[Coral-List] Cartoons for Science Communication

Wed Apr 26 18:25:33 EDT 2017

Hi Sarah,

I just wanted to say if you can get this kind of thing into the spotlight I think it is such a great idea to use cartoons in this way. I feel that due to the amount of misinformation in the media the best way for the general public to be truly informed is to read the literature themselves. This is obviously a difficult thing for a lot of people due to the huge amount of jargon and technical terminology. Pairing this kind of thing with peer reviewed articles could be a great way to skip out the opportunistic nature of the media and how they pull out the message that suits their stance.

Martyn

On 25 Apr 2017, at 17:00, coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov<mailto:coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

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Today's Topics:

  1. Cartoons for Science Communication (Sarah Frias-Torres)
  2. BIOS Fall REU Program | Applications Due May 31 (Chloe Baron)
  3. Re: Evidence that ocean warming has caused most Caribbean
     coral loss (Peter Sale)
  4. could clouds shade the Great Barrier Reef to protect them?
     (Douglas Fenner)
  5. Re: Evidence that ocean warming has caused most Caribbean
     coral loss (Risk, Michael)
  6. Re: Evidence that ocean warming has caused most Caribbean
     coral loss (Bruno, John)
  7. Sunscreen pollution and coral reefs (info)

From: Sarah Frias-Torres <sfrias_torres at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Coral-List] Cartoons for Science Communication
Date: 24 April 2017 16:11:00 BST
To: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>

Dear Coral-List,

this is a shameless plug for my new science communication approach.

I'm making cartoons to share the basic message of a peer-reviewed paper or a science story shown in the news.

The cartoons are found in my Twitter feed. Soon, they'll be hosted at a website.

Usually, there's a connection between Hollywood films and the cartoons. So far they include:

..- A coral restoration cartoon inspired by the 1969 Western musical "Paint Your Wagon"

..- A drones vs. whales cartoon inspired by the 1950 American film "Sunset Boulevard"

I'm still engaged with more traditional science communication products including

..- A science outreach blog:

https://grouperluna.wordpress.com/

..- A microfiction blog (fables for grown-ups) with illustrations

https://oceanbestiary.wordpress.com/

Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D.
Twitter: @GrouperDoc
Blog: http://grouperluna.wordpress.com
http://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTorres

From: Chloe Baron <chloe.baron at bios.edu>
Subject: [Coral-List] BIOS Fall REU Program | Applications Due May 31
Date: 24 April 2017 20:47:47 BST
To: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>

Hello Coral-list,

A reminder that the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) has received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, to support eight internships for undergraduate student research at BIOS during Fall 2017. Funding includes air travel to Bermuda, accommodation and meals. Each successful REU applicant will also receive a competitive stipend to cover miscellaneous expenses. In 2017, REU students will arrive at BIOS on August 27 and depart on November 18.

This program provides recipients with the opportunity to design and conduct intensive, hands-on research projects, under faculty supervision and mentorship, in several active and ongoing research areas.  Throughout the semester, REU students will give presentations that outline their research topic, methods, and results, including a final presentation to BIOS faculty, staff, and visiting students. REU students will also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of field excursions to learn about Bermuda's natural history, as well as workshops and seminars given by BIOS faculty.  In 2017, students can select from the following projects:
* Implications of decreasing dissolved oxygen concentrations for nitrous oxide production.
* Characterizing Bermuda's baitfish populations to improve management and fishery sustainability
* Ecological Aspects of Lionfish Population Structure on Mesophotic Reefs in Bermuda: Efficacy of removal efforts in controlling lionfish densities and maintaining biodiversity on mesophotic
* Exploring the biology of the remarkable coral Oculina valenciennesi
* Using optical tools to measure productivity of corals and algae
* Reef Community Light-Use Efficiency
* Phenology of Coral Pigments via Bio-Optics
* Characterizing Optical Properties of Coral Reef Waters
* Modeling Radiative Transfer Effects in Coral Reef Remote Sensing
* Catastrophe Modelling for Bermuda Risk Assessment
* Analysis of Maximum Potential Intensity from SST and Upper Ocean Heat Content perspectives

Further information on the REU program at BIOS can be found on the website, including eligibility and application information, student testimonials and more detail on potential projects that students may apply to work on in 2017. http://www.bios.edu/education/reu/

Applicants must meet the following criteria:
* Completed at least one year of undergraduate study
* Will not have graduated and will still be enrolled as an undergraduate in the fall of 2017
* U.S. citizen or permanent resident

The application deadline is May 31, 2017. We encourage all successful applicants to arrange for independent study credit through their home institutions; contact BIOS Education, University Programs, for assistance as required.. Underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. Please don't hesitate to contact us at education at bios.edu should you require additional information on BIOS's REU program or other BIOS education programs.

Cheers,

Chloe

Chloe Baron
Administrative Assistant | University Programs
Librarian | E.L. Mark Memorial Library Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS)
17 Biological Station | St. George's GE 01 | Bermuda T 441 297 1880 x115 www.bios.edu

The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences is an independent U.S. not-for-profit marine research and educational organization with 501(c)(3) status and a Bermuda Registered Charity (#116).
Visit us in Bermuda or at www.bios.edu

From: Peter Sale <sale at uwindsor.ca>
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Evidence that ocean warming has caused most Caribbean coral loss
Date: 25 April 2017 04:21:25 BST
To: "jbruno at unc.edu" <jbruno at unc.edu>, "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>

Hi all,
John Bruno's blog post is a service to the community that deserves a more permanent place (i.e. a peer-reviewed article) as a review of the data.  A lot of our data on reef degradation are correlative, and you cannot discover correlations with factors that are not included in the analyses.  Nor are correlations proof of causation.  And because ecology remains a science of words instead of equations, it is easy for one's personal experience or bias to subtly shift the meaning of sentences written by others.  In other words, I won't be surprised if it turns out that we can all agree on the data, but have nuanced differences in how we interpret them.  Responses will be interesting to read...

In the meantime, damage caused by warming continues to occur on reefs around the world, while the global community continues to take baby steps in cutting GHG emissions.  Regardless of the history of reef degradation, global temperature increases appear to be a major factor at present, with impacts that appear not to be ameliorated by high quality local reef management.  We need much stronger action on climate.

Peter Sale
University of Windsor

From: Douglas Fenner <douglasfennertassi at gmail.com>
Subject: [Coral-List] could clouds shade the Great Barrier Reef to protect them?
Date: 25 April 2017 12:07:12 BST
To: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>

Could more reflective clouds save the Great Barrier Reef?

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/sifter/could-more-reflective-clouds-save-great-barrier-reef?utm_campaign=news_daily_2017-04-24&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=1291195

Open-access.

Scientists consider brighter clouds to preserve the Great Barrier Reef.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/604211/scientists-consider-brighter-clouds-to-preserve-the-great-barrier-reef/

Open-access.

Cheers,  Doug
--
Douglas Fenner
Contractor for NOAA NMFS, and consultant
"have regulator, will travel"
PO Box 7390
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA

phone 1 684 622-7084

Join the International Society for Reef Studies.  Membership includes a
subscription to the journal Coral Reefs, and there are discounts for pdf
subscriptions and developing countries.  Coral Reefs is the only journal
that is ALL coral reef articles, and it has amazingly LOW prices compared
to other journals.  Check it out!  www.fit.edu/isrs/

"Belief in climate change is optional, participation is not."- Jim Beever.
 "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts."-
Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Study: Stopping global warming only way to save coral reefs.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/study-stopping-global-warming-only-way-save-coral-180833431.html

'Extreme and unusual' climate trends continue after record 2016.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-3932

A roadmap for rapid decarbonization
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6331/1269?utm_campaign=toc_sci-mag_2017-03-23&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=1233226

From: "Risk, Michael" <riskmj at mcmaster.ca>
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Evidence that ocean warming has caused most Caribbean coral loss
Date: 25 April 2017 13:02:09 BST
To: "Bruno, John" <jbruno at unc.edu>
Cc: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>

  Good day John, colleagues.

  I feel compelled to respond to your post. Implying that those who disagree
  with  you  are  guilty of professional misconduct is hardly the way to
  encourage dialogue.

  I have neither the time nor the energy to go into many details here, but I
  point out that you have described an exercise in correlation whilst ignoring
  an impressive body of science. I do not question your motives. It is clear
  that society is headed in the wrong direction (although Canada is still
  committed to the Paris agreement.) In the long run (or even the short run!),
  if we do not control and reduce CO2 emissions, reefs are doomed. My personal
  position  is  fairly  clear: we have 10MW of solar panels on our roof,
  and-because we heat with wood-I spent a fun-filled afternoon yesterday
  splitting maple for next year.

  While it is true that the water temperature in the Caribbean has increased,
  it is also true that the Caribbean had already lost more than half its reefs
  before water temperatures had increased by more than a fraction of a degree.
  The reefs of the Florida Keys were particularly decimated, and there is
  overwhelming evidence of land-based stress going back to the 70’s. These
  reefs are at the northern limits of thermal tolerance.

  You state that there is no correlation of reef damage with human habitation,
  and cite as your source your paper with Valdivia-which I find unconvincing.
  Sometimes results are counterintuitive because they are wrong or misleading.
  We all know that you simply cannot find reefs anymore near dense human
  habitation. You mention Cuba: I just received a paper to review written by
  several  Cuban  biologists that documents reef decline near centres of
  habitation.

  The reason I take issue with you is that you let managers off the hook. If
  they are able to point to global change, then there is no impetus to control
  local sources of stress. This would be a huge mistake.

  I realize the news is now full of reports from Australia, which I personally
  find very depressing. We all need to understand, however, that we have lost
  the opportunity to run a critical experiment: how well could coral reefs
  survive ocean warming if they were not already stressed by human impacts?

  Mike

  On Apr 24, 2017, at 9:57 AM, Bruno, John <[1]jbruno at unc.edu> wrote:

  I just posted a succinct review of the evidence that ocean warming has
  caused most Caribbean coral loss:
  [2]http://theseamonster.net/2017/04/caribbean-bleaching/
  As a bonus, Ive included links to dozens of PDFs of relevant papers:)
  Many of you are already familiar with this work. But there are some that
  continue  deny  its  existence. They offer no evidence for alternative
  explanations and are effectively accusing hundreds of their colleagues of
  fabricating their published evidence, e.g., of bleaching and disease related
  mass-mortality.
  Cheers,
  JB
  John Francis Bruno
  Professor, Dept of Biology
  UNC Chapel Hill
  www.johnfbruno.com<http://www.johnfbruno.com>
  _______________________________________________
  Coral-List mailing list
  Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
  http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

References

  1. mailto:jbruno at unc.edu
  2. http://theseamonster.net/2017/04/caribbean-bleaching/

From: "Bruno, John" <jbruno at unc.edu>
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Evidence that ocean warming has caused most Caribbean coral loss
Date: 25 April 2017 13:50:16 BST
To: "Risk, Michael" <riskmj at mcmaster.ca>
Cc: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>

Dear Mike, thank you for your ongoing interest in this topic and my post.

"the Caribbean had already lost more than half its reefs before water temperatures had increased by more than a fraction of a degree”

This is a common misconception from folks unaware that global warming began many decades ago. Please have a look at the NOAA data plotted in this figure from my post: http://theseamonster.net/2017/04/caribbean-bleaching/nclimate2915-f4/  Or the graphics in Kuffner et al 2014 below it. These data should sort you out. The Caribbean had clearly warmed significantly by the time mean coral cover had been roughly halved (around the mid-1980s). Also, we haven’t lost any reefs yet, what we’ve lost is coral cover (and fish biomass).

Iv’e dove near Havana and I agree - its a mess and was probably locally impacted. And I don’t understand the logic in arguing managers should give up because climate change has had significant impacts on corals. I’ve said it a million times: local impacts need to be mitigated. We all agree on that. I think you’re underestimating managers and local conservation capacity. (All the managers I know acknowledge climate change but aren’t giving up). As the Ocean Optimism symposium highlighted over the weekend, local successes are realistic and very much meaningful and worthwhile.

"and there is overwhelming evidence of land-based stress going back to the 70’s”

You have been promising this list-serv these references for years now. If you ever find them, please do share with us if you have the time.

"how well could coral reefs survive ocean warming if they were not already stressed by [local] human impacts?”

That experiment has been run dozens of times. On the northern GBR, on Scott Reef, off Southern Cuba or in the Bahamas, across the central Pacific, etc. The answer is not well at all.

The reason is that local impacts do not appear to act synergistically with ocean warming. As Cote and Darling suggested (http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000438), the interaction appears to be antagonistic, not synergistic. Either that or the impact of warming is so much stronger that it swamps the local and synergistic signals. Also see Darling et al 2010: http://research.fit.edu/sealevelriselibrary/documents/doc_mgr/389/Kenya_Coral_Reef_Stressors_Not_Synergistic_-_Darling_et_al.pdf

Sincerely,

John

From: info <info at haereticus-lab.org>
Subject: [Coral-List] Sunscreen pollution and coral reefs
Date: 25 April 2017 15:19:04 BST
To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>

I just wanted the Coral Reef List serv community to know about a large
effort going on in Hawaii regarding Sunscreen Pollution and Coral Reefs.

There is a new film out by Malina Fagan and produced by Robert Redford's
Redford Center on the topic of Sunscreen Pollution and Coral Reefs.  You can
watch the  11 minute film for free at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28qWIPeOkvI

or
https://www.facebook.com/NapiliBayandBeachFoundation/
https://www.bereefsafe.com/sunscreen-sunblock/

Craig A. Downs, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Haereticus Environmental Laboratory
A 501(c)(3) non-profit scientific research organization

P.O. Box 92
Clifford, Virginia 24533, United States of America

Phone: 434-263-5740
www.haereticus-lab.org

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