2007 From: jos at reefcheck.org (Jos Hill) Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:27:22 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Volunteer Placement - Reef Check Australia Message-ID: <8371AD59-10E0-427B-AAB6-461751EA37B8@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 2008 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 Position 3: Communications, PR & Fundraising Support Project Officer. Position 1: January ? June. Position 2: June ? December 2008 (full time) The Project Officer position involves the planning, coordination and leadership of Reef Check research teams to survey sites in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. 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 50 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: m Tertiary qualification in marine biology m Rescue diver with a minimum of 50 logged dives m Current first aid, CPR and oxygen provider qualifications* m Proven experience with team leadership and coordination of projects m Good communication skills, both verbal and written m Ability to take initiative and work independently * safety qualifications must be accepted courses in Queensland e.g. Senior First Aid, Dan Oxygen Provider ? please check with Reef Check regarding which qualifications you have to confirm if they are accepted) Desired skills and qualifications: m Divemaster or Instructor with full insurance m Experience with coral reef monitoring Why Work for Reef Check Australia? m Part of the United Nation?s official International coral reef monitoring program m Strong scientific reputation m Work with likeminded people at the cutting edge of coral reef conservation Benefits to you include the opportunity to: m Enhance your research skills m Enhance team management skills m Enhance project coordination skills m Contribute to Australia?s long-term data set m Take part in the most comprehensive Reef Check Training program in the world m Work with like-minded professionals and volunteers at one of the world?s leading centres of tropical marine science m Log dives at some of Australia?s most spectacular coral reefs m Potential for ongoing opportunities with Reef Check Applicants should send their resume to Jos Hill at jos at reefcheck.org Education Officer. January - June 2008 (full time or part time) 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: m Experience in developing environmental educational materials or an educational degree m Good communication skills, both verbal and written m Ability to take initiative and work independently m Proven experience and credentials for working with children. You will require a ?blue card? to work with the youth in Australia. If you want to participate in Reef Check surveys you will need: m Rescue diver with a minimum of 50 logged dives m Current first aid, CPR and oxygen provider qualifications* * safety qualifications must be accepted courses in Queensland e.g. Senior First Aid, Dan Oxygen Provider ? please check with Reef Check regarding which qualifications you have to confirm if they are accepted) Why Work for Reef Check Australia? m Part of the United Nation?s official International coral reef monitoring program m Strong scientific reputation m Work with likeminded people at the cutting edge of coral reef conservation Benefits to you include the opportunity to: m Team-work skills m Learn coral reef research skills m Project management skills m Contribute to Australia?s long-term data set m Take part in the most comprehensive Reef Check Training program in the world m Work with like-minded professionals and volunteers at one of the world?s leading centres of tropical marine science m Log dives at some of Australia?s most spectacular coral reefs m Potential for ongoing opportunities with Reef Check Applicants should send their resume to Jos Hill at jos at reefcheck.org Communications, PR & Fundraising Support. January ? June 2008 (full time or part time) The Communications, PR and Fundraising Support position will involve assisting our marketing and communications manager in the development and coordination of communication programs as well as helping to develop fundraising opportunities and prepare grants. PR and communication activities include but are not limited to: community service announcements, radio/newspaper/magazine articles, Reef Check Australia membership program, community education and awareness- raising events and community competitions. 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: m Experience in developing communications materials or a communications degree m Proven communication skills, both verbal and written m Ability to take initiative and work independently Desired skills and qualifications: m Experience with MX Dreamweaver m Experience with fundraising & grant-writing If you want to participate in Reef Check surveys you will need: m Rescue diver with a minimum of 50 logged dives m Current first aid, CPR and oxygen provider qualifications* * safety qualifications must be accepted courses in Queensland e.g. Senior First Aid, Dan Oxygen Provider ? please check with Reef Check regarding which qualifications you have to confirm if they are accepted) Why Work for Reef Check Australia? m Part of the United Nation?s official International coral reef monitoring program m Strong scientific reputation m Work with likeminded people at the cutting edge of coral reef conservation Benefits to you include the opportunity to: m Team-work skills m Learn coral reef research skills m Project management skills m Contribute to Australia?s long-term data set m Take part in the most comprehensive Reef Check Training program in the world m Work with like-minded professionals and volunteers at one of the world?s leading centres of tropical marine science m Log dives at some of Australia?s most spectacular coral reefs m Potential for ongoing opportunities with Reef Check Applicants should send their resume to Jos Hill at jos at reefcheck.org Jos Hill Managing 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 The Reef Needs You From szmanta at uncw.edu Sun Aug 12 23:15:22 2007 From: szmanta at uncw.edu (Szmant, Alina) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:15:22 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis spawning References: <648644.98869.qm@web30008.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE151A3@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> Hi Eric: How far down the branches did you look? The polyps are sterile until ca. 8-10 cm away from the tips. Only branches longer than 10-15 cm are reproductive. Best, 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 Eric Borneman Sent: Sun 8/12/2007 8:13 AM To: Hernandez Edwin Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; Joselyd Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis spawning Dear list: During the 3rd SECORE workshop (www.secore.org), we checked on mature branches of A. cervicornis at Bajo Gallardo and from colonies in Rincon, Puerto Rico. There were no visible gametes in the polyps and no spawning was observed from Aug 3-9. Best Eric Borneman __________________________ Eric Borneman Dept. of Biology and Biochemistry University of Houston Science and Research Bldg. II 4800 Calhoun Rd. Houston, TX 77204-5001 On Aug 5, 2007, at 4:31 PM, Hernandez Edwin wrote: > Saludos, Joselyd and Coral listers: > > We checked on Acropora cervicornis spawning activity in our coral > farms, as well as in wild colonies in Culebra Island, between the > 4th and 6th evenings after this full moon. Reefs were inspected > between 20:30 and 23:00 approx. each evening. No spawning activity > was observed. > > Cheers. > > Edwin > > > Edwin A. Hern?ndez-Delgado, Ph.D. > Affiliate Researcher > > University of Puerto Rico > Department of Biology > Coral Reef Research Group > P.O. Box 23360 > San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3360 > > Tel (787) 764-0000, x-2009 > Fax (787) 764-2610 > > e-mail: coral_giac at yahoo.com > > --------------------------------- > Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. > Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. > _______________________________________________ > 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 eborneman at uh.edu Mon Aug 13 08:40:43 2007 From: eborneman at uh.edu (Eric Borneman) Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 07:40:43 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis spawning In-Reply-To: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE151A3@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> References: <648644.98869.qm@web30008.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE151A3@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> Message-ID: <3E42FDC1-3D3A-4306-9C5B-6968A6334C2C@uh.edu> Hi Alina: Thanks for the information and I was aware of that. The branches were 20-30cm and the polyps at the base of the branch of the largest colonies in the area were the ones examined. Best, Eric __________________________ Eric Borneman Dept. of Biology and Biochemistry University of Houston Science and Research Bldg. II 4800 Calhoun Rd. Houston, TX 77204-5001 eborneman at uh.edu On Aug 12, 2007, at 10:15 PM, Szmant, Alina wrote: > Hi Eric: > > How far down the branches did you look? The polyps are sterile > until ca. 8-10 cm away from the tips. Only branches longer than > 10-15 cm are reproductive. > > Best, > > 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 Eric > Borneman > Sent: Sun 8/12/2007 8:13 AM > To: Hernandez Edwin > Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; Joselyd > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Acropora cervicornis spawning > > > > Dear list: > > During the 3rd SECORE workshop (www.secore.org), we checked on mature > branches of A. cervicornis at Bajo Gallardo and from colonies in > Rincon, Puerto Rico. There were no visible gametes in the polyps and > no spawning was observed from Aug 3-9. > > Best > > Eric Borneman > > > __________________________ > Eric Borneman > Dept. of Biology and Biochemistry > University of Houston > Science and Research Bldg. II > 4800 Calhoun Rd. > Houston, TX 77204-5001 > > > > > On Aug 5, 2007, at 4:31 PM, Hernandez Edwin wrote: > >> Saludos, Joselyd and Coral listers: >> >> We checked on Acropora cervicornis spawning activity in our coral >> farms, as well as in wild colonies in Culebra Island, between the >> 4th and 6th evenings after this full moon. Reefs were inspected >> between 20:30 and 23:00 approx. each evening. No spawning activity >> was observed. >> >> Cheers. >> >> Edwin >> >> >> Edwin A. Hern?ndez-Delgado, Ph.D. >> Affiliate Researcher >> >> University of Puerto Rico >> Department of Biology >> Coral Reef Research Group >> P.O. Box 23360 >> San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3360 >> >> Tel (787) 764-0000, x-2009 >> Fax (787) 764-2610 >> >> e-mail: coral_giac at yahoo.com >> >> --------------------------------- >> Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. >> Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 emily.howells at jcu.edu.au Mon Aug 13 10:01:39 2007 From: emily.howells at jcu.edu.au (Emily Howells) Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:01:39 +1000 (EST) Subject: [Coral-List] More on Western Pacific coral bleaching Message-ID: <20070814000139.BLN23826@mirapoint-ms1.jcu.edu.au> For those interested, this follows on from the previous reports of coral bleaching at Ishigaki Island in the Western Pacific. I visited a few of the reefs around Ishigaki at the end of last week and have taken a number of photos of the bleaching impact on the wide range of hard and soft coral genera which have been affected. I am happy to pass these on to anyone working in the region or anyone else interested. While I did not conduct any formal surveys, my observations estimate that 90-95% of the coral colonies at in the lagoon and crest at Yonehara are bleached and most are completely white. There has been high mortality of Acropora and Montipora spp, and some recent partial mortality on large Porites colonies. On the reef slope, bleaching is less severe, but ~80% of corals down to ~5m are pale or white, and quite a number of colonies are also affected at greater depth, but with minimal morality at this stage. At a couple of more turbid reefs on the south-west and east of Ishigaki, bleaching was less severe than at Yonehara. 60-80% of colonies were bleached on the reef flat and 40-50% on bommies in slightly deeper water (3-5m). Only a small amount of bleaching related mortality was observed at these sites. In addition, low levels of bleaching have also been observed around Sesoko Island in the north-west of Okinawa since early-mid July. Following a couple of weeks of hot calm days following a typhoon, some Montipora digitata and small Acropora colonies on the reef flat at Sesoko Island have completely bleached. At a nearby soft coral dominated reef (which has also been experiencing runoff following heavy rain) the majority of colonies on the reef flat, which are mostly Lobophytum, have also bleached. Regards, Emily Howells School of Marine and Tropical Biology James Cook University Townsville QLD 4811 Australia emily.howells at jcu.edu.au From d.petersen at rotterdamzoo.nl Tue Aug 14 04:10:27 2007 From: d.petersen at rotterdamzoo.nl (Dirk Petersen) Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:10:27 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] accomplishments SECORE workshop Message-ID: <46C17F930200007A000074D5@mail.blijdorp.nl> Many of you have followed the daily update of the SECORE workshop in Puerto Rico, Aug 1 to 8 on our weblog and we thank you for your interest. The aim of the workshop was to share knowledge about coral conservation and coral breeding by applying hands-on techniques in the field. In the mean time all 20 workshop participants returned home safely. If you are curious about how many larvae of the Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) they took home, please check the weblog at www.secore.org. The larvae will be used for further research on sexual coral reproducion and for the establishment of a captive breeding population of Acropora palmata. Besides the success in improving our coral larvae rearing techniques, the weblog will also inform you about the major breakthrough we accomplished in the cryopreservation of Elkhorn coral sperm. It also contains abstracts of the lectures given during the workshop. From steven.lutz at mcbi.org Tue Aug 14 10:28:14 2007 From: steven.lutz at mcbi.org (Steven Lutz) Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 07:28:14 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Reference needed: Effects of removal of large predators to shallow reef health In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Does anyone have a good few references for the effects of the removal of large predators (fish) to shallow reef health? -Steven Steven Lutz, Ocean Policy Analyst Marine Conservation Biology Institute 600 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, Suite 210 Washington DC 20003 USA 1 202 546 5346 (office) 1 202 546 5348 (fax) Steven.Lutz at mcbi.org www.mcbi.org From wendyw at nova.edu Tue Aug 14 16:39:45 2007 From: wendyw at nova.edu (Wendy Wood) Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:39:45 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] 11th International Coral Reef Symposium now open for registration Message-ID: <200708142039.l7EKdnL5013691@antares.acast.nova.edu> REGISTRATION BEGINS FOR: THE 11th INTERNATIONAL CORAL REEF SYMPOSIUM The 11th International Coral Reef Symposium convenes in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA, July 7-11, 2008. Over 2,000 attendees are expected from the international marine science, management, and conservationist communities. There will be 25 Mini-Symposia topics, representing a wide diversity of coral reef science and management opportunities for attendees. The South Florida venue will provide convenient access for experts and policymakers to visit and study US and other reef systems in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Meso-America. Every four years the International Coral Reef Symposium convenes as a major scientific conference to provide the latest knowledge about coral reefs worldwide. The theme for the 11th ICRS is REEFS FOR THE FUTURE. The Symposium goals are to: . provide a scientific basis for coral reef ecosystem management by articulating the state of the science with respect to current and emerging stressors; . improve the understanding of reef condition, function, and productivity; and . grow the fields of coral reef ecosystem science, conservation, and multidisciplinary research by facilitating the exchange of ideas. Online symposium and field trip registration, abstract submission, and hotel reservations are now open. Please visit http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/ for registration, information on scientific sessions, and overall details of the meeting. For General Information please contact the 11th ICRS Secretariat at 11icrs-secretariat at mail.ocean.nova.edu For Exhibits: jlash at faseb.org For Sponsorships: rosemann at nova.edu 11th International Coral Reef Symposium 2008: www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs Wendy Wood Coordinator, Administrative Operations National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) NSU Oceanographic Center 8000 North Ocean Drive Dania Beach, FL 33004, USA Phone: 954.262.3617 Fax: 954.262.4027 Email: wendyw at nova.edu Web: http://www.nova.edu/ncri/ www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs From buffonei at imsg.com Tue Aug 14 18:32:18 2007 From: buffonei at imsg.com (Ida Buffone) Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:32:18 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Job Announcement- Coral Program Specialist Message-ID: <62664FA6-BDF8-4417-8521-0BE8EC6F011A@mimectl> Greetings: I.M. Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG) has a job available for a Coral Program Specialist to work at the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation in Silver Spring, MD. If your are interested in applying for this postion, please send your resume to [1]jobs at imsg.com as indicated below in the job description. Regards, Ida Buffone ______________________ Ida Buffone Sr. Recruitment Specialist BuffoneI at IMSG.com [2]http://www.imsg.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ ___________ I.M. Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG) [3]http://www.imsg.com/ is looking to hire a Coral Program Specialist to work in the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation (OHC), Ecosystem Assessment Division (EAD-[4]http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/index.html), which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The position will be located at the OHC headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The holder of this position will serve as a program specialist for coral-related matters, supporting NOAA Fisheries activities under the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP, [5]www.coralreef.noaa.gov/). Duties will relate to both shallow-water (tropical) and deep sea (cold water) coral communities and will focus on program coordination and development, strategic planning, partnership building, and data analysis and assessment. Responsibilities: With regard to shallow water (tropical) corals, the employee's duties will include: * Managing regional coral reef efforts; facilitating and coordinating meetings; developing priorities and monitoring performance; providing budget forecasting and preparation of funding requests (May require occasional travel to Pacific and/or Caribbean locations.) * Supporting strategic planning efforts including identifying priorities, developing performance measures, and implementing an external program review process * Reviewing and providing comments on CRCP documents and reports; assisting with editing and formatting of technical reports * Participating in Staff Evaluation and Assessment (SEA) team planning meetings, proposal evaluations, and internal team planning * Assisting with coral reef conservation grants With regard to deep sea corals, the employee's duties will include: ? Assisting in the development and implementation of a new, congressionally-mandated Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program * Supporting strategic planning efforts including identifying priorities, developing performance measures, and implementing an external program review process * Collecting and organizing information on existing NOAA and external research on deep sea corals and management efforts that support their conservation * Collecting, organizing and mapping information on known locations of deep sea coral habitats within U.S. waters, and assisting with interagency and international collaborations to manage this information * Reviewing and providing comments on NOAA documents and reports; assisting with editing and formatting of technical reports, including the Report to Congress on Implementation of the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program * Staffing the NOAA Deep Coral Team and participating in planning meetings, proposal evaluations, and internal team planning In addition, the employee will assist in managing outreach and communication efforts for both shallow and deep coral and will participate implementing the CRCP Communication and Outreach strategic plan. Qualifications: Required: * Master's degree (strongly preferred) or Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline such as marine science, biology, marine policy, environmental management, or policy * Strong verbal and writing skills * Strong organizational skills and attention to detail. * Self-motivated energetic strategic thinker * Ability to work well individually and cooperatively with a range of individuals * Ability to work on several projects simultaneously and to shift priorities as needed * Willingness to learn new skills * Technical proficiency with Microsoft Office programs Desired: * 2-3 years of program or project planning experience * Familiarity with coral conservation and management issues Facility with ArcGIS applications To Apply: Please send your resume, three (3) references and a cover letter describing how your knowledge and skills fulfill the requirements of the position to [6]jobs at imsg.com with the following subject heading: NOA07030 - Coral Program Specialist OHC The vacancy announcement is open until filled. The salary for this position is commensurate with experience. IMSG is an equal opportunity employer. References 1. mailto:jobs at imsg.com 2. http://www.imsg.com/ 3. http://www.ismg.com/ 4. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/index.html 5. http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/ 6. mailto:jobs at imsg.com From pschupp at guam.uog.edu Wed Aug 15 13:19:35 2007 From: pschupp at guam.uog.edu (Peter Schupp) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:19:35 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Partial spawning of Acropora digitifera and a. humilis in Guam In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dear List, We observed a partial spawning of A. digitifera on August 5, 2007 at around 8 pm. 3 out of 8 colonies released egg and sperm bundles. On August 7, 2007 we had a partial spawn of A. humilis with 2 out of 5 colonies spawning at around 10 pm. However the 2 colonies that did spawn only released about half of their egg and sperm bundles. All remaining colonies have not spawned yet and still have gametes. Regards, Peter Dr. Peter Schupp Associate Prof. for Chemical Ecology UOG Marine Laboratory UOG Station Mangilao, Guam 96923 Ph.: 1-671-735-2186 Fax: 1-671-734-6767 Email: pschupp at guam.uog.edu From mfield at usgs.gov Wed Aug 15 17:22:38 2007 From: mfield at usgs.gov (Mike Field) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:22:38 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Call for Abstracts-due OCT 2: Session on "Ridge-to-Reefs" In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Colleagues, The call for abstracts is now out for the 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Orlando: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: DUE OCT 2, 2007 Ridge-To-Reef: Impacts of Watershed Change on Tropical Coastal Ecosystems is Session 13 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting March 2-7, 2008 Orlando, Florida ASLO, AGU, TOS, and ERF invite the submission of abstracts for oral and poster presentations for the 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting to be held March 2-7, 2008, in Orlando, Florida. In order to have your abstract considered for acceptance, you must submit before the abstract deadline of October 2, 2007. Online submission is highly preferred at http://www.aslo.org/orlando2008 and no Call for Papers will be printed. A PDF version is available on the conference website. Contact the ASLO Business Office at business at aslo.org if you cannot access the via the web. Jon Sharp, Chris Sherwood, and Paul Bissett Co-organizers, 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting Co-Chairs At 10:01 AM -0700 7/23/07, Mike Field wrote: >>Dear Colleagues, >> >> The theme of the 2008 Ocean Science meeting in Orlando is >>"From the Watershed to the Global Ocean" , and in keeping with that >>theme, we have organized a session on Ridge-To-Reef: Impacts of >>Watershed Change on Tropical Coastal Ecosystems. We are seeking >>abstracts for the session that present new ideas and findings on >>natural and human-induced changes in watersheds, the sources and >>transport paths of sediment to the nearshore, and the effects of >>changing delivery systems to coral reefs, mangroves, and other >>habitats. Contributions that address physical processes, models, >>and biologic impacts will be very much welcomed, either as posters >>or talks! > >We recognize that this meeting precedes the important 2008 ICRS >meeting, also in Florida, by only four months. We are especially >encouraging Caribbean reef researchers to participate in this >meeting as well as it will provide an expanded opportunity to fully >explore the issues related to land-use and reef health. > >> >>Many thanks, >> >>Mike Field (mfield at usgs.gov), >>Matt Larsen (mlarsen at usgs.gov) >>Jon Stock (jstock at usgs.gov) >> >-- > >********************************************************* -- ********************************************************* Michael E. Field US Geological Survey Pacific Science Center 400 Natural Bridges Drive Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (831) 427-4737; FAX: (831) 427-4748 http://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov From fdepondt at hotmail.com Wed Aug 15 17:29:26 2007 From: fdepondt at hotmail.com (florence depondt) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:29:26 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] Cause N Effect - linking students and MPAs Message-ID: We are in the process of setting up a non-profit organization called Cause N Effect that aims to link college, university and graduate students with Marine Protected Areas around the world. The idea is to help qualified students find the internship that they need while helping Marine Protected Areas complete key studies. This will be a free service, with the unique goal of helping MPAs develop a sound scientific information base. Students interested in a specific research project will be required to fill in a short application form. This information will be sent to the relevant MPA, who will then decide which student is best fitted to their project needs. Cause N Effect will then step away and let the MPA and the student work out the logistics of the internship. We will have no involvement with the actual completion of the internship. We just help find the right fit between a student and an MPA. If you are a Marine Protected Area in need of assistance to complete one or several scientific projects and would like help from Cause N Effect to find students who could carry out the work, please email us at . Any comments and ideas are also welcome. Our website will be up and running shortly. _________________________________________________________________ Get Pimped! FREE emoticon packs from Windows Live - http://www.pimpmylive.co.uk From jos at reefcheck.org Thu Aug 16 04:03:51 2007 From: jos at reefcheck.org (Jos Hill) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 18:03:51 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] =?windows-1252?q?=93What_do_Australia=92s_coral_reef?= =?windows-1252?q?s_mean_to_you=3F=94_Photography_competition?= Message-ID: Coral Reef Photography Competition: What do Australia?s coral reefs mean to you? In celebration of Australian Biodiversity Month in September, Reef Check Australia and Project AWARE Asia Pacific are pleased to announce the inaugural ?What do Australia?s coral reefs mean to you?? photography competition. The goal of the competition is to showcase the Australian public?s ?vision? of the value of our coral reefs and the threats that they currently face. These ?values? include social activities and recreational pastimes such as diving, snorkeling, sailing and fishing, traditional cultural activities for many indigenous Australians and commercial ventures such as tourism and gathering seafood. The Australian coastline is home to some of the most pristine coral reef environments that can still be found on the planet. Australia?s coral reefs have global ecological, social and economic value. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) World Heritage Area is the world?s largest coral reef ecosystem that extends for more than 2000 kilometers along Queensland?s coastline. The GBR is home to 100?s of coral species, 1000?s of fish species, 6 out of 7 species of marine turtle and is a migration route for several whale species. Likewise the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia is an amazingly diverse environment for corals and marine animals including manta rays and the world?s largest fish species the iconic Whaleshark. ?Data collected over the past ten years by Reef Check shows that threats such as over fishing, poor water quality and coral bleaching caused by climate change have contributed to the loss of about 5% of coral reefs per year worldwide over the past decade. Whilst Australia?s coral reefs are amongst the best managed in the world they are not immune to these threats? said Roger Beeden, Reef Check Australia?s Marketing and Communications Manager. ?One of the major problems facing coral reefs is the lack of public awareness about their incredible ecological, economic and social value. With sea temperatures expected to rise the impact on Australia?s reefs could be devastating. Reef Check and Project AWARE hope the Coral Reef Photography Competition will inspire all Australians to protect and respect this fragile ecosystem. ? said Joanne Marston, Project AWARE?s Asia Pacific Manager. Coral reefs, a priceless global resource 1. Tourism the world?s largest industry depends heavily on coral reefs. In Australia GBR tourism is worth an estimated $5.1 billion to our economy and employs >60,000 people. 2. Coral reefs are also a major food source for more than 500 million people worldwide. 3. Reef protect tropical coasts from storm damage and tsunami waves 4. They may even save your life or that of a loved one through the development of pharmaceuticals based on unique compounds found in coral reef organisms. The biodiversity of Australia?s coral reefs is reflected in the diversity of ways in which we utilize and enjoy these iconic resources. By showcasing the multitude of different ways that ?we? value our reefs, Project AWARE and Reef Check are aiming to raise public and political awareness of the importance of responding to climate change and other global threats to coral reefs. Pictures speak a thousand words: The photography competition is the first of a series of Reef Check / Project AWARE education initiatives. The competition includes a number of submission categories that give participants and voters the opportunity to show the world how they ?value? our coral reefs both now and into the future. Winners will be rewarded with a range of prizes that include underwater cameras, resort accommodation, diving / snorkeling / sailing trips to the GBR and coral conservation kits. The Reef Check Photography Competition can be viewed, votes can be cast and entries can be submitted by visiting www.reefcheckaustralia.org. All entrants are encouraged to view Project AWARE?s Ten Tips for Underwater Photography at www.projectaware.org and minimize their impact, show respect for and protect fragile environments and marine creatures. For further press information please contact Roger Beeden at Reef Check Australia via email, media at reefcheckaustralia.org, or telephone, (07) 4724 3950. For further information on Project AWARE please contact Joanne Marston via info at projectaware.org.au or telephone (02) 9454 2890 Reef Check Reef Check is a volunteer, non-profit organisation set up by coral researchers following a meeting in 1993 where the global coral reef crisis was first discussed. Reef Check has been collecting data since the first International Year of the Reef in 1997 and is now active in over 82 countries and territories world wide. Reef Check Australia is based in Townsville and coordinates Reef Check activities within Australia including the flagship Great Barrier Reef project and local Townsville project. www.reefcheckaustralia.org. Our Vision: To raise awareness of the value of coral reefs, and empower local communities to participate in the conservation and management of coral reefs in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. Our Mission: To ensure a sustainable future for the Australian and Indo-Pacific region?s coral reef ecosystems by 1) Promoting sustainable use of coral reefs through partnerships with governments, researchers, businesses, traditional owners and community groups. 2) Raising public awareness of the economic, ecological and social value of coral reefs. 3) Identifying simple actions that the general public can take to minimize global threats to coral reefs. 4) Developing tools and skills with local community members and volunteers to participate in coral reef health monitoring, conservation and management. 5) Establishing a coral reef health database for Australia and the Indo-Pacific that is integrated into the global Reef Check network. Project AWARE Foundation Our Mission Project AWARE Foundation conserves underwater environments through education, advocacy and action. Who We Are Project AWARE Foundation is the dive industry?s leading nonprofit environmental organization. Offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Japan combine efforts to protect aquatic resources in 175 countries around the world. What We Do Project AWARE Foundation works in partnership with divers and water enthusiasts to combat challenges facing underwater environments. We involve these volunteers in hands-on environmental activities like International Cleanup Day, CoralWatch and The International Whale Shark Project. Project AWARE also inspires conservation by incorporating its messages in dive training materials as well as creating awareness and education campaigns like Protect the Sharks, Protect the Living Reef and AWARE Kids. The Foundation Grant Program funds grass-roots environmental projects that address key foundation focus areas, volunteer-supported community activism and critical research with direct contributions made by people like you. For more information visit www.projectaware.org Jos Hill Managing 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 The Reef Needs You From kdm at telbonet.an Wed Aug 15 22:18:32 2007 From: kdm at telbonet.an (Kalli De Meyer) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:18:32 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Cause N Effect Message-ID: Hi Flo Awesome idea. Consider looking at the existing volunteer programmes and introducing an efficient vetting process. This will increase park willingness to take on students 'blind' and will definitely improve the 'fit'. Consider extending the programme beyond strict science students doing scientific projects - which is what your posting seems to imply. If your aim is to really increase the ability of the parks to do their job, they also need assistance with outreach, communication, human resource management, governance, administrative systems, policy and legal issues (to name but a few) as well as reef surveys. All of these could be very well served by student interns from other disciplines. Just some thoughts Kalli Kalli De Meyer Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance www.DCNAnature.org On 8/15/07 5:29 PM, "florence depondt" wrote: > We are in the process of setting up a non-profit organization called Cause N > Effect that aims to link college, university and graduate students with > Marine Protected Areas around the world. The idea is to help qualified > students find the internship that they need while helping Marine Protected > Areas complete key studies. This will be a free service, with the unique > goal of helping MPAs develop a sound scientific information base. > > Students interested in a specific research project will be required to fill > in a short application form. This information will be sent to the relevant > MPA, who will then decide which student is best fitted to their project > needs. > > Cause N Effect will then step away and let the MPA and the student work out > the logistics of the internship. We will have no involvement with the actual > completion of the internship. We just help find the right fit between a > student and an MPA. > > If you are a Marine Protected Area in need of assistance to complete one or > several scientific projects and would like help from Cause N Effect to find > students who could carry out the work, please email us at > . Any comments and ideas are also welcome. Our > website will be up and running shortly. From andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au Thu Aug 16 23:05:17 2007 From: andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au (Andrew Baird) Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 13:05:17 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Coral Reef PDFs Message-ID: <200708170308.FCT02282@jcu.edu.au> Dear Colleagues, The website of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies http://www.coralcoe.org.au/ has been upgraded to provide easier access to our scientific publications, with links to over 250 pdfs from 2005-2007. You can also download the Centre's 2006 annual report at http://www.coralcoe.org.au/pub-annualreport.html for a comprehensive overview of recent activities. Publications from 2006/7 include the following examples: Almany, et al. (2007). Local Replenishment of Coral Reef Fish Populations in a Marine Reserve. Science 316(5825): 742-744. Bellwood, et al. (2006). "Coral bleaching, reef fish community phase shifts and the resilience of coral reefs." Global Change Biology 12(9): 1587-1594. Dornelas, et al. (2006). "Coral reef diversity refutes the neutral theory of biodiversity." Nature 440(7080): 80-82. Dove, S and O, Hoegh-Guldberg (2006). Chapter 11 - The Cell Physiology of Coral Bleaching. Coral Reefs and Climaet Change. S. Phinney, Strong and Hoegh-Guldberg, American Geophysical Union. Hughes, TP, et al. (2007). Phase Shifts, Herbivory, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs to Climate Change. Current Biology 17(4): 360-365. Kerr AM, Baird AH (2007) Natural barriers to natural disasters. Bioscience 57:102-103 Madin, JS and Connolly, SR (2006). "Ecological consequences of major hydrodynamic disturbances on coral reefs." Nature 444(7118): 477-480. Markey KL, et al. (2007) Insecticides and a fungicide affect multiple coral life stages. Marine Ecology Progress Series 330:127-137 Munday, et al. (2006). "Diversity and flexibility of sex-change strategies in animals." Trends in Ecology and Evolution 21(2): 89-95. Pandolfi, JM and Jackson, JBC (2006). "Ecological persistence interrupted in Caribbean coral reefs." Ecology Letters 9(7): 818-826. Willis, BL, et al. (2006). "The Role of Hybridization in the Evolution of Reef Corals." Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 37(1): 489-517. ............and many more. For enquiries, please contact Louise.Taylor at jcu.edu.au Louise Taylor Office Manager / KPI Officer ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University TOWNSVILLE QLD 4811 Ph: 07 4781 4000 Fax: 07 4781 6722 Email: Louise.Taylor at jcu.edu.au Visit our Website: http://www.coralcoe.org.au Educational Resources Links to Download 05/06/07 Publications Meet the People Leading Coral Reef Research Dr Andrew H. Baird, Senior Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Marine and Tropical Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, 4811, Australia. Tel + 617 47814857, Fax: + 617 47816722, email: andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au http://www.coralcoe.org.au/research/andrewbaird.html From Emma.Hickerson at noaa.gov Thu Aug 16 11:59:33 2007 From: Emma.Hickerson at noaa.gov (Emma.Hickerson at noaa.gov) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:59:33 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] August coral spawning - Flower Garden Banks NMS Message-ID: <51291b5111f0.5111f051291b@noaa.gov> Small amounts of coral spawn were observed at the East Flower Garden Bank in the NW Gulf of Mexico, on the evening of August 5, 2007. Water temperature at depth was 84F. Salinity was measured at 25m at 34.2ppt, and 31.7ppt on the surface. This freshwater event was also reflected in NOAA satellite imagery. approx. 2120 to 2130 Montastraea cavernosa 17 male colonies releasing sperm approx. 2130 Montastraea franksi 12 colonies setting/pre spawn approx. 2130 Diploria strigosa 1 colony releasing gametes Emma Hickerson Research Coordinator G.P. Schmahl Superintendent Dr. Peter Vize University of Calgary Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary 4700 Ave. U, Bldg 216 Galveston, TX 77551 409-621-5151 http://flowergarden.noaa.gov From roatanmarinepark at yahoo.com Thu Aug 16 14:08:07 2007 From: roatanmarinepark at yahoo.com (West End Sandy Bay Marine Park) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:08:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Dear Coral Listers Message-ID: <697637.7446.qm@web30205.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Has anyone got any advice concerning an exceptional graphic designer for posters? The Roatan Marine Park is about to print off several hundred posters for hotels, restaurants, airports etc. and we need help! Thank-you, Greg Puncher Respect the Reef, Nick Bach, Lidia Salinas & Andrea Rivera Roatan Marine Park roatanmarinepark.com Cel. 504-3349-4138 Office 1 445-4206 Office 2 445-4208 --------------------------------- Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. From alexandervenn at yahoo.com Fri Aug 17 11:28:39 2007 From: alexandervenn at yahoo.com (Alexander Venn) Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 08:28:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Mini-Symposium: Functional Biology of Corals and Coral Symbiosis at ICRS 2008 Message-ID: <18344.61235.qm@web50101.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Dear List, We would like to bring your attention to the following mini-symposium being held at the forthcoming 11th ICRS in Fort Lauderdale, July 7th-11th 2008: ?Len Muscatine memorial mini-symposium on the functional biology of corals and coral symbiosis: Molecular biology, cell biology and physiology? Key topics of interest include: a) What is the cellular basis of host-symbiont recognition and specificity in corals? b) What are the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying host-symbiont signalling and regulation in corals? c) What are the molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms underlying key aspects of coral biology, including photo-acclimation and photo-protection, host-symbiont nutrition, and calcification? d) How diverse are the molecular, cellular and physiological processes underlying coral/algal symbiosis? Abstract submissions are welcome on all functional aspects of corals and cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis. In addition to the topics above, this includes submissions on cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbioses from temperate regions and symbioses involving cnidarian hosts other than corals. Submissions on other invertebrate-algal symbioses will also be considered where they provide a useful comparison with cnidarian-dinoflagellate associations. The mini-symposium is being held in honour of the late Professor Len Muscatine, whose work pioneered understanding of the functional biology of cnidarian-algal symbioses, and we aim for the mini-symposium to reflect Professor Muscatine?s interests and legacy. Details of registration and abstract submission are available at http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15th November 2007. Regards, Co-chairs Simon Davy (Victoria University of Wellington), Virginia Weis (Oregon State University) and Alex Venn (Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences) --------------------------------- Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel. From afarina46 at yahoo.com Fri Aug 17 12:36:54 2007 From: afarina46 at yahoo.com (=?iso-8859-1?q?=C1ngel=20Rafael=20Fari=F1a=20Pestano?=) Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:36:54 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [Coral-List] octocorallia associated fishes In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <533380.73952.qm@web56808.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Colleagues, I did a work about associated fishes to a octocorallia bottom. That substrate consist in an exclusive reef of octocorallia, without stony corals. I wish to know if somebody has worked in a similar ecosystem with associated fauna, specially with fishes. Thanks for all, ?ngel Fari?a Departamento de Biolog?a N?cleo de Sucre Universidad de Oriente Venezuela __________________________________________________ Correo Yahoo! Espacio para todos tus mensajes, antivirus y antispam ?gratis! Reg?strate ya - http://correo.espanol.yahoo.com/ From cstorlazzi at usgs.gov Fri Aug 17 16:26:23 2007 From: cstorlazzi at usgs.gov (Curt Storlazzi) Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 13:26:23 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] 11th ICRS meeting session: Hydrodynamics of Coral-Reef Systems Message-ID: Dear colleagues: We would like to cordially invite you to participate in a meeting session on: Hydrodynamics of Coral-Reef Systems at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), which will be held 7-11 July, 2008, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The theme for the 11th ICRS is REEFS FOR THE FUTURE. The Symposium goals are to: Provide a scientific basis for coral reef ecosystem management by articulating the state of the science with respect to current and emerging stressors; improve the understanding of reef condition, function, and productivity; and grow the fields of coral reef ecosystem science, conservation, and multidisciplinary research by facilitating the exchange of ideas. Please visit the conference website for more information: http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/index.html Aim and Scope of this Session, Mini-Symposium #15 Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: How well do numerical models represent hydrodynamic processes in coral reef systems? How are new data adding to our understanding of hydrodynamic processes on coral reefs, and how much do we know about the role of hydrodynamics in the biogeochemical dynamics, morphology and health of coral reefs? Do we understand the physical boundary zones, and boundary layers, that exist in coral reef systems due to reef topography, tides, waves, wind and other environmental forcings? What is the importance of these physical zones to transport on reefs and the associated sediment dynamics and ecology? What is the role of roughness in coral reef hydrodynamics and how well separated are spatial scales in their influence on hydrodynamics? What are the roles of small and large scale processes in controlling water flow, turbulence, diffusion, zonation and patchiness in reefs? Summaries of current regional investigations, site-specific studies and modeling results are all encouraged. Co-conveners: Cliff Hearn United States Geological Survey, Center for Coastal & Watershed Studies, St. Petersburg, FL (cjhearn at usgs.gov) Curt Storlazzi United States Geological Survey, Pacific Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA (cstorlazzi at usgs.gov) Francisco Pagan Caribbean Coral Reef Institute, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR (fpagan at uprm.edu) To assist the organizing committee in assigning your abstract to our session, please use the session code: Mini-Symposium #15. The deadline for electronic abstracts submissions is 15 November, 2007, at: http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/abstracts.html . Early registration is open until 1 March, 2008. If you know of anyone who might be interested who might not receive this notice, please feel free to pass it along. We are very excited about this session, and look forward to your participation. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We hope to see you in Fort Lauderdale! Cliff, Curt and Francisco -- ciao..... _______________________ Curt Storlazzi, Ph.D. U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Science Center 400 Natural Bridges Drive Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (831) 427-4721 phone (831) 427-4748 fax Staff web page: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/staff/cstorlazzi/ Coral Reef Project: http://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov Pleasure Point Project: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/research/projects/pleasurept.html From Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov Fri Aug 17 10:16:42 2007 From: Mark.Eakin at noaa.gov (Mark Eakin) Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:16:42 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Bleaching conditions continue in western Pacific and around Florida Message-ID: <1E158D9B-4205-41A7-A2B7-2EF5BFB1C831@noaa.gov> Western Pacific: Abnormally warm waters continue in two regions of the western Pacific. Warming has continued the region from the northern Philippines to the southern half of Taiwan. Reports from Kenting National Park, Taiwan suggest that this is the worst bleaching in that region since 1998. NOAA Coral Reef Watch data continue to indicate sea surface temperatures of 30-32 degrees; Coral Bleaching HotSpots reveal water temperatures of up to 2.4 degrees above the maximum monthly mean; and the accumulated thermal stress off the Luzon coast now has reached 15 degree-C weeks. Another large region of heat stress extends from the Sea of Japan across Japan into the Pacific north of the Northern Mariana Islands. Fortunately, this is north of most major reef development. The warming also extends south spanning the region between Kyushu and Shanghai and surrounding Chejudo Island. This area has HotSpot values up to 2.2 degrees and thermal stress of 7.2 degree-C weeks. Temperature anomalies have dropped south of there, bringing a bit of relief to the Ryukyu and Yaeyama Islands where mass bleaching has already been reported. Caribbean: The bad news is that waters around the Florida Bay and the waters off the western Bahamas continue to warm. Degree Heating Week values have reached 8.8 for the Sombrero Reef Virtual Station. We expect thermal stress at that site to reach a record level next week. With hurricane Dean likely to pass south of Cuba, little cooling relief is likely at this time. We have a new experimental Florida page that is serving as a model for other regions of the globe. We expect to have a Caribbean page up shortly with more to follow. The Florida page is at: http:// coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/virtual_stations/ florida_virtualstations.html This and other new products can be found on our new experimental products page: http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/current/ experimental_products.html We would appreciate any feedback on these as we continue to improve them. Our 24 index sites around the globe can be found at: http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/CB_indices/ coral_bleaching_indices.html Current HotSpot and Degree Heating Week charts, HDF data, and GoogleEarth products can be found at: http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/index.html Please report any bleaching observations from this region to the Coral List and to ReefBase at http://www.reefbase.org/contribute/ bleachingreport.aspx Cheers, Mark ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------ 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 Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 301-713-2857 x109 Fax: 301-713-3136 From jim.hendee at noaa.gov Sat Aug 18 09:46:21 2007 From: jim.hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 09:46:21 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] 11th ICRS: Ecosystem assessment of coral reefs: new technologies and approaches Message-ID: <46C6F82D.6080508@noaa.gov> Greetings! Please consider attending the 11th ICRS (http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (my old home town!) during July 7-11, 2008, and review all the Mini-Symposia carefully at http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/scientificprogram.html. We hope you will consider contributing to our Mini-Symposium (#16), "Ecosystem assessment of coral reefs - new technologies and approaches" The key topics of consideration include: a) What are the most critical biological and geochemical variables that should be included in real-time observing systems, and how much is system dependent? b) What advances have been made in coral reef monitoring technology and methodology, and what new technologies are needed to assist in facilitating coral reef research? c) How do coastal observing systems contribute to our understanding of processes affecting coral reefs? d) What advances have been made in coral reef monitoring technology and methodology? e) What real-time systems and mechanisms are being used, and which ones are required, to produce useful new (i.e., not coral bleaching) ecosystem forecasts (e.g., fish and invertebrate spawning, larval drift, etc.) of relevance to MPA managers and researchers? Please note that this Mini-Symposium is geared more toward technological advances and less toward traditional biological survey techniques (i.e., possibly contrast with or consider Mini-Symposium #18: Reef Status and Trends). Thank you, and we'll see you there! Cheers, Jim Hendee Derek Manzello From ibachtiar at telkom.net Sat Aug 18 10:00:50 2007 From: ibachtiar at telkom.net (Imam Bachtiar) Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 22:00:50 +0800 Subject: [Coral-List] Can't submit abstract for 11th ICRS In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20070818140305.115DC17A06@coral.aoml.noaa.gov> Dear Wendy and other coral listers, I tried to submit an abstract for 11th ICRS but failed. I was required to fill in the form that is not suitable for me. I am from Indonesia (Lombok Island). When I entered the name of state (province) of my address, the form could not accept it. The same happened on post code. It seems that the form is only for people in northern America. Is anyone could help me with this problem? Regards, Imam Universitas Mataram Lombok, Indonesia From jim.hendee at noaa.gov Mon Aug 20 07:47:53 2007 From: jim.hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:47:53 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Hurricane Dean data for Discovery Bay, Jamaica Message-ID: <46C97F69.9000807@noaa.gov> Our station at West Fore Reef in Discovery Bay, Jamaica, withstood Hurricane Dean. The maximum averaged hourly gusts measured at the station were 67.7 knots (77.9 mph), while maximum averaged hourly sustained winds were 48.5 knots (55.8 mph). The lowest barometer reading (hourly average) was about 997 millibars. Individual readings throughout each hour were no doubt higher and lower than these hourly averages. The station with calibrated instruments was just installed in June (http://dbjm1-log.blogspot.com), so the data should be pretty accurate. To retrieve some of the data and view graphs, please visit, http://ecoforecast.coral.noaa.gov/index/0/DBJM1/station-home So far as I am aware, these meteorological and oceanographic data are the most comprehensive (i.e., to include sea temperature, salinity, light, pCO2, winds, etc.) for a coral reef area before, during and after a hurricane. A biological survey will be conducted soon. We hope for the best for all of Jamaica's citizens and their country. We have not heard from Peter Gayle of Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory yet. Sincerely yours, The ICON/CREWS Team Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory Miami, Florida From esther.peters at verizon.net Mon Aug 20 10:34:42 2007 From: esther.peters at verizon.net (Esther Peters) Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:34:42 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] 11ICRS Advanced Coral Tissue Slide Reading Workshop Message-ID: <46C9A682.1050307@verizon.net> Dear Coral Histologists/Histopathologists, Following discussions with Coral Tissue Slide Reading Workshop participants and the Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC), I've proposed a 2-day advanced workshop to convene immediately after the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium at the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center. Click on Education, Exhibits, and Outreach (or go to http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/exhibits.html) and scroll down to "Associated Workshops" to read more about the proposed workshop. Plans are still being made, but we need to know how many Symposium attendees might be interested in staying on for this workshop (realizing that big meetings can be exhausting and there are multiple opportunities for fun and educational field trips that begin immediately after the meeting). We believe this will be a great opportunity for international exchange of case studies, histotechniques, and ideas, because many of you will attend the 11ICRS. However, with so much else going on at this meeting, another possibility might be to develop a Web-based session using the virtual slide collection under development by the CDHC. So please let us know your thoughts on this so we can complete our plans for the workshop, or revise them! Thank you! Esther Peters, Ph.D. George Mason University From popychenkavalam at yahoo.com Tue Aug 21 04:43:16 2007 From: popychenkavalam at yahoo.com (joseph paul) Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:43:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Documentary Film. Ideas? Marine Biosphere Reserve, India Message-ID: <984219.72505.qm@web54205.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Dr Joseph Paul Kavalam Kavalam Puthenpura 42/2491 Power House Road Cochin 682 018, Kerala INDIA Ph: 0091-484-2390918, 0091-9446606031 E-mail: popychenkavalam at yahoo.com 21 August 2007 Dear Listers, A marine biosphere reserve in India is preparing to shoot a documentary film. I am searching for anyone with ideas or interests in documentary film shooting particularly with reference to marine biosphere reserves or coral reefs. Joseph --------------------------------- Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. From dlirman at rsmas.miami.edu Tue Aug 21 09:33:53 2007 From: dlirman at rsmas.miami.edu (Diego Lirman) Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:33:53 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] 11th ICRS Mini-Symposium 10: Ecological processes on today's reef ecosystems Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.20070821093353.00ae2ab0@mail.rsmas.miami.edu> Dear colleagues: We would like to invite you to participate in Mini-Symposium 10, "Ecological processes on today's reef ecosystems", being held at the 11th ICRS in Fort Lauderdale, July 7th-11th 2008. The 11th International Coral Reef Symposium science program will address scientific questions within the framework of a series of Mini-Symposia developed to address problems and issues on contemporary coral reefs that will assist management to sustain future reefs. The central theme for the 11th ICRS is "REEFS FOR THE FUTURE". The Symposium goals are to provide a scientific basis for coral reef ecosystem management by articulating the state of the science with respect to current and emerging stressors; improve the understanding of reef condition, function, and productivity; and grow the fields of coral reef ecosystem science, conservation, and multidisciplinary research by facilitating the exchange of ideas. The central topics of Mini-Symposium 10 are as follows: 1) What life-history stage is most sensitive to organismal success? Or, does performance in one life stage alter performance and selection in subsequent life stages? 2) What role do the key processes, including herbivory, predation, competition and recruitment, play in the structuring, functioning and persistence of coral reef ecosystems? 3) When and where is larval supply or recruitment potential really important for population success? 4) How will key ecosystem processes change under alternative community states and disturbance scenarios in the future? We welcome abstract submissions on these topics as well as all aspects of the ecology and life-history of corals and associated reef organisms. When submitting your abstracts, please use the session code: Mini-Symposium 10. The deadline for abstract submission is 15 November 2007. For abstract submission, registration, and other information, please visit: http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/ Mini-Symposium 10 Ecological processes on today's reef ecosystems Co-conveners: Diego Lirman University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (dlirman at rsmas.miami.edu) Peggy Fong University of California , Los Angeles (pfong at biology.ucla.edu) Wade Cooper University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (wcooper at rsmas.miami.edu) If you know of anyone who might be interested who might not receive this notice, please feel free to pass it along. We look forward to your participation. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Diego Lirman, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor Marine Biology and Fisheries Division Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science University of Miami 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy. Miami, FL 33149 Tel: 305-421-4168 Fax: 305-421-4600 Email: dlirman at rsmas.miami.edu From peter.gayle at uwimona.edu.jm Tue Aug 21 12:09:26 2007 From: peter.gayle at uwimona.edu.jm (Peter Gayle) Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:09:26 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Hurricane Dean & Discovery Bay, Jamaica In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dear Listers Despite ominous forecasts, Jamaica has escaped serious damage yet again from another joust with nature. The general concensus seems to be that Hurricane IVAN caused more damage island wide in 2004 than DEAN was able to do this time. The South coast of the island took the brunt of the impact while the North coast experienced mostly gusty winds and a little rain. As per Jim's note to the list yesterday, the CREWS station located on the Discovery Bay West Fore Reef withstood the winds and an approx. 1.5 m wave surge, and has provided some interesting data. The Lab itself remains intact and functional. We suffered damage to our dock and to the recently completed repairs on the roof of the student dormitory. Our facility is currently undergoing a general overhaul (re. buildings, scientific & general laboratory eqpt) and we anticipate completion of all repairs (including hurricane damage) in time for the arrival of UWI field classes and other courses commencing late Sept. We were starting to see bleaching on the fore reef (Agaricia sp) just before the hurricane hit but as soon as we get a boat back into the water we will update on that All in all, we fared better than expected and look forward to a busy academic year with much work to be done. Regards Peter Gayle Principal Scientific Officer Discovery Bay Marine Lab Centre for Marine Sciences Univ West Indies (876)972-2241 ............................................................................ ............................................................................ .................................................................. Message: 1 Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:47:53 -0400 From: Jim Hendee Subject: [Coral-List] Hurricane Dean data for Discovery Bay, Jamaica To: Coral-List Subscribers Message-ID: <46C97F69.9000807 at noaa.gov> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Our station at West Fore Reef in Discovery Bay, Jamaica, withstood Hurricane Dean. The maximum averaged hourly gusts measured at the station were 67.7 knots (77.9 mph), while maximum averaged hourly sustained winds were 48.5 knots (55.8 mph). The lowest barometer reading (hourly average) was about 997 millibars. Individual readings throughout each hour were no doubt higher and lower than these hourly averages. The station with calibrated instruments was just installed in June (http://dbjm1-log.blogspot.com), so the data should be pretty accurate. To retrieve some of the data and view graphs, please visit, http://ecoforecast.coral.noaa.gov/index/0/DBJM1/station-home So far as I am aware, these meteorological and oceanographic data are the most comprehensive (i.e., to include sea temperature, salinity, light, pCO2, winds, etc.) for a coral reef area before, during and after a hurricane. A biological survey will be conducted soon. We hope for the best for all of Jamaica's citizens and their country. We have not heard from Peter Gayle of Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory yet. Sincerely yours, The ICON/CREWS Team Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory Miami, Florida From svitazk at uvi.edu Tue Aug 21 12:12:15 2007 From: svitazk at uvi.edu (Sylvia Vitazkova) Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 12:12:15 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] UVI MS program Recruitment Experience applications DUE FRIDAY, AUG. 24 Message-ID: Reminder that the deadline for the UVI campus visit program (including scholarships to participate in the visit) is approaching! Please note - natural resource management professionals, not just students, are eligible to apply! Dear Colleagues, The University of the Virgin Islands recently launched a new Master of Marine & Environmental Science degree program. You can learn more about the program on our website: http://mmes.uvi.edu/index.html. We will hold a three-day organized campus visit on October 11-14, 2007 to introduce the program to potential students, which will include tours of our St. Thomas facilities and an overnight trip to the Virgin Islands Environmental Research Station in St. John. All are welcome to apply to participate. Additionally, ten to twenty full scholarships for the three-day visit will be available for students or natural resource professionals who wish to continue their education and who reside in CARICOM member countries or are USVI residents and who meet eligibility criteria. For more information, please visit our website: http://mmes.uvi.edu/re/index.html. The deadline for applications is August 24, 2007, so please print, post and forward to appropriate list-serves! Thanks and best wishes, Sylvia K. Vitazkova, PhD Graduate Program Coordinator Master of Marine & Environmental Science VI-EPSCoR, University of the Virgin Islands 2 John Brewer's Bay St. Thomas, USVI 00802 Tel: (340) 693-1427, Fax: (340) 693-1425 E-mail: svitazk at uvi.edu URL: http://mmes.uvi.edu/ From reefpeace at yahoo.com Wed Aug 22 01:45:12 2007 From: reefpeace at yahoo.com (Don Baker) Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:45:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan Message-ID: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Coral-L: Several months back, an event happened at Lankayan Island, north of Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia (Sulu Sea), that resulted in the death of corals, sea cucumbers, giant clams and other marine life - from shallow water to approximately 3 meters. During this event, the seawater smelled putrid and noxious, whereas, it was initially assumed to be from all the dead marine life. The water salinity was measured at or near 25ppt, and very unusually strong currents were present near the southern portion of the island's shallow reefs. Wave force was rough at about 1 to 1.5 meters. The weather was sunny without any rainfall either at the island region nor on the North Borneo 'mainland.' Please refer to this publication with regards to page 9 / Sandakan Sub Basin and Sulu Sea Basin. http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/archives/win_opp/cd/petropot.PDF The nearby islands to closest to Lankayan Island are the Philippines Turtle Islands - with Buan Is. the closest and to the south west. Buan Is. is classified as a "mud origin' type island mass, whereas, decades ago there existed active mini mud volcanoes there. Observation by the local fishermen in the same Turtle Island region have seen many large, upwelling mud plumes flowing from the under the sea (perhaps pushed out by the natural gas pressure in the Sandakan Basin edges near North Borneo?). In short, this event seems to point more so to a natural cause rather than from runoff from the N Borneo coastal regions. The lowering of the seawater salinity was also significant as well as higher than normal water temperatures in the same area. Could this also be a combination of 'ancient freshwater' also extruding along with the mud and perhaps natural gas? Lastly, the seawater visibility (noted by the tour divers in their complaints) was very poor [< 3 meters at times]. The color was 'gray' the same as the mud on Buan. Can anyone recommend an institution to confirm the cause of this event? Has anyone observed or know of any similar events worldwide? What would be the best way to monitor and gather data if this event is natural and caused by the oil/gas/'old' water? Is this event also dangerous with regards the Lankayan Island's proximity to such a event? Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. Don Baker Reef Guardian Co-Founder Sabah, North Borneo Malaysia Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a person?s passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine Conservationist/Activist, 1998] --------------------------------- Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. From ewood at f2s.com Wed Aug 22 04:46:09 2007 From: ewood at f2s.com (Elizabeth Wood) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:46:09 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <003e01c7e498$e5da0120$0201a8c0@lizwood> Hi Don, Just a thought, but could it have been a red tide event? I personally witnessed the aftermath of a red tide on the reefs of Pulau Gaya (west coast Sabah) some years back whcih resulted in death of virtually everything - much as you describe. Within a day or so of the red tide 'cloud' passing through everything was rotting and there was a powerful smell of hydrogen sulphide. It was a bizarre sight that I have not seen since (thankfully). Cheers, Liz Wood Dr Elizabeth Wood, Coral Reef Conservation Officer, Marine Conservation Society, Hollybush, Chequers Lane, Eversley, Hants RG27 0NY email: ewood at f2s.com 01189 734127 www.sempornaislandsproject.com The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to protecting our seas, shores and wildlife. Please join us - visit our website at www.mcsuk.org Reg Charity No (England and Wales) 1004005 Reg Charity No (Scotland) SC037480 Company Limited by Guarantee (England & Wales) No: 2550966 Registered Office: Unit 3, Wolf Business Park, Alton Road, Ross-on-Wye HR9 5NB VAT No. 489 1505 17 (ends) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Baker" To: Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 6:45 AM Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan Dear Coral-L: Several months back, an event happened at Lankayan Island, north of Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia (Sulu Sea), that resulted in the death of corals, sea cucumbers, giant clams and other marine life - from shallow water to approximately 3 meters. During this event, the seawater smelled putrid and noxious, whereas, it was initially assumed to be from all the dead marine life. The water salinity was measured at or near 25ppt, and very unusually strong currents were present near the southern portion of the island's shallow reefs. Wave force was rough at about 1 to 1.5 meters. The weather was sunny without any rainfall either at the island region nor on the North Borneo 'mainland.' Please refer to this publication with regards to page 9 / Sandakan Sub Basin and Sulu Sea Basin. http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/archives/win_opp/cd/petropot.PDF The nearby islands to closest to Lankayan Island are the Philippines Turtle Islands - with Buan Is. the closest and to the south west. Buan Is. is classified as a "mud origin' type island mass, whereas, decades ago there existed active mini mud volcanoes there. Observation by the local fishermen in the same Turtle Island region have seen many large, upwelling mud plumes flowing from the under the sea (perhaps pushed out by the natural gas pressure in the Sandakan Basin edges near North Borneo?). In short, this event seems to point more so to a natural cause rather than from runoff from the N Borneo coastal regions. The lowering of the seawater salinity was also significant as well as higher than normal water temperatures in the same area. Could this also be a combination of 'ancient freshwater' also extruding along with the mud and perhaps natural gas? Lastly, the seawater visibility (noted by the tour divers in their complaints) was very poor [< 3 meters at times]. The color was 'gray' the same as the mud on Buan. Can anyone recommend an institution to confirm the cause of this event? Has anyone observed or know of any similar events worldwide? What would be the best way to monitor and gather data if this event is natural and caused by the oil/gas/'old' water? Is this event also dangerous with regards the Lankayan Island's proximity to such a event? Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. Don Baker Reef Guardian Co-Founder Sabah, North Borneo Malaysia Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a person's passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine Conservationist/Activist, 1998] --------------------------------- Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From jim.hendee at noaa.gov Wed Aug 22 07:31:30 2007 From: jim.hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:31:30 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Check List for 11th ICRS Submissions Message-ID: <46CC1E92.9080103@noaa.gov> Greetings, Dr. Robert van Woesik, the Scientific Program Chair, has asked me to circulate this convenient checklist to consider when submitting oral or poster presentations for the 11th ICRS (http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/): Check List for 11th ICRS * Oral presentations are limited to one time slot per person. * Multiple poster presentations are possible. * All abstracts must be submitted online prior to November 15, 2007. * The title of each abstract must be less than 30 words, and the body of the abstract less than 300 words. * Author's preference for oral or poster should be given; choice for oral cannot be guaranteed. * Presentations will be canceled if lead author is not registered by February 1, 2008 deadline. * Abstracts may be updated online until November 15, 2007. If you have any further questions, please consult the Contact Us page at the 11ICRS: http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/contact_information.html or your Mini-Symposium Chair. I hope this helps! Cheers, Jim From allison.billiam at gmail.com Wed Aug 22 07:17:47 2007 From: allison.billiam at gmail.com (William Allison) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:17:47 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan In-Reply-To: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1eab821b0708220417s3bf55f9yb9a279fb860f1890@mail.gmail.com> Several months ago something very similar was described at a Maldivian atoll. I'll try to track down particulars. On 8/22/07, Don Baker wrote: > Dear Coral-L: > > Several months back, an event happened at Lankayan Island, north of Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia (Sulu Sea), that resulted in the death of corals, sea cucumbers, giant clams and other marine life - from shallow water to approximately 3 meters. > > During this event, the seawater smelled putrid and noxious, whereas, it was initially assumed to be from all the dead marine life. The water salinity was measured at or near 25ppt, and very unusually strong currents were present near the southern portion of the island's shallow reefs. Wave force was rough at about 1 to 1.5 meters. The weather was sunny without any rainfall either at the island region nor on the North Borneo 'mainland.' > > Please refer to this publication with regards to page 9 / Sandakan Sub Basin and Sulu Sea Basin. http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/archives/win_opp/cd/petropot.PDF > > The nearby islands to closest to Lankayan Island are the Philippines Turtle Islands - with Buan Is. the closest and to the south west. Buan Is. is classified as a "mud origin' type island mass, whereas, decades ago there existed active mini mud volcanoes there. > > Observation by the local fishermen in the same Turtle Island region have seen many large, upwelling mud plumes flowing from the under the sea (perhaps pushed out by the natural gas pressure in the Sandakan Basin edges near North Borneo?). > > In short, this event seems to point more so to a natural cause rather than from runoff from the N Borneo coastal regions. The lowering of the seawater salinity was also significant as well as higher than normal water temperatures in the same area. Could this also be a combination of 'ancient freshwater' also extruding along with the mud and perhaps natural gas? Lastly, the seawater visibility (noted by the tour divers in their complaints) was very poor [< 3 meters at times]. The color was 'gray' the same as the mud on Buan. > > Can anyone recommend an institution to confirm the cause of this event? Has anyone observed or know of any similar events worldwide? What would be the best way to monitor and gather data if this event is natural and caused by the oil/gas/'old' water? Is this event also dangerous with regards the Lankayan Island's proximity to such a event? > > Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. > > Don Baker > Reef Guardian Co-Founder > Sabah, North Borneo > Malaysia > > > Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com > > "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a person's passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine Conservationist/Activist, 1998] > > --------------------------------- > Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > From kamlaruby at intnet.mu Wed Aug 22 07:42:40 2007 From: kamlaruby at intnet.mu (Ruby Moothien) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:42:40 +0400 Subject: [Coral-List] PAR sensor/logger Message-ID: <002001c7e4b1$8c272b30$3800a8c0@MOI.local> Dear colleagues Can anyone please advise where i could purchase a portable seawater submersible PAR sensor/logger. So far i have come across PAR sensors which are submersible in seawater with loggers that are not. The sensors are connected to the loggers by underwater cables. However i would like to place the sensor with the logger at sea to be retrieved on a weekly/monthly basis Many thanks Ruby Ruby Moothien Pillay (Ph. D.) Project Officer (Oceanography) Mauritius Oceanography Institute France Centre Victoria Avenue Quatre Bornes Mauritius Tel: (230) 427-4434 Mobile: (230) 723-8808 Fax:(230) 427-4433 Website: http://moi.gov.mu From allison.billiam at gmail.com Wed Aug 22 16:47:53 2007 From: allison.billiam at gmail.com (William Allison) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:47:53 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan In-Reply-To: <46CC9BAA.3090807@sopac.org> References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <1eab821b0708220417s3bf55f9yb9a279fb860f1890@mail.gmail.com> <46CC9BAA.3090807@sopac.org> Message-ID: <1eab821b0708221347q71c6d3e8yae43939926fe45d0@mail.gmail.com> Arthur, I am thinking along the same lines as you for a cause in Maldives. Dark, foul-smelling water was reported along with fish kills. Deeper water is reported anoxic. Other causes seem improbable. Incidentally there was a mystery kill in the Caribbean a few years ago - should be in coral-list archives - although volcanic gas was a suspect there, I don't know if it was ever resolved. Bill On 8/22/07, Arthur Webb wrote: > > It's interesting you mention an atoll event. I was in Kiribati in the > Central Pacific during Christmas 2003 and at that time there were reports of > mass mortality along the ocean side coasts of at least 2 atolls in the group > (Abemama and I think Nonouti). These atolls are tectonically stable and are > far from any active plate boundaries and are thousands of kilometers from > any significant land mass with surface run off. Additionally, both of the > islands mentioned above have small populations who live a traditional > subsistence lifestyle (few vehicle's, no electricity or reticulated water, > few imported products, no intensive agriculture, etc) in relatively pristine > terrestrial and marine environments. > > Whilst I did not witness the event I did travel to Abemama about 2 months > after and the same story was repeated time and again that there was so much > dead marine life on the ocean side reefs (and not the lagoon side) that > "windrows" of dead fish lined the shores (both pelagic and reef associated > species were mentioned). The people here too indicated the intolerable > smell and plague of flys which followed but this seemed very much associated > with the decaying marine life not the time of the event. > > I must say this utterly stumped me! These atolls are ancient seamounts > which rise steeply from 3.5 4.0 km depth and the outside living reefs where > the dead fish were first witnessed are the very upper living rim of these > oceanic slopes. They are high energy environments and the concept of water > residence times barely even applies and as mentioned there is no tectonic or > terrigenous influence to speak of. Last, people reported that some had > taken and eaten fish which was sluggishly floating (near death I guess) > immediately following the event with no ill effect and otherwise of those I > spoke to there was no living memory or oral history of such an event having > happen before. > > My only thought was that through some freak anomaly of deep currents a slug > of very cold and or deoxygenated water moved up the slope persisted for long > enough to cause damage then sank again ............. anyway since we're on > similar subjects I'd be interested if there's any similar stories or ideas > out there. > > Thanks, > > Arthur Webb > Coastal Processes Adviser > > > SOPAC Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission > Postal Address: Private Mail Bag, GPO, Suva, Fiji Islands > Street Address: 241 Mead Road, Nabua, Fiji Islands > Tel: +679 338 1377 Fax: +679 337 0040 > Email: arthur at sopac.org > Website: <> > > > > William Allison wrote: > Several months ago something very similar was described at a Maldivian > atoll. I'll try to track down particulars. > > On 8/22/07, Don Baker wrote: > > > Dear Coral-L: > > Several months back, an event happened at Lankayan Island, north of > Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia (Sulu Sea), that resulted in the death of corals, > sea cucumbers, giant clams and other marine life - from shallow water to > approximately 3 meters. > > During this event, the seawater smelled putrid and noxious, whereas, it was > initially assumed to be from all the dead marine life. The water salinity > was measured at or near 25ppt, and very unusually strong currents were > present near the southern portion of the island's shallow reefs. Wave force > was rough at about 1 to 1.5 meters. The weather was sunny without any > rainfall either at the island region nor on the North Borneo 'mainland.' > > Please refer to this publication with regards to page 9 / Sandakan Sub Basin > and Sulu Sea Basin. > http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/archives/win_opp/cd/petropot.PDF > > The nearby islands to closest to Lankayan Island are the Philippines Turtle > Islands - with Buan Is. the closest and to the south west. Buan Is. is > classified as a "mud origin' type island mass, whereas, decades ago there > existed active mini mud volcanoes there. > > Observation by the local fishermen in the same Turtle Island region have > seen many large, upwelling mud plumes flowing from the under the sea > (perhaps pushed out by the natural gas pressure in the Sandakan Basin edges > near North Borneo?). > > In short, this event seems to point more so to a natural cause rather than > from runoff from the N Borneo coastal regions. The lowering of the seawater > salinity was also significant as well as higher than normal water > temperatures in the same area. Could this also be a combination of 'ancient > freshwater' also extruding along with the mud and perhaps natural gas? > Lastly, the seawater visibility (noted by the tour divers in their > complaints) was very poor [< 3 meters at times]. The color was 'gray' the > same as the mud on Buan. > > Can anyone recommend an institution to confirm the cause of this event? Has > anyone observed or know of any similar events worldwide? What would be the > best way to monitor and gather data if this event is natural and caused by > the oil/gas/'old' water? Is this event also dangerous with regards the > Lankayan Island's proximity to such a event? > > Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. > > Don Baker > Reef Guardian Co-Founder > Sabah, North Borneo > Malaysia > > > Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com > > "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to > the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed > formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a > person's passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine > Conservationist/Activist, 1998] > > --------------------------------- > Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. > _______________________________________________ > 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 arthur at sopac.org Wed Aug 22 16:25:14 2007 From: arthur at sopac.org (Arthur Webb) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:25:14 +1200 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan In-Reply-To: <1eab821b0708220417s3bf55f9yb9a279fb860f1890@mail.gmail.com> References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <1eab821b0708220417s3bf55f9yb9a279fb860f1890@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <46CC9BAA.3090807@sopac.org> It's interesting you mention an atoll event. I was in Kiribati in the Central Pacific during Christmas 2003 and at that time there were reports of mass mortality along the ocean side coasts of at least 2 atolls in the group (Abemama and I think Nonouti). These atolls are tectonically stable and are far from any active plate boundaries and are thousands of kilometers from any significant land mass with surface run off. Additionally, both of the islands mentioned above have small populations who live a traditional subsistence lifestyle (few vehicle's, no electricity or reticulated water, few imported products, no intensive agriculture, etc) in relatively pristine terrestrial and marine environments. Whilst I did not witness the event I did travel to Abemama about 2 months after and the same story was repeated time and again that there was so much dead marine life on the ocean side reefs (and not the lagoon side) that "windrows" of dead fish lined the shores (both pelagic and reef associated species were mentioned). The people here too indicated the intolerable smell and plague of flys which followed but this seemed very much associated with the decaying marine life not the time of the event. I must say this utterly stumped me! These atolls are ancient seamounts which rise steeply from 3.5 4.0 km depth and the outside living reefs where the dead fish were first witnessed are the very upper living rim of these oceanic slopes. They are high energy environments and the concept of water residence times barely even applies and as mentioned there is no tectonic or terrigenous influence to speak of. Last, people reported that some had taken and eaten fish which was sluggishly floating (near death I guess) immediately following the event with no ill effect and otherwise of those I spoke to there was no living memory or oral history of such an event having happen before. My only thought was that through some freak anomaly of deep currents a slug of very cold and or deoxygenated water moved up the slope persisted for long enough to cause damage then sank again ............. anyway since we're on similar subjects I'd be interested if there's any similar stories or ideas out there. Thanks, **Arthur Webb *Coastal Processes Adviser* */SOPAC/* **Pacific**** ****Islands**** Applied Geoscience Commission** Postal Address: Private Mail Bag, GPO, Suva, Fiji Islands Street Address: 241 Mead Road, Nabua, Fiji Islands Tel: +679 338 1377 Fax: +679 337 0040 Email:** **arthur at sopac.org Website:** **_<<_http://www.sopac.org _>>_ William Allison wrote: > Several months ago something very similar was described at a Maldivian > atoll. I'll try to track down particulars. > > On 8/22/07, Don Baker wrote: > >> Dear Coral-L: >> >> Several months back, an event happened at Lankayan Island, north of Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia (Sulu Sea), that resulted in the death of corals, sea cucumbers, giant clams and other marine life - from shallow water to approximately 3 meters. >> >> During this event, the seawater smelled putrid and noxious, whereas, it was initially assumed to be from all the dead marine life. The water salinity was measured at or near 25ppt, and very unusually strong currents were present near the southern portion of the island's shallow reefs. Wave force was rough at about 1 to 1.5 meters. The weather was sunny without any rainfall either at the island region nor on the North Borneo 'mainland.' >> >> Please refer to this publication with regards to page 9 / Sandakan Sub Basin and Sulu Sea Basin. http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/archives/win_opp/cd/petropot.PDF >> >> The nearby islands to closest to Lankayan Island are the Philippines Turtle Islands - with Buan Is. the closest and to the south west. Buan Is. is classified as a "mud origin' type island mass, whereas, decades ago there existed active mini mud volcanoes there. >> >> Observation by the local fishermen in the same Turtle Island region have seen many large, upwelling mud plumes flowing from the under the sea (perhaps pushed out by the natural gas pressure in the Sandakan Basin edges near North Borneo?). >> >> In short, this event seems to point more so to a natural cause rather than from runoff from the N Borneo coastal regions. The lowering of the seawater salinity was also significant as well as higher than normal water temperatures in the same area. Could this also be a combination of 'ancient freshwater' also extruding along with the mud and perhaps natural gas? Lastly, the seawater visibility (noted by the tour divers in their complaints) was very poor [< 3 meters at times]. The color was 'gray' the same as the mud on Buan. >> >> Can anyone recommend an institution to confirm the cause of this event? Has anyone observed or know of any similar events worldwide? What would be the best way to monitor and gather data if this event is natural and caused by the oil/gas/'old' water? Is this event also dangerous with regards the Lankayan Island's proximity to such a event? >> >> Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. >> >> Don Baker >> Reef Guardian Co-Founder >> Sabah, North Borneo >> Malaysia >> >> >> Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com >> >> "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a person's passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine Conservationist/Activist, 1998] >> >> --------------------------------- >> Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 atj777 at attglobal.net Wed Aug 22 17:57:27 2007 From: atj777 at attglobal.net (atj777 at attglobal.net) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:57:27 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] PAR sensor/logger (Andrew Trevor-Jones) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Ruby, This question was asked a year or so ago on the list and one great option was a logger from Data Flow Systems in New Zealand: http://www.odysseydatarecording.com/odyssey_productsview.php?key=6 I purchased one and it works very well. It is submersible to 20 metres. I have taken mine to 30 metres without a problem. The only drawback with the logger is that it floats. This means you will need to build something to hold it down. For mine, I used PVC piping and then attached a weight to the base. Here is a photograph of the logger at Steve's Bommie on the GBR showing the PVC holder and weight: http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/Logger_Steves07.jpg Andrew. > > Dear colleagues > Can anyone please advise where i could purchase a portable seawater > submersible PAR sensor/logger. > So far i have come across PAR sensors which are submersible in > seawater with loggers that are not. The sensors are connected to the > loggers by underwater cables. > However i would like to place the sensor with the logger at sea to > be retrieved on a weekly/monthly basis > Many thanks > Ruby > > > > Ruby Moothien Pillay (Ph. D.) > Project Officer (Oceanography) > Mauritius Oceanography Institute > France Centre > Victoria Avenue > Quatre Bornes > Mauritius > Tel: (230) 427-4434 > Mobile: (230) 723-8808 > Fax:(230) 427-4433 > Website: http://moi.gov.mu From buddrw at kgs.ku.edu Thu Aug 23 14:17:54 2007 From: buddrw at kgs.ku.edu (Bob Buddemeier) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:17:54 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan In-Reply-To: <1eab821b0708221347q71c6d3e8yae43939926fe45d0@mail.gmail.com> References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <1eab821b0708220417s3bf55f9yb9a279fb860f1890@mail.gmail.com> <46CC9BAA.3090807@sopac.org> <1eab821b0708221347q71c6d3e8yae43939926fe45d0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <46CDCF52.9030308@kgs.ku.edu> A few comments --- 1. Water that has lethal effects only in the top few meters of island/atoll coastal waters needs to be positively buoyant (lower density) with respect to tropical/subtropical surface water. Water that is "cold" or from deep enough to be suboxic because of oceanic processes will almost certainly be negatively buoyant; if it were forced to the surface by some mechanism (internal wave? gas upwelling?) it would be likely to rather quickly sink and be over-ridden by incoming surface water unless it were trapped by the right combination of geomorphology and currents. 2. 25 ppt salinity water would be positively buoyant; presumably due to the addition of meteoric water. The chemical alteration tends to suggest interstitial water from the geologic structure ("groundwater"). Anoxic, sulfide-dominated environments commonly occur in reef/island substructures. 3. Hydrogen sulfide is certainly foul smelling, as is rotting tissue, but they have different odors, and if the anoxic water is the source of the kill the sulfide would be detectable immediately/first, while it should be many hours if not days before dead organisms could accumulate and decompose enough to generate that characteristic odor. 4. Some kind of pulsed release of anoxic "groundwater" in significant quantity would be an unusual event -- interstitial water does not become anoxic unless it has a long residence time, which normally is accompanied by lack of pathways or reservoirs for high-volume flow. This suggests (as the discussion has considered) some sort of trigger event that shifts the system. In addition to the things already mentioned, other precursor events to look for would be unusually high rainfall/recharge, spring tides (maximum pressure loading/unloading), and recent human alteration of the surface or subsurface hydrology (altered recharge again). Another thing to look for would be human alteration of subsurface biogeochemistry -- e.g., garbage or sewage disposal into a zone that was previously not anoxic and in reasonable communication with the external water. 5. The ocean-side-only effect is consistent with a "groundwater" origin for atolls, since the lagoon is normally maintained at a slightly positive head with respect to the ocean by wave set-up and cross-reef transport; this means that the direction of subsurface flow will normally be oceanward. For all of the above and much much more, see:Vacher, H. L. and T. M. Quinn, Eds. (1997). Geology and Hydrogeology of Carbonate Islands. Developments in Sedimentology 54. Amsterdam, Elsevier. Bob Buddemeier William Allison wrote: > Arthur, I am thinking along the same lines as you for a cause in > Maldives. Dark, foul-smelling water was reported along with fish > kills. Deeper water is reported anoxic. Other causes seem improbable. > Incidentally there was a mystery kill in the Caribbean a few years ago > - should be in coral-list archives - although volcanic gas was a > suspect there, I don't know if it was ever resolved. > > Bill > > On 8/22/07, Arthur Webb wrote: > >> It's interesting you mention an atoll event. I was in Kiribati in the >> Central Pacific during Christmas 2003 and at that time there were reports of >> mass mortality along the ocean side coasts of at least 2 atolls in the group >> (Abemama and I think Nonouti). These atolls are tectonically stable and are >> far from any active plate boundaries and are thousands of kilometers from >> any significant land mass with surface run off. Additionally, both of the >> islands mentioned above have small populations who live a traditional >> subsistence lifestyle (few vehicle's, no electricity or reticulated water, >> few imported products, no intensive agriculture, etc) in relatively pristine >> terrestrial and marine environments. >> >> Whilst I did not witness the event I did travel to Abemama about 2 months >> after and the same story was repeated time and again that there was so much >> dead marine life on the ocean side reefs (and not the lagoon side) that >> "windrows" of dead fish lined the shores (both pelagic and reef associated >> species were mentioned). The people here too indicated the intolerable >> smell and plague of flys which followed but this seemed very much associated >> with the decaying marine life not the time of the event. >> >> I must say this utterly stumped me! These atolls are ancient seamounts >> which rise steeply from 3.5 4.0 km depth and the outside living reefs where >> the dead fish were first witnessed are the very upper living rim of these >> oceanic slopes. They are high energy environments and the concept of water >> residence times barely even applies and as mentioned there is no tectonic or >> terrigenous influence to speak of. Last, people reported that some had >> taken and eaten fish which was sluggishly floating (near death I guess) >> immediately following the event with no ill effect and otherwise of those I >> spoke to there was no living memory or oral history of such an event having >> happen before. >> >> My only thought was that through some freak anomaly of deep currents a slug >> of very cold and or deoxygenated water moved up the slope persisted for long >> enough to cause damage then sank again ............. anyway since we're on >> similar subjects I'd be interested if there's any similar stories or ideas >> out there. >> >> Thanks, >> >> Arthur Webb >> Coastal Processes Adviser >> >> >> SOPAC Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission >> Postal Address: Private Mail Bag, GPO, Suva, Fiji Islands >> Street Address: 241 Mead Road, Nabua, Fiji Islands >> Tel: +679 338 1377 Fax: +679 337 0040 >> Email: arthur at sopac.org >> Website: <> >> >> >> >> William Allison wrote: >> Several months ago something very similar was described at a Maldivian >> atoll. I'll try to track down particulars. >> >> On 8/22/07, Don Baker wrote: >> >> >> Dear Coral-L: >> >> Several months back, an event happened at Lankayan Island, north of >> Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia (Sulu Sea), that resulted in the death of corals, >> sea cucumbers, giant clams and other marine life - from shallow water to >> approximately 3 meters. >> >> During this event, the seawater smelled putrid and noxious, whereas, it was >> initially assumed to be from all the dead marine life. The water salinity >> was measured at or near 25ppt, and very unusually strong currents were >> present near the southern portion of the island's shallow reefs. Wave force >> was rough at about 1 to 1.5 meters. The weather was sunny without any >> rainfall either at the island region nor on the North Borneo 'mainland.' >> >> Please refer to this publication with regards to page 9 / Sandakan Sub Basin >> and Sulu Sea Basin. >> http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/archives/win_opp/cd/petropot.PDF >> >> The nearby islands to closest to Lankayan Island are the Philippines Turtle >> Islands - with Buan Is. the closest and to the south west. Buan Is. is >> classified as a "mud origin' type island mass, whereas, decades ago there >> existed active mini mud volcanoes there. >> >> Observation by the local fishermen in the same Turtle Island region have >> seen many large, upwelling mud plumes flowing from the under the sea >> (perhaps pushed out by the natural gas pressure in the Sandakan Basin edges >> near North Borneo?). >> >> In short, this event seems to point more so to a natural cause rather than >> from runoff from the N Borneo coastal regions. The lowering of the seawater >> salinity was also significant as well as higher than normal water >> temperatures in the same area. Could this also be a combination of 'ancient >> freshwater' also extruding along with the mud and perhaps natural gas? >> Lastly, the seawater visibility (noted by the tour divers in their >> complaints) was very poor [< 3 meters at times]. The color was 'gray' the >> same as the mud on Buan. >> >> Can anyone recommend an institution to confirm the cause of this event? Has >> anyone observed or know of any similar events worldwide? What would be the >> best way to monitor and gather data if this event is natural and caused by >> the oil/gas/'old' water? Is this event also dangerous with regards the >> Lankayan Island's proximity to such a event? >> >> Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. >> >> Don Baker >> Reef Guardian Co-Founder >> Sabah, North Borneo >> Malaysia >> >> >> Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com >> >> "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to >> the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed >> formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a >> person's passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine >> Conservationist/Activist, 1998] >> >> --------------------------------- >> Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 >> >> >> > > -- Dr. Robert W. Buddemeier Kansas Geological Survey University of Kansas 1930 Constant Avenue Lawrence, KS 66047 USA e-mail: buddrw at ku.edu ph (1) (785) 864-2112 fax (1) (785) 864-5317 From eshinn at marine.usf.edu Thu Aug 23 12:39:14 2007 From: eshinn at marine.usf.edu (Gene Shinn) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:39:14 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan Message-ID: Dear Arthur, It just may be that everyone is looking down at the "usual suspects." The cover story in the 2, August 2007 issue of Nature (see 575) describes what is happening above the Maldives. Gene -- 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 craig_cooper at mac.com Thu Aug 23 14:48:17 2007 From: craig_cooper at mac.com (craig cooper) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:48:17 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Shark Slaughter Message-ID: <48fe05d3258017018259732669112708@mac.com> SHARK SLAUGHTER Shark fin soup, prized as a delicacy in Asia, has generated a worldwide billion dollar industry, where more than 100 million sharks are killed each year.? The process of "finning" involves cutting off the shark's fins, after which the rest of the animal is thrown overboard, often still alive.? Despite surviving longer than any other large animal on earth,? their populations are rapidly declining.? In fact, the numbers of some shark species have fallen more than 90 per cent.? The elimination of sharks is having a direct affect on the health of coral reefs and the oceans as a whole.? Researchers at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography are currently studying this issue.? Hopefully this research and the dissemination of this information to the public will bring an end to this wholesale slaughter. Craig Cooper Sharkwater Team www.sharkwater.com From nidrisi at uvi.edu Thu Aug 23 11:23:35 2007 From: nidrisi at uvi.edu (Nasseer Idrisi) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:23:35 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] [SPAM] - Re: Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan - Bayesian Filter detected spam In-Reply-To: <46CC9BAA.3090807@sopac.org> Message-ID: A few months ago, Jane Lubchenko gave a talk at a Global Climate Change symposium that was aired on C-SPAN where she explained a relatively new phenomenon of expanding oxygen minimum zones at mid water depths that are upwelled onto shelves that cause mass die-offs in coastal shallow waters. Jane gave the example of die-offs off the US west coast, but this is happening world-wide. Of course there may be other explanations (red tides, etc.) in examples in this discussion, but the example below seems to fit in with upwelling (ocean side of atolls) of oxygen depleted waters. nasseer -----Original Message----- From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Arthur Webb Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 4:25 PM To: William Allison Cc: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov Subject: [SPAM] - Re: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan - Bayesian Filter detected spam It's interesting you mention an atoll event. I was in Kiribati in the Central Pacific during Christmas 2003 and at that time there were reports of mass mortality along the ocean side coasts of at least 2 atolls in the group (Abemama and I think Nonouti). These atolls are tectonically stable and are far from any active plate boundaries and are thousands of kilometers from any significant land mass with surface run off. Additionally, both of the islands mentioned above have small populations who live a traditional subsistence lifestyle (few vehicle's, no electricity or reticulated water, few imported products, no intensive agriculture, etc) in relatively pristine terrestrial and marine environments. Whilst I did not witness the event I did travel to Abemama about 2 months after and the same story was repeated time and again that there was so much dead marine life on the ocean side reefs (and not the lagoon side) that "windrows" of dead fish lined the shores (both pelagic and reef associated species were mentioned). The people here too indicated the intolerable smell and plague of flys which followed but this seemed very much associated with the decaying marine life not the time of the event. I must say this utterly stumped me! These atolls are ancient seamounts which rise steeply from 3.5 4.0 km depth and the outside living reefs where the dead fish were first witnessed are the very upper living rim of these oceanic slopes. They are high energy environments and the concept of water residence times barely even applies and as mentioned there is no tectonic or terrigenous influence to speak of. Last, people reported that some had taken and eaten fish which was sluggishly floating (near death I guess) immediately following the event with no ill effect and otherwise of those I spoke to there was no living memory or oral history of such an event having happen before. My only thought was that through some freak anomaly of deep currents a slug of very cold and or deoxygenated water moved up the slope persisted for long enough to cause damage then sank again ............. anyway since we're on similar subjects I'd be interested if there's any similar stories or ideas out there. Thanks, **Arthur Webb *Coastal Processes Adviser* */SOPAC/* **Pacific**** ****Islands**** Applied Geoscience Commission** Postal Address: Private Mail Bag, GPO, Suva, Fiji Islands Street Address: 241 Mead Road, Nabua, Fiji Islands Tel: +679 338 1377 Fax: +679 337 0040 Email:** **arthur at sopac.org Website:** **_<<_http://www.sopac.org _>>_ William Allison wrote: > Several months ago something very similar was described at a Maldivian > atoll. I'll try to track down particulars. > > On 8/22/07, Don Baker wrote: > >> Dear Coral-L: >> >> Several months back, an event happened at Lankayan Island, north of Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia (Sulu Sea), that resulted in the death of corals, sea cucumbers, giant clams and other marine life - from shallow water to approximately 3 meters. >> >> During this event, the seawater smelled putrid and noxious, whereas, it was initially assumed to be from all the dead marine life. The water salinity was measured at or near 25ppt, and very unusually strong currents were present near the southern portion of the island's shallow reefs. Wave force was rough at about 1 to 1.5 meters. The weather was sunny without any rainfall either at the island region nor on the North Borneo 'mainland.' >> >> Please refer to this publication with regards to page 9 / Sandakan Sub Basin and Sulu Sea Basin. http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/archives/win_opp/cd/petropot.PDF >> >> The nearby islands to closest to Lankayan Island are the Philippines Turtle Islands - with Buan Is. the closest and to the south west. Buan Is. is classified as a "mud origin' type island mass, whereas, decades ago there existed active mini mud volcanoes there. >> >> Observation by the local fishermen in the same Turtle Island region have seen many large, upwelling mud plumes flowing from the under the sea (perhaps pushed out by the natural gas pressure in the Sandakan Basin edges near North Borneo?). >> >> In short, this event seems to point more so to a natural cause rather than from runoff from the N Borneo coastal regions. The lowering of the seawater salinity was also significant as well as higher than normal water temperatures in the same area. Could this also be a combination of 'ancient freshwater' also extruding along with the mud and perhaps natural gas? Lastly, the seawater visibility (noted by the tour divers in their complaints) was very poor [< 3 meters at times]. The color was 'gray' the same as the mud on Buan. >> >> Can anyone recommend an institution to confirm the cause of this event? Has anyone observed or know of any similar events worldwide? What would be the best way to monitor and gather data if this event is natural and caused by the oil/gas/'old' water? Is this event also dangerous with regards the Lankayan Island's proximity to such a event? >> >> Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. >> >> Don Baker >> Reef Guardian Co-Founder >> Sabah, North Borneo >> Malaysia >> >> >> Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com >> >> "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a person's passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine Conservationist/Activist, 1998] >> >> --------------------------------- >> Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 From Amanda_Bourque at nps.gov Thu Aug 23 16:42:47 2007 From: Amanda_Bourque at nps.gov (Amanda_Bourque at nps.gov) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:42:47 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Short-term opening: Biological Science Technician at Biscayne National Park Message-ID: Short-term opening for a Biological Science Technician in the Damage Recovery Program/Division of Resource Management, Biscayne National Park, Homestead FL. Primary duties will include field monitoring of seagrass and coral reef restoration projects. Key details are as follows: ? 30 day duration, and may be extended an additional 30 days (NTE 60 days total) ? GS-06 grade level ($16.19/hour) ? 40 hours/week (Tues-Fri, 10 hours/day) ? Start date in early September ? No health benefits, housing, or moving assistance ? Must have own transportation ? Field-intensive position ? Must be have knowledge of coral reef and seagrass ecosystems and relevant underwater field skills ? Must be a US citizen Please email me with a letter of interest and current CV: amanda_bourque at nps.gov Thank you. ?Amanda Bourque ************************************** Amanda Bourque Biologist Biscayne National Park 9700 SW 328 Street Homestead, FL 33033 305-230-1144 x3081 phone 305-230-1190 fax amanda_bourque at nps.gov *************************************** From jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu Thu Aug 23 17:21:52 2007 From: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu (John McManus) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:21:52 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan In-Reply-To: <1eab821b0708221347q71c6d3e8yae43939926fe45d0@mail.gmail.com> References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <1eab821b0708220417s3bf55f9yb9a279fb860f1890@mail.gmail.com> <46CC9BAA.3090807@sopac.org> <1eab821b0708221347q71c6d3e8yae43939926fe45d0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <014b01c7e5cb$a3c18900$eb449b00$@miami.edu> In addition to red tides, warm water events can kill fish and invertebrates if they are warm enough and in still waters (as has happened previously in Bolinao, Philippines). This does not involve all the symptoms from Lankayan situation, and would have seemed to be more of a problem in a lagoon, but it will be important to watch for a range of potential causes. Cheers! John John W. McManus, PhD Director, National Center for Coral Reef Research (NCORE) Professor, Marine Biology and Fisheries Coral Reef Ecology and Management Lab (CREM Lab) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) University of Miami, 4700 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, 33149 j.mcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu www.ncoremiami.org Phone: 305-421-4814 Fax: 305-421-4910 "If I cannot build it, I do not understand it." --Richard Feynman, Nobel Laureate From arthur at sopac.org Thu Aug 23 19:51:20 2007 From: arthur at sopac.org (Arthur Webb) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:51:20 +1200 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <46CE1D78.4020509@sopac.org> Gene and others - thanks for your thoughts, Gene indeed "looking up" as you indicate may be a component of the issue in the Maldives due to there geographic location but is highly unlikely re the Kiribati phenomena. And for those that don't know these islands check Google Earth - 0 23'35.05" N 173 52'39.50"E (Abemama) and 0 39'05.54"S 174 20"00.35" E (Nonouti) they're a long way from Asia and also "upwind" if you like. (Incidentally, these are excellent high res. images and really let you get a feel for these magnificent environments). Bob, thanks also for your comments which are instructive, again some may apply to Maldives event but I'll leave Don to comment further as I have no personal experience in the Maldives. However, I don't know that they all fit with the Kiribati event. I'm unconvinced with regards to direct human disturbance (these Islands must surely be some of the most pristine on the planet and these communities among the last on Earth who still live in a sustainable balance with their environment). As for rainfall and tide, I've spent some 10 years working throughout these islands I've seen some of the highest tides on record and heaviest rainfall but have never heard or seen a fish kill associated with these natural phenomena. Also in terms of the hydrology these floating freshwater lens are presumably quite restricted in the depth they can penetrate down since the islands are so narrow and most importantly the land surface is very low (on average about 1m above high tide) this restricts the volume of freshwater which can be "held" irrespective of recharge rates as heavy rain simply results in surface ponding and even surface runoff in extreme cases. Additionally, I can't help but think we should expect to hear stories from the local communities if heavy rainfall and / or high tides produced fish kills as these oceanic and atmospheric phenomena occur relatively regularly. Otherwise, I can't think what could possibly allow the quick release of sufficient volumes of anoxic fresh water into the neighboring marine environment which was adequate to cause a wide spread (several kilometers of coast) kills on these high energy, deep oceanic drop offs? I guess so far, that leaves the most likely candidates as either an unusual deep cold / anoxic upwelling or as John McManus indicates perhaps the other way, an unusually warm pool of surface water forming around or moving past these islands (I must admit I hadn't thought it possible for water to heat to this extent in the deep open ocean environment - coral bleaching maybe but how extreme would conditions have to be to kill fish in such environments?! - there is obviously no routine direct measurement of even basic WQ parameters on these remote islands but if I can find time I'll see what information I can pull together re the regional weather and surface conditions around Dec '03 - perhaps our NOAA friends could help?). Anyway it's an interesting one, Thanks to all, Arthur Gene Shinn wrote: > Dear Arthur, It just may be that everyone is looking down at the > "usual suspects." The cover story in the 2, August 2007 issue of > Nature (see 575) describes what is happening above the Maldives. Gene > From david at trilliumfilms.net Thu Aug 23 19:10:48 2007 From: david at trilliumfilms.net (David McGuire) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:10:48 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Shark Slaughter In-Reply-To: <48fe05d3258017018259732669112708@mac.com> References: <48fe05d3258017018259732669112708@mac.com> Message-ID: <3CA0C742-6EF6-4D32-8492-726F323EDEB2@trilliumfilms.net> The principal investigator of this study, Dr. Enric Sala of SIO is featured in our film Sharks: Stewards of the Reef where he brings this study to light. As reported in his April 2005 Study published in PNAS, Dr. Sala et al correlates the cascade effects of removing apex predators such as sharks to the overall health of the marine system, particularly coral. One of the most striking products of the study is a stark picture of human impacts on marine ecosystems and the consequences of targeted fishing. In the Caribbean, overfishing of sharks triggers a domino effect of changes in abundance that carries down to several fish species and contributes to the overall degradation of the reef ecosystem. Overfishing species randomly, the study shows, is not likely to cause these cascading effects. "It appears that ecosystems such as Caribbean coral reefs need sharks to ensure the stability of the entire system," said Sala, deputy director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps. This 30 minute film, also features Shark Conservationists Sonja Fordham, Peter Knights and examines threats to sharks, including shark finning, the importance of sharks ecologically and how we can support marine protected ares for sharks and a healthy ocean. We are screening at the Monterey Bay Aquarium this month. David McGuire www.sharkstewards.com On Aug 23, 2007, at 11:48 AM, craig cooper wrote: > SHARK SLAUGHTER > > Shark fin soup, prized as a delicacy in Asia, has generated a > worldwide > billion dollar industry, where more than 100 million sharks are killed > each year. The process of "finning" involves cutting off the shark's > fins, after which the rest of the animal is thrown overboard, often > still alive. Despite surviving longer than any other large animal on > earth, their populations are rapidly declining. In fact, the numbers > of some shark species have fallen more than 90 per cent. The > elimination of sharks is having a direct affect on the health of coral > reefs and the oceans as a whole. Researchers at the Scripps Institute > of Oceanography are currently studying this issue. Hopefully this > research and the dissemination of this information to the public will > bring an end to this wholesale slaughter. > > Craig Cooper > Sharkwater Team > www.sharkwater.com > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list 415 289.0366 415 289.0399 Fax www.trilliumfilms.net www.sharkstewards.com Please take a moment to learn about the growing global problem of Shark Finning and how you can Help Stop the Distribution of Shark Fins for Shark Fin Soup: www.sharkstewards.com/synopsis.htm http://sharkstewards.com/take-action.htm Establish a Global Ban on Shark Finning http:// www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/345265363 From david at trilliumfilms.net Thu Aug 23 19:31:37 2007 From: david at trilliumfilms.net (David McGuire) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:31:37 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Documentary Film. Ideas? Marine Biosphere Reserve, India In-Reply-To: <984219.72505.qm@web54205.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <984219.72505.qm@web54205.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: I am currently making a film on the marine reserves of the california coast. California is currently adding to its network of marine reserves and other protected areas increasing the area from 11% to neaerly 25% of the coastal waters. This process has its detractors as well as supporters which makes it a good story. I have many ideas! On Aug 21, 2007, at 1:43 AM, joseph paul wrote: > Dr Joseph Paul Kavalam > Kavalam Puthenpura > 42/2491 Power House Road > Cochin 682 018, Kerala > INDIA > > > Ph: 0091-484-2390918, 0091-9446606031 > E-mail: popychenkavalam at yahoo.com > > 21 August 2007 > > Dear Listers, > > A marine biosphere reserve in India is preparing to shoot a > documentary film. > > I am searching for anyone with ideas or interests in documentary > film shooting particularly with reference to marine biosphere > reserves or coral reefs. > > Joseph > > > > > --------------------------------- > Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list David McGuire david at trilliumfilms.net Producer, trillium films 323 Pine St Suite C Sausalito CA 94965 415 289.0366 415 289.0399 Fax www.trilliumfilms.net www.sharkstewards.com Please take a moment to learn about the growing global problem of Shark Finning and how you can Help Stop the Distribution of Shark Fins for Shark Fin Soup: www.sharkstewards.com/synopsis.htm http://sharkstewards.com/take-action.htm Establish a Global Ban on Shark Finning http:// www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/345265363 From szmanta at uncw.edu Thu Aug 23 20:58:18 2007 From: szmanta at uncw.edu (Szmant, Alina) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:58:18 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <1eab821b0708220417s3bf55f9yb9a279fb860f1890@mail.gmail.com> <46CC9BAA.3090807@sopac.org> <1eab821b0708221347q71c6d3e8yae43939926fe45d0@mail.gmail.com> <46CDCF52.9030308@kgs.ku.edu> Message-ID: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE151E8@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> What about some tectonic event releasing trapped water? One would think that this would be detected by seismologists, but who knows... ******************************************************************* 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 Bob Buddemeier Sent: Thu 8/23/2007 2:17 PM To: William Allison Cc: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan A few comments --- 1. Water that has lethal effects only in the top few meters of island/atoll coastal waters needs to be positively buoyant (lower density) with respect to tropical/subtropical surface water. Water that is "cold" or from deep enough to be suboxic because of oceanic processes will almost certainly be negatively buoyant; if it were forced to the surface by some mechanism (internal wave? gas upwelling?) it would be likely to rather quickly sink and be over-ridden by incoming surface water unless it were trapped by the right combination of geomorphology and currents. 2. 25 ppt salinity water would be positively buoyant; presumably due to the addition of meteoric water. The chemical alteration tends to suggest interstitial water from the geologic structure ("groundwater"). Anoxic, sulfide-dominated environments commonly occur in reef/island substructures. 3. Hydrogen sulfide is certainly foul smelling, as is rotting tissue, but they have different odors, and if the anoxic water is the source of the kill the sulfide would be detectable immediately/first, while it should be many hours if not days before dead organisms could accumulate and decompose enough to generate that characteristic odor. 4. Some kind of pulsed release of anoxic "groundwater" in significant quantity would be an unusual event -- interstitial water does not become anoxic unless it has a long residence time, which normally is accompanied by lack of pathways or reservoirs for high-volume flow. This suggests (as the discussion has considered) some sort of trigger event that shifts the system. In addition to the things already mentioned, other precursor events to look for would be unusually high rainfall/recharge, spring tides (maximum pressure loading/unloading), and recent human alteration of the surface or subsurface hydrology (altered recharge again). Another thing to look for would be human alteration of subsurface biogeochemistry -- e.g., garbage or sewage disposal into a zone that was previously not anoxic and in reasonable communication with the external water. 5. The ocean-side-only effect is consistent with a "groundwater" origin for atolls, since the lagoon is normally maintained at a slightly positive head with respect to the ocean by wave set-up and cross-reef transport; this means that the direction of subsurface flow will normally be oceanward. For all of the above and much much more, see:Vacher, H. L. and T. M. Quinn, Eds. (1997). Geology and Hydrogeology of Carbonate Islands. Developments in Sedimentology 54. Amsterdam, Elsevier. Bob Buddemeier William Allison wrote: > Arthur, I am thinking along the same lines as you for a cause in > Maldives. Dark, foul-smelling water was reported along with fish > kills. Deeper water is reported anoxic. Other causes seem improbable. > Incidentally there was a mystery kill in the Caribbean a few years ago > - should be in coral-list archives - although volcanic gas was a > suspect there, I don't know if it was ever resolved. > > Bill > > On 8/22/07, Arthur Webb wrote: > >> It's interesting you mention an atoll event. I was in Kiribati in the >> Central Pacific during Christmas 2003 and at that time there were reports of >> mass mortality along the ocean side coasts of at least 2 atolls in the group >> (Abemama and I think Nonouti). These atolls are tectonically stable and are >> far from any active plate boundaries and are thousands of kilometers from >> any significant land mass with surface run off. Additionally, both of the >> islands mentioned above have small populations who live a traditional >> subsistence lifestyle (few vehicle's, no electricity or reticulated water, >> few imported products, no intensive agriculture, etc) in relatively pristine >> terrestrial and marine environments. >> >> Whilst I did not witness the event I did travel to Abemama about 2 months >> after and the same story was repeated time and again that there was so much >> dead marine life on the ocean side reefs (and not the lagoon side) that >> "windrows" of dead fish lined the shores (both pelagic and reef associated >> species were mentioned). The people here too indicated the intolerable >> smell and plague of flys which followed but this seemed very much associated >> with the decaying marine life not the time of the event. >> >> I must say this utterly stumped me! These atolls are ancient seamounts >> which rise steeply from 3.5 4.0 km depth and the outside living reefs where >> the dead fish were first witnessed are the very upper living rim of these >> oceanic slopes. They are high energy environments and the concept of water >> residence times barely even applies and as mentioned there is no tectonic or >> terrigenous influence to speak of. Last, people reported that some had >> taken and eaten fish which was sluggishly floating (near death I guess) >> immediately following the event with no ill effect and otherwise of those I >> spoke to there was no living memory or oral history of such an event having >> happen before. >> >> My only thought was that through some freak anomaly of deep currents a slug >> of very cold and or deoxygenated water moved up the slope persisted for long >> enough to cause damage then sank again ............. anyway since we're on >> similar subjects I'd be interested if there's any similar stories or ideas >> out there. >> >> Thanks, >> >> Arthur Webb >> Coastal Processes Adviser >> >> >> SOPAC Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission >> Postal Address: Private Mail Bag, GPO, Suva, Fiji Islands >> Street Address: 241 Mead Road, Nabua, Fiji Islands >> Tel: +679 338 1377 Fax: +679 337 0040 >> Email: arthur at sopac.org >> Website: < >> >> >> >> >> William Allison wrote: >> Several months ago something very similar was described at a Maldivian >> atoll. I'll try to track down particulars. >> >> On 8/22/07, Don Baker wrote: >> >> >> Dear Coral-L: >> >> Several months back, an event happened at Lankayan Island, north of >> Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia (Sulu Sea), that resulted in the death of corals, >> sea cucumbers, giant clams and other marine life - from shallow water to >> approximately 3 meters. >> >> During this event, the seawater smelled putrid and noxious, whereas, it was >> initially assumed to be from all the dead marine life. The water salinity >> was measured at or near 25ppt, and very unusually strong currents were >> present near the southern portion of the island's shallow reefs. Wave force >> was rough at about 1 to 1.5 meters. The weather was sunny without any >> rainfall either at the island region nor on the North Borneo 'mainland.' >> >> Please refer to this publication with regards to page 9 / Sandakan Sub Basin >> and Sulu Sea Basin. >> http://www.doe.gov.ph/ER/archives/win_opp/cd/petropot.PDF >> >> The nearby islands to closest to Lankayan Island are the Philippines Turtle >> Islands - with Buan Is. the closest and to the south west. Buan Is. is >> classified as a "mud origin' type island mass, whereas, decades ago there >> existed active mini mud volcanoes there. >> >> Observation by the local fishermen in the same Turtle Island region have >> seen many large, upwelling mud plumes flowing from the under the sea >> (perhaps pushed out by the natural gas pressure in the Sandakan Basin edges >> near North Borneo?). >> >> In short, this event seems to point more so to a natural cause rather than >> from runoff from the N Borneo coastal regions. The lowering of the seawater >> salinity was also significant as well as higher than normal water >> temperatures in the same area. Could this also be a combination of 'ancient >> freshwater' also extruding along with the mud and perhaps natural gas? >> Lastly, the seawater visibility (noted by the tour divers in their >> complaints) was very poor [< 3 meters at times]. The color was 'gray' the >> same as the mud on Buan. >> >> Can anyone recommend an institution to confirm the cause of this event? Has >> anyone observed or know of any similar events worldwide? What would be the >> best way to monitor and gather data if this event is natural and caused by >> the oil/gas/'old' water? Is this event also dangerous with regards the >> Lankayan Island's proximity to such a event? >> >> Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. >> >> Don Baker >> Reef Guardian Co-Founder >> Sabah, North Borneo >> Malaysia >> >> >> Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com >> >> "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to >> the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed >> formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a >> person's passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine >> Conservationist/Activist, 1998] >> >> --------------------------------- >> Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 >> >> >> > > -- Dr. Robert W. Buddemeier Kansas Geological Survey University of Kansas 1930 Constant Avenue Lawrence, KS 66047 USA e-mail: buddrw at ku.edu ph (1) (785) 864-2112 fax (1) (785) 864-5317 _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From prenaud at livingoceansfoundation.org Thu Aug 23 22:24:07 2007 From: prenaud at livingoceansfoundation.org (Philip Renaud) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:24:07 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Job Posting for Chief Project Scientist Message-ID: <005101c7e5f5$d9a69630$0300a8c0@DAD> CHIEF PROJECT SCIENTIST, Living Oceans Foundation RESUMES ACCEPTED: September 01 through November 15, 2007 ORGANIZATION: Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Washington D.C., www.livingoceansfoundation.org 501(c)(3) Private Operating Foundation SALARY & BENEFITS: Competitive, based on experience RESPONSIBILITIES: The Chief Project Scientist is responsible for implementation of our Scientific Research Strategy. The Foundation is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of living oceans and pledges to champion their preservation through research, education and project support. Current Focus: Coral Reef Ecology. The Chief Project Scientist reports to the Chief Science Officer via the Executive Director and supervises the GIS Analyst for scientific knowledge management and generation of conservation management decision tools. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Ph.D. in Marine Science or related discipline, experience in developing and implementing marine research programs, proven record in transferring research outputs into conservation management outcomes, significant record of peer reviewed publications. Scientific diving program certified. DESIRED SKILLS: Multidisciplinary coral reef ecology research skills, program management, familiarity of remote sensing techniques and Geographic Information Systems, demonstrated proposal writing skills with success in grant awards. TRAVEL REQUIREMENT: Due to the Foundation's international scope, travel flexibility is a prerequisite for this position. The Chief Project Scientist is expected to participate in approximately two research expeditions annually. Additionally, the incumbent will be expected to travel periodically to represent the Foundation at selected conferences, workshops, etc. CITIZENSHIP and RESIDENCE: U.S. citizenship or current U.S. residency required. Primary work location will be at the Living Oceans Foundation headquarters located in Landover, Maryland, (Washington DC metropolitan area). APPLICATION: Submit Curriculum Vitae, a summary of research, education experience and goals, and the names/addresses/phone numbers of three references to: Executive Director Living Oceans Foundation 8181 Professional Place, Suite 215 Landover, MD 20785 EMAIL: prenaud at livingoceansfoundation.org Phone: (301) 577-1288 From lngndvs at gmail.com Fri Aug 24 00:19:42 2007 From: lngndvs at gmail.com (Alan E. Davis) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:19:42 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandakan In-Reply-To: <014b01c7e5cb$a3c18900$eb449b00$@miami.edu> References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <1eab821b0708220417s3bf55f9yb9a279fb860f1890@mail.gmail.com> <46CC9BAA.3090807@sopac.org> <1eab821b0708221347q71c6d3e8yae43939926fe45d0@mail.gmail.com> <014b01c7e5cb$a3c18900$eb449b00$@miami.edu> Message-ID: <7bef1f890708232119k4f0f8972le055f3c37199c6b@mail.gmail.com> In the Caroline Islands (Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia) I heard of blooms, known by different names on a number of islands. People from Puluwat knew it as Puropur (bubbles). While it might be a different event, on Tol, in Chuuk Lagoon, while I have forgotten the name, it was said to be so foul smelling that one cannot stay near the beach, while at the same time, herrings, Herklotsichthys sp., are sometimes toxic. A friend from Pohnpei (Pingelap) stated he was familiar with these blooms, that he had known of someone who fell in the water at such a time and died. These are only three examples, but they are well known in the islands, while I have not met many from outside who can even grok what I'm talking about. In the Philippine Islands, I was told that when Barringtonia flower, that is the time when the sardines (possibly referring to Herklotsichthys sp.) can be toxic, a few that is. This is more than an interesting thread. Alan A Chinese Curse applies: "I hope you live in an interesting time." -- Alan Davis, Kagman High School, Saipan lngndvs at gmail.com "An inviscid theory of flow renders the screw useless, but the need for one non-existent." ---Lord Raleigh (aka John William Strutt), or else his son, From d.petersen at rotterdamzoo.nl Fri Aug 24 03:11:24 2007 From: d.petersen at rotterdamzoo.nl (Dirk Petersen) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:11:24 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] article coral reproduction in public aquaria Message-ID: <46CEA0BC0200007A000077B6@mail.blijdorp.nl> Dear colleague, the Coral Animal Sustainability Program (ASP) of the EUAC*/EAZA** has conducted a questionnaire on sexual coral reproduction in public aquaria. The results have now been published in the International Zoo Yearbook. The reference is: Petersen D, Falcato J, Gilles P, Jones R. 2007. Sexual coral reproduction in live coral exhibits ? current status and future perspectives. Int Zoo Yb 41:122-137. If you are interested in receiving an electronic copy of this article (pdf), please let me know. Dirk Petersen, Co-chair Coral ASP *European Union of Aquarium Curators **European Association of Zoos and Aquaria From RichardPDunne at aol.com Fri Aug 24 06:01:19 2007 From: RichardPDunne at aol.com (Richard Dunne) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:01:19 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] PAR sensor/logger (Andrew Trevor-Jones) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <46CEAC6F.8080308@aol.com> To what Andrew says I would add the following caveats. I notice that Odssey do not give any detail of the calibration of these PAR sensors. You will need to ensure that they are calibrated at least once a year against a traceable standard. Also even the best PAR sensors are only accurate to +/- 5%. Secondly if you are making absolute measurements (as opposed to relative measurements) underwater you will need to do an immersion effect calibration for a sensor that has been calibrated in air. Because of the differences in refractive index between air and water a sensor calibrated in air will underread by about 40% in water. Suppliers of the best underwater sensors (eg. LICOR) provide their customers with this immersion effect calibration. To do it yourself is very tricky. References to the immersion effect are: Tyler and Smith 1970 Measurements of spectral irradiance underwater. Gordon and Breach, New Yorl, 103p. Roemer and Hoagland 1976 Immersion effect anc cosine collecting properties of LI-COR underwater sensors. (A study by the University of Nebraska for LICOR). Also you will need to keep the sensor clean when underwater - build up of biofilms is a problem for any sensor left in place. Typically cleaning once a day is required. Without this, your readings will be meaningless. Richard P Dunne West Briscoe, Baldersdale, Barnard Castle, Co Durham, DL12 9UP. UK Tel +44 1833 650059 atj777 at attglobal.net wrote: > Ruby, > > This question was asked a year or so ago on the list and one great > option was a logger from Data Flow Systems in New Zealand: > > http://www.odysseydatarecording.com/odyssey_productsview.php?key=6 > > I purchased one and it works very well. It is submersible to > 20 metres. I have taken mine to 30 metres without a problem. > > The only drawback with the logger is that it floats. This means > you will need to build something to hold it down. For mine, I used > PVC piping and then attached a weight to the base. > > Here is a photograph of the logger at Steve's Bommie on the GBR > showing the PVC holder and weight: > > http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/Logger_Steves07.jpg > > Andrew. > > >> Dear colleagues >> Can anyone please advise where i could purchase a portable seawater >> submersible PAR sensor/logger. >> So far i have come across PAR sensors which are submersible in >> seawater with loggers that are not. The sensors are connected to the >> loggers by underwater cables. >> However i would like to place the sensor with the logger at sea to >> be retrieved on a weekly/monthly basis >> Many thanks >> Ruby >> >> >> >> Ruby Moothien Pillay (Ph. D.) >> Project Officer (Oceanography) >> Mauritius Oceanography Institute >> France Centre >> Victoria Avenue >> Quatre Bornes >> Mauritius >> Tel: (230) 427-4434 >> Mobile: (230) 723-8808 >> Fax:(230) 427-4433 >> Website: http://moi.gov.mu >> > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > From Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov Fri Aug 24 08:31:27 2007 From: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov (Alan E. Strong) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:31:27 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan In-Reply-To: <46CE1D78.4020509@sopac.org> References: <46CE1D78.4020509@sopac.org> Message-ID: <46CECF9F.3070009@noaa.gov> http://mitgcm.org/news/agu_2004/fuckar_et_al.pdf Note this ASLO/AGU paper by our (Coral Reef Watch) Sea Grant Fellow in 2004...Nevin Fuckar....as a possibly of oceanic heat source transiting into a reef. Cheers, Al Arthur Webb wrote: > Gene and others - thanks for your thoughts, > > Gene indeed "looking up" as you indicate may be a component of the issue > in the Maldives due to there geographic location but is highly unlikely > re the Kiribati phenomena. And for those that don't know these islands > check Google Earth - 0 23'35.05" N 173 52'39.50"E (Abemama) and 0 > 39'05.54"S 174 20"00.35" E (Nonouti) they're a long way from Asia and > also "upwind" if you like. (Incidentally, these are excellent high res. > images and really let you get a feel for these magnificent environments). > > Bob, thanks also for your comments which are instructive, again some may > apply to Maldives event but I'll leave Don to comment further as I have > no personal experience in the Maldives. However, I don't know that they > all fit with the Kiribati event. I'm unconvinced with regards to direct > human disturbance (these Islands must surely be some of the most > pristine on the planet and these communities among the last on Earth who > still live in a sustainable balance with their environment). As for > rainfall and tide, I've spent some 10 years working throughout these > islands I've seen some of the highest tides on record and heaviest > rainfall but have never heard or seen a fish kill associated with these > natural phenomena. Also in terms of the hydrology these floating > freshwater lens are presumably quite restricted in the depth they can > penetrate down since the islands are so narrow and most importantly the > land surface is very low (on average about 1m above high tide) this > restricts the volume of freshwater which can be "held" irrespective of > recharge rates as heavy rain simply results in surface ponding and even > surface runoff in extreme cases. Additionally, I can't help but think > we should expect to hear stories from the local communities if heavy > rainfall and / or high tides produced fish kills as these oceanic and > atmospheric phenomena occur relatively regularly. Otherwise, I can't > think what could possibly allow the quick release of sufficient volumes > of anoxic fresh water into the neighboring marine environment which was > adequate to cause a wide spread (several kilometers of coast) kills on > these high energy, deep oceanic drop offs? > > I guess so far, that leaves the most likely candidates as either an > unusual deep cold / anoxic upwelling or as John McManus indicates > perhaps the other way, an unusually warm pool of surface water forming > around or moving past these islands (I must admit I hadn't thought it > possible for water to heat to this extent in the deep open ocean > environment - coral bleaching maybe but how extreme would conditions > have to be to kill fish in such environments?! - there is obviously no > routine direct measurement of even basic WQ parameters on these remote > islands but if I can find time I'll see what information I can pull > together re the regional weather and surface conditions around Dec '03 - > perhaps our NOAA friends could help?). > > Anyway it's an interesting one, > > Thanks to all, > > Arthur > > > > > > Gene Shinn wrote: > >> Dear Arthur, It just may be that everyone is looking down at the >> "usual suspects." The cover story in the 2, August 2007 issue of >> Nature (see 575) describes what is happening above the Maldives. Gene >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > -- **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* Alan E. Strong, Ph.D. NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Senior Consultant National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5304 1335 East West Hwy Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 301-713-2857 x108 Fax: 301-713-3136 Cell: 410-490-6602 From allison.billiam at gmail.com Fri Aug 24 09:35:13 2007 From: allison.billiam at gmail.com (William Allison) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:35:13 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1eab821b0708240635ka448f09rbd63fb7fd9b604ec@mail.gmail.com> How the described phenomenon might have contributed is not clear, especially because only one atoll was affected. Bill On 8/23/07, Gene Shinn wrote: > Dear Arthur, It just may be that everyone is looking down at the > "usual suspects." The cover story in the 2, August 2007 issue of > Nature (see 575) describes what is happening above the Maldives. Gene > -- > > > 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---------------------------------- > ----------------------------------- > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > From lucy at mexiconservacion.org Fri Aug 24 10:41:53 2007 From: lucy at mexiconservacion.org (Lucy Gallagher) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:41:53 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Coral-List] Post-Hurricane Dean Photos on the Mexican Caribbean Message-ID: <179215.51773.qm@web606.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Coral Listers, Here are a few photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Dean just to the North of Tulum (including marine animal casualties): http://www.flickr.com/gp/12024596 at N08/cq5MWU Regards, Lucy From eshinn at marine.usf.edu Fri Aug 24 15:44:11 2007 From: eshinn at marine.usf.edu (Gene Shinn) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:44:11 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan Message-ID: Dear Arthur, Thanks for setting me strait. Somehow I got off the track and thought we were talking about a place in the Maldives. You are right Abermama is far far away. Still a good mystery though. Everybody loves a mystery. Gene -- 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 goreau at bestweb.net Fri Aug 24 21:46:38 2007 From: goreau at bestweb.net (Thomas Goreau) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 21:46:38 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] More amazing "first" "discoveries" in coral reef science Message-ID: "Healthy coral reefs hit hard by higher temperatures. Coral disease outbreaks have struck the healthiest sections of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where, for the first time, researchers have conclusively linked disease severity and ocean temperature." Sea Technology, July 2007, p. 62 The article goes on to credit NSF, NIH, and the University of North Carolina for this amazing "new" "discovery". Perhaps these are the same folks who just discovered, also "for the first time", that Pacific and Indian Ocean coral reefs were declining. If these folks would only read the literature they would find that none of this is new. 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 russellkelley at mac.com Fri Aug 24 19:33:10 2007 From: russellkelley at mac.com (Russell Kelley) Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:33:10 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Most remote / least impacted atoll? In-Reply-To: <46CECF9F.3070009@noaa.gov> References: <46CE1D78.4020509@sopac.org> <46CECF9F.3070009@noaa.gov> Message-ID: Dear Coralisterers I have enjoyed using Google Earth to view the atolls mentioned by Arthur in the current discussion of the "Mystery Event". This set me wondering where to look to see an atoll with the least "impact" - w.r.t. roads / rows of coconut palms etc. I like to use Google Earth to see examples of atolls showing entirely natural vegetation / sediment patterns. All suggestions welcome. Regards Russell Russell Kelley russellkelley at mac.com Writer, project manager, communication consultant. P.O. Box 1859, Townsville, 4810, AUSTRALIA ABN 66208215206 Int. + 61 (0) 7 47804380 ph. GMT + 10 hours Skype: wireruss http://www.byoguides.com/rk http://www.catchmenttoreef.com.au On 24/08/2007, at 10:31 PM, Alan E. Strong wrote: > http://mitgcm.org/news/agu_2004/fuckar_et_al.pdf > > Note this ASLO/AGU paper by our (Coral Reef Watch) Sea Grant Fellow > in 2004...Nevin Fuckar....as a possibly of oceanic heat source > transiting into a reef. > > Cheers, > Al > > Arthur Webb wrote: >> Gene and others - thanks for your thoughts, >> >> Gene indeed "looking up" as you indicate may be a component of the >> issue in the Maldives due to there geographic location but is >> highly unlikely re the Kiribati phenomena. And for those that >> don't know these islands check Google Earth - 0 23'35.05" N 173 >> 52'39.50"E (Abemama) and 0 39'05.54"S 174 20"00.35" E (Nonouti) >> they're a long way from Asia and also "upwind" if you like. >> (Incidentally, these are excellent high res. images and really let >> you get a feel for these magnificent environments). >> >> Bob, thanks also for your comments which are instructive, again >> some may apply to Maldives event but I'll leave Don to comment >> further as I have no personal experience in the Maldives. >> However, I don't know that they all fit with the Kiribati event. >> I'm unconvinced with regards to direct human disturbance (these >> Islands must surely be some of the most pristine on the planet and >> these communities among the last on Earth who still live in a >> sustainable balance with their environment). As for rainfall and >> tide, I've spent some 10 years working throughout these islands >> I've seen some of the highest tides on record and heaviest >> rainfall but have never heard or seen a fish kill associated with >> these natural phenomena. Also in terms of the hydrology these >> floating freshwater lens are presumably quite restricted in the >> depth they can penetrate down since the islands are so narrow and >> most importantly the land surface is very low (on average about 1m >> above high tide) this restricts the volume of freshwater which can >> be "held" irrespective of recharge rates as heavy rain simply >> results in surface ponding and even surface runoff in extreme >> cases. Additionally, I can't help but think we should expect to >> hear stories from the local communities if heavy rainfall and / or >> high tides produced fish kills as these oceanic and atmospheric >> phenomena occur relatively regularly. Otherwise, I can't think >> what could possibly allow the quick release of sufficient volumes >> of anoxic fresh water into the neighboring marine environment >> which was adequate to cause a wide spread (several kilometers of >> coast) kills on these high energy, deep oceanic drop offs? >> >> I guess so far, that leaves the most likely candidates as either >> an unusual deep cold / anoxic upwelling or as John McManus >> indicates perhaps the other way, an unusually warm pool of surface >> water forming around or moving past these islands (I must admit I >> hadn't thought it possible for water to heat to this extent in the >> deep open ocean environment - coral bleaching maybe but how >> extreme would conditions have to be to kill fish in such >> environments?! - there is obviously no routine direct measurement >> of even basic WQ parameters on these remote islands but if I can >> find time I'll see what information I can pull together re the >> regional weather and surface conditions around Dec '03 - perhaps >> our NOAA friends could help?). >> >> Anyway it's an interesting one, >> >> Thanks to all, >> >> Arthur >> >> >> >> >> >> Gene Shinn wrote: >> >>> Dear Arthur, It just may be that everyone is looking down at the >>> "usual suspects." The cover story in the 2, August 2007 issue of >>> Nature (see 575) describes what is happening above the Maldives. >>> Gene >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Coral-List mailing list >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list >> > > -- > **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* Alan E. > Strong, Ph.D. > NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Senior Consultant > National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration > NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program > e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov > url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov > > E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5304 > 1335 East West Hwy > Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 > 301-713-2857 x108 Fax: 301-713-3136 > Cell: 410-490-6602 > > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From Larry at OpenDoorWorld.com Sat Aug 25 19:22:28 2007 From: Larry at OpenDoorWorld.com (Larry at OpenDoorWorld.com) Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:22:28 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - (Abemama and Nonouti) In-Reply-To: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE151E8@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> References: <234139.15680.qm@web58011.mail.re3.yahoo.com>, <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE151E8@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> Message-ID: <46D08174.12929.2159317@Larry.OpenDoorWorld.com> (Abemama and Nonouti) ------------------------------------------- Causes not likely: > >>These atolls are tectonically stable > >> far from any active plate boundaries > >> thousands of kilometers from any significant land mass with surface run off. > >> both of the islands have small populations who live a traditional > >> subsistence lifestyle (few vehicle's, no electricity or reticulated water, > >> few imported products, no intensive agriculture, etc) in relatively pristine > >> Any advice, assistance, comments are welcome. OK, i find this conversation interesting, however i am not a scientist... so this is just my 2 cents worth.. :-) Considering the location, (Abemama and Nonouti) are near an intersection of opposing conveyer currents, could it be that the deeper upwelling currents, swept further upwards along the underwater mountainside of the islands are carrying the heavier toxic chemicals, pcb's/pbde's, etc., (dumped daily by industry) and now possibly circulating in the deepest parts of the our ocean conveyor belt currents, since these would be heavier than ocean water and not readily soluble in water, however, these known toxins are readily accumulated in the food chain. Larry http://OpenDoorWorld.com Also.. there may be a PCB link to the 300% increase in Autism in the USA. > > _______________________________________________ > > Date: July 23, 2007 > More on: > Dolphins and Whales, Sea LIfe, Marine Biology, Oceanography, Life > > Killer Whales Metabolize Contaminants, Yet Still Show Record-High > Contamination Levels > > Killer whales hold the gloomy record of being the > most-polluted European arctic mammal, says a new study published in the > latest issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Levels of > contaminants measured in whales near Norway were among the highest ever > measured in marine mammals, exceeding levels found in harbor seals, polar > bears, and white whales. Killer whales are widely distributed marine > mammals capable of surviving on a variety of foods. In this study, blubber > samples were taken, using a dart gun, from eight live, free- ranging > whales. Contamination levels were six to 20 times higher in killer whales > compared to other high-Arctic species, such as white whales. Very high > levels of halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs), including > polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides were found in > the tissues of killer whales, apparently due to their high concentration > in the whales' primary diet source, herring. Despite the ban on most PCBs, > toxaphene, and DDT, these compounds pose a continuing threat to the health > of humans and marine organisms. New HOCs, such as the polybrominated > diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) which are used as flame retardants, continue to be > released into the environment. Organisms are particularly vulnerable to > HOCs in the marine environment. Because of the low water solubility of > these compounds, exposure through the food web leads to the highest > concentrations in marine mammals. Several studies have demonstrated > adverse effects on the endocrine and immune systems of some marine > mammals. While most HOCs are considered to be poorly metabolized, killer > whales in this study had lower levels of certain PCBs, pesticides > (chlordane, DDE), toxaphene, and PBDEs than expected, suggesting an > ability to metabolize them. This was unexpected, because other marine > mammals, such as dolphins and white whales, show a much lower ability to > metabolize HOCs. Note: This story has been adapted from a news release > issued by Allen Press. > > Copyright ? 1995-2007 ScienceDaily LLC ? All rights reserved ? > Contact: editor at sciencedaily.com About This Site | Editorial Staff | > Awards & Reviews | Contribute News | Advertise With Us | Privacy > Policy | Terms of Use > > > Web address: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070721223714.htm > > > > > From achier300 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 26 06:10:33 2007 From: achier300 at yahoo.com (Chung, F.C.) Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 03:10:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan Message-ID: <267494.94904.qm@web61218.mail.yahoo.com> Dear all, The mortality of shallow corals on reef flat at Lankayan Island few months (January 2007) back were duel to input of river water from mainland. I was on the island to witness the changes of the water quality during the event. Lankayan Islands is located about 26 Kilometers away from the mainland. In last January, rough sea and unusual rain fall had caused flooded in few places near Sandakan. The inputs of river water to Lankayan were observed continuously more than 10 days bringing debris like bamboo, Rhizophora seeds, sargassum mat. Water colour changing from clear to greenish and then to brownish (day 10). After 11 days, dead sea cucumbers and sea urchins were washed ashore, giant clams fleshes were floating on surface. The brown water colour was first observed in Lankayan and it had suspected contents harmful substance from river that possible killing the coral, giant clam and etc. However no laboratory test was done on the water that time. Basic water quality parameters were measured during the event, we found that the water salinity was low (average 25ppt, minimum 17 ppt) on both surface and in 5 m. Average water temperature was 27.8C and no dead fish was observed during the event. On day 12, we did a survey dive, the water colour was green but clear and water temperature around 27C. The shallow coral from 4m and above were death, majority Acropora sp, Seriatopora sp, blue coral and others. A short paper regarding these phenomena is in press. Click on link below to see photographs taken during the event. http://www.reef-guardian.org/shallowdeath.html *********************************************************** Achier/ Chung Fung Chen Marine Biologist Reef Guardian Sdn Bhd Lankayan Island Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area (SIMCA) Sandakan, Sabah Malaysia Email: achier300 at yahoo.com *********************************************************** ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222 From jbruno at unc.edu Sat Aug 25 19:48:28 2007 From: jbruno at unc.edu (John Bruno) Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:48:28 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Tommy Goreau's post on "More amazing "first" "discoveries" in coral reef science" Message-ID: <46D0BFCC.3070807@unc.edu> "Healthy coral reefs hit hard by higher temperatures. Coral disease outbreaks have struck the healthiest sections of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where, for the first time, researchers have conclusively linked disease severity and ocean temperature." Sea Technology, July 2007, p. 62 The article goes on to credit NSF, NIH, and the University of North Carolina for this amazing "new" "discovery". Perhaps these are the same folks who just discovered, also "for the first time", that Pacific and Indian Ocean coral reefs were declining. If these folks would only read the literature they would find that none of this is new. 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 Tom, you seem to have gotten all worked up about thirdhand accounts on the internet of our two recent papers in PLoS journals. But it seems clear that you haven?t read either one. Maybe you too need to spend more time reading the literature, especially before you criticize it. The folks in North Carolina include myself and my graduate student Elizabeth Selig (the GIS guru behind Reefs at Risk in SE Asia), Drew Harvell from Cornell, Ken Casey-a satellite oceanographer from NOAA, Bette Willis and Cathie Page from James Cook U, and Hugh Sweatman-the director of the AIMS Long Term Monitoring Program. But of course, our collective knowledge of the literature is doubtless inferior to yours. In the first paper we used an epidemiological analysis to quantify the relationship between ocean temperature and outbreaks of white syndrome on the GBR. The survey data were collected by AIMS and included six years of intensive monitoring on 48 reefs spread across 1,500 km. The SST data came from an exciting new Pathfinder product, which provides high-resolution data at a grain of 4 x 4 km (compared to 50 x 50 km for the older products you worked on). We found a strong relationship between the frequency of local temperature anomalies and the frequency of white syndrome. Also, temperature-induced outbreaks only occurred on very high coral cover reefs (i.e, generally > 50%). Before this study, there were certainly hints of an SST effect on coral disease severity. We state in the paper; ?The hypothesized link between anomalously high temperatures and coral disease outbreaks is supported by small-scale field studies indicating that prevalence and the rate of within-colony spread of several coral diseases are higher during the summer [24?30]. Such seasonal changes in disease severity could be driven in part by higher summertime temperature, but could also be caused by a variety of other abiotic factors that vary seasonally within sites.? But until our PLoS paper and a related book chapter we published in your friend Al Strong?s book on coral reefs and climate change, there was no published evidence that population-level coral disease outbreaks (not including non-infectious bleaching) were linked to ocean temperature, especially at regional scales. There have been several reviews on this topic (e.g., Hayes et al. 2001, Harvell et al. 2002), and none of them have described or cited a similar study. You mocked our findings in your post; ?this amazing "new" "discovery". If you know of another study that demonstrates this, please post the citation on the list server (sorry, but your own unpublished manuscripts don?t count). The second paper published earlier this month in PLoS One is a meta-analysis of 6001 surveys of 2667 Indo-Pacific reefs performed between 1968 and 2004. It is an meta-analysis of data from hundreds of other published studies, so in fact we had to read a few papers on coral decline during the three years it took to build the database. We certainly didn't claim in the paper to have ?just discovered?"for the first time", that Pacific and Indian Ocean coral reefs were declining?, as you stated in your post. I actually have not seen that quote or even a similarly worded point in any news accounts, so I assume you fabricated it, or perhaps more generously, you ?misinterpreted? the point of our paper. We were very clear in the paper that we (as in reef scientists) have known for decades that reefs around the world are in trouble. In the paper we stated that ?there is broad scientific consensus that coral reef ecosystems are being rapidly degraded [10,11]. Yet there is little published empirical information on regional and global patterns of coral loss [12] or the current state of reefs in the Indo-Pacific (Fig. 1)[13]?Many previous studies have documented mass coral mortality events and ecologically significant reductions in coral cover on particular reefs [15-19], throughout the Caribbean [12], and across the Great Barrier Reef [20,21].? The purpose of our analysis was to quantify the loss of reef-building corals in the Indo-Pacific; when reef decline began, how fast is it occurring, and how severe and widespread it is. Yes, we all knew that Indo-Pacific reefs were being degraded. But Elizabeth and I wanted to quantify the rate of degradation (in terms of percent absolute coral cover and area) and how it varied in space and time at sub-regional and regional scales. If you know of another published quantitative peer reviewed study (i.e., not anecdotal observations published on a blog) that has already done that, please post the citation on the coral list. But I am pretty sure none of your father?s papers or your infamous work on coral-biting-parrotfish (and the ?diseases? they cause) included this type of analysis. Finally, as many other people have posted on the list before, please provide citations when you make claims about important published literature of which only you seem to be aware, and that the rest of us fail to read and cite. Otherwise, we?d have to take your word for it. If all these mystery papers actually exist, then we could find them, read them, and improve our knowledge of literature (can you feel the sarcasm?). Literature Cited Harvell, C. D., C. E. Mitchell, J. R. Ward, S. Altizer, A. P. Dobson, R. S. Ostfeld, and M. D. Samuel. 2002. Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota. Science 296:2158-2162. Hayes, M. L., J. Bonaventura, T. P. Mitchell, J. M. Prospero, E. A. Shinn, F. Van Dolah, and R. T. Barber. 2001. How are climate and marine biological outbreaks functionally linked? Hydrobiologia 460:213-220. John Bruno, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Marine Sciences The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300 jbruno at unc.edu http://www.unc.edu/~brunoj/Bruno%20lab/Home.html From Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov Sun Aug 26 15:18:39 2007 From: Jim.Hendee at noaa.gov (Jim Hendee) Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:18:39 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Goreau vs. Bruno Message-ID: <46D1D20F.4070208@noaa.gov> Whoops. I let Tom Goreau's inflammatory message go to the list, then I let John Bruno's zinger go out in response. I must be slipping again--sorry about that. Let me repeat earlier injunction: Please be nice on Coral-List. No flaming. Thank you. Cheers, Jim From mbyrne at anatomy.usyd.edu.au Mon Aug 27 08:21:03 2007 From: mbyrne at anatomy.usyd.edu.au (Maria Byrne) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 22:21:03 +1000 Subject: [Coral-List] Marine Biology position at USyd Message-ID: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Marine Animal Biology School of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science Reference No. 107947 The School of Biological Sciences is a leading centre for biological research in an organismal, ecological and evolutionary context. It now invites applications for a full time continuing position as Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Marine Animal Biology from outstanding candidates working on any marine animal system. The successful applicant will have a PhD and be expected to develop and maintain an active research programme within the School in the biology of marine animals and to participate in collaborative research within the School, across units in the Faculties of Science and outside the University. The appointee will be expected to supervise honours and PhD students in the School. Excellent teaching skills are a requirement of the position, as are an interest in course development and potential for future development. Duties will include teaching across all undergraduate levels. This is a solid career opportunity to work with internationally reputed teaching and research group. The appointee will be expected to have an excellent record of research, or exceptional potential, with the ability to communicate effectively with fellow researchers and students. He/she will be expected to make a significant contribution to the School's research profile; preference may be given to candidates whose research interests and proposed research complement existing areas of research in the School or those in other research centres within the Faculties of Science. For more information or to apply online, please visit http://positions.usyd.edu.au and search by reference number 107947. Specific enquiries about the role can be directed to the Head of the School of Biological Sciences, Professor M.B. Thompson on (+61 2) 9351 2848 or email: headofbio at usyd.edu.au Alternatively, general enquiries can be directed to Fabrice No?l on (+61 2) 9036 7295. Closing: 5 Sept POINTER ADVERTISING COPY Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Marine Animal Biology School of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science Reference No. 107947 The School of Biological Sciences is a leading centre for biological research in an organismal, ecological and evolutionary context. It now invites applications for a full time continuing position as Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Marine Animal Biology from outstanding candidates working on any marine animal system. This is a solid career opportunity to work with an internationally reputed group and to build a significant research profile. For more information or to apply online, please visit http://positions.usyd.edu.au and search by reference number 107947. Specific enquiries about the role can be directed to the Head of the School of Biological Sciences, Professor M.B. Thompson on (+61 2) 9351 2848 or email: headofbio at usyd.edu.au Alternatively, general enquiries can be directed to Fabrice No?l on (+61 2) 9036 7295. Closing: 5 Sept -- Dr Maria Byrne Professor Developmental and Marine Biology Director One Tree Island Research Station Anatomy and Histology, F13 University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia Ph: 61-2-9351-5166 FAX: 61-2-9351-2813 mbyrne at anatomy.usyd.edu.au http://www.anatomy.usyd.edu.au/research/groups/byrne/index.html http://www.bio.usyd.edu.au/OTI/ From goreau at bestweb.net Sun Aug 26 19:22:02 2007 From: goreau at bestweb.net (Thomas Goreau) Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:22:02 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] New and old knowledge Message-ID: <86DC79E3-CDD2-413C-AD3B-9E4D11BB331F@bestweb.net> Dear John, I'm sorry that you seem to have completely misunderstood my ironic note, which focused on the way that the media persistently misrepresent as "new" studies that confirm what was well known, into a personal attack on your work, which was certainly never intended. I am sure that comes more from the fact that the media don't check their sources, and so are very easily misled by public relations press releases by universities, government institutions, and large conservation groups, which claim that they have "discovered" "for the first time" what are really long known phenomena. This is related to their competition for scarce funds, and claims of novelty are manufactured into news from which more funding can be sought. In contrast, confirming what is already known is rarely popular, even though it is crucial to building up the body of scientific knowledge. As you point out, your papers don't claim that these are new discoveries, so it is clear that the misinterpretation presumably comes from those who placed these stories in the media. You make many important points, both directly and unintentionally. First let me make clear that I am in no way criticizing the importance or quality of your work, which I am sure are excellent, and I am delighted that they lend further support to what we have known for decades, that rising temperatures are accelerating the pace of the reef decline we see world-wide. Were it not for the fact that both the (direct and indirect) negative effects of high temperatures on corals and the very fact of reef decline were massively denied for so long after they were blatantly obvious to all long term observers (largely due to political agendas and efforts to control the funding in order to "find out if there might be problem") such papers could never be claimed to be new findings as much as refining and improving the existing knowledge base. It is this massive denial for so long that has prevented all efforts to reverse the decline, or to change the focus to restoring the reefs that are so badly damaged almost everywhere we look. With regard to citations, well the decline of reefs in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, just like that of Caribbean, has been so long known by all old divers that there are, as you point out, thousands of studies documenting them practically everyplace where researchers have gone. With regard to the effects of temperature on diseases, you are quite right that the most widely cited paper claiming a link between diseases and temperature does so without actual data, based on a reasonable seeming hunch that the hotter it gets the more stressed corals become, which intuitively seems likely to increase the risk of disease or sensitivity to it. However, for over a decade field researchers have consistently noted that almost all coral diseases spread much more rapidly in the warm season, and slow down or stop in the cool season, so there is a very large body of empirical observations and time series photographs (such as the long term photographs of Craig Quirolo of diseased corals near Key West, and going back to time series photos my student Cy Macfarlane and I took of the spread of Yellow Band Disease in Jamaica in the late 1980s before we recognized the disease symptoms, and mistakenly thought this was delayed recovery from bleaching in certain corals). This seasonal change is especially notable in the White Plague diseases which I have seen all around the Caribbean, and the so called White Death diseases that I have also personally seen all across the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, which is also very sharply concentrated during the warm season in patches where many different coral genera are affected, separated by large areas where it is very rare. In terms of microbiological work Rosenberg, Ben Haim, Kushmaro, Loya, and colleagues also showed in numerous papers that Vibrio infections in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean were much more virulent at high temperatures. At first they thought the bacteria was causing bleaching (which also received much press) but in fact it is now clear that the zooxanthellae are not expelled but are degraded in situ by pathogen-induced programmed cell death, as has been shown by Cervino and colleagues (including Ray Hayes, Garriet Smith, myself, and several others) to be the case in Yellow Band Disease. Cervino and our group then published several papers showing that this disease, and several others, spread more rapidly when it is warm, from both field studies and laboratory infection experiments, and what is more important, that the pathogens grew more rapidly at high temperatures, and were more virulent to the coral at high temperatures. So, as you point out, it is well documented that high temperature exacerbates many diseases. Another very important point emerging from your comments is your view that published papers are the only source of knowledge. In fact there is much larger and older body of knowledge common to long term divers, which it seems so many people seem to completely disregard. There is so much peer-review published garbage out there that this prejudice is hard to grasp, but basically there are very few published conclusions in this field that are genuinely new, although they is all too often presented that way for reasons of publicity, careerism, and the difficulties of funding in a rat-eat-rat world, resulting in the body of understanding that comes from long term observers, whether committed to paper or not, becoming a resource that is treated with ignorance, or worse, contempt by academic researchers who have not been exposed to it. Basically it is only when really new methods are applied that genuinely new conclusions emerge, and the basic facts, that reefs are in severe world wide decline and high temperatures are accelerating their loss, are not among them. What is needed now is an end to claims that we need to find out more about whether there might be a problem or not, and focus on 1) stopping all the human caused stress factors known to damage corals, 2) protecting the few areas left in good condition, and 3) starting large scale coral reef restoration programs in the vast degraded areas that are most divers and researchers, now see. The deliberate denial has simply wasted decades in which governments and funding agencies refused to act on what was well known in the field, and while we will never recover the lost time, coral reefs now just can't afford to lose more time for researchers rediscovering what was already obvious. Finally I'm sorry that your misperception that this was an attack on you personally has led you to attack me, so it is important to set the record straight on your completely unwarranted comments on my "infamous" work. In late 1996 the Bonaire Marine Park asked James Cervino and myself to look at a completely unprecedented phenomenon: virtually all the large old coral heads in good health had in the space of a few months been killed all over their tops. This had never been seen before, and perfectly rounded corals hundreds of years old were deformed in ways that indicated that this had never happened to them before. We were baffled as to the causes but documented the frequency, size, and change in time of the lesions on quantitative transects, and took microbiological samples from which Ray Hayes identified a fungus. Afterwards Andy and Robin Bruckner documented parrotfish biting attacks on these same corals, and found an old paper that had escaped us all, documenting a similar episode some decades before in Barbados. We confirmed the Bruckners finding, and isolated the same fungus found on the edge of the coral lesions from both the oral and anal cavity of parrotfish. Unfortunately the cultures were later lost in a lab move caused by funding cuts (as I recall), so we were never able to determine if the parrotfish was transmitting the fungus or if it was present in the coral beforehand, or if the fungus was a primary pathogen to corals, an attractant to parrotfish, or an opportunistic infection. Following this episode, the new lesions sharply declined in abundance and size, based on transects that we followed around Bonaire and in other parts of the Caribbean for around 5 years, and there have not been new outbreaks, nor has the fungus been found in the small normal parrotfish lesions now present. As a result almost all the surviving head corals, which were once rounded in a way indicating historically uniform growth, now have huge depressed tops with coral growth only around the edges (at least until Yellow Band and White Plague kill them), a morphology that was previously very rare. It is now clear that this was NOT normal parrotfish biting, not only from the shapes of the corals, but also because our major research sites were in a research preserve where decades of time series quadrat photographs had been taken by Rolf Bak, and where the world's longest and largest study of parrotfish behavior had been carried out (decades long and with many doctoral theses) without this phenomena being seen before. So far from this being a normal result of parrotfish territorial marking, this was a very rare and unusual event, whose cause remains unknown. It has not happened again, but the Barbados evidence suggests that it might. 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 Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:48:28 -0400 From: John Bruno Reply-To: jbruno at unc.edu Subject: [Coral-List] Tommy Goreau's post on "More amazing "first" "discoveries" in coral reef science" To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov "Healthy coral reefs hit hard by higher temperatures. Coral disease outbreaks have struck the healthiest sections of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where, for the first time, researchers have conclusively linked disease severity and ocean temperature." Sea Technology, July 2007, p. 62 The article goes on to credit NSF, NIH, and the University of North Carolina for this amazing "new" "discovery". Perhaps these are the same folks who just discovered, also "for the first time", that Pacific and Indian Ocean coral reefs were declining. If these folks would only read the literature they would find that none of this is new. 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 Tom, you seem to have gotten all worked up about thirdhand accounts on the internet of our two recent papers in PLoS journals. But it seems clear that you haven?t read either one. Maybe you too need to spend more time reading the literature, especially before you criticize it. The folks in North Carolina include myself and my graduate student Elizabeth Selig (the GIS guru behind Reefs at Risk in SE Asia), Drew Harvell from Cornell, Ken Casey-a satellite oceanographer from NOAA, Bette Willis and Cathie Page from James Cook U, and Hugh Sweatman-the director of the AIMS Long Term Monitoring Program. But of course, our collective knowledge of the literature is doubtless inferior to yours. In the first paper we used an epidemiological analysis to quantify the relationship between ocean temperature and outbreaks of white syndrome on the GBR. The survey data were collected by AIMS and included six years of intensive monitoring on 48 reefs spread across 1,500 km. The SST data came from an exciting new Pathfinder product, which provides high- resolution data at a grain of 4 x 4 km (compared to 50 x 50 km for the older products you worked on). We found a strong relationship between the frequency of local temperature anomalies and the frequency of white syndrome. Also, temperature- induced outbreaks only occurred on very high coral cover reefs (i.e, generally > 50%). Before this study, there were certainly hints of an SST effect on coral disease severity. We state in the paper; ?The hypothesized link between anomalously high temperatures and coral disease outbreaks is supported by small- scale field studies indicating that prevalence and the rate of within-colony spread of several coral diseases are higher during the summer [24?30]. Such seasonal changes in disease severity could be driven in part by higher summertime temperature, but could also be caused by a variety of other abiotic factors that vary seasonally within sites.? But until our PLoS paper and a related book chapter we published in your friend Al Strong?s book on coral reefs and climate change, there was no published evidence that population-level coral disease outbreaks (not including non-infectious bleaching) were linked to ocean temperature, especially at regional scales. There have been several reviews on this topic (e.g., Hayes et al. 2001, Harvell et al. 2002), and none of them have described or cited a similar study. You mocked our findings in your post; ?this amazing "new" "discovery". If you know of another study that demonstrates this, please post the citation on the list server (sorry, but your own unpublished manuscripts don?t count). The second paper published earlier this month in PLoS One is a meta- analysis of 6001 surveys of 2667 Indo-Pacific reefs performed between 1968 and 2004. It is an meta-analysis of data from hundreds of other published studies, so in fact we had to read a few papers on coral decline during the three years it took to build the database. We certainly didn't claim in the paper to have ?just discovered?"for the first time", that Pacific and Indian Ocean coral reefs were declining?, as you stated in your post. I actually have not seen that quote or even a similarly worded point in any news accounts, so I assume you fabricated it, or perhaps more generously, you ?misinterpreted? the point of our paper. We were very clear in the paper that we (as in reef scientists) have known for decades that reefs around the world are in trouble. In the paper we stated that ?there is broad scientific consensus that coral reef ecosystems are being rapidly degraded [10,11]. Yet there is little published empirical information on regional and global patterns of coral loss [12] or the current state of reefs in the Indo-Pacific (Fig. 1)[13]?Many previous studies have documented mass coral mortality events and ecologically significant reductions in coral cover on particular reefs [15-19], throughout the Caribbean [12], and across the Great Barrier Reef [20,21].? The purpose of our analysis was to quantify the loss of reef-building corals in the Indo-Pacific; when reef decline began, how fast is it occurring, and how severe and widespread it is. Yes, we all knew that Indo-Pacific reefs were being degraded. But Elizabeth and I wanted to quantify the rate of degradation (in terms of percent absolute coral cover and area) and how it varied in space and time at sub-regional and regional scales. If you know of another published quantitative peer reviewed study (i.e., not anecdotal observations published on a blog) that has already done that, please post the citation on the coral list. But I am pretty sure none of your father?s papers or your infamous work on coral-biting-parrotfish (and the ?diseases? they cause) included this type of analysis. Finally, as many other people have posted on the list before, please provide citations when you make claims about important published literature of which only you seem to be aware, and that the rest of us fail to read and cite. Otherwise, we?d have to take your word for it. If all these mystery papers actually exist, then we could find them, read them, and improve our knowledge of literature (can you feel the sarcasm?). Literature Cited Harvell, C. D., C. E. Mitchell, J. R. Ward, S. Altizer, A. P. Dobson, R. S. Ostfeld, and M. D. Samuel. 2002. Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota. Science 296:2158-2162. Hayes, M. L., J. Bonaventura, T. P. Mitchell, J. M. Prospero, E. A. Shinn, F. Van Dolah, and R. T. Barber. 2001. How are climate and marine biological outbreaks functionally linked? Hydrobiologia 460:213-220. John Bruno, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Marine Sciences The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300 jbruno at unc.edu http://www.unc.edu/~brunoj/Bruno%20lab/Home.html From reefpeace at yahoo.com Sun Aug 26 23:26:41 2007 From: reefpeace at yahoo.com (Don Baker) Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:26:41 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Fwd: Re: Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan Message-ID: <695480.80478.qm@web58008.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Hi Coral-L: The posted herein statement from the Reef Guardian/Lankayan Marine Biologist (Ms Chung) is the most accurate account.... I stand corrected on the suspected source of the event but very concerned at the toxic nature of the runoff from the river that is 26 Km from the island itself..and this nows leads into another issue. The Issue => Land runoff from existing and expanding oil palm estates that have virtually covered all of North Borneo less the high grounds. The independent oil palm mills are not regulated with any viable form of effect environmental enforcement within Sabah itself. (Again..the key word here is enforcement) They wait until there is heavy rainfall and only then do they dump their retaining ponds with the gross processing mill effluents. The Gov. State & Fed levels of environmental regulation and enforcement seem to be controlled by their receiving deep pockets and very little effort is done to control the pollution itself. And I challenge these entities with the Lankayan Event! Biogas and the biofuel syndrome may be causing the demise of all of Bornoe's forests. Just what does this mean for the future of coral reefs worldwide if the tropical forests are chopped and replanted with mono-crops?? The lag periods between chopped, cleared ground until replanted, regrowth is the most critical period for reasons of soil and chemical runoff. This is also true for existing plantations that have to chop old oil palms down to replant new trees. Comments? Advice? Note: forwarded message attached. Alternate Email: donbjr95 at hotmail.com "Dedication and motivated direction in achieving specific goals related to the care and protection of living things is not necessarily a guaranteed formula for success. Success is, more often than not, a direct result of a person?s passion in addition to the above formula." [Don Baker, Marine Conservationist/Activist, 1998] --------------------------------- Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. From eshinn at marine.usf.edu Mon Aug 27 10:09:06 2007 From: eshinn at marine.usf.edu (Gene Shinn) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:09:06 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Amazing "first" discoveries Message-ID: The exchange between John Bruno and Tom Goreau has provided interesting reading. I thank Jim for letting it slip through. Tom mentions over and over that the diseases are prevalent when the water is warm and subsides in the winter when it is cooler. Just want to remind all that African dust flux to Caribbean reefs occurs (about 1 billion tons leaves North Africa each year) almost entirely during the summer. During winter months it settles into the Amazon. The list of viable microbial that have been cultured and identified presently is over 200 and remember that no more than 2 percent of all microbes in the environment can be cultured. I won't even mention the viruses. For references See: Kellogg, C. A., and Griffin D. W. 2006, Aerobiology and the global transport of desert dust, TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution Vol 21 No. 11. Griffin D. W., 2007, Atmospheric movement of microorganisms in clouds of desert dust and implications for human health, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, vol 20 No. 3., p. 459-477. Garrison, V. H. et al., 2006 Saharan dust - a carrier of persistent organic pollutants, metals and microbes to the Caribbean? Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol. ISSN-0034-7744) vol. 54 (Suppl. 3): 9-21 Dec 2006. Weir-Brush J. R., et al., 2004 The relataionship between gorgonian coral (Cnidaria:Gorgonacea) diseases and African dust storms, Aerobiologia 20: 119-126. Garrison, V. H. et al. 2003, African and Asian dust: From Desert Soils to Coral Reefs. BioScience vol 53 No. 5 469-480. Walsh, J. J. et al 2006, Red tides in the Gulf of Mexico:Where, when and why? Journal of Geophysical Research Vol. 111, C11003, (46 pages). Good reading, Gene -- 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 goreau at bestweb.net Mon Aug 27 12:59:26 2007 From: goreau at bestweb.net (Thomas Goreau) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:59:26 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Oil palm plantation runoff and reef mortality Message-ID: <305C6C0D-9E8B-40C5-92F6-325A7EE41BBA@bestweb.net> Don Baker's and Achier Chung Fung Chen's comments about the large amount of freshwater runoff into Borneio reefs from areas covered with oil palm plantations raises some very interesting issues. Of course it has been known for a long time that massive freshwater discharges onto reefs can cause coral bleaching and mortality (T. Goreau, 1963 in Jamaica, and Peter Glynn's and Carlos Goenaga's later papers in Puerto Rico, for example), but this is much worse when it is loaded with fertilizers, sewage, and agrochemicals. However there is an interesting new wrinkle from a microbiological standpoint. James Cervino and our team followed changes in large sponge die off in New Guinea, and isolated a consortium of bacteria from dying sponge tissue that did not occur on healthy tissue of the same colonies. What was fascinating was that the rRNA sequencing revealed that the putative pathogens were all very closely related to species of bacteria widely used in sprays (some aerial) in oil palm plantations as "good, friendly" bacteria in integrated pest management, mainly species of Pseudomonas used against fungal infections, and species of Bacillus used against insect pests, including Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Bt is widely used because it releases a crystal toxin that attacks the membrane sodium ion transport enzyme in the stomachs of invertebrates, causing them to die quickly from osmotic shock. The receptor is common to almost all invertebrates, but does not occur in vertebrates, so they are completely unaffected. Because humans, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes are not affected it is regarded as "safe". However basically all insects are affected, along with snails, and nematodes, but we could find no information about it being tested on marine invertebrates at all. The fact that sponges seem to be affected directly by these so called "good harmless" bacteria (or by marine species so closely related to them that they might have picked up their genes) implies that many other higher marine invertebrates could too (but not fishes). Bt is widely used around the world, and the gene for the crystal toxin is I believe genetically engineered into many plants. The implications for the marine environment are unexamined, but so potentially serious that work urgently needs to be done on this. We have had to abandon this work due to lack of funding. But it needs to be re-examined in the light of what is being seen in Borneo. The events described in Nonuti, Abemema, and the Maldives must have other explanations, though. J. M. Cervino, K. Winiarski-Cervino, S.W. Polson, T.J. Goreau, & G.W. Smith, 2006, Identification of bacteria associated with a disease affecting the sponge Ianthella basta, in New Britain, Papua New Guinea, MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 324: 139-150 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: Don Baker Subject: [Coral-List] Fwd: Re: Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Cc: Ken Chung , achier300 Message-ID: <695480.80478.qm at web58008.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Hi Coral-L: The posted herein statement from the Reef Guardian/Lankayan Marine Biologist (Ms Chung) is the most accurate account.... I stand corrected on the suspected source of the event but very concerned at the toxic nature of the runoff from the river that is 26 Km from the island itself..and this nows leads into another issue. The Issue => Land runoff from existing and expanding oil palm estates that have virtually covered all of North Borneo less the high grounds. The independent oil palm mills are not regulated with any viable form of effect environmental enforcement within Sabah itself. (Again..the key word here is enforcement) They wait until there is heavy rainfall and only then do they dump their retaining ponds with the gross processing mill effluents. The Gov. State & Fed levels of environmental regulation and enforcement seem to be controlled by their receiving deep pockets and very little effort is done to control the pollution itself. And I challenge these entities with the Lankayan Event! Biogas and the biofuel syndrome may be causing the demise of all of Bornoe's forests. Just what does this mean for the future of coral reefs worldwide if the tropical forests are chopped and replanted with mono-crops?? The lag periods between chopped, cleared ground until replanted, regrowth is the most critical period for reasons of soil and chemical runoff. This is also true for existing plantations that have to chop old oil palms down to replant new trees. Comments? Advice? Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 03:10:33 -0700 (PDT) From: "Chung, F.C." Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Message-ID: <267494.94904.qm at web61218.mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Dear all, The mortality of shallow corals on reef flat at Lankayan Island few months (January 2007) back were duel to input of river water from mainland. I was on the island to witness the changes of the water quality during the event. Lankayan Islands is located about 26 Kilometers away from the mainland. In last January, rough sea and unusual rain fall had caused flooded in few places near Sandakan. The inputs of river water to Lankayan were observed continuously more than 10 days bringing debris like bamboo, Rhizophora seeds, sargassum mat. Water colour changing from clear to greenish and then to brownish (day 10). After 11 days, dead sea cucumbers and sea urchins were washed ashore, giant clams fleshes were floating on surface. The brown water colour was first observed in Lankayan and it had suspected contents harmful substance from river that possible killing the coral, giant clam and etc. However no laboratory test was done on the water that time. Basic water quality parameters were measured during the event, we found that the water salinity was low (average 25ppt, minimum 17 ppt) on both surface and in 5 m. Average water temperature was 27.8C and no dead fish was observed during the event. On day 12, we did a survey dive, the water colour was green but clear and water temperature around 27C. The shallow coral from 4m and above were death, majority Acropora sp, Seriatopora sp, blue coral and others. A short paper regarding these phenomena is in press. Click on link below to see photographs taken during the event. http://www.reef-guardian.org/shallowdeath.html *********************************************************** Achier/ Chung Fung Chen Marine Biologist Reef Guardian Sdn Bhd Lankayan Island Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area (SIMCA) Sandakan, Sabah Malaysia Email: achier300 at yahoo.com From eshinn at marine.usf.edu Mon Aug 27 13:30:41 2007 From: eshinn at marine.usf.edu (Gene Shinn) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:30:41 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Don Baker Mystery Event and oil palm pollution Message-ID: Don, Your story about pollution from the oil palm plantation pollution 26 km from Lankayan Island reminded me of an article I had read about the Netherlands using this oil as a green source of energy for power plants. Here is the story. I did not write it. I just pass it along as an example of "be careful of what you wish for". Gene > >January 31, 2007 >Once a Dream Fuel, Palm Oil May Be an Eco-Nightmare >By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL > >AMSTERDAM, Jan. 25 - Just a few years ago, politicians and >environmental groups in the Netherlands were thrilled by the early >and rapid adoption of "sustainable energy," achieved in part by >coaxing electrical plants to use biofuel - in particular, palm oil >from Southeast Asia. > >Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so >enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran exclusively on >the oil, which in theory would be cleaner than fossil fuels like >coal because it is derived from plants. > >But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm plantations >in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale began to look more >like an environmental nightmare. > >Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about the clearing of >huge tracts of Southeast Asian rainforest and the overuse of >chemical fertilizer there. > >Worse still, the scientists said, space for the expanding palm >plantations was often created by draining and burning peatland, >which sent huge amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. > >Considering these emissions, Indonesia had quickly become the >world's third-leading producer of carbon emissions that scientists >believe are responsible for global warming, ranked after the United >States and China, according to a study released in December by >researchers from Wetlands International and Delft Hydraulics, both >in the Netherlands. > >"It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we >initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a spokesman for >Wetlands, a conservation group. > >The production of biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for >greener energy, may sometimes create more harmful emissions than >fossil fuels, scientific studies are finding. > >As a result, politicians in many countries are rethinking the >billions of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately >supported the spread of all of these supposedly eco-friendly fuels >for vehicles and factories. The 2003 European Union Biofuels >Directive, which demands that all member states aim to have 5.75 >percent of transportation run by biofuel in 2010, is now under >review. > >"If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse >emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment Agency in >Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the types of plants and >how they're grown and processed. You can end up with a 90 percent >reduction compared to fossil fuels - or a 20 percent increase." > >He added, "It's important to take a life-cycle view," and not to >"just see what the effects are here in Europe." > >In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia has provoked >soul-searching, and helped prompt the government to suspend palm oil >subsidies. The Netherlands, a leader in green energy, is now leading >the effort to distinguish which biofuels are truly environmentally >sound. > >The government, environmental groups and some of the Netherlands' >"green energy" companies are trying to develop programs to trace the >origins of imported palm oil, to certify which operations produce >the oil in a responsible manner. > >Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the Netherlands >should pay compensation to Indonesia for the damage that palm oil >has caused. "We can't only think: does it pollute the Netherlands?" > >In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is ethanol (made from >corn in the United States and sugar in Brazil), used to power >vehicles made to run on gasoline. In Europe it is mostly local >rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel fuel. > >In a small number of instances, plant oil is used in place of diesel >fuel, without further refinement. But as many European countries >push for more green energy, they are increasingly importing plant >oils from the tropics, since there is simply not enough plant matter >for fuel production at home. > >On the surface, the environmental equation that supports biofuels is >simple: Since they are derived from plants, biofuels absorb carbon >while they are grown and release it when they are burned. In theory >that neutralizes their emissions. > >But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate >research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the Earth's >campaign against palm oil here. > >Biofuelswatch, an environment group in Britain, now says that >"biofuels should not automatically be classed as renewable energy." >It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more research can >determine whether various biofuels in different regions are produced >in a nonpolluting manner. > >Beyond that, the group suggests that all emissions arising from the >production of a biofuel be counted as emissions in the country where >the fuel is actually used, providing a clearer accounting of >environmental costs. > >The demand for palm oil in Europe has soared in the last two >decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more recently for >fuel. This versatile and cheap oil is used in about 10 percent of >supermarket products, from chocolate to toothpaste, accounting for >21 percent of the global market for edible oils. > >Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils for each >unit of volume when burned. In much of Europe it is used as a >substitute for diesel fuel, though in the Netherlands, the >government has encouraged its use for electricity. > >Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national subsidies, >the Netherlands rapidly became the leading importer of palm oil in >Europe, taking in 1.7 million tons last year, nearly double the >previous year. > >The increasing demand has created damage far away. Friends of the >Earth estimates that 87 percent of the deforestation in Malaysia >from 1985 to 2000 was caused by new palm oil plantations. In >Indonesia, the amount of land devoted to palm oil has increased 118 >percent in the last eight years. > >In December, scientists from Wetlands International released their >calculations about the global emissions caused by palm farming on >peatland. > >Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of carbon, >helping balance global emissions. Peatland is 90 percent water. But >when it is drained, the Wetlands International scientists say, the >stored carbon gases are released into the atmosphere. > >To makes matters worse, once dried, peatland is often burned to >clear ground for plantations. The Dutch study estimated that the >draining of peatland in Indonesia releases 660 million ton of carbon >a year into the atmosphere and that fires contributed 1.5 billion >tons annually. > >The total is equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused >annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. "These >emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia were not counted >before," said Mr. Kaat. "It was a totally ignored problem." For the >moment Wetlands is backing the certification system for palm oil >imports. > >But some environmental groups say palm oil cannot be produced >sustainably at reasonable prices. They say palm oil is now cheap >because of poor environmental practices and labor abuses. > >"Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil industry," said >Arjen Brinkman, a company official at Biox, a young company that >plans to build three palm oil electrical plants in Holland, using >oil from palms grown on its own plantations in a manner that it says >is responsible. > >"But it is now clear," he said, "that to serve Europe's markets for >biofuel and bioenergy, you will have to prove that you produce it >sustainably - that you are producing less, not more CO2." -- 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 davidjevans1818 at yahoo.com Mon Aug 27 15:38:31 2007 From: davidjevans1818 at yahoo.com (David Evans) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:38:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] coral list - Most remote / least impacted Atoll Message-ID: <858760.45440.qm@web32105.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Russel, Just as a quick response to your question (without a lot of background on its actual 'ranking' as 'most' remote atoll; That is - there likely might be other candidates much better fill that spot) ... I'd say look at the Chagos Archapelago in the Indian Ocean. It's pretty much smack dab in the middle with no large continental land masses near by (nearest may be several thousand miles - I forget the actual numbers off hand). I was part of a coral reef survey effort there, at Diego Garcia, in 2004. The island group is part of the British Indian Ocean Terrritory and is made up of a number of individual atoll islands of various sizes. The US Navy currently has its base on the Island of Diego Garcia (with an almost 95% enclosed lagoon). Because of the Navy's presence there, the local inhabitants had been removed from the entire archapelago (sometime around the early 70s). There is some recent/current impact (small) on the Diego Garcia Atoll itself (dredging, fishing, runoff, etc), but the other atolls had been mostly untouched since the removal. There were cocanut plantations on some of the islands (mainly Diego Garcia?). It's history is worth looking into. Atoll Research Bulletin (Vol???) dedicated a whole issue to it a while back. It certainly must rank up there on any list you will generate... Hope this is helpful... Best Regards, David J. Evans (PS - as I said it's history is interesting as well, also acting to keep human impacts restricted. The Islanders are currently fighting in British courts for their right to return to the islands.) 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. Most remote / least impacted atoll? (Russell Kelley) 2. Re: Mystery Event - (Abemama and Nonouti) (Larry at OpenDoorWorld.com) 3. Re: Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea Sandakan (Chung, F.C.) 4. Tommy Goreau's post on "More amazing "first" "discoveries" in coral reef science" (John Bruno) 5. Goreau vs. Bruno (Jim Hendee) 6. New and old knowledge (Thomas Goreau) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:33:10 +1000 From: Russell Kelley Subject: [Coral-List] Most remote / least impacted atoll? To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Dear Coralisterers I have enjoyed using Google Earth to view the atolls mentioned by Arthur in the current discussion of the "Mystery Event". This set me wondering where to look to see an atoll with the least "impact" - w.r.t. roads / rows of coconut palms etc. I like to use Google Earth to see examples of atolls showing entirely natural vegetation / sediment patterns. All suggestions welcome. Regards Russell Russell Kelley russellkelley at mac.com Writer, project manager, communication consultant. P.O. Box 1859, Townsville, 4810, AUSTRALIA ABN 66208215206 Int. + 61 (0) 7 47804380 ph. GMT + 10 hours Skype: wirerus http://www.byoguides.com/rk http://www.catchmenttoreef.com.au --------------------------------- Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today! From ctwiliams at yahoo.com Mon Aug 27 15:28:23 2007 From: ctwiliams at yahoo.com (Tom Williams) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:28:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Don Baker Mystery Event/oil palm pollution Don't Blame the BioFuels In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <542561.93706.qm@web50401.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Clarification Don't blame the biofuel craze as Palm Oil prices have always reflected the price of petroleum oil which can be used to displace palm oil...welcome to the market place. Also in the mentioned countries use of palm oil for in-country generation may be because of the price of diesel which is usually an imported product requring massive subsidies. Having lived in KK and worked in Sandakan - there were/are so many different stresses - overfishing, agricultural over-fertilization, and where does all the sewage go (especially in Tawau and Sandakan. KK reefs had been destroyed by dynamite/carbide fishing, by the fertilizer from the rivers to the south, and by drainage and stilt house defection/sewage. Google Earth shows alot of green coastal waters compared to the north and west Sabah coasts maybe someone with newer sat images could do something. Tom Williams --- Gene Shinn wrote: > Don, Your story about pollution from the oil palm > plantation > pollution 26 km from Lankayan Island reminded me of > an article I had > read about the Netherlands using this oil as a green > source of energy > for power plants. Here is the story. I did not write > it. I just pass > it along as an example of "be careful of what you > wish for". Gene > > > >January 31, 2007 > >Once a Dream Fuel, Palm Oil May Be an Eco-Nightmare > >By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL > > > >AMSTERDAM, Jan. 25 - Just a few years ago, > politicians and > >environmental groups in the Netherlands were > thrilled by the early > >and rapid adoption of "sustainable energy," > achieved in part by > >coaxing electrical plants to use biofuel - in > particular, palm oil > >from Southeast Asia. > > > >Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies > became so > >enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran > exclusively on > >the oil, which in theory would be cleaner than > fossil fuels like > >coal because it is derived from plants. > > > >But last year, when scientists studied practices at > palm plantations > >in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale > began to look more > >like an environmental nightmare. > > > >Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about > the clearing of > >huge tracts of Southeast Asian rainforest and the > overuse of > >chemical fertilizer there. > > > >Worse still, the scientists said, space for the > expanding palm > >plantations was often created by draining and > burning peatland, > >which sent huge amounts of carbon emissions into > the atmosphere. > > > >Considering these emissions, Indonesia had quickly > become the > >world's third-leading producer of carbon emissions > that scientists > >believe are responsible for global warming, ranked > after the United > >States and China, according to a study released in > December by > >researchers from Wetlands International and Delft > Hydraulics, both > >in the Netherlands. > > > >"It was shocking and totally smashed all the good > reasons we > >initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a > spokesman for > >Wetlands, a conservation group. > > > >The production of biofuels, long a cornerstone of > the quest for > >greener energy, may sometimes create more harmful > emissions than > >fossil fuels, scientific studies are finding. > > > >As a result, politicians in many countries are > rethinking the > >billions of dollars in subsidies that have > indiscriminately > >supported the spread of all of these supposedly > eco-friendly fuels > >for vehicles and factories. The 2003 European Union > Biofuels > >Directive, which demands that all member states aim > to have 5.75 > >percent of transportation run by biofuel in 2010, > is now under > >review. > > > >"If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce > greenhouse > >emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European > Environment Agency in > >Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the > types of plants and > >how they're grown and processed. You can end up > with a 90 percent > >reduction compared to fossil fuels - or a 20 > percent increase." > > > >He added, "It's important to take a life-cycle > view," and not to > >"just see what the effects are here in Europe." > > > >In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia has > provoked > >soul-searching, and helped prompt the government to > suspend palm oil > >subsidies. The Netherlands, a leader in green > energy, is now leading > >the effort to distinguish which biofuels are truly > environmentally > >sound. > > > >The government, environmental groups and some of > the Netherlands' > >"green energy" companies are trying to develop > programs to trace the > >origins of imported palm oil, to certify which > operations produce > >the oil in a responsible manner. > > > >Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the > Netherlands > >should pay compensation to Indonesia for the damage > that palm oil > >has caused. "We can't only think: does it pollute > the Netherlands?" > > > >In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is > ethanol (made from > >corn in the United States and sugar in Brazil), > used to power > >vehicles made to run on gasoline. In Europe it is > mostly local > >rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel > fuel. > > > >In a small number of instances, plant oil is used > in place of diesel > >fuel, without further refinement. But as many > European countries > >push for more green energy, they are increasingly > importing plant > >oils from the tropics, since there is simply not > enough plant matter > >for fuel production at home. > > > >On the surface, the environmental equation that > supports biofuels is > >simple: Since they are derived from plants, > biofuels absorb carbon > >while they are grown and release it when they are > burned. In theory > >that neutralizes their emissions. > > > >But the industry was promoted long before there was > adequate > >research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends > of the Earth's > >campaign against palm oil here. > > > >Biofuelswatch, an environment group in Britain, now > says that > >"biofuels should not automatically be classed as > renewable energy." > >It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more > research can > >determine whether various biofuels in different > regions are produced > >in a nonpolluting manner. > > > >Beyond that, the group suggests that all emissions > arising from the > >production of a biofuel be counted as emissions in > the country where > >the fuel is actually used, providing a clearer > accounting of > >environmental costs. > > > >The demand for palm oil in Europe has soared in the > last two > >decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and > more recently for > >fuel. This versatile and cheap oil is used in about > 10 percent of > >supermarket products, from chocolate to toothpaste, > accounting for > >21 percent of the global market for edible oils. > > > >Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable > oils for each > >unit of volume when burned. In much of Europe it is > used as a > >substitute for diesel fuel, though in the > Netherlands, the > >government has encouraged its use for electricity. > > > >Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in > national subsidies, > === message truncated === From adriencheminee at yahoo.ca Mon Aug 27 19:04:37 2007 From: adriencheminee at yahoo.ca (Adrien Cheminee) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:04:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Praslin Island data request Message-ID: <157753.78931.qm@web52107.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Dear listers, I am back from a field work on the north coast of Praslin Island, Seychelles. I studied there a portion of the coast, mapping and characterizing the main benthic assemblages from the shoreline to the open sea: seagrass meadows, inner reef slope; reef flat and front, outer reef slope. I performed underwater transects (snorkelling) in order to validate the preliminary cartography I obtained from aerial pictures and previous studies. I gathered observations of percent cover along those transects in each benthic units. Unfortunately I couldn?t perform LIT transect (GCRMN) as I wished, because of climatic conditions. However the first transects provided me with interesting data. I wish to compare it with similar data : I wonder if any of you would have previously observed data regarding this area, in order to have baseline on which I could rely, with which I could compare my data, or at least better understand the dynamic of the site, and potential evolution trends: - percent cover of scleractinian corals and seagrass meadows, - vitality, - specific composition, - ratio of coverage by algae/corals - associated abundances of reef fishes, ratio adults/juveniles, - record of coral mortality events, - Impact of the 2004 tsunami ? (I observed many broken corals, rubble field, and many of the coral colonies where young, with small sizes and high vitality (see hereunder)) - Bleaching events For memory here is a summary of my main observations: - Mixt seagrass meadows : Total % cover : ranging from 50 to 90%, with Syringodium isoetifolium (50 to 60 %), Halodule uninervis (15 to 30 %) and Thalassia testudinum (10 to 20 %) - Inner reef slope : macroalgae (50 to 70 % cover) : genus Sargassum, Turbinaria, Padina (also Halimeda and Penicillus) ; and scleractinians (0 to 10% cover) : genus Pocillopora (P. damicornis et P. verrucosa), Acropora and Fungia ; vitality 80%. - Reef flat : o Inner reef flat : macroalgae (<5% cover) : Halimeda and Penicillus, Sargassum and Turbinaria ; and scleractinians (<5% cover) : genus Pocillopora (P. damicornis and P. verrucosa), Acropora and Fungia ; vitality 90%. o Reef front : macroalgae (15% cover, locally 70%) : Turbinaria and Sargassum ; and scleractinians : (10 to 50% cover, locally 100%) : Acropora , Pocillopora (P. damicornis and P. verrucosa) vitality 50 to 80 %. o Numerous broken dead branching and tabular Acropora, Many small young colonies of Pocillopora and digitated Acropora (<30cm diameter) - Outer reef slope : o First type: macroalgae (50 to 70 % cover) : Sargassum ; and scleractinians : (5 to 15 % cover) Pocillopora (P. damicornis and P. verrucosa), digitated Acropora; vitality 80%. o Second type: reduced macroalgae cover (0 to 50 % cover) : Sargassum, Turbinaria ; and more scleractinians (15 to 20 % cover) : Pocillopora (P. damicornis and P. verrucosa), digitated Acropora; Acropora divaricata, Porites, Montipora, Favites, Favia, vitality 80%. Locally 100% cover on granite submerged blocks). Many thanks for any comments and advices, Best regards Adrien CHEMIN?E Marine biologist mel : adriencheminee at yahoo.ca adresse : 6160 route Bellec 13100 Aix en Provence, France tel: (+33) 6 81 73 95 19 Faites des appels de PC ? PC dans le monde entier ! Essayez le nouveau Yahoo! Qu?bec Messenger avec Voix. http://cf.messenger.yahoo.com/ From atikkanuwn at yahoo.com Mon Aug 27 22:37:33 2007 From: atikkanuwn at yahoo.com (Eesat Atikkan) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:37:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] sea wasps In-Reply-To: <002e01c7c928$92306b30$6401a8c0@VALUED664B84C7> Message-ID: <285456.42383.qm@web31509.mail.mud.yahoo.com> While diving in Laparguera, PR in March 07 we encountered a number of cubomedusa near the surface on night dives and was able to get a picture of one Again in Jul 07, diving at Stetson Bank, I photographed a cubomedusa at about 1 ft. Esat Atikkan ____________________________________________________________________________________ Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today! http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7 From eshinn at marine.usf.edu Tue Aug 28 10:09:13 2007 From: eshinn at marine.usf.edu (Gene Shinn) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:09:13 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and Bacillus thurigiensis in sponges Message-ID: Tom, The pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, you identified in dead sponges was cultured and identified in African dust reaching the Caribbean in 2003. It is used to control mosquitoes in north Africa. Gene Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean during African dust events, Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. -- 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 szmanta at uncw.edu Tue Aug 28 14:44:12 2007 From: szmanta at uncw.edu (Szmant, Alina) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:44:12 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and Bacillus thurigiensis in sponges In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90F8DA9FF@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> It's also used to control caterpillars and worms on terrestrial plants. I think you can by it at Home Depot. It's commonly used by organic gardeners instead of pesticides on plants like cannas, ginger, hibiscus etc. It is considered to be a specific pathogen for those kids of bugs. ******************************************************************* 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 ****************************************************************** -----Original Message----- From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Gene Shinn Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 10:09 AM To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and Bacillus thurigiensis in sponges Tom, The pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, you identified in dead sponges was cultured and identified in African dust reaching the Caribbean in 2003. It is used to control mosquitoes in north Africa. Gene Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean during African dust events, Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. -- 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---------------------------------- ----------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From solutions at cozm.co.uk Wed Aug 29 06:21:52 2007 From: solutions at cozm.co.uk (Duncan MacRae) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:21:52 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] Anchor damage on coral reefs References: <984219.72505.qm@web54205.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <002b01c7ea26$6b1e4070$0602a8c0@DRM> Dear listers, We are currently revising and producing a report on the impacts of tanker anchor damage in St Eustatius, Netherlads Antilles. The report is urgently required by the shipping directorate and St Eustatius Marine Park Management to aid decision making. Is anyone able to contribute recent articles of relevence to a good cause - we don't have access to peer documents more recent than 2001. Any help will be very much appreciated! Best, Duncan R. MacRae Director Coastal Zone Management (UK) Integrated Conservation Solutions Blythe Cottage 22 Rosemundy St. Agnes Cornwall, UK. TR5 0UD Tel: ++ (0)1872 552 219 Mobile: ++(0)7958 230 076 E-mail: solutions at cozm.co.uk Skype name: drmacrae Website: www.cozm.co.uk This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard-copy version From Jeremy_Kerr at csumb.edu Wed Aug 29 01:54:27 2007 From: Jeremy_Kerr at csumb.edu (Jeremy Kerr) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:54:27 -0700 Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, Sandkan Message-ID: According to "Environmental Politics and Policy" by Walter A. Rosenbaum, the microbe Pfiestreia piscicida caused a "sudden, dramatic increase in fish kills between 1991 and 1993 within North Carolina's vast estuaries." Along with large numbers of dead fish, there was a strong smell that burned the eyes and nose, but it was not that of dead fish. The cause of the deaths was intially assumed due to anoxic water. However, research found high levels of nitrogen and phosophorus caused a population explosion in P piscicida. The microbe population infected the fish, which lead to the die-off. A quick web search shows this was not an isolated incident. After reading the discussion on Coral List regarding the Lankayan Island incident, I think a microbe is the most likely suspect in this "who-done-it." Jeremy From ferrier at centrescientifique.mc Wed Aug 29 03:12:15 2007 From: ferrier at centrescientifique.mc (Christine Ferrier) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:12:15 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] post-doctoral position Message-ID: <0fcd30a31c300d9adaa45cee88631b7d@centrescientifique.mc> Dear colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to a postdoctoral research fellowship opportunity at the Centre Scientifique de Monaco directed by Prof. Denis Allemand (CSM; http://www.centrescientifique.mc). You will join the team of ecophysiology to study photosynthetic processes in Mediterranean symbioses (such as in gorgonians and scleractinian symbiotic corals), the importance of auto-and heterotrophy in such organisms, the role of symbionts in the animal metabolism and the photosynthetic response to environmental changes. Selection criteria include: * A PhD in relevant disciplines and experience of scuba diving, preferably qualified to advanced level, * An excellent publication record for stage of career, * the knowledge of fluorometry, and * Capacity to bring fresh approaches to the study of temperate coral and gorgonian ecophysiology that will complement existing areas of strength in the Centre. The position will be available in January 2008. Appointment will be through January 2009 in the first instance. Applications will be accepted until end of October 2007. Enquiries to: Dr. C. Pag?s or Prof. Denis Allemand ferrier at centrescientifique.mc allemand at centrescientifique.mc To apply, please forward a CV, email addresses of 3 potential referees, and a 1-2 pages description of research project. From willp2 at tds.net Wed Aug 29 09:41:53 2007 From: willp2 at tds.net (Will Davis) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:41:53 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Bti and the fact sheet Message-ID: <20070829084153.9BLAB.264515.root@webfep13> Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:37:32 -0500 From: Will Davis Subject: Re: Bti Bti RE: Bacillus thurigiensis israelensis, strain..... It is informative to read the EPA fact sheet for BTi. that spells out application for mosquito control and the different risks that are reported. It isn?t clear from the fact sheet, however, that different BTi strains may have historically had different applications, i.e. targeted various insect larvae (over the decades, all the way back to ?Japanese beetles). The pesticide gospel says the bacterium multiplies specifically within the gut of the insect and not harmful to other species. Detection in the field (dust, sediments) would be expected. However, culture and growth with in marine organisms is not expected and if it were demonstrated, would be considered a potential ecological risk. BTi has been considered a successful example among ?bioremedial? pest control agents. They (BMs) are approaches to pest ?management? that reduces or replaces use of persistent chemicals. There were examples of other proposed bioremedials that didn?t get registered due to side effects upon ?non-target? species. Field detection of presence, per se, in a sponge for instance, does not in itself demonstrate pathogenicity. Potential induction of pathogenic effects needs to be examined There are folks, even in EPA research labs, who could do this, if management would allow it. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_006476.htm From jbruno at unc.edu Wed Aug 29 09:59:38 2007 From: jbruno at unc.edu (John Bruno) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:59:38 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Earth and Sky show about coral reef decline and conservation Message-ID: <46D57BCA.9070008@unc.edu> There is a nice radio interview about coral decline and global change with ISRS president Dr. Rich Aronson at Earth and Sky (a popular nationally syndicated NPR program): http://www.earthsky.org/radioshows/51696/coral-and-climate The site seems to take a while to load. You can download the interview as an MP3 or listen to it online. From rwalder at seaweb.org Wed Aug 29 12:16:20 2007 From: rwalder at seaweb.org (Reuven Walder) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:16:20 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Anchor damage on coral reefs Message-ID: Hi Duncan, I don't have reports but the Marine Photobank has images that show anchor damage as well as mooring buoy installation efforts to prevent such damage. Go to www.marinephotobank.org and do a search for 'anchor'. Images are free to use for non-commercial purposes. Membership is free as well. Reuven Reuven Walder Director The Marine Photobank A Program of SeaWeb 8401 Colesville Road | Suite 500 | Silver Spring, MD 20910 T: 301.830.7078 | F: 301.495.4846 | www.seaweb.org, www.marinephotobank.org Message: 5 Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:21:52 +0100 From: Duncan MacRae Subject: [Coral-List] Anchor damage on coral reefs To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov Message-ID: <002b01c7ea26$6b1e4070$0602a8c0 at DRM> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original Dear listers, We are currently revising and producing a report on the impacts of tanker anchor damage in St Eustatius, Netherlads Antilles. The report is urgently required by the shipping directorate and St Eustatius Marine Park Management to aid decision making. Is anyone able to contribute recent articles of relevence to a good cause - we don't have access to peer documents more recent than 2001. Any help will be very much appreciated! Best, Duncan R. MacRae Director Coastal Zone Management (UK) Integrated Conservation Solutions Blythe Cottage 22 Rosemundy St. Agnes Cornwall, UK. TR5 0UD Tel: ++ (0)1872 552 219 Mobile: ++(0)7958 230 076 E-mail: solutions at cozm.co.uk Skype name: drmacrae Website: www.cozm.co.uk This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard-copy version From goreau at bestweb.net Wed Aug 29 12:25:21 2007 From: goreau at bestweb.net (Thomas Goreau) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:25:21 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Bacillus thuringiensis In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks to all of you for your comments on Bt. Gene is right, it is sprayed against Mosquitoes on a large scale. Alina is right it is sold all over the world as a "specific" and "safe" control for all sorts of insect pests. Indeed it has become the centerpiece of the "new" "green" "environmentally responsible" integrated pest management (IPM) worldwide on grounds that no vertebrates are harmed, and seemingly that alone. This is pure vertebrate chauvinism! However there is nothing specific about it's action, it seems to kill practically all invertebrates indiscriminately, the good along with the bad, the essential recyclers and pollinators along with the pests, and as we now seem to be seeing the marine along with the terrestrial. Will Davis' points are also well taken. There are many strains, and I don't know if these have been shown to be more specific, but I suspect all are very broad-spectrum killers. I think the key is that until we found it in dying marine sponges and looked at the literature, there seemed to be very little studies on the impacts on marine invertebrates, although soil snails and nematodes were killed, and as I recall, dragonfly larvae and other aquatic insects. What is clearly needed is to see if Bt is in waters draining oil palm plantations and other places where it is used, and specific tests of its effects against aquatic and marine invertebrates be carried out. We also found Pseudomonas in dying sponges almost identical to those used in oil palm plantations against fungal rust diseases. We don't know how specific this is, so the question is whether fungi that are essential in soil and aquatic mineral and nutrient cycling are also being affected. As far as the Pfisteria goes, this a very controversial topic, on which Alina's husband is an expert, and I am sure she will add to that. 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 > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:09:13 -0400 > From: Gene Shinn > Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and Bacillus thurigiensis in > sponges > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" > > Tom, The pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, you identified in dead > sponges was cultured and identified in African dust reaching the > Caribbean in 2003. It is used to control mosquitoes in north Africa. > Gene > > Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean during African > dust events, Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. > -- > > > 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---------------------------------- > ----------------------------------- > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:44:12 -0400 > From: "Szmant, Alina" > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and Bacillus thurigiensis > in sponges > To: "Gene Shinn" , > > Message-ID: > <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90F8DA9FF at UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > It's also used to control caterpillars and worms on terrestrial > plants. > I think you can by it at Home Depot. It's commonly used by organic > gardeners instead of pesticides on plants like cannas, ginger, > hibiscus > etc. It is considered to be a specific pathogen for those kids of > bugs. > > ******************************************************************* > 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 > > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:54:27 -0700 > From: Jeremy Kerr > Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, > Sandkan > To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > According to "Environmental Politics and Policy" by Walter A. > Rosenbaum, the microbe Pfiestreia piscicida caused a "sudden, > dramatic increase in fish kills between 1991 and 1993 within North > Carolina's vast estuaries." Along with large numbers of > dead fish, there was a strong smell that burned the eyes and nose, > but it was not that of dead fish. The cause of the deaths was > intially assumed due to anoxic water. However, research found high > levels of nitrogen and phosophorus caused a > population explosion in P piscicida. The microbe population > infected the fish, which lead to the die-off. A quick web search > shows this was not an isolated incident. After reading the > discussion on Coral List regarding the Lankayan Island > incident, I think a microbe is the most likely suspect in this "who- > done-it." > > Jeremy > > ------------------- > > Message: 6 > Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:41:53 -0500 > From: Will Davis > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Bti and the fact sheet > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > Message-ID: <20070829084153.9BLAB.264515.root at webfep13> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > > Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:37:32 -0500 > From: Will Davis > > Subject: Re: Bti > > Bti RE: Bacillus thurigiensis israelensis, strain..... > > It is informative to read the EPA fact sheet for BTi. that spells > out application for mosquito control and the different risks that > are reported. It isn?t clear from the fact sheet, however, that > different BTi strains may have historically had different > applications, i.e. targeted various insect larvae (over the > decades, all the way back to ?Japanese beetles). The pesticide > gospel says the bacterium multiplies specifically within the gut of > the insect and not harmful to other species. Detection in the field > (dust, sediments) would be expected. However, culture and growth > with in marine organisms is not expected and if it were > demonstrated, would be considered a potential ecological risk. > > BTi has been considered a successful example among ?bioremedial? > pest control agents. They (BMs) are approaches to pest ?management? > that reduces or replaces use of persistent chemicals. There were > examples of other proposed bioremedials that didn?t get registered > due to side effects upon ?non-target? species. > > Field detection of presence, per se, in a sponge for instance, > does not in itself demonstrate pathogenicity. Potential induction > of pathogenic effects needs to be examined There are folks, even in > EPA research labs, who could do this, if management would allow it. > > http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/ > factsheet_006476.htm From goreau at bestweb.net Wed Aug 29 13:10:52 2007 From: goreau at bestweb.net (Thomas Goreau) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 13:10:52 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Bacillus thuringiensis - BBT Bees and Butterflies Threatened?? In-Reply-To: <740485.95625.qm@web50401.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <740485.95625.qm@web50401.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Tom, I could be wrong, but my guess is that bees and butterflies would be affected only if they are directly exposed, that is, plant munching caterpillars would be affected, but after they are metamorphosed they would only if they are sipping nectar from the flowers of the plant, and bees if they are nectar or pollen collecting from it, unless the spray cloud drifts over them. I am also not sure that bioaccumulation is a problem like it is with DDT. DDT is a toxic chemical that is concentrated in lipids up the food chain, but Bt acts through producing a specific inhibitor to the ion transport enzyme that maintains cell membrane integrity in most invertebrates. But if a bird ate a dead caterpillar it would not be affected, or fish ate a dead dragonfly larva. I don't know that there are Bt resistant insects. This seems to be difficult to evolve because the target enzyme is so widespread in invertebrates and seems to be conservative and highly selected, and so essential to survival that any loss or change is lethal, as well as the wide range of toxin strains involved: See: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/nobtresistance.php Resistance to Bt toxin surprisingly absent from pests - Nature ... "If I'd gotten up seven years ago and said that there would be no evidence of increased Bt resistance after Bt crops were planted on 62 million hectares ... www.nature.com/nbt/journal/ v21/n9/full/nbt0903-958b.html - Similar pages But what seems glaringly clear is that the terrestrial use has been approved without serious consideration of the impact on marine and aquatic organisms other than fish, and that there are reasons to suspect serious environmental problems that urgently need to be studied because of the huge area of treated crops, such as palm oil or bananas or sugar cane, in deforested habitat that drains into mangroves and coral reefs. Plant residues wash into streams and drive detrital food chains, and moreover the sprayed bacteria wash into surface and ground waters and can enter the marine habitat via aerosols, soils, dust, and water. 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 On Aug 29, 2007, at 12:52 PM, Tom Williams wrote: > I hate to derived things but I lived during the other > broad spectrum insecticide - maybe the same things and > we could identified it as BBt rather than Bt. > > Foodchain and bioaccumulation issues may arise and how > about resistant invertebrates. It seems we have been > here before. We are still picking up levels of DDT in > harbor sediments and inverts 30 years after. > > Maybe we should question our associates with the bees > and butterflies as to whther they have any evidence - > I would assume they would have recognized it and have > lots more money and clot to get something done. > > Tom Williams > > --- Thomas Goreau wrote: >> Thanks to all of you for your comments on Bt. >> Gene is right, it is sprayed against Mosquitoes on a >> large scale. >> Alina is right it is sold all over the world as a >> "specific" and >> "safe" control for all sorts of insect pests. > >> Indeed it has become the centerpiece of the "new" >> "green" >> "environmentally responsible" integrated pest >> management (IPM) >> worldwide on grounds that no vertebrates are harmed, >> and seemingly >> that alone. This is pure vertebrate chauvinism! > >> However there is nothing specific about it's action, >> it seems to kill >> practically all invertebrates indiscriminately, the >> good along with >> the bad, the essential recyclers and pollinators >> along with the >> pests, and as we now seem to be seeing the marine >> along with the >> terrestrial. >> >> Will Davis' points are also well taken. There are >> many strains, and I >> don't know if these have been shown to be more >> specific, but I >> suspect all are very broad-spectrum killers. >> >> I think the key is that until we found it in dying >> marine sponges >> and looked at the literature, there seemed to be >> very little studies >> on the impacts on marine invertebrates, although >> soil snails and >> nematodes were killed, and as I recall, dragonfly >> larvae and other >> aquatic insects. >> >> What is clearly needed is to see if Bt is in waters >> draining oil palm >> plantations and other places where it is used, and >> specific tests of >> its effects against aquatic and marine invertebrates >> be carried out. >> >> We also found Pseudomonas in dying sponges almost >> identical to those >> used in oil palm plantations against fungal rust >> diseases. We don't >> know how specific this is, so the question is >> whether fungi that are >> essential in soil and aquatic mineral and nutrient >> cycling are also >> being affected. >> >> As far as the Pfisteria goes, this a very >> controversial topic, on >> which Alina's husband is an expert, and I am sure >> she will add to that. >> >> 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 >> >> >> >>> Message: 1 >>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:09:13 -0400 >>> From: Gene Shinn >>> Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and >> Bacillus thurigiensis in >>> sponges >>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >>> Message-ID: >> >>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; >> format="flowed" >>> >>> Tom, The pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, you >> identified in dead >>> sponges was cultured and identified in African >> dust reaching the >>> Caribbean in 2003. It is used to control >> mosquitoes in north Africa. >>> Gene >>> >>> Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean >> during African >>> dust events, Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. >>> -- >>> >>> >>> 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---------------------------------- >>> ----------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------ >>> >>> Message: 2 >>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:44:12 -0400 >>> From: "Szmant, Alina" >>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and >> Bacillus thurigiensis >>> in sponges >>> To: "Gene Shinn" , >>> >>> Message-ID: >>> >> > <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90F8DA9FF at UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> >>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >>> >>> It's also used to control caterpillars and worms >> on terrestrial >>> plants. >>> I think you can by it at Home Depot. It's >> commonly used by organic >>> gardeners instead of pesticides on plants like >> cannas, ginger, >>> hibiscus >>> etc. It is considered to be a specific pathogen >> for those kids of >>> bugs. >>> >>> >> > ******************************************************************* >>> 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 >>> >>> Message: 3 >>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:54:27 -0700 >>> From: Jeremy Kerr >>> Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan >> Island, Sulu Sea, >>> Sandkan >>> To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov >>> Message-ID: >> > >>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >>> >>> According to "Environmental Politics and Policy" >> by Walter A. >>> Rosenbaum, the microbe Pfiestreia piscicida caused >> a "sudden, >>> dramatic increase in fish kills between 1991 and >> 1993 within North >>> Carolina's vast estuaries." Along with large >> numbers of >>> dead fish, there was a strong smell that burned >> the eyes and nose, >>> but it was not that of dead fish. The cause of >> the deaths was >>> intially assumed due to anoxic water. However, >> research found high >>> levels of nitrogen and phosophorus caused a >>> population explosion in P piscicida. The microbe >> population >>> infected the fish, which lead to the die-off. A >> quick web search >>> shows this was not an isolated incident. After >> reading the >>> discussion on Coral List regarding the Lankayan >> Island >>> incident, I think a microbe is the most likely >> suspect in this "who- >>> done-it." >>> >>> Jeremy >>> >>> ------------------- >>> >>> Message: 6 >>> Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:41:53 -0500 >>> From: Will Davis >>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Bti and the fact sheet >>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >>> Message-ID: >> <20070829084153.9BLAB.264515.root at webfep13> >> > === message truncated === > From charlesb at hawaii.edu Wed Aug 29 20:13:33 2007 From: charlesb at hawaii.edu (Charles Birkeland) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:13:33 -1000 Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes Message-ID: American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes American Samoa might become the first territory to give complete protection to all large species of reef fishes in all seasons throughout the territory. At the recent US Coral Reef Task Force meeting in American Samoa (20-23 August), Governor Togiola Tulafono announced that the Government of American Samoa is beginning the process of protecting the big fishes (humphead wrasses, bumphead parrotfishes, giant grouper, giant trevallies, and six species of sharks). The local Samoan population expressed themselves with splendid eloquence at two public hearings in April 2001 in protest of the depletion of big fishes by a small group of commercial fishermen using high tech nightlights and scuba. These big fishes are now rare and therefore they are especially vulnerable to additional harvest. Because of this, Ray Tulafono, Director of the Division of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR), will begin a process of hearings and consultations, working towards placing complete protection f or the big fishes listed above. Consideration of protection of big fishes is based on strong scientific evidence. Doug Fenner, Acting Chief Biologist at DMWR, working on a NOAA Coral Reef Monitoring Grant, had been diligently compiling information on the depletion of big reef fishes around American Samoa, reviewing all the available scientific information from research at DMWR, from other scientists in the territory, and from the research of visiting scientists over the years. The most compelling scientific support for this decision came from a massive report under review at this time (R. Brainard et al. 2007 Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Report for American Samoa: 2002-2006. NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Special Report NMFS PIFSC. 504 pp). Replicate surveys (2002, 2004, 2006) around the American Samoan, Hawaiian, and Marianas Archipelagoes, as well as isolated islands such as Wake, Palmyra, Kingman Reef, Jarvis, Baker, Howland, consisted of tow-board transects and visual benthic transec ts. The independent survey methods both clearly demonstrated an inverse correlation between human population sizes and the presence of big fishes of all species. Ray Tulafono reviewed the evidence with the DMWR biologists and all agreed these species need to be protected because they are rare. This latest action is consistent with other responsible measures by the Government of American Samoa. In 2000 and Executive Order (EO) by the Governor banned collection of "live rock" for export to the aquarium market. In 2001, an EO banned scuba-assisted fishing. In 2003, an EO was given to protect sea turtles and marine mammals in territorial waters. This EO reiterated the need for protection and public education regarding these federally protected endangered species. In 2003, another EO was given to ban shark finning in territorial waters. Pacific islanders live close to their resources and therefore have a relatively clear perception of the status of the surrounding marine life. A number of island cultures around the tropical Pacific have traditions of responsible resource management. I have heard that Palau now protects all of its reef sharks because tourism is an important part of its economy. Niue protects humphead wrasses. Queensland, Australia (the largest Pacific island), fully protects humphead wrasses and also groupers greater than 100 cm because of their low natural abundances and potential threat from overexploitation. Queensland is also considering additional protection of nearshore sharks. But as far as I know, American Samoa is the first to work towards complete protection of all their ten largest species of reef fishes. Chuck Birkeland From szmanta at uncw.edu Wed Aug 29 20:11:35 2007 From: szmanta at uncw.edu (Szmant, Alina) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:11:35 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Bacillus thuringiensis References: Message-ID: <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90AE15217@UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> Pfiesteria is indeed controversial, and it's my husband not me who is the expert, so you will not see a post from me on this subject. Anyone who wants infromation on Pfiesteria can look up the numerous papers published by opposing groups over past 10 years, or for one side of the story email Dr. Daniel Baden at baden at uncw.edu ******************************************************************* 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 Thomas Goreau Sent: Wed 8/29/2007 12:25 PM To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Subject: [Coral-List] Bacillus thuringiensis Thanks to all of you for your comments on Bt. Gene is right, it is sprayed against Mosquitoes on a large scale. Alina is right it is sold all over the world as a "specific" and "safe" control for all sorts of insect pests. Indeed it has become the centerpiece of the "new" "green" "environmentally responsible" integrated pest management (IPM) worldwide on grounds that no vertebrates are harmed, and seemingly that alone. This is pure vertebrate chauvinism! However there is nothing specific about it's action, it seems to kill practically all invertebrates indiscriminately, the good along with the bad, the essential recyclers and pollinators along with the pests, and as we now seem to be seeing the marine along with the terrestrial. Will Davis' points are also well taken. There are many strains, and I don't know if these have been shown to be more specific, but I suspect all are very broad-spectrum killers. I think the key is that until we found it in dying marine sponges and looked at the literature, there seemed to be very little studies on the impacts on marine invertebrates, although soil snails and nematodes were killed, and as I recall, dragonfly larvae and other aquatic insects. What is clearly needed is to see if Bt is in waters draining oil palm plantations and other places where it is used, and specific tests of its effects against aquatic and marine invertebrates be carried out. We also found Pseudomonas in dying sponges almost identical to those used in oil palm plantations against fungal rust diseases. We don't know how specific this is, so the question is whether fungi that are essential in soil and aquatic mineral and nutrient cycling are also being affected. As far as the Pfisteria goes, this a very controversial topic, on which Alina's husband is an expert, and I am sure she will add to that. 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 > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:09:13 -0400 > From: Gene Shinn > Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and Bacillus thurigiensis in > sponges > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" > > Tom, The pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, you identified in dead > sponges was cultured and identified in African dust reaching the > Caribbean in 2003. It is used to control mosquitoes in north Africa. > Gene > > Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean during African > dust events, Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. > -- > > > 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---------------------------------- > ----------------------------------- > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:44:12 -0400 > From: "Szmant, Alina" > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and Bacillus thurigiensis > in sponges > To: "Gene Shinn" , > > Message-ID: > <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90F8DA9FF at UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > It's also used to control caterpillars and worms on terrestrial > plants. > I think you can by it at Home Depot. It's commonly used by organic > gardeners instead of pesticides on plants like cannas, ginger, > hibiscus > etc. It is considered to be a specific pathogen for those kids of > bugs. > > ******************************************************************* > 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 > > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:54:27 -0700 > From: Jeremy Kerr > Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan Island, Sulu Sea, > Sandkan > To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > According to "Environmental Politics and Policy" by Walter A. > Rosenbaum, the microbe Pfiestreia piscicida caused a "sudden, > dramatic increase in fish kills between 1991 and 1993 within North > Carolina's vast estuaries." Along with large numbers of > dead fish, there was a strong smell that burned the eyes and nose, > but it was not that of dead fish. The cause of the deaths was > intially assumed due to anoxic water. However, research found high > levels of nitrogen and phosophorus caused a > population explosion in P piscicida. The microbe population > infected the fish, which lead to the die-off. A quick web search > shows this was not an isolated incident. After reading the > discussion on Coral List regarding the Lankayan Island > incident, I think a microbe is the most likely suspect in this "who- > done-it." > > Jeremy > > ------------------- > > Message: 6 > Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:41:53 -0500 > From: Will Davis > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Bti and the fact sheet > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > Message-ID: <20070829084153.9BLAB.264515.root at webfep13> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > > Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:37:32 -0500 > From: Will Davis > > Subject: Re: Bti > > Bti RE: Bacillus thurigiensis israelensis, strain..... > > It is informative to read the EPA fact sheet for BTi. that spells > out application for mosquito control and the different risks that > are reported. It isn?t clear from the fact sheet, however, that > different BTi strains may have historically had different > applications, i.e. targeted various insect larvae (over the > decades, all the way back to ?Japanese beetles). The pesticide > gospel says the bacterium multiplies specifically within the gut of > the insect and not harmful to other species. Detection in the field > (dust, sediments) would be expected. However, culture and growth > with in marine organisms is not expected and if it were > demonstrated, would be considered a potential ecological risk. > > BTi has been considered a successful example among ?bioremedial? > pest control agents. They (BMs) are approaches to pest ?management? > that reduces or replaces use of persistent chemicals. There were > examples of other proposed bioremedials that didn?t get registered > due to side effects upon ?non-target? species. > > Field detection of presence, per se, in a sponge for instance, > does not in itself demonstrate pathogenicity. Potential induction > of pathogenic effects needs to be examined There are folks, even in > EPA research labs, who could do this, if management would allow it. > > http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/ > factsheet_006476.htm _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From M.Tupper at CGIAR.ORG Wed Aug 29 20:57:11 2007 From: M.Tupper at CGIAR.ORG (Tupper, Mark (WorldFish)) Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:57:11 +0800 Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes References: Message-ID: Dear Chuck and list, This is good to hear. Just thought I would add that in addition to reef sharks, last year Palau implemented a complete moratorium on fishing for humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) and bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). Initially the moratorium was to last 6 months, but so far the President has kept the moratorium in place until a thorough assessment of the status of these large, vulnerable reef fishes can be conducted. Mark Tupper Scientist - Coral Reefs ICLARM - The WorldFish Center -----Original Message----- From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Charles Birkeland Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 8:14 AM To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protection ofbig fishes American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes American Samoa might become the first territory to give complete protection to all large species of reef fishes in all seasons throughout the territory. At the recent US Coral Reef Task Force meeting in American Samoa (20-23 August), Governor Togiola Tulafono announced that the Government of American Samoa is beginning the process of protecting the big fishes (humphead wrasses, bumphead parrotfishes, giant grouper, giant trevallies, and six species of sharks). The local Samoan population expressed themselves with splendid eloquence at two public hearings in April 2001 in protest of the depletion of big fishes by a small group of commercial fishermen using high tech nightlights and scuba. These big fishes are now rare and therefore they are especially vulnerable to additional harvest. Because of this, Ray Tulafono, Director of the Division of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR), will begin a process of hearings and consultations, working towards placing complete protection for the big fishes listed above. Consideration of protection of big fishes is based on strong scientific evidence. Doug Fenner, Acting Chief Biologist at DMWR, working on a NOAA Coral Reef Monitoring Grant, had been diligently compiling information on the depletion of big reef fishes around American Samoa, reviewing all the available scientific information from research at DMWR, from other scientists in the territory, and from the research of visiting scientists over the years. The most compelling scientific support for this decision came from a massive report under review at this time (R. Brainard et al. 2007 Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Report for American Samoa: 2002-2006. NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Special Report NMFS PIFSC. 504 pp). Replicate surveys (2002, 2004, 2006) around the American Samoan, Hawaiian, and Marianas Archipelagoes, as well as isolated islands such as Wake, Palmyra, Kingman Reef, Jarvis, Baker, Howland, consisted of tow-board transects and visual benthic transec ts. The independent survey methods both clearly demonstrated an inverse correlation between human population sizes and the presence of big fishes of all species. Ray Tulafono reviewed the evidence with the DMWR biologists and all agreed these species need to be protected because they are rare. This latest action is consistent with other responsible measures by the Government of American Samoa. In 2000 and Executive Order (EO) by the Governor banned collection of "live rock" for export to the aquarium market. In 2001, an EO banned scuba-assisted fishing. In 2003, an EO was given to protect sea turtles and marine mammals in territorial waters. This EO reiterated the need for protection and public education regarding these federally protected endangered species. In 2003, another EO was given to ban shark finning in territorial waters. Pacific islanders live close to their resources and therefore have a relatively clear perception of the status of the surrounding marine life. A number of island cultures around the tropical Pacific have traditions of responsible resource management. I have heard that Palau now protects all of its reef sharks because tourism is an important part of its economy. Niue protects humphead wrasses. Queensland, Australia (the largest Pacific island), fully protects humphead wrasses and also groupers greater than 100 cm because of their low natural abundances and potential threat from overexploitation. Queensland is also considering additional protection of nearshore sharks. But as far as I know, American Samoa is the first to work towards complete protection of all their ten largest species of reef fishes. Chuck Birkeland _______________________________________________ Coral-List mailing list Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From chwkins at yahoo.com Wed Aug 29 22:00:33 2007 From: chwkins at yahoo.com (Christopher Hawkins) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:00:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes Message-ID: <539788.18707.qm@web32806.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Listers: In his recent email, Chuck Birkeland mentioned Dr. Doug Fenner's diligence, which recently culminated in Governor Tulafono's statement of intent to begin a process to protect rare, large fish species in American Samoan waters. Doug, among others, is to be commended. Over the past several years, he has methodically assisted in making the case to political leaders for the need for conservation of these species -- not always an easy road. One of the more disappointing sights I have witnessed was a meter and a half long bumphead hanging from a tree during my morning commute to Pago Pago, waiting for a buyer. Probably one of the last big ones. Congratulations Doug and company! Best, Chris American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes American Samoa might become the first territory to give complete protection to all large species of reef fishes in all seasons throughout the territory. At the recent US Coral Reef Task Force meeting in American Samoa (20-23 August), Governor Togiola Tulafono announced that the Government of American Samoa is beginning the process of protecting the big fishes (humphead wrasses, bumphead parrotfishes, giant grouper, giant trevallies, and six species of sharks). The local Samoan population expressed themselves with splendid eloquence at two public hearings in April 2001 in protest of the depletion of big fishes by a small group of commercial fishermen using high tech nightlights and scuba. These big fishes are now rare and therefore they are especially vulnerable to additional harvest. Because of this, Ray Tulafono, Director of the Division of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR), will begin a process of hearings and consultations, working towards placing complete protection f or the big fishes listed above. Consideration of protection of big fishes is based on strong scientific evidence. Doug Fenner, Acting Chief Biologist at DMWR, working on a NOAA Coral Reef Monitoring Grant, had been diligently compiling information on the depletion of big reef fishes around American Samoa, reviewing all the available scientific information from research at DMWR, from other scientists in the territory, and from the research of visiting scientists over the years. The most compelling scientific support for this decision came from a massive report under review at this time (R. Brainard et al. 2007 Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Report for American Samoa: 2002-2006. NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Special Report NMFS PIFSC. 504 pp). Replicate surveys (2002, 2004, 2006) around the American Samoan, Hawaiian, and Marianas Archipelagoes, as well as isolated islands such as Wake, Palmyra, Kingman Reef, Jarvis, Baker, Howland, consisted of tow-board transects and visual benthic transec ts. The independent survey methods both clearly demonstrated an inverse correlation between human population sizes and the presence of big fishes of all species. Ray Tulafono reviewed the evidence with the DMWR biologists and all agreed these species need to be protected because they are rare. This latest action is consistent with other responsible measures by the Government of American Samoa. In 2000 and Executive Order (EO) by the Governor banned collection of "live rock" for export to the aquarium market. In 2001, an EO banned scuba-assisted fishing. In 2003, an EO was given to protect sea turtles and marine mammals in territorial waters. This EO reiterated the need for protection and public education regarding these federally protected endangered species. In 2003, another EO was given to ban shark finning in territorial waters. Pacific islanders live close to their resources and therefore have a relatively clear perception of the status of the surrounding marine life. A number of island cultures around the tropical Pacific have traditions of responsible resource management. I have heard that Palau now protects all of its reef sharks because tourism is an important part of its economy. Niue protects humphead wrasses. Queensland, Australia (the largest Pacific island), fully protects humphead wrasses and also groupers greater than 100 cm because of their low natural abundances and potential threat from overexploitation. Queensland is also considering additional protection of nearshore sharks. But as far as I know, American Samoa is the first to work towards complete protection of all their ten largest species of reef fishes. Chuck Birkeland --------------------------------- Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. From benjaminapolis at hotmail.com Wed Aug 29 23:56:54 2007 From: benjaminapolis at hotmail.com (Benjamin Carroll) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:56:54 -1100 Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Chuck, just a couple of corrections. (1) The Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources in American Samoa and the Government of American Samoa is beginning the process of managing all fish not just ?big? fish. Maori wrasse, bumphead parrotfish, giant grouper, giant trevally, and ALL species of shark (not just six species) are indeed the first that will hopefully be fully protected ? based on their rarity, not their size. We also now hope to work towards the possibility of getting further fisheries regulations implemented such as bag limits and size restrictions for certain other species, as well as possibly adding other ?smaller?, not as noticeably rare but still rare species to the protected list. (2) The protection of these species was based solely on the fact that they are currently considered rare, or at the very least uncommon, in the waters of American Samoa. The decision had nothing to do with whether or not these species have been depleted ? as even though this may be the case, no scientific information actually shows this and we simply don?t have this type of information. Also, not to discredit Rusty and the CRED crew ? their large-scale, regional monitoring throughout the Pacific is indeed an exceptional effort in many different areas ? but the decision to protect these species based on their rarity came more so from studies of a higher resolution that have been conducted by people such as Dick Wass, Marlowe Sabater, Ali Green, Leslie Whaylen, and others. As such the people who have worked directly on these issues in American Samoa should be thoroughly congratulated. Marlowe Sabater, myself, as well as Doug and many others have been working hard to ensure that the marine resources of American Samoa are well managed and that the right management decisions are based on the right science for the right reasons. And also that the right message gets out!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ben Carroll Coral Reef Fish Ecologist Dept Marine & Wildlife Resources PO Box 3730, Pago Pago, American Samoa, 96799. ?Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.? - Publilius Syrus -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:13:33 -1000> From: charlesb at hawaii.edu> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes> > American Samoa moving towards complete protection of big fishes> > American Samoa might become the first territory to give complete protection to all large species of reef fishes in all seasons throughout the territory. At the recent US Coral Reef Task Force meeting in American Samoa (20-23 August), Governor Togiola Tulafono announced that the Government of American Samoa is beginning the process of protecting the big fishes (humphead wrasses, bumphead parrotfishes, giant grouper, giant trevallies, and six species of sharks). The local Samoan population expressed themselves with splendid eloquence at two public hearings in April 2001 in protest of the depletion of big fishes by a small group of commercial fishermen using high tech nightlights and scuba. These big fishes are now rare and therefore they are especially vulnerable to additional harvest. Because of this, Ray Tulafono, Director of the Division of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR), will begin a process of hearings and consultations, working towards placing complete protection f> or the big fishes listed above.> > Consideration of protection of big fishes is based on strong scientific evidence. Doug Fenner, Acting Chief Biologist at DMWR, working on a NOAA Coral Reef Monitoring Grant, had been diligently compiling information on the depletion of big reef fishes around American Samoa, reviewing all the available scientific information from research at DMWR, from other scientists in the territory, and from the research of visiting scientists over the years. The most compelling scientific support for this decision came from a massive report under review at this time (R. Brainard et al. 2007 Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Report for American Samoa: 2002-2006. NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Special Report NMFS PIFSC. 504 pp). Replicate surveys (2002, 2004, 2006) around the American Samoan, Hawaiian, and Marianas Archipelagoes, as well as isolated islands such as Wake, Palmyra, Kingman Reef, Jarvis, Baker, Howland, consisted of tow-board transects and visual benthic transec> ts. The independent survey methods both clearly demonstrated an inverse correlation between human population sizes and the presence of big fishes of all species. Ray Tulafono reviewed the evidence with the DMWR biologists and all agreed these species need to be protected because they are rare.> > This latest action is consistent with other responsible measures by the Government of American Samoa. In 2000 and Executive Order (EO) by the Governor banned collection of "live rock" for export to the aquarium market. In 2001, an EO banned scuba-assisted fishing. In 2003, an EO was given to protect sea turtles and marine mammals in territorial waters. This EO reiterated the need for protection and public education regarding these federally protected endangered species. In 2003, another EO was given to ban shark finning in territorial waters.> > Pacific islanders live close to their resources and therefore have a relatively clear perception of the status of the surrounding marine life. A number of island cultures around the tropical Pacific have traditions of responsible resource management. I have heard that Palau now protects all of its reef sharks because tourism is an important part of its economy. Niue protects humphead wrasses. Queensland, Australia (the largest Pacific island), fully protects humphead wrasses and also groupers greater than 100 cm because of their low natural abundances and potential threat from overexploitation. Queensland is also considering additional protection of nearshore sharks. But as far as I know, American Samoa is the first to work towards complete protection of all their ten largest species of reef fishes.> > Chuck Birkeland> > _______________________________________________> Coral-List mailing list> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list _________________________________________________________________ Explore the seven wonders of the world http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=7+wonders+world&mkt=en-US&form=QBRE From dfenner at blueskynet.as Thu Aug 30 03:01:24 2007 From: dfenner at blueskynet.as (Douglas Fenner) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:01:24 -1100 Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protectionof big fishes References: Message-ID: <004701c7ead3$bd1f90b0$397f46ca@DOUGLASFENNER> I congratulate the forward-looking leadership in Palau!! Well done!! I hope that people in other places might start to consider the rarity of their big fish and possible action. It appears that the big fish are uncommon to rare on most reefs. For places with dive tourism, one of the most exciting things for most divers is seeing a really big fish. I always say, dead in the market it's worth a pittance, alive on a reef it is made of solid gold if you have divers you can charge to take to see it, and take more divers back day after day, year after year. Why should we kill the goose that laid the golden egg??? -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tupper, Mark (WorldFish)" To: "Charles Birkeland" ; Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 1:57 PM Subject: Re: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protectionof big fishes > Dear Chuck and list, > > This is good to hear. Just thought I would add that in addition to reef > sharks, last year Palau implemented a complete moratorium on fishing for > humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) and bumphead parrotfish > (Bolbometopon muricatum). Initially the moratorium was to last 6 months, > but so far the President has kept the moratorium in place until a > thorough assessment of the status of these large, vulnerable reef fishes > can be conducted. > > Mark Tupper > Scientist - Coral Reefs > ICLARM - The WorldFish Center > > From andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au Wed Aug 29 22:56:43 2007 From: andrew.baird at jcu.edu.au (Andrew Baird) Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:56:43 +1000 (EST) Subject: [Coral-List] (no subject) Message-ID: <20070830125643.BLT10994@mirapoint-ms1.jcu.edu.au> CORAL REEF FUTURES The Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and the Australian Academy of Sciences will co-sponsored two important events in the Shine Dome, Canberra Australia, on October 18-19th: A 2-day symposium and an evening public event on the 18th chaired by Robyn Williams, from ABC's The Science Show. The symposium is aimed at a general audience of scientists in diverse fields, natural resource managers, conservationists, and policy makers. The evening event is designed for the general public, teachers and school children (older than about 10). Our objective is to present (to a general audience) the latest science which supports the sustainable management of coral reefs, in Australia, our region, and globally. Key issues will include climate change, ocean acidification, fisheries management, conservation planning, capacity building, ecosystem-based management and adaptive governance. For further details of the program, distinguished speakers, and registration details, please see http://www.coralcoe.org.au/news_stories/07.html Please register early to avoid disappointment. From dfenner at blueskynet.as Thu Aug 30 05:35:47 2007 From: dfenner at blueskynet.as (Douglas Fenner) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:35:47 -1100 Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protection ofbig fishes References: Message-ID: <011701c7eae9$26222540$397f46ca@DOUGLASFENNER> I'd like to add that Maloy Sabater and Ben Carroll are our fish experts here in DMWR, and that their agreement was the final critical step necessary for the protection of these rare fish in American Samoa to be announced. Peter Craig and Ali Green were the first I know of to express concern over the big fish, and that was what got me started on it. Important data that contributed to the decision was collected and analyzed by all of the above, plus Dick Wass and Leslie Whalen. Congratulations to each and every one for their vital, indeed critical contributions. Maloy is supported by FedAid for Sportsfish Restoration, and Ben by our NOAA Coral Reef Monitoring grant. -Doug From goreau at bestweb.net Thu Aug 30 13:47:58 2007 From: goreau at bestweb.net (Thomas Goreau) Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:47:58 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] "vertebrate chauvinism:" Not the problem In-Reply-To: <20070830121907.JSKT5.327580.root@webfep13> References: <20070830121907.JSKT5.327580.root@webfep13> Message-ID: <63FDF2FB-691E-4355-AB2B-4DB817986ECF@bestweb.net> Dear Will, What I meant by vertebrate chauvinism is that Bt was approved based on lack of impacts to vertebrates, and evidence of widespread impacts on insects and soil fauna was downplayed, and while a little was done on rivers, there seems to have been little or nothing on marine impacts. It is great to hear there are groups out there working on these impacts. There has been of course a focus on persistent organic chemicals, and there the funding is never enough to keep up with the new compounds being tested. Good luck to all those working in this important area! Best wishes, Tom On Aug 30, 2007, at 1:19 PM, Will Davis wrote: > > Tom, > RE: "This is pure vertebrate chauvinism!" > > I will not criticize your passion, a characteristic that which to > be AWOL among those managing or directing recruitment and > application of research funds ! > > However, I would like everyone to learn that there are some very > dedicated people working on arduous and apparently unrecognized > research on toxic effects of pesticides to marine invertebrate > organisms. This has been an important component of the research > conducted at EPA's Gulf Ecology Division (nee Gulf Breeze > Ecological Research Laboratory), Pensacola Beach, FL. Mysid shrimp, > clams, oysters commercial shrimp, algal species sea grasses and > even corals have and are applied in evaluation of pesticide > substances and other stressors. There are other labs and agencies > working "invisibly (?)' in these areas as well. > > However, many of these projects are often notoriously limited in > time and focused. Likewise, questions of COMBINED effects are > rarely visited (tell me where on earth there is only one agent > present ?). Part of the problem is that the passion you've shown > does not get to 'decision-makers' who allocate the buck (resources > if you will) and as soon as one of us dies or retires, much of the > load we shouldered is dumped by the wayside. > > To educate in a timely manner and insure continuity would be a very > significant step forward ! Let's apply our collective knowledge > and passion to see if we can make this happen ! > > >>> --- Thomas Goreau wrote: >>>> Thanks to all of you for your comments on Bt. >>>> Gene is right, it is sprayed against Mosquitoes on a >>>> large scale. >>>> Alina is right it is sold all over the world as a >>>> "specific" and >>>> "safe" control for all sorts of insect pests. >>> >>>> Indeed it has become the centerpiece of the "new" >>>> "green" >>>> "environmentally responsible" integrated pest >>>> management (IPM) >>>> worldwide on grounds that no vertebrates are harmed, >>>> and seemingly >>>> that alone. This is pure vertebrate chauvinism! >>> >>>> However there is nothing specific about it's action, >>>> it seems to kill >>>> practically all invertebrates indiscriminately, the >>>> good along with >>>> the bad, the essential recyclers and pollinators >>>> along with the >>>> pests, and as we now seem to be seeing the marine >>>> along with the >>>> terrestrial. >>>> >>>> Will Davis' points are also well taken. There are >>>> many strains, and I >>>> don't know if these have been shown to be more >>>> specific, but I >>>> suspect all are very broad-spectrum killers. >>>> >>>> I think the key is that until we found it in dying >>>> marine sponges >>>> and looked at the literature, there seemed to be >>>> very little studies >>>> on the impacts on marine invertebrates, although >>>> soil snails and >>>> nematodes were killed, and as I recall, dragonfly >>>> larvae and other >>>> aquatic insects. >>>> >>>> What is clearly needed is to see if Bt is in waters >>>> draining oil palm >>>> plantations and other places where it is used, and >>>> specific tests of >>>> its effects against aquatic and marine invertebrates >>>> be carried out. >>>> >>>> We also found Pseudomonas in dying sponges almost >>>> identical to those >>>> used in oil palm plantations against fungal rust >>>> diseases. We don't >>>> know how specific this is, so the question is >>>> whether fungi that are >>>> essential in soil and aquatic mineral and nutrient >>>> cycling are also >>>> being affected. >>>> >>>> As far as the Pfisteria goes, this a very >>>> controversial topic, on >>>> which Alina's husband is an expert, and I am sure >>>> she will add to that. >>>> >>>> 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 >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> Message: 1 >>>>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:09:13 -0400 >>>>> From: Gene Shinn >>>>> Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and >>>> Bacillus thurigiensis in >>>>> sponges >>>>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >>>>> Message-ID: >>>> >>>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; >>>> format="flowed" >>>>> >>>>> Tom, The pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, you >>>> identified in dead >>>>> sponges was cultured and identified in African >>>> dust reaching the >>>>> Caribbean in 2003. It is used to control >>>> mosquitoes in north Africa. >>>>> Gene >>>>> >>>>> Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean >>>> during African >>>>> dust events, Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. >>>>> -- >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> 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---------------------------------- >>>>> ----------------------------------- >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>> >>>>> Message: 2 >>>>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:44:12 -0400 >>>>> From: "Szmant, Alina" >>>>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and >>>> Bacillus thurigiensis >>>>> in sponges >>>>> To: "Gene Shinn" , >>>>> >>>>> Message-ID: >>>>> >>>> >>> <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90F8DA9FF at UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> >>>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >>>>> >>>>> It's also used to control caterpillars and worms >>>> on terrestrial >>>>> plants. >>>>> I think you can by it at Home Depot. It's >>>> commonly used by organic >>>>> gardeners instead of pesticides on plants like >>>> cannas, ginger, >>>>> hibiscus >>>>> etc. It is considered to be a specific pathogen >>>> for those kids of >>>>> bugs. >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>> ******************************************************************* >>>>> 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 >>>>> >>>>> Message: 3 >>>>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:54:27 -0700 >>>>> From: Jeremy Kerr >>>>> Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan >>>> Island, Sulu Sea, >>>>> Sandkan >>>>> To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov >>>>> Message-ID: >>>> >>> >>>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >>>>> >>>>> According to "Environmental Politics and Policy" >>>> by Walter A. >>>>> Rosenbaum, the microbe Pfiestreia piscicida caused >>>> a "sudden, >>>>> dramatic increase in fish kills between 1991 and >>>> 1993 within North >>>>> Carolina's vast estuaries." Along with large >>>> numbers of >>>>> dead fish, there was a strong smell that burned >>>> the eyes and nose, >>>>> but it was not that of dead fish. The cause of >>>> the deaths was >>>>> intially assumed due to anoxic water. However, >>>> research found high >>>>> levels of nitrogen and phosophorus caused a >>>>> population explosion in P piscicida. The microbe >>>> population >>>>> infected the fish, which lead to the die-off. A >>>> quick web search >>>>> shows this was not an isolated incident. After >>>> reading the >>>>> discussion on Coral List regarding the Lankayan >>>> Island >>>>> incident, I think a microbe is the most likely >>>> suspect in this "who- >>>>> done-it." >>>>> >>>>> Jeremy >>>>> >>>>> ------------------- >>>>> >>>>> Message: 6 >>>>> Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:41:53 -0500 >>>>> From: Will Davis >>>>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Bti and the fact sheet >>>>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >>>>> Message-ID: >>>> <20070829084153.9BLAB.264515.root at webfep13> >>>> >>> === message truncated === >>> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Coral-List mailing list >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov >> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > 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 benjaminapolis at hotmail.com Thu Aug 30 16:43:46 2007 From: benjaminapolis at hotmail.com (Benjamin Carroll) Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:43:46 -1100 Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa working towards improved management or coral reef fish populations. In-Reply-To: <004701c7ead3$bd1f90b0$397f46ca@DOUGLASFENNER> References: <004701c7ead3$bd1f90b0$397f46ca@DOUGLASFENNER> Message-ID: Doug, I like the analogy. Something that should be fairly intuitive in places where (dive) tourism is of particular importance, although not always fully considered and on the other hand sometimes not such a simple scenario even where dive tourism does exist. But where dive tourism is not so important such an analogy doesn't always apply, as I'm sure you're well aware. Take our local example here in American Samoa where there is next to no tourism, and tourism certainly isn't of any importance. There is therefore no incentive to protect species to try and attract the tourism dollar. That is not to say, however, that the protection of species has to come from an entirely different angle. In what might be a lesson for managers in other areas the decision to protect several species of reef fish here was based solely on their local rarity and aided by the fact that some of these species are of particular ecological significance and rare elsewhere as well. For years different people, scientists and managers in American Samoa have had different opinions on coral reef fish, their population levels and the whole "overfishing" issue and have argued back and forth on such topics. And for years people were trying to use the "overfishing" argument to influence management. But because people never fully agreed and because the relevant historical data simply wasn't available to show what the status of reef fish populations was (and because fishing effort has actually been shown to be decreasing within the territory), nothing happened. But because we focussed simply on species rarity and not a seemingly pointless, no-win, futile argument a decision was finally actually made and a management action taken to protect certain species of reef fish and sharks. That's not to say that figuring out why certain species of reef fish are rare isn't important. Of course it is. But in the absence of such information that could guide management, it at least gives us a valid reasoning upon which to base current management decisions. And now we can work towards gaining such knowledge to further guide management and to also potentially improve regulations to include such things as bag limits, size restructions, seasonal closures etc. And thank you Doug for compiling information to help back up all the solid ground-work that has been put in over the years by many different people working on coral reef fish and fisheries here in American Samoa. Cheers. Ben. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ben Carroll Coral Reef Ecologist Dept Marine & Wildlife Resources PO Box 3730, Pago Pago, American Samoa, 96799. + 684 633 4456 (wk)+ 684 699 7037 (hm) + 684 258 4774 (mob) + 684 633 5590 (fax) ?Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.? - Publilius Syrus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> From: dfenner at blueskynet.as> To: M.Tupper at CGIAR.ORG; charlesb at hawaii.edu; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:01:24 -1100> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete protectionof big fishes> > I congratulate the forward-looking leadership in Palau!! Well done!! > I hope that people in other places might start to consider the rarity of > their big fish and possible action. It appears that the big fish are > uncommon to rare on most reefs.> For places with dive tourism, one of the most exciting things for most > divers is seeing a really big fish. I always say, dead in the market it's > worth a pittance, alive on a reef it is made of solid gold if you have > divers you can charge to take to see it, and take more divers back day after > day, year after year. Why should we kill the goose that laid the golden > egg??? -Doug> > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Tupper, Mark (WorldFish)" > To: "Charles Birkeland" ; > > Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 1:57 PM> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] American Samoa moving towards complete > protectionof big fishes> > > > Dear Chuck and list,> >> > This is good to hear. Just thought I would add that in addition to reef> > sharks, last year Palau implemented a complete moratorium on fishing for> > humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) and bumphead parrotfish> > (Bolbometopon muricatum). Initially the moratorium was to last 6 months,> > but so far the President has kept the moratorium in place until a> > thorough assessment of the status of these large, vulnerable reef fishes> > can be conducted.> >> > Mark Tupper> > Scientist - Coral Reefs> > ICLARM - The WorldFish Center> >> > > > _______________________________________________> Coral-List mailing list> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list _________________________________________________________________ News, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Get it now! http://www.live.com/getstarted.aspx From willp2 at tds.net Thu Aug 30 13:19:07 2007 From: willp2 at tds.net (Will Davis) Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:19:07 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] "vertebrate chauvinism:" Not the problem In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20070830121907.JSKT5.327580.root@webfep13> Tom, RE: "This is pure vertebrate chauvinism!" I will not criticize your passion, a characteristic that which to be AWOL among those managing or directing recruitment and application of research funds ! However, I would like everyone to learn that there are some very dedicated people working on arduous and apparently unrecognized research on toxic effects of pesticides to marine invertebrate organisms. This has been an important component of the research conducted at EPA's Gulf Ecology Division (nee Gulf Breeze Ecological Research Laboratory), Pensacola Beach, FL. Mysid shrimp, clams, oysters commercial shrimp, algal species sea grasses and even corals have and are applied in evaluation of pesticide substances and other stressors. There are other labs and agencies working "invisibly (?)' in these areas as well. However, many of these projects are often notoriously limited in time and focused. Likewise, questions of COMBINED effects are rarely visited (tell me where on earth there is only one agent present ?). Part of the problem is that the passion you've shown does not get to 'decision-makers' who allocate the buck (resources if you will) and as soon as one of us dies or retires, much of the load we shouldered is dumped by the wayside. To educate in a timely manner and insure continuity would be a very significant step forward ! Let's apply our collective knowledge and passion to see if we can make this happen ! > > --- Thomas Goreau wrote: > >> Thanks to all of you for your comments on Bt. > >> Gene is right, it is sprayed against Mosquitoes on a > >> large scale. > >> Alina is right it is sold all over the world as a > >> "specific" and > >> "safe" control for all sorts of insect pests. > > > >> Indeed it has become the centerpiece of the "new" > >> "green" > >> "environmentally responsible" integrated pest > >> management (IPM) > >> worldwide on grounds that no vertebrates are harmed, > >> and seemingly > >> that alone. This is pure vertebrate chauvinism! > > > >> However there is nothing specific about it's action, > >> it seems to kill > >> practically all invertebrates indiscriminately, the > >> good along with > >> the bad, the essential recyclers and pollinators > >> along with the > >> pests, and as we now seem to be seeing the marine > >> along with the > >> terrestrial. > >> > >> Will Davis' points are also well taken. There are > >> many strains, and I > >> don't know if these have been shown to be more > >> specific, but I > >> suspect all are very broad-spectrum killers. > >> > >> I think the key is that until we found it in dying > >> marine sponges > >> and looked at the literature, there seemed to be > >> very little studies > >> on the impacts on marine invertebrates, although > >> soil snails and > >> nematodes were killed, and as I recall, dragonfly > >> larvae and other > >> aquatic insects. > >> > >> What is clearly needed is to see if Bt is in waters > >> draining oil palm > >> plantations and other places where it is used, and > >> specific tests of > >> its effects against aquatic and marine invertebrates > >> be carried out. > >> > >> We also found Pseudomonas in dying sponges almost > >> identical to those > >> used in oil palm plantations against fungal rust > >> diseases. We don't > >> know how specific this is, so the question is > >> whether fungi that are > >> essential in soil and aquatic mineral and nutrient > >> cycling are also > >> being affected. > >> > >> As far as the Pfisteria goes, this a very > >> controversial topic, on > >> which Alina's husband is an expert, and I am sure > >> she will add to that. > >> > >> 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 > >> > >> > >> > >>> Message: 1 > >>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:09:13 -0400 > >>> From: Gene Shinn > >>> Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and > >> Bacillus thurigiensis in > >>> sponges > >>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > >>> Message-ID: > >> > >>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; > >> format="flowed" > >>> > >>> Tom, The pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, you > >> identified in dead > >>> sponges was cultured and identified in African > >> dust reaching the > >>> Caribbean in 2003. It is used to control > >> mosquitoes in north Africa. > >>> Gene > >>> > >>> Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean > >> during African > >>> dust events, Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. > >>> -- > >>> > >>> > >>> 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---------------------------------- > >>> ----------------------------------- > >>> > >>> > >>> ------------------------------ > >>> > >>> Message: 2 > >>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:44:12 -0400 > >>> From: "Szmant, Alina" > >>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and > >> Bacillus thurigiensis > >>> in sponges > >>> To: "Gene Shinn" , > >>> > >>> Message-ID: > >>> > >> > > <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90F8DA9FF at UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> > >>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > >>> > >>> It's also used to control caterpillars and worms > >> on terrestrial > >>> plants. > >>> I think you can by it at Home Depot. It's > >> commonly used by organic > >>> gardeners instead of pesticides on plants like > >> cannas, ginger, > >>> hibiscus > >>> etc. It is considered to be a specific pathogen > >> for those kids of > >>> bugs. > >>> > >>> > >> > > ******************************************************************* > >>> 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 > >>> > >>> Message: 3 > >>> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:54:27 -0700 > >>> From: Jeremy Kerr > >>> Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan > >> Island, Sulu Sea, > >>> Sandkan > >>> To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > >>> Message-ID: > >> > > > >>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > >>> > >>> According to "Environmental Politics and Policy" > >> by Walter A. > >>> Rosenbaum, the microbe Pfiestreia piscicida caused > >> a "sudden, > >>> dramatic increase in fish kills between 1991 and > >> 1993 within North > >>> Carolina's vast estuaries." Along with large > >> numbers of > >>> dead fish, there was a strong smell that burned > >> the eyes and nose, > >>> but it was not that of dead fish. The cause of > >> the deaths was > >>> intially assumed due to anoxic water. However, > >> research found high > >>> levels of nitrogen and phosophorus caused a > >>> population explosion in P piscicida. The microbe > >> population > >>> infected the fish, which lead to the die-off. A > >> quick web search > >>> shows this was not an isolated incident. After > >> reading the > >>> discussion on Coral List regarding the Lankayan > >> Island > >>> incident, I think a microbe is the most likely > >> suspect in this "who- > >>> done-it." > >>> > >>> Jeremy > >>> > >>> ------------------- > >>> > >>> Message: 6 > >>> Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:41:53 -0500 > >>> From: Will Davis > >>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Bti and the fact sheet > >>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > >>> Message-ID: > >> <20070829084153.9BLAB.264515.root at webfep13> > >> > > === message truncated === > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list From runswo at essex.ac.uk Thu Aug 30 20:12:08 2007 From: runswo at essex.ac.uk (Unsworth, Richard) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:12:08 +0100 Subject: [Coral-List] PhD thesis: Aspects of the ecology of Indo-Pacific seagrass systems Message-ID: <56E29DC28D1C014481038BBEA32F952801E1AF61@sernt12.essex.ac.uk> Hi all, I have recently completed my PhD thesis entitled 'aspects of the ecology of Indo-Pacific seagrass systems' at the University of Essex. This thesis includes research on habitat connectivity, seagrass herbivory, faunal/floral interactions and PAM fluorescence. If anyone would like to take a look at it they can download it using the following link: http://www.richardunsworth.co.uk/Documents/Unsworth%20PhD%20thesis%202007.pdf any questions please contact me at richardunsworth at hotmail.com Kind Regards Richard -------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Richard Unsworth M.Sc B.Sc Tropical Marine Ecologist 4/57 Sims Esplanade Yorkeys Knob Cairns 4878 Queensland Australia Phone: +61 (0) 740558764 Mob: +61 (0) 437681169 e-mail: richardunsworth at hotmail.com My details: http://www.richardunsworth.co.uk check out http://www.wakatobi.org -------------------------------------------------------- From ctwiliams at yahoo.com Wed Aug 29 12:52:16 2007 From: ctwiliams at yahoo.com (Tom Williams) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:52:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Bacillus thuringiensis - BBT Bees and Butterflies Threatened?? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <740485.95625.qm@web50401.mail.re2.yahoo.com> I hate to derived things but I lived during the other broad spectrum insecticide - maybe the same things and we could identified it as BBt rather than Bt. Foodchain and bioaccumulation issues may arise and how about resistant invertebrates. It seems we have been here before. We are still picking up levels of DDT in harbor sediments and inverts 30 years after. Maybe we should question our associates with the bees and butterflies as to whther they have any evidence - I would assume they would have recognized it and have lots more money and clot to get something done. Tom Williams --- Thomas Goreau wrote: > Thanks to all of you for your comments on Bt. > Gene is right, it is sprayed against Mosquitoes on a > large scale. > Alina is right it is sold all over the world as a > "specific" and > "safe" control for all sorts of insect pests. > Indeed it has become the centerpiece of the "new" > "green" > "environmentally responsible" integrated pest > management (IPM) > worldwide on grounds that no vertebrates are harmed, > and seemingly > that alone. This is pure vertebrate chauvinism! > However there is nothing specific about it's action, > it seems to kill > practically all invertebrates indiscriminately, the > good along with > the bad, the essential recyclers and pollinators > along with the > pests, and as we now seem to be seeing the marine > along with the > terrestrial. > > Will Davis' points are also well taken. There are > many strains, and I > don't know if these have been shown to be more > specific, but I > suspect all are very broad-spectrum killers. > > I think the key is that until we found it in dying > marine sponges > and looked at the literature, there seemed to be > very little studies > on the impacts on marine invertebrates, although > soil snails and > nematodes were killed, and as I recall, dragonfly > larvae and other > aquatic insects. > > What is clearly needed is to see if Bt is in waters > draining oil palm > plantations and other places where it is used, and > specific tests of > its effects against aquatic and marine invertebrates > be carried out. > > We also found Pseudomonas in dying sponges almost > identical to those > used in oil palm plantations against fungal rust > diseases. We don't > know how specific this is, so the question is > whether fungi that are > essential in soil and aquatic mineral and nutrient > cycling are also > being affected. > > As far as the Pfisteria goes, this a very > controversial topic, on > which Alina's husband is an expert, and I am sure > she will add to that. > > 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 > > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:09:13 -0400 > > From: Gene Shinn > > Subject: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and > Bacillus thurigiensis in > > sponges > > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; > format="flowed" > > > > Tom, The pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, you > identified in dead > > sponges was cultured and identified in African > dust reaching the > > Caribbean in 2003. It is used to control > mosquitoes in north Africa. > > Gene > > > > Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean > during African > > dust events, Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. > > -- > > > > > > 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---------------------------------- > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 2 > > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:44:12 -0400 > > From: "Szmant, Alina" > > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Pal Oil plantation and > Bacillus thurigiensis > > in sponges > > To: "Gene Shinn" , > > > > Message-ID: > > > <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C90F8DA9FF at UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > > > It's also used to control caterpillars and worms > on terrestrial > > plants. > > I think you can by it at Home Depot. It's > commonly used by organic > > gardeners instead of pesticides on plants like > cannas, ginger, > > hibiscus > > etc. It is considered to be a specific pathogen > for those kids of > > bugs. > > > > > ******************************************************************* > > 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 > > > > Message: 3 > > Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:54:27 -0700 > > From: Jeremy Kerr > > Subject: [Coral-List] Mystery Event - Lankayan > Island, Sulu Sea, > > Sandkan > > To: coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov > > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > > > According to "Environmental Politics and Policy" > by Walter A. > > Rosenbaum, the microbe Pfiestreia piscicida caused > a "sudden, > > dramatic increase in fish kills between 1991 and > 1993 within North > > Carolina's vast estuaries." Along with large > numbers of > > dead fish, there was a strong smell that burned > the eyes and nose, > > but it was not that of dead fish. The cause of > the deaths was > > intially assumed due to anoxic water. However, > research found high > > levels of nitrogen and phosophorus caused a > > population explosion in P piscicida. The microbe > population > > infected the fish, which lead to the die-off. A > quick web search > > shows this was not an isolated incident. After > reading the > > discussion on Coral List regarding the Lankayan > Island > > incident, I think a microbe is the most likely > suspect in this "who- > > done-it." > > > > Jeremy > > > > ------------------- > > > > Message: 6 > > Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 8:41:53 -0500 > > From: Will Davis > > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Bti and the fact sheet > > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > > Message-ID: > <20070829084153.9BLAB.264515.root at webfep13> > === message truncated === From charlesb at hawaii.edu Fri Aug 31 10:55:06 2007 From: charlesb at hawaii.edu (Charles Birkeland) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:55:06 -1000 Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa as role model for responsibility Message-ID: American Samoan as role model for responsibility While hosting the recent US Coral Reef Task Force meeting in American Samoa, Governor Togiola Tulafono stated that the Government of American Samoa is committed to take its responsibility in addressing the adverse impacts of global warming and resulting climate change, and challenged the federal government, the public sector, and regional jurisdictions to do the same. The measures are not extreme, but I and others appreciated that such commitments are stated explicitly in terms of dates and levlels, rather than in generalities. His Executive Order 010-2007 announced at the USCRTF meeting requires that ? To combat destruction of coral reefs by increased algal blooms, the importation of high phosphorous detergents is prohibited, effective October 1, 2007. ? All new American Samoa Government vehicles must have a minimum fuel efficiency rating of 20 mpg. ? Vehicles purchased this coming year must be hybrid vehicles at a rate of at least 5%, increasing to 50% by model year 2017. ? The importation of vehicles more than 10 years old is prohibited. ? The Government immediately begins replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact florescent bulbs. and several other matters involving energy efficiency ratings, auto-shut off valves, 4-wheel dive vehicles etc. In line with the Coral Reef Conservation Act of the federal government, Governor Tulafono specifically challenged US EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers to review and assess their mandates and statutes to provide more directed and stronger support to local partners in addressing their mandates to conserve and protect coral reefs. He also announced the finalization and adoption of a territorial MPA Network Strategy. The MPA Network Strategy was developed to link American Samoa?s MPA programs and agencies together to be more effective in protecting and managing the marine resources and aims to develop regional partnerships to better protect our coral reef ecosystem. The strategy works through utilizing each program?s mandates, resources and funding through enhanced coordination and integration of education, research and monitoring, enforcement, and program administration. The goal of the MPA Network Strategy is to effectively coordinate existing and future MPAs to ensure the long-term health and sustainable use of the Territory?s coral reef resources. A number of us felt the meetings were more productive than usual because matters were more specifically and immediately addressed. Perhaps both the whole ecosystem and immediacy of responsibilities are easier to perceive in smaller societies. From andrei670 at hotmail.com Fri Aug 31 10:57:30 2007 From: andrei670 at hotmail.com (Andrei Salcedo G) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:57:30 +0000 Subject: [Coral-List] URGENT: LOOKING FOR A PERSON Message-ID: DEAR LISTERS I have been trying to search for an author called Kenneth Johnson that has developed different works on coral's ecology and biology (in 1992 he wrote 2 articles about manicina areolata).I need this person very urgently because my thesis work is stopped. If someone knows about him please let me know a way to contact him. ANDREI SALCEDO GREBECHOV Dendrobates; Sociedad de Turismo Biol?gico Turismo y Ciencia SOCIO FUNDADOR Bi?logo universidad Javeriana Colombia _________________________________________________________________ Explore the seven wonders of the world http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=7+wonders+world&mkt=en-US&form=QBRE From gert.woerheide at geo.uni-goettingen.de Fri Aug 31 12:23:04 2007 From: gert.woerheide at geo.uni-goettingen.de (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Gert_W=F6rheide?=) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:23:04 +0200 Subject: [Coral-List] Workshop: "Frontiers in Geobiology" References: <2CDCBF7F-91F0-422A-B239-E4B6C0DF9EAF@geo.uni-goettingen.de> Message-ID: <2AA16249-B124-4E29-A1FC-45239F62BB59@geo.uni-goettingen.de> [apologies for cross-posting] Dear Colleagues, we would appreciate if you could circulate the announcement below widely. Workshop "Frontiers in Geobiology" announcement: Within the framework of the DFG Research Unit FOR571 "Geobiology" we invite applications to attend the workshop "Frontiers in Geobiology" on 13/14 October 2007 hosted by the Department of Geobiology at the Geoscience Center of the Georg-August-Universit?t in G?ttingen (Germany). This workshop intends to bring together early career researchers from the fields of geobiology, geomicrobiology, animal and plant paleobiology, biogeochemistry, molecular phylogenetics, phylogenomics, evolutionary developmental biology, et al., to indentify and discuss emerging issues in Geobiology, i.e. research at the interface between geo-and biosciences. Selection of participants will be competetive, but all travel costs, including accomodation and food, will be covered according to German regulations. Participation is limited to early career researchers, preference will be given to applications from Post-Docs within about 2-4 years after receiving their Ph.D. Two-page applications (maximum) should be submitted by email (PDF only) to gert.woerheide at geo.uni-goettingen.de until 15. September 2007. The subject line of the email is required to include the keywords "Workshop Frontiers in Geobiology" and the email body should include a brief cover letter of motivation. Please comply with the following format for your two-page PDF attachment: 1) Short CV including a maximum of 5 best career publications (one page) 2) Statement of past and present achievements; Perspective for future research In the latter part you should identify emerging issues in geobiological research and how you would contribute methodologically and intellectually to address these consequential issues of broad significance. Applications that do not follow the above guidelines will not be considered. You will be notified by 20. September 2007 about acceptance, and if accepted, you are expected to present your research and concepts during the workshop. Information about the Department of Geobiology can be found at http:// www.geobiologie.uni-goettingen.de/index_e.shtml The University of G?ttingen has a strong commitment to the principles of equal opportunity policies and practices and, in that spirit, we strongly invite women to apply. Equally qualified handicapped applicants will be given preference. We look forward to your participation Joachim Reitner & Gert W?rheide -------------------------------------------------- Gert W?rheide Junior Professor for Molecular Geobiology Geoscience Centre G?ttingen | Dept. of Geobiology Goldschmidtstr.3 37077 G?ttingen, Germany Centre for Biodiversity and Ecology University of G?ttingen phone: +49-(0)551 39 14 177 mobile: +49-(0)178 537 22 33 fax: +49-(0)551-39 79 18 SkypeIn: +49-(0)551-29 81 400 Skype: spongegert gert.woerheide at geo.uni-goettingen.de www.geobiology.eu www.spongebarcoding.org www.geobiologie.uni-goettingen.de www.biodiversitaet.gwdg.de ================================================= Associate Subject Editor Porifera - Zootaxa www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ The most rapid journal for systematic zoologists ================================================= From Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov Fri Aug 31 11:31:54 2007 From: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov (Alan E. Strong) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:31:54 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] American Samoa as role model for responsibility In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <46D8346A.1050101@noaa.gov> Thanks Charles, What a role positive model...your final observation is a good one...it needs to begin someplace....! Cheers, Al Charles Birkeland wrote: > American Samoan as role model for responsibility > > While hosting the recent US Coral Reef Task Force meeting in American Samoa, Governor Togiola Tulafono stated that the Government of American Samoa is committed to take its responsibility in addressing the adverse impacts of global warming and resulting climate change, and challenged the federal government, the public sector, and regional jurisdictions to do the same. The measures are not extreme, but I and others appreciated that such commitments are stated explicitly in terms of dates and levlels, rather than in generalities. His Executive Order 010-2007 announced at the USCRTF meeting requires that > > ? To combat destruction of coral reefs by increased algal blooms, the importation of high phosphorous detergents is prohibited, effective October 1, 2007. > > ? All new American Samoa Government vehicles must have a minimum fuel efficiency rating of 20 mpg. > > ? Vehicles purchased this coming year must be hybrid vehicles at a rate of at least 5%, increasing to 50% by model year 2017. > > ? The importation of vehicles more than 10 years old is prohibited. > > ? The Government immediately begins replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact florescent bulbs. > > and several other matters involving energy efficiency ratings, auto-shut off valves, 4-wheel dive vehicles etc. In line with the Coral Reef Conservation Act of the federal government, Governor Tulafono specifically challenged US EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers to review and assess their mandates and statutes to provide more directed and stronger support to local partners in addressing their mandates to conserve and protect coral reefs. > > He also announced the finalization and adoption of a territorial MPA Network Strategy. The MPA Network Strategy was developed to link American Samoa?s MPA programs and agencies together to be more effective in protecting and managing the marine resources and aims to develop regional partnerships to better protect our coral reef ecosystem. The strategy works through utilizing each program?s mandates, resources and funding through enhanced coordination and integration of education, research and monitoring, enforcement, and program administration. The goal of the MPA Network Strategy is to effectively coordinate existing and future MPAs to ensure the long-term health and sustainable use of the Territory?s coral reef resources. > > A number of us felt the meetings were more productive than usual because matters were more specifically and immediately addressed. Perhaps both the whole ecosystem and immediacy of responsibilities are easier to perceive in smaller societies. > > > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > -- **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* Alan E. Strong, Ph.D. NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Senior Consultant National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5304 1335 East West Hwy Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 301-713-2857 x108 Fax: 301-713-3136 Cell: 410-490-6602 From kaveh_s_n at yahoo.com Fri Aug 31 12:02:04 2007 From: kaveh_s_n at yahoo.com (kaveh samimi) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:02:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Coral-List] Severe Bleaching in Northern Persian Gulf Message-ID: <954338.7263.qm@web53104.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Dear all, Unfortunately during recent two weeks severe bleaching happens in Kish Island in northern part of the Persian Gulf. Almost all the reefs is bleached completely. Yesterday water temperature was 36 degree with 37 ppt salinity . I wonder that somebody saw the same situation in southern parts ? Cheers, Kaveh Samimi Department of Marine Biology Khoramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology P.o.box: 669 Khoramshahr, Khuzestan Province Iran,64199-43157 --------------------------------- Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online. From Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov Fri Aug 31 14:02:37 2007 From: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov (Alan E. Strong) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:02:37 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Severe Bleaching in Northern Persian Gulf In-Reply-To: <954338.7263.qm@web53104.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <954338.7263.qm@web53104.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <46D857BD.1070803@noaa.gov> Hello Kaveh, Unfortunately thermal stress (DHWs) has been extremely high over most of the Gulf this year. Visit: http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/CB_indices/oman0dhw.htm Closest to your site we show DHW = 6 at this time as SSTs appear to be spiking once again this week. Regards, Al Strong -- **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* Alan E. Strong, Ph.D. NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Senior Consultant National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov kaveh samimi wrote: > Dear all, > > Unfortunately during recent two weeks severe bleaching happens in Kish Island in northern part of the Persian Gulf. Almost all the reefs is bleached completely. Yesterday water temperature was 36 degree with 37 ppt salinity . > > I wonder that somebody saw the same situation in southern parts ? > > > Cheers, > > > > Kaveh Samimi > Department of Marine Biology > Khoramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology > P.o.box: 669 > Khoramshahr, Khuzestan Province > Iran,64199-43157 > > --------------------------------- > Building a website is a piece of cake. > Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online. > _______________________________________________ > Coral-List mailing list > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list > -- **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* Alan E. Strong, Ph.D. NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Senior Consultant National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5304 1335 East West Hwy Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 301-713-2857 x108 Fax: 301-713-3136 Cell: 410-490-6602 From alissa.barron at noaa.gov Fri Aug 31 15:17:25 2007 From: alissa.barron at noaa.gov (Alissa Barron) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:17:25 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] Highlights of American Samoa-hosted U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting Message-ID: <46D86945.8020008@noaa.gov> Coral colleagues -- To follow up on the recent traffic regarding last week's U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting in Pago Pago -- and American Samoa's new climate change executive order that was announced at the meeting -- I am copying below the press release that was issued following the meeting. It has some additional information about key meeting outcomes, among them a Task Force climate change resolution and American Samoa's executive order. Cheers, Alissa Barron National Communication and Outreach Coordinator NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Email: Alissa.Barron at noaa.gov Web: www.coralreef.noaa.gov ______________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 27, 2007 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Contact: Ben Sherman, NOAA Public Affairs (301) 713-3066 ext. 178 U. S. CORAL REEF TASK FORCE LAUNCHES NEW CLIMATE CHANGE EFFORT Also Announces Cooperative Conservation Plan for International Year of the Reef During its biannual meeting this week in Pago Pago, American Samoa, the U. S. Coral Reef Task Force announced the formation of a new climate change working group and endorsed an action plan for the International Year of the Reef 2008 that will involve government and non-government partners in conservation. The new climate change working group is charged with developing best practices to help local resource managers minimize the impact of climate-induced stresses like coral bleaching while better educating the public about the impacts of climate change on the health and survival of reef resources. Components of the decision also called for developing bleaching response plans for each U.S. state and territory with reefs, and assessing what expertise and resources federal agencies have to mitigate risk and damage. The Task Force further called on members and partners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and affirmed the role that regional networks of marine protected areas can play in protecting ecological connectivity among islands in the face of potential future losses that may result due to climate change. ?This new climate change working group will be composed of experts from across the 19-agency Task Force in climate science, coral bleaching and management actions relevant to the coral reef and climate nexus,? said Timothy Keeney, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and Task Force co-chair. ?We recognize and are acting to address the vulnerability of island and coastal communities to changes in shoreline protection, fisheries and tourism as a result of climate change effects to coral reefs.? The creation of the climate change group is considered a major new step for the Task Force, but one that builds on several past resolutions and the 2005 release of The Reef Manager?s Guide to Coral Bleaching. The Reef Manager?s Guide provides information on the causes and consequences of coral bleaching, and helps managers understand and plan for bleaching events. As part of this effort, the Task Force hosted a special session on the health of coral reef ecosystems in a changing climate, drawing from the regional and international expertise to highlight common challenges and management needs. ?The critical importance of addressing climate change issues sooner rather than later was clearly articulated in yesterday?s panel and subsequent discussion,? said American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono, local meeting host and author of the recent climate change statement that prompted the Task Force to take additional action. ?As Wayne Nastri, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator for Region 9 so eloquently stated, we need to begin immediately to put our words into action to address those opportunities within our mandates and abilities.? The American Samoa Governor also announced the passage of a territorial Executive Order addressing climate change on August 23. The Executive Order takes a proactive approach by mandating the American Samoa government agencies and departments make short- and long-term commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change discussions will continue next week as 30 local experts from U.S. Pacific states and territories, Fiji, and Western Samoa meet in Pago Pago, American Samoa to share strategies and learn how to use tools that predict where coral bleaching will occur, measure coral reef resilience, and assess the socioeconomic impacts of climate damage. The workshop, part of global series, will be hosted by NOAA, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and The Nature Conservancy, who partnered with the World Conservation Congress (IUCN) and others to release the Reef Manager?s Guide. This meeting has showcased what can be done to conserve coral reefs,? said Nikola Pula, Director of the Department of the Interior?s Office of Insular Affairs and acting co-chair of the Task Force. ?As a native Samoan, I am extremely impressed with what has been accomplished here in American Samoa over the last several years, and with the initiatives announced at this meeting. Throughout the Pacific Islands, the melding of traditional practices and institutions with modern science is giving us conservation efforts that are supported by the local communities.? In response to the declaration of 2008 as the International Year of the Reef (IYOR) by the International Coral Reef Initiative, the Task Force also adopted an IYOR Action Plan. The action plan features new and strengthened partnerships across the government and non-government communities to more effectively reach the American public with coordinated messages about coral reef decline and the role individuals, organizations and businesses can play in helping to halt that decline. The Task Force passed two additional resolutions. The first defined and launched ?phase two? of a highly successful Local Action Strategy initiative, which created three-year plans for local action that implemented hundreds of targeted conservation projects worth millions of dollars. The second resolution recognized a new strategic plan and charter for the U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee, which represents the Governors and Executive branches of the states, commonwealths, territories and Freely Associated States possessing coral reefs. In keeping with the meeting?s theme, Science and Culture Bridging Management, the Task Force meeting featured in-depth sessions on enhancing management strategies through incorporation of traditional knowledge and regional approaches to managing coral reefs across political boundaries at the ecosystem level. Public workshops focused on federal grant and technical assistance opportunities for the region, as well as on methods for determining the economic value of coral reef ecosystems to protect economic benefits and enhance political support for reef conservation. A Presidential Executive Order established the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force in 1998 to lead U.S. efforts to preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. Through the coordinated efforts of its members, including representatives of 12 federal agencies, the governors of seven states and territories, and the leaders of the Freely Associated States, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force has helped lead U.S. efforts to protect and manage valuable coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and internationally. NOAA and Department of Interior co-chair the Task Force. - ### - On the Web: U.S. Coral Reef Task Force: http://www.coralreef.gov NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov Department of the Interior: http://www.doi.gov From Amanda_Bourque at nps.gov Fri Aug 31 18:24:43 2007 From: Amanda_Bourque at nps.gov (Amanda_Bourque at nps.gov) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:24:43 -0500 Subject: [Coral-List] Biscayne National Park hiring student biotech, GS-07 Message-ID: Student Hire: Biological Science Technician GS-07 Biscayne National Park Closes 21 September 2007 Position Summary: Biscayne National Park (http://www.nps.gov/bisc) seeks to identify a student to hire as a Biological Science Technician in the Damage Recovery Program, Division of Resource Management. The position will be filled at the GS-07 grade level, and the starting salary is $37,548/yr. The position is full time, 40 hours per week. The park headquarters at Convoy Point is located nine miles east of Homestead, FL and 30 miles south of Miami, FL. Position Information, Duties, and Requirements: This position is located in the Damage Recovery Program, responsible for ecological injury assessment, restoration, and monitoring projects related to vessel grounding incidents in the park. The technician will be provide field and office support for the program, to include: ?using GPS and GIS to map and survey coral reef and seagrass resources and analyze spatial data ?preparing draft project plans and reports, conducting literature research, analyzing data, and describing methods and results for restoration and monitoring projects in coral reef and seagrass habitats ?operating and maintaining sampling, photographic, and laboratory equipment ?providing project management assistance for restoration and monitoring projects in coral reef and seagrass habitats, to include contractor oversight, contracts management, environmental permitting, NEPA compliance, purchasing, and financial tracking ?providing supervision and training to interns, students, and volunteers involved in our projects. The technician will be expected to snorkel, scuba dive, swim, operate boats, use various types of sampling equipment, and periodically travel in support of the Damage Recovery Program activities. The technician will be required to wear the NPS uniform. This is a testing designated position (TDP) under the Department of the Interior Drug-free Workplace Program. Student Eligibility: The position will be hired under the Student Educational Employment Program. To qualify for this program, applicants must be degree-seeking students, enrolled at least half-time. Read more about this program and eligibility requirements at the following link: http://www.usajobs.gov/STUDENTS.asp Required Qualifications for a GS-07 Biological Science Technician: Applicants must also meet both basic requirements and specialized experience requirements. Basic requirements: One year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level in the Federal service or l year directly related graduate education. Specialized experience requirements: 1. Knowledge of ecological and resource management principles relative to coral reef and seagrass ecosystems. Please address experience with natural resource management practices, ecological principles, coral reef ecology, and seagrass ecology. 2. Experience with ecological sampling methods commonly used to assess and monitor coral reef, seagrass, and fisheries resources. Please address experience in operation of technical instruments used to gather data, underwater data collection, certification or experience operating motorboats, certification and experience with open water scuba and snorkel. 3. Ability to collect, manage, analyze, and summarize ecological data using personal computers and associated software programs. Please address experience with GIS, word processing, spreadsheet, and statistical software packages. 4. Ability to organize ecological resource projects in an efficient manner and to communicate scientific project information clearly and concisely to a variety of audiences. Please address participation and/or oversight of ecological projects with field and office components, presentation of scientific data, preparation of written ecological resource reports/plans, and oral communication of project information. Applications should include: ?letter of interest ?resume ?statement addressing above KASOCS ?statement addressing educational status Please email application material to Amanda Bourque: amanda_bourque at nps.gov Thank you for your interest in Biscayne National Park! ************************************** Amanda Bourque Biologist Biscayne National Park 9700 SW 328 Street Homestead, FL 33033 305-230-1144 x3081 phone 305-230-1190 fax amanda_bourque at nps.gov *************************************** From sumitro.sen at gmail.com Fri Aug 31 14:02:45 2007 From: sumitro.sen at gmail.com (sumitro sen) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:32:45 +0530 Subject: [Coral-List] Bleaching qustions Message-ID: <2466fa120708311102m185f42c9m6f4dd4def502132c@mail.gmail.com> Dear All, Hello, my name is Sumitro Sen and I am Post Graduated in Marine Biology, Podicherry University, India. Presently I am working on coral reef ecosystem in Indian waters. I was wondering if anyone can put insight of these questions, in respect to coral bleaching. What does happen to Zooxanthellae when they are expelled out by their host? Do they die! At what stage of coral (polyp) life Zooxanthellae enters into coral tissue and what is the mechanism process behind this? How many types of Zooxanthellae are symbiotic in nature? What is the mechanism behind when bleached coral bounce back after a certain while if the favorable conditions support for recovering? I have found some journal articles regarding this topic but they usually are studies on bleaching stress and climatic condition. Can anyone suggest me some journal articles reference? Or where should I look into? Thank you for your time all. Sumitro Sen Pondicherry Univeristy, Zoological survey of India, India From chamaquita at hotmail.com Fri Aug 31 20:37:09 2007 From: chamaquita at hotmail.com (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Luz_Raquel_Hern=E1ndez-Cruz?=) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:37:09 -0400 Subject: [Coral-List] 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting Session on the Caribbean Message-ID: Hello All, We would greatly appreciate if you could distribute the information below. We respectfully invite you to consider submitting an abstract to a special session in the 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting to be held March 2-7, 2008, in Orlando, Florida Entitled: 135: What is Being Done in the Caribbean? Who, How and Why, Should We Be Partners? for the 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting to be held March 2-7, 2008, in Orlando, Florida. In order to have your abstract considered for acceptance, you must submit before the abstract deadline of October 2, 2007. http://www.aslo.org/orlando2008/ Session Organizers: Warner Ithier-Guzman, University of South Florida, ithiergu at marine.usf.edu; Ashanti J. Pyrtle, University of South Florida, apyrtle at marine.usf.edu; Marietta Mayo, University of South Florida, mmayo at marine.usf.edu; Nekesha Williams, University of South Florida, nwilliams at marine.usf.edu Session Description: The Caribbean region comprises several unique tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems containing a variety of ecological and geological formations, a wide spectrum of endemic species, volcanoes, and one of the deepest trenches in the world. The presence of coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds and their associated communities, offer a range of recreational and educational opportunities. These ecosystems sensitive to fast changing conditions; offer economic resources that are becoming limited and the intense anthropogenic impact can accelerate environmental changes. There is a need to document and exchange information on current and past efforts to understand the environmental interactions of these important and unique ecosystems within the Caribbean region. Understanding the relationships between terrestrial, coastal and marine environments is a critical step towards efficiently and effectively managing these resources. This session is intended to bring together researchers, institutions, land and coastal managers and decision makers with diverse training conducting research in the Caribbean. The key aims of the session will be to: (1) share experience and expertise, (2) discuss and develop future plans for sustainable development in the Caribbean Region and (3) integrate science knowledge to increase our understanding on Caribbean tropical ecosystems. -- Marietta Mayo College Of Marine Science University of South Florida 140 Seventh Ave. South St. Petersburg, FL 33701