[Coral-List] Registration cost for 12th ICRS

Laurie Richardson richardl at fiu.edu
Fri Jul 22 12:59:45 EDT 2011


Hi all - A note here in response to John's comment about subsidizing plenary speakers. We just had the 35th Scientific Meeting of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, held near San Jose, Costa Rica (hosted by CIMAR, part of the University of Costa Rica).

We had four high profile plenary speakers: Peter Sale, Peter Mumby, Patricia Miloslavich and Robin Mahon.  Each offered to pay their own way to the meeting and also for their hotels and per diem (for which we thank you once again).  We only paid their registration fee (which was $330 and includes two years of AMLC dues) and their banquet tickets ($40 each)


***
Sincerely,
Laurie Richardson, Professor and Chair
Department of Biological Sciences
Florida International University
Miami, Florida 33199

 and AMLC Treasurer

________________________________________
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml..noaa.gov] on behalf of Bruno, John F [jbruno at unc.edu]
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 1:46 PM
To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Subject: [Coral-List] Registration cost for 12th ICRS

I just wanted to write in support of the comments on the 12th ICRS budget and costs by Mark Spalding, Peter Sale, Richard Dunne, Todd Barber and many others.  This meeting is always absurdly expensive - at least in my lifetime - and I've only been able to afford the Florida meeting and don't plan to go to the upcoming Aussie meeting, for all the reasons Mark laid out. And I agree with Todd and others: if paying for the accommodations of plenary speakers is a reason for the high cost, then make them pay their own way or cancel the plenary sessions. Or perhaps the plenary speakers could pledge their support to go towards students and NGO participants from less-wealthy nations.

Cheers - JB



> 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. ICRS 12 (Juan Federico Urich)
>   2. A.palmata spawned in July in Florida Keys (Dave Vaughan)
>   3. Re: Registration cost for 12th ICRS (Peter Sale)
>   4. Re: Registration cost for 12th ICRS (Richard Dunne)
>   5. Re: ICRS Registration Fees (Todd Barber)
>   6. Call for abstracts - ICRS 2012 - Effects of Ocean
>      Acidification - due by Oct 1 (Chris Langdon)
>   7. Manta-Tow Boards (Justin Rizzari)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:56:33 -0430
> From: Juan Federico Urich <juanurich at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Coral-List] ICRS 12
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID:
>       <CAD2Ro3zvqNiN4q4F7PTqjULKZw_2a4HHnFuD3=4X=WLPsnRv3A at mail.gmail..com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Dear a Lister: I have followed this ICRS12 cost arguing and complaining and
>> realized that if continued it will increase frustration and disagrements
>> among us. I only hope that as part of the Symposium conclusions some
>> future solutions arise. What I suggest to the next symposium organizers is
> to
>> additionally consider the option of an online symposium at a cost of
> course. I
>> am sure that if profit is one of the goals in addition to the Science,
> this
>> option will excel.
>> Regards to you all
>
> --
> " EL PODER MANDA FUERA
> LA CONCIENCIA MANDA DENTRO"
> Luis Ugalde SJ
>
>
> MSc. Juan F Urich P
> Bi?logo
> Laboratorio de Biologia Te?rica
> Instituto de Zoolog?a Tropical
> Facultad de Ciencias
> Universidad Central de Venezuela
> Apartado 47058,Caracas 1041A
> email: juanurich at gmail.com
> Tel?fono: 58-212-6051536
> Cel: 0424-257-0258
> Home: 58212-6424923
> cel: 0424-257-0258
> Fax: 58-212-6051204
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:35:35 -0400
> From: Dave Vaughan <dvaughan at mote.org>
> Subject: [Coral-List] A.palmata spawned in July in Florida Keys
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <4E271FF7.6060803 at mote.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>     Just a note that /A. palmata/ (i.e. Elkhorn coral) colonies were
> observed to spawn Tuesday night July 19th.(Looe Key- Florida Keys
> National Marine Sanctuary, Special Protected Area), at about 2 hours
> after sunset.  This is one month earlier than usual (3-4 days after full
> moon in August). Could this be a new trend with warmer seawater
> temperatures?  It seams that corals may have spawned earlier these past
> two years as well. It seams apparent that some corals think its August
> or September.
>     Are there any other early spawning observations taking place?
>
> Dave Vaughan,
> Coral Reef Research Center Director
> Mote Tropical Research Lab
> Summerland Key, Florida,
> DVaughan at Mote.org
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:36:51 -0400
> From: Peter Sale <sale at uwindsor.ca>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Registration cost for 12th ICRS
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID:
>       <OF7B23FB3E.7FD0F793-ON852578D3.0073E2DA-852578D3.0076BBBB at uwindsor..ca>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> Not bad at all.  It only took a bit over a week for the organizers of
> ICRS12 to respond to the thread of queries about the registration charges
> for next year's meeting.  Intriguing though that neither the Conference
> Convenor nor the President of ISRS appeared able to communicate with the
> list directly.  Instead David Yellowlees had to combine and then forward
> their responses.  I wonder what that means?
>
> Re the content of their explanation:  Budgets get built; they do not arise
> out of thin air.  Apparently, those doing the budget building felt that a
> fee of AUD $940 (the early-bird rate for ISRS members) was appropriate. It
> was not.
>
> What has happened to the coral reef science community?
>
> Peter Sale
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:16:13 +0100
> From: Richard Dunne <RichardPDunne at aol.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Registration cost for 12th ICRS
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <4E280A7D.4010306 at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Thanks to Peter for these incisive words.
>
> The "coral reef science community" thrives, alas the President and
> Council of ISRS do not. When did members last hear from the President?
> When did they last receive a copy of 'Reef Encounter'? What has happened
> since the 11th ICRS? Are there to be any 2011 ISRS Graduate Fellowships?
> Will there be a Darwin Medal awarded at the 2012 ICRS - if so when will
> there be a call for nominations? ISRS please awake from your slumbers.
>
> Thankfully, the journal 'Coral Reefs'; is the one shining light in all
> of this fog. Under the continued editorship of Rolf Bak and Betsy
> Gladfelter it now ranks 3rd in its class with an Impact Factor of 3.78.
> It has never been so high in its 20 year history.
>
> Richard P Dunne
>
>
> On 20/07/2011 22:36, Peter Sale wrote:
>> Not bad at all.  It only took a bit over a week for the organizers of
>> ICRS12 to respond to the thread of queries about the registration charges
>> for next year's meeting.  Intriguing though that neither the Conference
>> Convenor nor the President of ISRS appeared able to communicate with the
>> list directly.  Instead David Yellowlees had to combine and then forward
>> their responses.  I wonder what that means?
>>
>> Re the content of their explanation:  Budgets get built; they do not arise
>> out of thin air.  Apparently, those doing the budget building felt that a
>> fee of AUD $940 (the early-bird rate for ISRS members) was appropriate. It
>> was not.
>>
>> What has happened to the coral reef science community?
>>
>> Peter Sale
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 08:45:53 -0400
> From: Todd Barber <reefball at reefball.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] ICRS Registration Fees
> To: "Yellowlees, David" <david.yellowlees at jcu.edu.au>
> Cc: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID:
>       <CAMzzUO-xddUDsvvHMjbXgwFXd7Rm0T2Xj+Q-Z40AJt=UKQPQYw at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> I have professionally run similar conferences in another industry, and
> here are a few observations:
>
> 1) If you hire a professional firm to manage a conference, you should
> not need to pay the salary of a staffer.
> 2) A $3,000,000 Budget for a conference if this size is the REAL
> problem....now I don't know the line item detail but it's way out of
> line.  And that's where I believe we may have been led wrong here.
> and David, you are wrong " The size of the budget will not surprise
> anyone with any experience in running a large international
> meeting."...I am shocked.
> 3) I DO agree that it's good to move the meeting around so that people
> have a chance to attend from different parts of the world with less
> travel costs.
> 4) I must wonder....why so much of the budget has to be spent on Guest
> and keynote speakers....it seems in this field most of the experts we
> would want to hear from would likely be coming on their own
> already...perhaps we should cut back on this perk and offer them just
> an honorarium and perhaps even have the most expensive (travel wise)
> keynoters deliver their addresses electronically to the convention via
> Skype perhaps.
> 5) If we attend a conference with this much waste are we not condoning
> perhaps even promoting this wasteful behavior?
> 6)  If anyone out there agrees with me, I started a facebook group
> page  https://www.facebook.com/groups/135869123163838 to boycott the
> wasteful spending (and to take the discussion offline from the Coral
> List as it distracts from our main goals).  Feel free to post your
> opinions there, if you are not going to the conference because of the
> high costs, please put your name on that page so we can send a message
> of just how much business they lost by over budgeting.
>
>
>
>> There have been some postings on Coral List expressing concern at the cost
>> ?of registration for the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) next
>> ?July. We are writing to clarify the basis for these fees and provide an
>> ?update ?on continuing efforts to support those in need of financial assistance to
>> ?attend this important meeting.
>> The fees are set on the basis of actual costs and expected income, and
>> ?reflect the realities of the present global economy. ?The expenditures for ICRS
>> ?2012 come to more than A$3million including the cost of the convention
>> ?centre, lunch and coffee breaks for 5 days, travel and accommodation for plenary
>> ?speakers, the hire of audio-visual equipment, the banquet, the cost of a
>> ?Professional Conference Organizer, media, and one salary for the symposium
>> ?coordinator. The size of the budget will not surprise anyone with any experience
>> ?in running a large international meeting.
>> The International Society for Reef Studies, while the sanctioning
>> ?organization, does not possess sufficient funds to directly subsidise the Symposium,
>> ?although the society is working with conference organisers to assist with
>> ?external fundraising efforts. ?So the income for ICRS 2012 will come from
>> ?registration fees and sponsorships. If 2000 registrants pay $1000 each, we'll
>> ?raise only 2/3 of the fixed expenditure. Our fundraising efforts, which are
>> ?ongoing, will therefore subsidise registration fees by approximately one-third,
>> ?and will provide free registration and travel support for developing nation
>> ?delegates to the maximum extent possible. The Symposium website will soon
>> ?have details for applicants. ?The money we are raising under difficult global
>> ?circumstances will allow us to reduce the registration fees from $1500 (the
>> ?true cost, depending on the final number of delegates) to roughly $1000 (or
>> ?less for students).
>> The comparison of Florida with Cairns doesn't deal with the fiscal reality
>> ?of differences in local costs that have to be paid. Previous meetings in
>> ?Tahiti and Okinawa were also relatively expensive compared to those held in the
>> ?USA, reflecting differences in currencies and cost of living. The U.S.
>> ?dollar has dropped in value against the Australian dollar by roughly 20% since
>> ?2007 when registration opened for ICRS 2008 (1.18A: 1USD in August 2007
>> ?compared with 0.93A: 1 USD today), a problem that could not have been foreseen
>> ?three years ago. ?It should also be recognized that no bids were presented to
>> ?host the 12th ICRS at the Florida meeting, and the present organisers stepped
>> ?up when all other options, including sites in Central and South America,
>> ?fell through. ? In Florida, the convention centre waived its fee, and
>> ?registration fees were heavily subsidized by Federal and State agencies through the
>> ?efforts of Dick Dodge and his team. ?Some people were able to drive to the
>> ?mee
>> ?ting and boost the Symposium's income by paying a daily fee. These
>> ?circumstances simply do not exist for the 12th ICRS.
>> I anticipate an increase in the number of students attending the next ICRS
>> ?meeting, with many more from the Pacific, Japan, SE Asia and east Africa.
>> ?Attendance by people from these regions was poor in Florida despite the lower
>> ?registration cost, because the primary expense of airfares, hotels and meals
>> ?was prohibitive. Hence, the rationale for moving these Symposia around every
>> ?4 years.
>> We're working hard to make ICRS 2012 a great success, and we look forward to
>> ?seeing you there.
>> All the best, Terry Hughes
>> Convenor, ICRS 2012
>>
>>
>> Message from the President of the International Society for Reef Studies
>> ?(ISRS) regarding the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS)
>> I and my fellow ISRS colleagues, officers and council members have been
>> ?following the concerns being expressed regarding the fees for the upcoming ICRS,
>> ?and agree that the costs will prevent many deserving individuals from
>> ?attending, especially students and participants from developing countries. This
>> ?is truly unfortunate, and there are efforts underway by the organizers and
>> ?ISRS to address this problem.
>> As documented by the Organizers, these fees reflect the true costs in the
>> ?present global economic climate of reduced subsidies and funding by
>> ?governments and foundations, as well as the 20% devaluation of the US dollar versus
>> ?the Australian currency that has occurred since 2007-8 . ?The hosting
>> ?organization, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef
>> ?Studies, simply cannot be expected to cover the expense of the meetings out of
>> ?their own budget, and must be able to cover the costs through fees,
>> ?contributions and any extramural funds that can be raised. ?The meeting is only a
>> ?year away, and the organizers must move forward based on their present
>> ?financial projections.
>> They have been working hard to obtain support for students and other
>> ?participants in need of assistance, and have done well considering present economic
>> ?conditions. ?In the meantime, ISRS is pledging to work closely with the
>> ?12th ICRS organizers to try and secure additional funds to cover or at least
>> ?subsidize the participation of more individuals needing support, and explore
>> ?options for the sharing of information including via internet access to
>> ?sessions and key presentations for those unable to travel to Cairns.
>> My first ICRS was the 3rd, held in Miami in 1977, with several hundred
>> ?attendees clearly divided into two categories: biologists and geologists. ?These
>> ?important meetings have grown in size and scope to include two to three
>> ?thousand individuals, with representation from the biological, geological and
>> ?social sciences, as well as managers, educators, policy makers, and the
>> ?private sector. ?We are fortunate that Terry Hughes and his colleagues at the ARC
>> ?Centre of Excellence were willing to take on such a challenge.
>> It has become impossible for many appropriate countries to host these
>> ?expanded meetings under the present model, and hence, the ISRS is considering
>> ?other options for the future. ?These may include smaller regional meetings,
>> ?expanded use of the web for satellite sites, teaming up with other appropriate
>> ?professional ?societies and meetings to cost-share, and having ISRS take over
>> ?running the meetings. ?I would appreciate ideas and input from the Coral
>> ?Reef community (and if you're not a member of ISRS, I suggest you do join, as
>> ?we're moving forward and would like to grow the society and its relevance).
>> In the meantime, I hope you will support the organizers of the 12th ICRS and
>> ?help make this a highly successful meeting. ?We need to pull together for
>> ?the sake of our reefs and the future generations who need these magnificent
>> ?ecosystems.
>> Respectfully,
>> Bob Richmond, President, ISRS
>> Richmond at hawaii.edu
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 08:50:44 -0400
> From: "Chris Langdon" <clangdon at rsmas.miami.edu>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Call for abstracts - ICRS 2012 - Effects of
>       Ocean   Acidification - due by Oct 1
> To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID: <088c01cc47a4$ce497130$6adc5390$@miami.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain;     charset="US-ASCII"
>
> We would like to invite you to submit an abstract for the mini-symposium
> "Effects of Ocean Acidification" (8d) at the 12th International Coral Reef
> Symposium to be held in Cairns, Australia from the 9-13 July 2012.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Effects of Ocean Acidification
>
>
>
> Ocean acidification can impact organisms and ecosystems in many ways.  At
> the organismal level it can affect the fitness of the organism by impeding
> the ability to build a skeleton or shell.  The increased metabolic cost of
> maintaining an optimal internal pH for calcification and other metabolic
> processes may have other consequences such as higher respiration rates and
> nutritional requirements, decreased scope for growth, decreased resources
> for reproduction, and decreased resources to cope with other environmental
> stressors.  We also know that OA conditions can impact animal behaviors
> through effects on their sensory systems.  At the ecosystem level we can
> expect to find changes in community structure as some species find
> themselves at a competitive advantage or disadvantage.  Predator-prey
> interactions may change as defensive mechanisms and behaviors are
> strengthened or weakened. Impacts at the ecosystem level may first be
> detectable as changes in carbon allocation, the ratio of primary production
> to calcification and the balance between calcification and dissolution.  We
> also welcome studies that look at the buffer capacity of the differing coral
> reef sediments to a lower pH environment.  Please consider submitting an
> abstract to this session if your work addresses any of these issues.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Please submit your abstracts through the 12th ICRS web site
> (http://www.icrs2012.com) before October 1st.
>
>
>
> Chris Langdon
>
> Katharina Fabricius
>
> Bradley Opdyke
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:07:59 +1000
> From: Justin Rizzari <gulfcoastwaverider1087 at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Manta-Tow Boards
> To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID: <SNT125-W7BEFDAF818C40F551B58FDE4F0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
> Dear  fellow listers,
> I am currently a post-graduate student about to begin a project in Australia in which I will need to use a manta-tow board, however I am having trouble finding one. If anyone can point me in the right direction in which I could find some plans on how to make my own or order a professional one I would greatly appreciate it.
> Kind Regards,Justin Rizzari
> Email: justinrizzari at hotmail.com
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
> End of Coral-List Digest, Vol 35, Issue 23
> ******************************************

_______________________________________________
Coral-List mailing list
Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list


More information about the Coral-List mailing list