From keryea at mail.nsysu.edu.tw Wed Jul 2 18:01:23 1997 From: keryea at mail.nsysu.edu.tw (K.Soong) Date: Wed, 2 Jul 97 16:01:23 CST Subject: Seto Marine Laboratory Message-ID: Hello: Does any one know the address of Seto Marine Laboratory in Japan? Please drop me a line. Thank you Keryea Soong From jebreee at planet.ari.dpi.qld.gov.au Wed Jul 2 18:09:17 1997 From: jebreee at planet.ari.dpi.qld.gov.au (Edward Jebreen) Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 18:09:17 -0400 Subject: reef balls Message-ID: <199707022209.SAA04492@coral.aoml.noaa.gov> Forwarded to: SMTP[coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] cc: Comments by: Michael Crosby at DIR@NORM Comments: Can anybody out there help Ed with his.....question? Send any responses directly to Ed. -------------------------- [Original Message] ------------------------- Dear Sir, I am considering purchasing and deploying reef balls as part of an artificial reef programme and am interested in any (preliminary) results or advice you may be able to offer me. Eddie Jebreen +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ | Eddie Jebreen | Email: | | Fisheries Biologist | jebreee at planet.mh.dpi.qld.gov.au | | Southern Fisheries Centre | | | PO Box 76 | ph#: 61 7 3817 9584 | | Deception Bay, Q 4508 | | | Australia | FAX: 61 7 3817 9555 | +----------------------------------------+---------------------------------- --------------------+ From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Thu Jul 3 11:44:36 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 11:44:36 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Down time through weekend. Message-ID: >From around 1600 hrs GMT (July 3) until 2300 hrs GMT (July 6), Sunday, workstation coral.aoml.noaa.gov will be shutdown so that repairs on our building's air conditioning system may be attended to (temperatures above 30C in this building are detrimental to the operation of workstations). This means the listservers coral-list, gcrmn and iyor-list will not be operable; nor will the CHAMP Home Page. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Cheers, Jim Hendee Coral Health and Monitoring Program Administrator From patriqui at is.dal.ca Thu Jul 3 14:40:11 1997 From: patriqui at is.dal.ca (David Patriquin) Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 15:40:11 -0300 (ADT) Subject: Porites furcata Message-ID: I recently reexamined epiflora and epifauna at seagrass sites in the eastern Caribbean that I had first examined in 1969. What I had recognized then as Porites furcata is still around, but I have not kept up with the lit. in this area - can anyone direct me to the latest word on the taxonomic status of Porites porites/P. divaricata, P. furcata? References to papers on ecology of P. furcata would also be appreciated. Many thanks. David Patriquin (Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada). From lizard at amsg.austmus.gov.au Fri Jul 4 23:42:20 1997 From: lizard at amsg.austmus.gov.au (lizard) Date: Sat, 5 Jul 1997 14:42:20 +1100 Subject: 1998 Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship Message-ID: <00013C77.3204@amsg.austmus.gov.au> Coral reef researchers: This is to announce the call for applications for the 1998 Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship, open to all PhD students undertaking field research on coral reefs. The successful applicant will be required to undertake a significant portion of his/her field work at Lizard Island, which is in the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. *** Applications close on 1 October 1997 *** For information about the fellowship, visit our website at: http://www.austmus.gov.au/htm/lizfello.htm or contact the Lizard Island Research Station directly. Please pass this message on to anyone who might be interested. Anne Hoggett & Lyle Vail Directors __________________________________________ Lizard Island Research Station PMB 37 Cairns QLD 4870 Australia Phone and fax: + 61 (0)70 603977 lizard at amsg.austmus.gov.au http://www.austmus.gov.au _________________________________________ From gaoqx at public.east.cn.net Fri Jul 4 21:59:52 1997 From: gaoqx at public.east.cn.net (Gao Qingxian) Date: Sat, 5 Jul 1997 01:59:52 -0000 Subject: aerosol problem Message-ID: <199707070031.UAA01019@coral.aoml.noaa.gov> Dear: Sr. I am a researcher of Center for Climate Impact Research from NEPA of China. The main aim of our center is to study climate impact on environment and ecosystem. I am a member of WG II from IPCC of our government. My task is research about aerosol impact on climate. I want to learn some newly research results about that. I also hope to contact with you and to learn some knowledge about aerosol. Recently, I submitted a proposal to National Environment Protection Agency of China about aerosol, it is a international cooperation projects. If it is possible, It will be pleasure for me to cooperate with you or your group. I hope to receive some newly research results about Direct and Indirect impact of aerosol, especially for manmade(industry) aerosol. If it is possible, Please mail me some modes about aerosol. Best wish to you. My address is: An Wai No. 8 Da Yangfang Beijing P.R.China 100012 Gao Qingxian >From - Sat Jul 05 01:27:52 1997 Message-ID: <33BE0588.53A0 at public.east.cn.net> Date: Sat, 05 Jul 1997 01:27:52 -0700 From: Gaoqx Reply-To: Gaoqx at public.east.cn.net Organization: CCIR X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (WinNT; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: ecolog-l at umdd.umd.edu Subject: aerosol problems Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 Content-Length: 1003 Dear: Sr. I am a researcher of Center for Climate Impact Research from NEPA of China. The main aim of our center is to study climate impact on environment and ecosystem. I am a member of WG II from IPCC of our government. My task is research about aerosol impact on climate. I want to learn some newly research results about that. I also hope to contact with you and to learn some knowledge about aerosol. Recently, I submitted a proposal to National Environment Protection Agency of China about aerosol, it is a international cooperation projects. If it is possible, It will be pleasure for me to cooperate with you or your group. I hope to receive some newly research results about Direct and Indirect impact of aerosol, especially for manmade(industry) aerosol. If it is possible, Please mail me some modes about aerosol. Best wish to you. My address is: An Wai No. 8 Da Yangfang Beijing P.R.China 100012 Gao Qingxian From kelmo at ufba.br Mon Jul 7 07:39:55 1997 From: kelmo at ufba.br (Francisco Kelmo O dos Santos) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 09:39:55 -0200 (GRNLNDDT) Subject: Ecology of Siderastrea Message-ID: Dear colleagues, I would appreciate receiving references and/or reprints on ecology and distribution of the scleractinian Siderastrea. Thanks for your attention. Francisco Kelmo. ******************************************************************* ** Francisco Kelmo ** ** Laboratorio de Estudos Costeiros ** ** Instituto de Geociencias ** ** Universidade Federal da Bahia - Campus de Ondina ** ** Av. Adhemar de Barros s/n. Salvador-Bahia-BRAZIL ** ** cep. 40170-290 ** ** e-mail:Kelmo at ufba.br ** ******************************************************************** From sjameson at coralseas.com Mon Jul 7 11:51:32 1997 From: sjameson at coralseas.com (Stephen C Jameson) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 97 11:51:32 -0400 Subject: Porites furcata Message-ID: <199707071551.LAA11064@radagast.wizard.net> Dear David, I did my dissertation on the Taxonomy of the Poritidae off Belize and found that the branching species of Porites are in fact different species. My dissertation used type specimens and a morphmetric approach (discriminate analysis). My paper was presented at the coral reef symposium in Panama and will be published in the proceedings. Jameson, S.C., (in press). Morphometric analysis of the Poritidae (Anthozoa: Scleractinia) off Belize. Proceedings 8th International Coral Reef Symposium, Panama. In another study using Porites off Panama, Ernesto Weil also got similar results using a genetic/morphometric approach. Weil EFM (1992) Genetic and morphological variation in Porites (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) across the isthmus of Panama. Unpubl PhD diss, Univ of Texas, Austin, 238 pp Preliminary work by Potts and others using electrophoresis also suggested the branching species are different species. Potts DC, Budd AF, Garthwaite RL (1993) Soft tissue vs. skeletal approaches to species recognition and phylogeny reconstruction in corals. Cour Forsch-Inst Senckenberg 164:221-231 Please let me know if you need more details. >Subject: Porites furcata >Date: 07/03 2:40 PM >Received: 07/07 8:05 AM >From: David Patriquin, patriqui at is.dal.ca >To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov > >I recently reexamined epiflora and epifauna at seagrass sites in the >eastern Caribbean that I had first examined in 1969. What I had recognized >then as Porites furcata is still around, but I have not kept up with the >lit. in this area - can anyone direct me to the latest word on the >taxonomic status of Porites porites/P. divaricata, P. furcata? References >to papers on ecology of P. furcata would also be appreciated. Many >thanks. David Patriquin (Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada). > From woodley at uwimona.edu.jm Mon Jul 7 22:06:24 1997 From: woodley at uwimona.edu.jm (Jeremy Woodley) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 21:06:24 -0500 (GMT-0500) Subject: Porites furcata In-Reply-To: <199707071551.LAA11064@radagast.wizard.net> Message-ID: To add to your list of studies, Nora Goreau showed, in her PhD thesis (University of the West Indies, 1983) that the three forms had significantly different post-larval skeletons. Jeremy Woodley From reefchck at uxmail.ust.hk Tue Jul 8 01:04:44 1997 From: reefchck at uxmail.ust.hk (HODGSON GREGOR) Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 13:04:44 +0800 (HKT) Subject: Reef Check Update - July Message-ID: Reef Check Update - July 1997 Our July update has been delayed while we enjoyed the Hong Kong Handover festivities. Reef Check 1997 is well under way! The official kick-off organised by Carl Stepath of SOS took place in Kaua'i on June 14, and was well attended by scientists, celebrities, media and the interested public. Thank you Carl! Reef Check teams now number about 150. We have hired Cheung King Tai to assist with data management and analysis at Headquarters. Teams which have completed surveys are reminded to send us the completed Excel data sheets ASAP and not more than 10 days after returning from the field. The Web site (http://www.ust. /~webrc/reef.html) is regularly being updated with last-minute registrations. Check out our photo page - "Faces and Places - Reef Check '97" that shows some of our team members. Please send us some pictures of your teams. Then we can all put faces to names!! ****** INDONESIA ****** The Indonesian Ministry of Environment has launched Reef Check in the Marine National Karimunjawa on June 18, 1997. The first survey was conducted by 8 volunteers from the University of Diponegore, WWF Indonesia Programme, IPB, and Sea World. This event was covered by 3 TV stations (RCTI, INDOSIAR and the NHK from Japan), and 3 printed media. The next reef check will be conducted in Marine National Park Pulau Seribu, (26-29 June), Pulau Derawan (Kalimantan, 7-12 July), Taka Bonerate south Sulawesi (15-19 July). Gayatri Lilley Fax: 62-21-739-5907 WWF Bali (Ketut & staff) is planning to organize and conduct Reef Check surveys at many sites from 20-24 August 1997. As you may already be aware, some Bali's reefs are over-used (the most intensive use for dive-tourism) and there are also many sites that are used less intensively. Therefore, we expect to have at least three good Reef Check sites that represent three levels of use (very seldom, medium and most intensive use reefs); and this will enable us to see the different impacts of marine tourism on coral reef ecosystems. Ketut Sarjana Putra Fax: 62-361-242405 ****** BRUNEI ****** Reef Check now has a team in Brunei! We have the support of the Brunei Museum Research Division, the Ministry of Fisheries and the Universiti of Brunei Darussalam to register with IYOR Reef Check. Highly qualified scientific researchers and natural historians from these institutions will serve as the organizing and coordinating committee for Reef Check Brunei. We intend to provide a survey from several reefs in Brunei waters as well as a number of unsurveyed reefs. These surveys are planned for the end of July and August. Paul Crevello Fax: +673-2-249 502 ****** COLOMBIA ****** Our sites in the Marine Park Corales del Rosario can be confirmed, and will be surveyed in August. The most effort has come from students of the University Javeriana, I as a professor talking and coordinating with scuba divers. Before I came here I left television interviews prepared to come out in national television programs. Nohora Galvis ****** HAWAII ****** The Second Annual Clean Oceans Conference was a great success. This year's Conference was dedicated to the preservation of coral reefs. Robert Kennedy, Jr. was the keynote speaker, with the Governor of Hawaii, Mr. Ben Cayetano, in attendance. The Mayor of Honolulu, Mr. Jeremy Harris, and Mayor Kusaka from Kauai also attended, as well as Mr. Mike Wilson, chairman of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources. They were joined by many coral reef experts who presented lectures, Reef Check, and a coral reef monitoring workshop. This is the only conference in Hawaii focusing exclusively on coral reef protection and celebrating Oceans Day. For videos of RFK, Jr.'s speech please contact Save Our Seas at http://planet-hawaii.com/sos/. Carl Stepath Fax: (808) 826-7770 ****** BARBADOS ****** Regrettably our youth group must withdraw from Reef Check 1997. We are still short funds to pay for our trip to Barbados to do the survey. The students have worked very hard over the last few months fundraising, unfortunately it was not enough. Even though we will not be going to Barbados we will continue with our coral reef awareness program for 1997. We will continue to watch the progress of the project and wish all the participants every success. Caroline Belgrave ****** AMERICAN SAMOA ****** Mike Page, from the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources in Pago Pago, has registered a team to survey the reefs in Fagatele Bay, American Samoa in early July. Mike Page Fax: (684) 633-5944 ****** BAHRAIN ****** Roger Uwate from the Directorate of Fisheries in Bahrain has registered a team for Reef Check, incorporating independent sports divers and divers from the Bahrain Diving Committee. The sites to be surveyed at the end of July to the beginning of August are Fasht Al Adhom reef and Abul Thalma. Roger Uwate Fax: (973) 728-459 ****** ISRAEL ****** The date has been set for July 28 as our kick-off. The activities will include a pre-dive planning day of briefings, and familiarizing everyone with the goals of the survey, species identification and the checking of equipment and dive site. And this will be followed by the survey of the dive sites in Eilat. The dive sites will be at the Coral Garden Nature Reserve, and possibly at a more heavily frequented site, in order to compare the impact of divers. We have been very excited to see how this project has grown, with people from abroad coming for the survey, and a collection of slides, and species identification cards are being laminated to help eveyone become more familiar with Red Sea fish and invertebrates. The Nature Reserve Authority has been contacted and will be helping on the pre-dive breifings, in addition to PhD's who will be lecturing on the marine sciences. We will be conducting all of our survey work in Eilat only, so as to keep the results of the survey comparable to those of the separate Reef Check groups surveying in Sinai. Joe Breman Fax: 011-972-4-824-0391 ****** PANAMA ****** On the 18th and 25th June, seminars were held at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Seminars covered the objectives of Reefcheck 97 and methodologies to be used in the project. On 29th of June, 24 divers from Fundacion Oceanica and PROMAR participated in RC '97 in Panama. Angel Tribaldos, Adolfo Trute and Peter Collinson were the organisers. Groups surveyed Drake Island, in the Caribbean, about 2km from Portobelo town. Permanent transects were established, RC 97 protocol conducted and belt transects videoed on a digital camera. This video was transfered to Beta format and archived. Media coverage from the event included the BBC World Service Radio and local television stations, RPC and Canal Once. Press features and photographs will be circulated to local newspapers in early July. In July we aim to survey Buenaventura Reef near Portobelo. This will occur under the supervision of Angel Tribaldos and Adolfo Trute, as Peter Collinson will be leaving Panama. Peter Collinson Fax: (507) 228-0516 ****** HONG KONG ****** Hong Kong Reef Check officially kicks off on July 12 with a survey of the fringing reefs of the Ninepins Islands. VIP's and media representatives have been invited to come along and watch the Reef Check teams survey their first site. Marc Smith-Evans Fax: (852) 2546-2659 ****** AUSTRALIA ****** Reef Check is very pleased to welcome a series of GBR teams led by Andrew Dunstan and GBRMPA's David Wachenfeld as part of regular Undersea Explorer expeditions. Operating from Port Douglas, North Queensland, they will be surveying reefs of the Great Barrier Reef in early August. Andrew Dunstan Fax: 61 (70) 99-5914 ****** JAPAN ****** WWF Japan is organising Reef Check 97. Jack Moyer of Miyaki-Jima has volunteered to lead one team. Two more teams in Japan have recently registered for Reef Check. The sites to be surveyed include the Izu Islands and Ishigaki Island, Okinawa. Hideo Yamamoto <88982415 at people.or.jp> Fax: 04994-6-0458 Tetsuo Itou < nature at din.or.jp> Fax: 81-45-863-0142 Mariko Abe <1004776.1444 at compuserve.com> Fax: 81-3-3769-1717 ****** PALAU ****** Lori Bell-Colin from the Coral Reef Research Foundation has organised a team to survey various sites around Koror in July as part of the Reef Check project. Lori Bell-Colin Fax: 680-488-5513 *************************************************************** We apologize for any errors or omissions of news about your site. Please send us a brief report on work accomplished in July and planned for August by 1 August for inclusion in the August update. To join Reef Check, please contact your nearest National or Regional Coordinator listed on the web site, or Reef Check Headquarters as soon as possible. Suzie Geermans, Assistant Reef Check Coordinator Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development Research Centre, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clearwater Bay, Kowloon, HONG KONG Tel: (852) 2358-6906 Fax: (852) 2358-1582 e-mail: reefchck at uxmail.ust.hk Reef Check: http://www.ust.hk/~webrc/reef.html From sjameson at coralseas.com Tue Jul 8 08:52:17 1997 From: sjameson at coralseas.com (Stephen C Jameson) Date: Tue, 8 Jul 97 08:52:17 -0400 Subject: purple branching Porites Message-ID: <199707081252.IAA22651@radagast.wizard.net> Dear E. McRae, Thanks for your interesting question regarding the mysterious purple branching Porites. I'll put my response out to the list as this would make a very interesting topic for graduate work in coral taxonomy. I ran across this specimen in only one location during my field work. I took a dug-out canoe from Carrie Bow Cay and sailed seaward for what seemed like an eternity (I guess it was because I was bailing out the canoe with a coffee can most of the time). It was out at Glovers Reef (Northwest Cay) in a very shallow water (about 15 cm) calm leeward environment where I found these specimens. I also collected specimens that were pale yellow in the same area - with the same growth form. At first I thought I had Porites branneri because of the purple color and flat shape but after looking at the corallite characters I noticed the columella tubercle which P. branneri does not have. I didn't think they were P. furcata because in Belize they prefer a more high energy reef flat environment. Back at the Smithsonian, I did a multivariate discriminate analysis on 10 of these specimens and found that they fall closer to Porites porites when looking at corallite characters. Here are the possibilities that cross my mind: 1. These specimens could be juvenile P. porites as they have a flattened base with just small projecting fingers; 2. They could be older P. porites with a unique growth form shaped by the very shallow and calm water environment. 3. They could be a new species. It would be interesting to do electrophoresis or other genetic techniques on them. Questions for you: 1. What type of environment did you find your specimens in? 2. I would be interested to know if anyone else out there has run across these specimens? Thanks again for the question. I look forward to hearing from you. >Dear Stephen; > >I read your comments in coral-list and was curious about the purple >Porites (also in Belize). Usually this is a very small colony, ie often >just little stubs projecting above the sand; but sometimes a small colony >is seen. The largest colonies I've ever observed are no more than 0.5m in >diameter; most are considerably smaller, unlike the pale green branching >Porites. The Kaplan guide (1982) calls it P. furcata (a rare purple phase); >But then why are the green colonies so much bigger if it is the same sp? > >E McRae >The Siwa-ban Foundation >Caye Caulker >Belize, C.A. >sbf at btl.net Best regards, Dr. Stephen C. Jameson, President Coral Seas Inc. - Integrated Coastal Zone Management 4254 Hungry Run Road, The Plains, VA 20198-1715 USA Office: 703-754-8690, Fax: 703-754-9139 Email: sjameson at coralseas.com From sjameson at coralseas.com Tue Jul 8 08:52:17 1997 From: sjameson at coralseas.com (Stephen C Jameson) Date: Tue, 8 Jul 97 08:52:17 -0400 Subject: purple branching Porites Message-ID: <199707081252.IAA22651@radagast.wizard.net> Dear E. McRae, Thanks for your interesting question regarding the mysterious purple branching Porites. I'll put my response out to the list as this would make a very interesting topic for graduate work in coral taxonomy. I ran across this specimen in only one location during my field work. I took a dug-out canoe from Carrie Bow Cay and sailed seaward for what seemed like an eternity (I guess it was because I was bailing out the canoe with a coffee can most of the time). It was out at Glovers Reef (Northwest Cay) in a very shallow water (about 15 cm) calm leeward environment where I found these specimens. I also collected specimens that were pale yellow in the same area - with the same growth form. At first I thought I had Porites branneri because of the purple color and flat shape but after looking at the corallite characters I noticed the columella tubercle which P. branneri does not have. I didn't think they were P. furcata because in Belize they prefer a more high energy reef flat environment. Back at the Smithsonian, I did a multivariate discriminate analysis on 10 of these specimens and found that they fall closer to Porites porites when looking at corallite characters. Here are the possibilities that cross my mind: 1. These specimens could be juvenile P. porites as they have a flattened base with just small projecting fingers; 2. They could be older P. porites with a unique growth form shaped by the very shallow and calm water environment. 3. They could be a new species. It would be interesting to do electrophoresis or other genetic techniques on them. Questions for you: 1. What type of environment did you find your specimens in? 2. I would be interested to know if anyone else out there has run across these specimens? Thanks again for the question. I look forward to hearing from you. >Dear Stephen; > >I read your comments in coral-list and was curious about the purple >Porites (also in Belize). Usually this is a very small colony, ie often >just little stubs projecting above the sand; but sometimes a small colony >is seen. The largest colonies I've ever observed are no more than 0.5m in >diameter; most are considerably smaller, unlike the pale green branching >Porites. The Kaplan guide (1982) calls it P. furcata (a rare purple phase); >But then why are the green colonies so much bigger if it is the same sp? > >E McRae >The Siwa-ban Foundation >Caye Caulker >Belize, C.A. >sbf at btl.net Best regards, Dr. Stephen C. Jameson, President Coral Seas Inc. - Integrated Coastal Zone Management 4254 Hungry Run Road, The Plains, VA 20198-1715 USA Office: 703-754-8690, Fax: 703-754-9139 Email: sjameson at coralseas.com From tsocci at usgcrp.gov Mon Jul 7 13:00:13 1997 From: tsocci at usgcrp.gov (Tony Socci) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 13:00:13 -0400 Subject: July 10th USGCRP Seminar on "Wetland Losses in the United States: Scope, Causes, Impacts, and Future Prospects" Message-ID: U.S. Global Change Research Program Seminar Series Wetland Losses in the United States: Scope, Causes, Impacts, and Future Prospects >From an historical perspective, what percentage of natural wetlands in the U.S. have been lost or significantly altered? What portion of wetland changes have been due to natural forces and what portion due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activities, including climate change? What are the implications of wetland losses in terms of the health and availability of natural resources and ecosystem services to humans and other species? What is the outlook for the future? Public Invited Thursday, July 10, 1997, 3:15-4:45 PM Rayburn House Office Bldg., Room B369, Washington, DC Reception Following INTRODUCTION Dr. Rosina Bierbaum, Assistant Director for the Environment, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Washington, DC SPEAKERS Dr. Mark Schaefer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC Dr. Virginia Burkett, Chief, Forest Ecology Branch, National Wetlands Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, Lafayette, LA OVERVIEW America's Wetland Resource >From an ecological and societal perspective, wetlands are among the most important natural habitats in the United States. Their importance stems from aesthetic values like a sense of open space. Wetlands also serve as ecologically important habitat and spawning grounds for a multitude of fish and wildlife species. From a societal perspective, wetlands are even more important for the economic value they provide in the form of sustainable fisheries, natural flood control, groundwater cleansing and replenishment, natural cleansing of agricultural and urban runoff, and countless other services and functions. Historically, wetlands occupied 11 percent of the surface area of the lower 48 states just 200 years ago. Today they cover about 5 percent of the surface area. Data from the Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetlands Inventory also indicate that interior wetland water regimes are more numerous than coastal wetlands, although both are uniquely important from an ecological and social or resource perspective. In its first wetland report to Congress in 1982, the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) found that 9.2 million acres of wetlands had been lost nationwide between the 1950s and 1970s. The average annual net loss rate during this time was 458,000 acres annually; 87% of that loss was due to agriculture. In its second report to Congress in 1991, NWI reported that 2.6 million wetland acres were lost nationwide between the 1970s and 1980s. The net loss rate over this interval of time was 290,000 acres annually; agriculture remained the single largest reason for the loss. In its most recent analysis, NWI found that the rate of wetland loss continues to decline. Various federal laws and policies dating from the mid-1800s have encouraged and facilitated wetland loss. Only in the past 30 years have there been serious efforts on the part of government to curtail the net annual wetland loss rate. In recent years, a concerted effort has been directed at wetland restoration as part of a national goal of "No Net Loss" of wetland resources. In most instances, resource managers have been successful in restoring water to the land, but have only been successful about half the time in replacing all the functions and services provided by the original wetlands. Coastal Wetlands and Global Climate Change The potential impacts of climate change on wetlands are of great practical concern. Among the coastal areas of greatest risk in the United States are those low-lying coastal habitats that are easily eroded and which occur along the northern Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coasts of the U.S. These coastal wetlands are especially vulnerable to direct, large-scale impacts of climate change, primarily because of their sensitivity to sea level rise. Observational records indicate that sea level has already risen between 10 and 25 cm globally, over the past 100 years. In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (1995) has projected a sea level rise of 15-95 cm as a consequence of global warming. Sea level rise will also increase the depth of coastal waters and increase inland and upstream salinity intrusion, both of which affect fresh and brackish-water wetlands. While the influence of global warming on the frequency and intensity of storm events is uncertain, sea-level rise alone has the potential for increasing the severity of storm surges, particularly in areas where coastal habitats and barrier shorelines are rapidly deteriorating. These direct consequences of global-and regional-scale changes will increase the vulnerability of coastal wetlands (including mangrove and salt marshes) which are already heavily impacted by human activities. Predicted changes in sea level will also dramatically alter the community composition and aerial coverage of submerged aquatic seagrass beds. Field studies off the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana have shown, for example, that barrier island overwash events are a major determinant of seagrass community composition in the Chandeleur Sound, which contains some of the largest grassbeds in the Gulf region. Because different species of seagrass support different organisms, changes in the composition of seagrasses will be felt at every level of the food web, which includes shellfish, finfish, waterfowl (particularly redhead ducks, which depend almost entirely on seagrasses for their winter diet), and people. Farther inland, salinity intrusion becomes more important than disturbance in controlling the species in submerged grassbeds. Some species have a higher tolerance to salt water and will quickly outcompete those that are salt intolerant. Other species may be completely eliminated, or may possibly be displaced inland depending on the rate at which sea level rises. Most of the southeastern coastal zone is highly developed, however, and the inland migration of seagrassses and salt marshes will be prevented in many areas by the existing infrastructure of roads, seawalls, and other human constructions. Analyses of sites in five coastal states indicate that many marshes and mangrove ecosystems receive adequate mineral sediments to produce enough organic sediment and root material to remain above sea level at the present rate of sea level rise (1-2 mm per year globally). However, three of the twelve wetlands studied were not keeping pace with the current rate of sea-level rise. If sea-level rise accelerates, some additional sites would also begin to slowly deteriorate and submerge. In some areas, the sinking or subsidence of the marsh system, coupled with human development, is the major cause of wetland loss. In Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, submergence and/or salt water intrusion have been implicated in the decline in productivity, and death, of certain coastal forests. However, restoration of salinity-impacted baldcypress swamps, for example, may be possible by cultivating more salt-tolerant strains of baldcypress. Studies in Texas have also shown that changes in global climate would affect bottomland hardwood forests and other forests of the coastal plain by possibly influencing patterns of disturbances, such as fires or storms, and by altering the regional moisture balance. Such changes would affect resources in both preserved and commercial forests of the coastal plain. Model simulations of the combined influence of sea level rise, storms, and floods suggest that large areas of the southeastern United States could be converted from coastal marsh to open water, and from forest to marsh. Hurricane model simulations also suggest that if hurricanes or the effects of hurricanes become more intense over the next century, wetland community structure and composition would be altered. For example, historical simulations suggest that the occurrence of major hurricanes is the most important factor controlling mangrove community dynamics. Biographies Dr. Mark Schaefer is presently the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior, where he works on policy issues related to the work of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation. From 1993 to 1995, he served as Assistant Director for Environment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he was responsible for a variety of domestic environmental science, technology, and education issues. In this capacity he led the Administration's initiative to develop a national environmental technology strategy, an 18-month effort to achieve a broad national consensus on approaches to advancing the development, commercialization, and application of these technologies. He has also served as co-leader of an Administration effort to interact with the private sector and the states to develop a national blueprint for environmental education. In addition, he worked on a range of regulatory science issues, chairing the Risk Assessment Subcommittee of the Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources, a group charged with better coordinating approaches to evaluating risk within the federal government. Dr. Schaefer previously served for three years as Senior Staff Associate and Director of the Washington Office of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, where he contributed to a number of studies related to environmental and science policy. He was a staff member at the then-Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) from 1987-1989, first as a Congressional Science Fellow and then as project director of OTA's study of the effects of toxic substances on the nervous system. For five years beginning in 1988, he taught an environmental policy seminar for Stanford University's "Stanford in Washington" program. A biologist by training, he received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. degree from Stanford University. After completing his undergraduate degree in 1977, he worked for five years in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development. Dr. Virginia Burkett is Chief of the Forest Ecology Branch at the National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) of the Department of the Interior, where she has worked since1990. She supervises a team of forest scientists, ecologists and computer modelers who conduct research related to the ecology, management and restoration of forested wetlands. Her expertise includes wetland forest ecology and restoration, coastal wetland ecology, coastal management and wildlife/fisheries management. Her current research involves bottomland hardwood regeneration in frequently flooded sites of the Mississippi River floodplain. Dr. Burkett also coordinates NWRC's Global Change Research Program. Prior to her work at NWRC, she served as Secretary/Director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (1988-90), having previously served as Deputy Director (1984-85). Prior to those appointments, she directed the Louisiana Coastal Zone Management Program and served as Assistant Director of the Louisiana Geological Survey for 5 years. Dr. Burkett has been appointed to several boards and commissions during her 22-year career, including the Louisiana Forestry Commission, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Louisiana Seafood Marketing Board. She was elected Vice President of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in 1989. During 1988-1990, she co-chaired the Louisiana Oil Spill Task Force and chaired the Louisiana Artificial Reef Council. From 1991-93, she was chairman of the 130- member Consortium for Research on Southern Forested Wetlands. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, and also currently holds a Visiting Professorship at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she teaches a course on professionalism and ethics. Dr. Burkett received her master's degree in botany from Northwestern State University (1975) and her doctoral degree in forestry (D.F.) from Stephen F. Austin State University (1996). The Next Seminar is scheduled for Monday, September 15, 1997 Planned Topic: Model Projections of the Climate Response to the Long-Term Buildup of CO2 For more information please contact: Anthony D. Socci, Ph.D., U.S. Global Change Research Program Office, Code YS-1, 300 E St., SW, Washington, DC 20546 Telephone: (202) 358-1532; Fax: (202) 358-4103 E-Mail: TSOCCI at USGCRP.GOV. Additional information on the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and this Seminar Series is available on the USGCRP Home Page at: http://www.usgcrp.gov. Normally these seminars are held on the second Monday of each month. From mattia at cbl.cees.edu Mon Jul 7 22:17:46 1997 From: mattia at cbl.cees.edu (Christopher M. Mattia) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 21:17:46 -0500 Subject: Sea Grant Funded Coral Projects List... Message-ID: Recently I posted my comprehensive listing of Coral Reef Related Publications Funded by the National Sea Grant College Program, I have also now added a listing to my home page that has all coral reef related projects currently being funded by the National Sea Grant Office. A simlar listing for projects funded by the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) will be posted in the near future as soon as it is finished being converted to html. I have also posted the final paper to my Senior Thesis at St. Mary's College of Maryland "A Non-Destructive Spectrophotographic Method of Assessing Relative Changes in Coral Health Utilizing Induced Fluorescence" on my home page as well. I am still working on converting the graphics to the paper, but they will be posted soon. All of these reports can be found on the projects NEW URL: http://www.cbl.umces.edu/~mattia/SMProject I am currently searching for Graduate Programs in the area of Coral Reef Ecology so if any of you have any suggestions for me you can contact me directly via e-mail: mattia at cbl.umces.edu Thanks, Chris Christopher M. Mattia 12016 Dusty Hoof Rd Lusby MD 20657 Voice Mail: (301) 510-6925 FAX: Call Voice Mail First!!! mattia at cbl.umces.edu http://www.cbl.umces.edu/~mattia/SMProject/ From lizard at amsg.austmus.gov.au Tue Jul 8 18:33:31 1997 From: lizard at amsg.austmus.gov.au (lizard) Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 09:33:31 +1100 Subject: 1998 Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship (again) Message-ID: <000140CA.3204@amsg.austmus.gov.au> The address of our web page has changed. For information about the 1998 Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship, please see: http://www.austmus.gov.au/science/projects/lizard/lizfello.htm The closing date for applications is 1 October 1997. ________________________________________________________________ Anne Hoggett, Director Lizard Island Research Station PMB 37 Cairns QLD 4870 Australia Phone and fax: + 61 (0)70 603977 lizard at amsg.austmus.gov.au http://www.austmus.gov.au/science/projects/lizard/index.htm ____________________________________________________________ From 110115.311 at compuserve.com Wed Jul 9 12:40:47 1997 From: 110115.311 at compuserve.com (Alice Fenner) Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 12:40:47 -0400 Subject: purple Porites Message-ID: <199707091240_MC2-1A84-58BE@compuserve.com> Coralist, I reported a purple Porites that may be the same as the message indicated had been found in Belize; I reported them from Cozumel (Mexico), Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac in the ref's below, as "Porites branneri". One small specimen was deposited in the Smithsonian, another at Harvard Comparative Zoology. I had also seen them in the lagoon of Grand Cayman. I told Paul Humann about the ones at Grand Cayman, and he photographed them and put the photo in his book, Reef Coral Identification, as Porites branneri. Fenner, D.P. 1988. Some leeward reefs and corals of Cozumel, Mexico. Bull. Mar. Sci. 42: 133-144. Fenner, D.P. 1993. Some reefs and corals of Roatan (Honduras), Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. Atoll Res. Bull. 388: 1-30. -Doug Fenner 110115.311 at compuserve.com From eweil at caribe.net Wed Jul 9 21:59:35 1997 From: eweil at caribe.net (Ernesto weil) Date: Wed, 09 Jul 1997 21:59:35 -0400 Subject: plastified paper Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970709215925.00697ef8@caribe.net> I am trying to find a place or company where to purchase a plastified paper (used mostly in cartography) that is the best I have used for underwater data collection. This is a transparent, finelly reticulated plastified drafting film. The brand is K&E Ethalon and its was made in England many years ago. If some body has information on this or on a similar product, please share. Thank you for your cooperation, Ernesto Weil, Ph.D. UPR-RUMAC Dept. Marine Sciences Puerto Rico. From rcgregor at usthk.ust.hk Wed Jul 9 22:26:24 1997 From: rcgregor at usthk.ust.hk (Gregor Hodgson) Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 10:26:24 +0800 Subject: Japanese IYOR/Reef Check URL Message-ID: <33C44850.354A@usthk.ust.hk> Japanese URL for IYOR/Reef Check is as follows; http://www.people.or.jp/~nature/IYORWWFJ/ Mariko Abe WWF Tokyo For additional info reply to: <100476.1444 at CompuServe.COM> From eakin at ogp.noaa.gov Thu Jul 10 10:00:35 1997 From: eakin at ogp.noaa.gov (Mark Eakin) Date: 10 Jul 1997 10:00:35 U Subject: NOAA Sea Grant Positions Message-ID: Subject: Time: 9:45 AM NOAA Sea Grant Positions Date: 7/10/97 The following is forwarded for your information. For more details check with the sources listed. I have no further information. -------------------------- [Original Message] ------------------------- The following vacancy announcements are posted. Please help us in distributing these job openings as broadly as possible. Thank you. The National Sea Grant College Program Office, NOAA, Department of Commerce, in Silver Spring, MD, has two openings: Program Director, Sea Grant Extension. Provides leadership, direction and management of the Sea Grant extension programs. Provides oversight of the national, university-based network of Sea Grant extension programs and develops cooperative activities with appropriate government programs, non- governmental organizations, and industry extension partners. Represents Sea Grant's extension and outreach interests within NOAA and serves as liaison to other federal agencies, universities and the Congress. Includes program officer and grants administration responsibilities, including oversight and evaluation of university-based research and outreach programs. Provides leadership to members of Outreach Team overseeing the functions of communications and education programs as well as marine extension programs. Advanced degree in technical or scientific fields appropriate to marine extension is desirable (marine biology, fisheries science, engineering, marine ecology, marine affairs or marine related social sciences); outreach/extension experience and experience working with academic institutions is highly desirable. Experience in federal grant negotiation desirable. Salary: $64,555 to $98,714 (dependent on experience and qualifications). Location: Silver Spring, Maryland. Application Address: NOAA/HRMO/ OFA45 OAR/HRD, VA# H/OAR/970020.RAW 1315 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY AUGUST 31, 1997. The complete Vacancy Announcement is posted on the NOAA WWW site at http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~webvas/gs040114.rw1. Research Program Officer. Provides leadership to Sea Grant research activities, including program development and evaluation. Develops cooperative activities with appropriate government programs, non-governmental organizations, and industry partners. Represents Sea Grant's research interests within NOAA and serves as liaison to other federal agencies, universities and the Congress. Includes state program officer and grants administration responsibilities, including oversight and evaluation of university-based research and outreach programs. Advanced degree in technical or scientific field appropriate to coastal, Great Lakes, and marine resource issues is desirable; experience working with academic institutions is highly desirable. Experience in federal grant negotiation desirable. Position will be classified as either Biological Scientist (marine or aquatic biology, marine or aquatic ecology, fisheries science) or Physical Scientist (oceanography, marine chemistry, engineering); APPLICANT MUST INDICATE ONE OR THE OTHER CLASSIFICATION WHEN APPLYING. Salary: $64,555 to $83,922 (dependent on experience and qualifications). Location: Silver Spring, Maryland. Application Address: (For Biological Scientist) (For Physical Scientist) NOAA/HRMO/ OFA45 NOAA/HRMO/ OFA45 OAR/HRD, VA# H/OAR/970022.RAW OAR/HRD, VA# H/OAR/970021.RAW 1315 East-West Highway 1315 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 Silver Spring, MD 20910 ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY AUGUST 31, 1997. The complete Vacancy Announcement is posted on the NOAA WWW site at http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~webvas/gs130114.rw1 (for Physical Scientist), or http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~webvas/gs040114.rw1 (for Biological Scientist). From jlang at uts.cc.utexas.edu Thu Jul 10 13:39:15 1997 From: jlang at uts.cc.utexas.edu (Judith C. Lang) Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 12:39:15 -0500 (CDT) Subject: availability of visual aids in the wider Caribbean? Message-ID: With apologies to anyone who has already seen this message on another list: The Education Office of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is developing a small "treasure chest" of educational materials to travel with the "Nuestros Arrecifes/Unidos por el Caribe: Our Reefs/Caribbean Connections" reef exhibit. Anyone who resides in the wider Caribbean is invited to help us become better informed about what kinds of visual aids are readily available to teachers, reef managers, NGOs, scientists, etc., by answering a few questions that are given below. Please respond directly to me at: jlang at uts.cc.utexas.edu (Judith C. Lang) ______________________________________________________ 1. Do you have access to a reliable source of electricity, for at least a few hours each day, at a location that could be used for public outreach education? If the answer to 1 is yes, which of the following can you easily access 2. a video monitor and a VHS player? 3. a 35 mm slide projector and a projecting screen? 4. an overhead projector and a projecting screen? 5. Please rank the following kinds of visual aids in terms of your preference for their use for public outreach education in your area: books, brochures (= pamphlets), overheads, posters, slides, videos 6. Space here for other comments: ______________________________________________________ Many advance thanks for your help! Yours sincerely, Judy Lang Texas Memorial Museum jlang at curly.cc.utexas.edu (Judith C. Lang) From carib at marine.usf.edu Fri Jul 11 10:47:54 1997 From: carib at marine.usf.edu (Frank Muller-Karger (U. South FLorida / Marine Sci.)) Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 10:47:54 -0400 (EDT) Subject: FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT. MarCUBA'97. September 16/20 1997. (fwd) Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 00:39:57 -0500 From: Sergio Cerdeira Estrada To: carib at carbon.marine.usf.edu Subject: FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT. MarCUBA'97. September 16/20 1997. 4th Congress on Marine Sciences Marcuba '97 Cooperation in Marine Sciences for a Sustainable Resource Management 16-20 September, 1997 Havana International Conference Center Dear Colleague, Cuba's National Oceanographic Committee (CON) is pleased to announce that the 4th Congress on Marine Sciences will be held at the Havana International Conference Center, on September 16-20, 1997, under the title Cooperation in Marine Sciences for a Sustainable Resource Management. The meeting is expected to bring together scientists and managers involved in marine sciences, services and technologies as well as educators, sociologists, economists, businessmen, policy-makers and anyone interested in promoting and integrating marine scientific research to sustainable development. To this end, the Congress' aims are: 1. To facilitate the exchange of knowledge and opinions related to scientific research and technological advances in marine sciences and services, identifying their current status and level and their rightful role in economic and social development; 2. To determine actions providing for better, increased international cooperation that will take us closer to our common goal of sustainable management of our marine and coastal resources; and 3. To provide a suitable forum for debate and experience-sharing on the development of indigenous capabilities in order to integrate marine sciences to natural resource management policies, thus contributing to the sustainable socio-economic development of the countries in the region. Sponsors National Oceanographic Committee Cuban Society of Marine Sciences Cuba's National Aquarium Fishing Research Center Marine Research Center Institute of Oceanology GEOCUBA Business Group Center for Environmental Engineering and Management of Bays (CIMAB) Participants The Congress is expected to be attended by specialists, officials and executives from scientific and service institutions, universities, governmental bodies and organizations, non governmental organizations, international and national cooperation agencies related to the sea world and by representatives of the private and industrial sectors. Sessions on Specific Topics 1. Integrated Management of Coastal Areas Concept and methodologies for the integrated management of coastal ecosystems. Assessment of environmental impact. Maritime tourism as a way of development and its impact on coastal ecosystems. Impact of urban and industrial development on coastal areas. 2. Management of Marine Resources and Conservation of Marine Biodiversity Current status of and prospects for local and regional fisheries. The Rio Conference guidelines on the precautionary approach to the exploitation of marine resources. Projections and prospects for fish farming in developing countries. Conservation of marine biodiversity. 3. Ocean Processes and Global Change Ocean-atmosphere interactions. Hydrological and hydrochemical circulation and regimes. Ocean processes as related to global change. Global change and its incidence on marine biodiversity. Relationship between ocean processes and sea and ocean productivity. Global Ocean Observing System. 4. Marine Biotechnology Projections and prospects for research and development in the field of bioremediation, medicine and energy. Biotechnology for the protection of the environment and resources. Marine bioactive compounds. 5. Marine Aquariology Thematic and scientific projections; current and future development. Technological support infrastructure and modern architecture in the maintenance of live marine organisms. Current trends and prospects in aquariums and their role in environmental education and management of marine biodiversity. Aquariums: exhibition-education. Live nature and use of artificial elements. 6. Marine Mammals Systems and methods for the effective handling and care of marine mammals held in captivity (and semi-captivity). Training techniques and regime of activities. Preventive and healing clinical and veterinary care. Biological and population studies: design, methodology and results. Professional Program The Professional Program includes master lectures, selected keynote lectures round tables, workshops and presentation of posters, all related to the main topics of the Congress. The Organizing Committee is presently finalizing the program. Therefore, the exact titles of different activities will be released after abstracts of papers are sent by contributing authors. Master Lectures A number of prestigious guest speakers will deliver lectures on the following subjects: ? Integrated Management of Coastal Zones ? Marine Biodiversity in Cuba. Current Knowledge and Conservation ? Fisheries: Scientific Research and Management ? Marine Resources, Scientific Research and Sustainable Development ? Oceans and Climate Change ? Beach Erosion Processes. Alternatives for Recovery and Management ? Prospects for the Development of Marine Biotechnology in Latin America ? Pollution of bays and coastal zones ? Marine Aquariums: Science, Conservation and Education Keynote Lectures ? Influence of land-based sources in the quality of coastal areas Dr. Liuba Chabalina (CIMAB, Cuba) ? Pollution: A problem affecting Cuba's coasts Dr. Humberto Gonzalez (CIMAB, Cuba) ? Marine biodiversity and sustainable development of the Sabana-Camaghey Archipelago Dr. Pedro Alcolado Menendez (Institute of Oceanology, Cuba) ? Biodiversity and biogeography in the Caribbean region Dr. Ana Maria Suarez (Marine Research Center, Cuba) ? Endangered marine species Dr. Manuel Ortiz (Marine Research Center, Cuba) ? Coral bleaching in the Cuban shelf. Lic. N. Capetillo and Lic. C. Carrodeguas (GEOCUBA) ? Coral reefs: Biodiversity and conservation (Marine Research Center, Cuba) ? Marine algae culture. The case for Cuba Dr. Arsenio Areces (Institute of Oceanology, Cuba) ? Circulation in Cuba's north coast. Ing. J. L. Viamontes (GEOCUBA) ? Hydrology of straits in the Northwestern Caribbean sea Dr. Artemio Gallegos (UNAM, Mexico) and Mr. Iv?n Victoria (Institute of Oceanology, Cuba) ? Biological indicators in oceanographic processes in the Inter-American sea Mr. Roberto Perez de los Reyes (Institute of Oceanology, Cuba) ? Bioremediation in the marine environmental protection Dr. Mario Villaverde (Institute of Oceanology, Cuba) ? Use of marine microorganisms in oil biodegradation Mrs. Isabel N. Joseph (Institute of Oceanology, Cuba) ? Bioavailability of nutrients for shrimp feeding Dr. Olimpia Carrillo (Marine Research Center, Cuba) ? Application of molecular techniques in determining marine species populations of economic importance Dr. Georgina Espinosa (Marine Research Center, Cuba) Lecturers will be given 30 min. for presentation and 15 min. for debates. Round Tables ? Don Felipe Poey Aloy and the Cuban ichthyology Coordinators: University of Havana ? Integrated Management of Coastal Zones. Relationship between research and management Coordinators: Dr. Gaspar Gonzalez, Dr. Pedro Alcolado, Antonio Villasol, Angel Chirino (Cuba) ? Integrated management of heavily urbanized and industrialized areas Coordinators: Dr. Liuba Chabalina, Dr. Humberto Gonzalez, Felix Palacios, Ileana Diaz, Antonio Villasol (Cuba) ? Sustainable development of maritime tourism Coordinators: Dr. Juan Pablo Garc?a, Angel Chirino and Rene Garc?a Galocha (Cuba) ? Precautionary approach in the exploitation of marine resources Coordinators: Dr. Dalia Salabarr?a, Carlos Hern?ndez Corujo (Cuba) ? Impact of global changes on the marine environment Coordinators: Marcelino Hern?ndez, Nelson Melo, Jorge Viamontes (Cuba) ? Marine bioactive compounds. Prospects and strategy for research and development Coordinators: Dr. Justo P?rez, Dra. Mar?a de los Angeles Ch?vez (Cuba) ? Marine environment education Coordinators: Mayda Montolio, Dr. Mar?a E. Ibarra (Cuba) ? Legislation and legal framework in the management of marine resources Coordinators: Lic. Teresa Cruz (Cuba) Workshops ? Environmental Impact Assessment in coastal zones and cays (Methodologies) Coordinators:Miriam Arce, Juan C. Mart?nez, Mar?a Elena de la Guardia, MSc., Angel Chirino, Arnaldo Carrasco (Cuba) ? Regional integration and databases of the Inter-American sea Coordinators: Dr. Artemio Gallegos (UNAM, Mexico), Iv Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19970712074547.007104c8@pop.vex.net> Aloha CORALers, Every summer my husband and I visit Maui, Hawaii to dive a site that a community of Hawaiian green sea turtles calls home. We have made over a thousand dives here and have watched helplessly the deterioration of the reefs in this area. On any day three out of four turtles you'll see here have fibropapilloma tumours (a disease that is now a major threat to the recovery of this threatened species). Of the surviving resident animals (turtles we have known since the early 90's) over 90% have or have had the disease. Scientists are working hard to determine the etiology and ultimately the cure for fibropapilloma disease. Progress however is limited by funding... >From 1977 (when I first visited this dive site) to 1988, the corals and reefs here were topnotch. In fact, this area was listed as a Top Ten Maui snorkelling site. 1989 saw the first Cladophora algae bloom. By 1990 many of the corals in the area had been browned and smothered. From that year on, such seaweeds as Hypnea musciformis dominated and underwater our area had a vegetative fuzz growing on any hard substrate including the many corals which were now just browned fuzzy lumps. 1991 had the worst Cladophora bloom ever and in 1993 after a torrential rain, the rich soils of West Maui got washed into the ocean leaving a red smear all the way out to the 50 foot depths (five miles up and down the coast). All through that time (1988-1993) we dived with the turtles and watched the prevalence of disease go from one out of four to its present levels. For more information please see: http://www.turtles.org/honohist.htm Since we arrived at the end of June, every single dive has been murky and there is red silt over much of the bottom. I've been told they've had a rainy spring and I believe them. It has rained the last few days and on one dive (we do two dives a day rain or not), we actually SAW a wall of red come down from the north (upcurrent). Over a summer my husband and I will get separated about three times. We've already managed that number because of the haze and poor visibility. They're putting in a new development just across the street and the soil there is exposed. Above that are three open red fields waiting for pineapple to be planted. Today there is a slight swell and it has removed the Hypnea from the beach. When that happens the stuff gets pulled out to 30 foot depths and gets trapped on the reefs. But it also means the sediment on the ocean floor now gets barfed up into the water...ensuring murky diving. Yes, I know we could move to cleaner places. Either area to the north and south of us has excellent diving. But we aren't here for the diving -- we are here for the turtles. They can't up and move like we can. They get to live in this soup all the time. There is an OBSESSIVE need to know how they're faring from year to year. At our site is the largest oldest turtle we have ever seen. He's been resident to the area since at least 1992 and he was old even then. He's OLD as AIR! No one knows how old "old" is for a sea turtle. Well Zeus has developed fibropapilloma tumours in the last 10 months since we saw him last! Imagine. ALL his life free from the disease and now he too is a victim. If the disease runs its course, this grand patriarch will die from it. For more information on Zeus see: http://www.turtles.org/zeus.htm All we get to do is watch these turtles contract the disease, get sicker and then "disappear". Oh we can photograph/videotape the conditions here but it doesn't seem to be enough. And here is why I have come to you. We had "sediment rain" again yesterday. This one seemed to come OFF the ocean floor and then envelope us. The turtles' shells get reddish and we get this soil taste through our regulators. We are now at a stage where we want to QUANTIFY the amount of sediment here but we are both laypeople and don't know where to begin. We thought of just bringing jars out to various sections along our dive site and leaving them there for the year til our return in '98. We thought of buying an aquarium type net and dragging that along on one dive just to get an idea of how much silt is in the water. If the cost is not too prohibitive we would be prepared to order REAL equipment from a scientific supply house. It is just we don't know the best thing to use. Any advice on "drift sediment" measuring for both short and long term is MUCH needed and would be really appreciated. Also, if you know of any areas where there is a high rate of fibropapilloma disease among the resident turtles I want to hear about it. We are keeping records of such sites. At this time I also want to thank James Hendee and NOAA for providing and maintaining this mailing list. I learn a lot monitoring it and benefit greatly when I do need to leave a message here. Mahalo for reading this and aloha ------------------------------------------------------ ^ Ursula Keuper-Bennett 0 0 Email: howzit at turtles.org /V^\ /^V\ /V Turtle Trax V\ http://www.turtles.org / \ When you study members of another species, when you habituate them in the wild, when you begin to understand the intimate details of their private lives, and then you learn that the population or whole group is sliding towards extinction, what do you do? In good conscience, you must defend them... \ / / \ / \ --- Birute M.F. Galdikas /__| V |__\ From lbotcheva at worldbank.org Mon Jul 14 11:30:19 1997 From: lbotcheva at worldbank.org (Liliana Botcheva) Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 11:30:19 -0400 Subject: carrying capacity of coral reefs Message-ID: <852564D4.005514A0.00@WBLN0014.worldbank.org> July 11 1997 I am writing with a request for information on coral reef carrying capacity and studies on the impact of tourism on coral reef condition. I am conducting research on the carrying capacity and management of coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba in relation to developing a Gulf of Aqaba Environmental Management Plan for Egypt. I shall be very grateful for any materials and references pertaining to the question of coral reef carrying capacity with respect to different uses. Any specific studies on coral reef conditions in the Gulf of Aqaba; ecological pressures; and the impact of expanding tourism in the region will be especially valuable to me. Thanks to all for your help. Sincerely, Liliana Botcheva From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Tue Jul 15 08:48:31 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 08:48:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Postdoctoral position at NCEAS Message-ID: FYI... Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 12:05:19 -0700 From: postapp at NCEAS.UCSB.EDU Subject: Postdoctoral position at NCEAS POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT Post-Doctoral Position National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis University of California at Santa Barbara Consideration of applications begins July 15, 1997 and will continue until position is filled. The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) invites applications for a postdoctoral position. The applicant will work both independently and collaboratively with a working group on "The ecological and evolutionary dynamics of species borders". The working group will focus on theoretical studies of species' range limits, the integration of theoretical models with empirical patterns, and the blending of ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Participants in the working group included empiricists with large cross-species distributional datasets, statisticians developing methods to estimate range limits and spatial relations, mathematical theorists developing spatially-explicit models of species distributions along gradients, experimentalist focusing on the mechanisms underlying particular range limits, and evolutionary biologists concerned with evolution along gradients and in marginal populations. This group expects to address a number of related questions about species borders, such as the following: Over what time-scales are range limits observed to be stable, or quasi- stable? What models (statistical and dynamic) best describe abundance profiles? How often are range edges, abrupt, versus diffuse or fractal? Are there broad empirical generalizations about the proximate factors limiting distributional expansion and defining the 'shape' of species' borders, or is each species a special case? What is the relation between spatial variation in environmental factors leading to range limits population dynamics, and spatial variation in selection? Can coevolutionary dynamics lead to stable range limits? How does the genetic basis of characters (e.g. major gene vs. quantitative) influence the shape and stability of species' borders? Suitable candidates could potentially be concerned with any of these areas or questions. We encourage applications from both theoreticians and empiricists, however, preference will be given to individuals with strong mathematical and computational backgrounds and research expertise relevant to the analysis of species' borders. It is expected that the successful candidate will have a demonstrable commitment to the blending of ecological and evolutionary perspectives, the empirical testing of theory, and collaborative research. The successful candidate will carry out research related broadly to the aims of the working group, and will also work closely with the working group leader, Dr. Robert Holt, in organizing the activities of the working group (e.g., preparation for meetings; editing synthetic publications). For more information on this working group, consult the Research section of NCEAS web site (http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu). The position is funded for a two-year period commencing in August or September 1997 and all work will be conducted at NCEAS in Santa Barbara. Applicants should hold a Ph.D. in an appropriate discipline (or the Ph.D. should be completed by the beginning of the postdoctoral position) and have a strong background in one or more of the following areas: ecology, biogeography, evolutionary biology, ecological modeling, spatial analysis. Applicants will send a letter of application with a statement of research interest, copies of publications, a CV, and the names (with email addresses) of three referees. Applications should have Species Borders as the subject field and should be directed to postapp at nceas.ucsb.edu or by mail to: Frank Davis, Deputy Director National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis 735 State Street, Suite 300 Santa Barbara, CA 93101-3351 The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer From 110115.311 at compuserve.com Tue Jul 15 13:12:17 1997 From: 110115.311 at compuserve.com (Alice Fenner) Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 13:12:17 -0400 Subject: blackband, $1 million fish Message-ID: <199707151312_MC2-1AE8-98BC@compuserve.com> Black Band Disease, $1 million fish, reserve update 1. Black band disease was observed at Danjugan Island off the west coast of Negros Island, central Philippines on May 30, 1997. I observed about a dozen colonies of Pachyseris foliosa at 15 m depth with the disease, with healthy brown areas and a 1-cm wide black band bordering white newly-dead skeleton. It looked identical to black band in the Caribbean. 2. A $1 million dollar fish is the hypothetical product of sample calculations of the income of a dive operation with a particularly large and famous fish as it's star attraction. Such a dive service could charge US$50 per person per day (or more). If it could attract just 10 divers per day that would be $500 per day, for $182,500 per year. Figure an equal amount for food and lodging for $365,000. In 3 years (much less than the fish's life span) that is $1,095,000- much more than the $10,000 it might bring in Hong Kong or Taiwan restaurant. There are many caveats to such a scenario- will just one fish (famous or not) attract that many divers every day, will the fish stay put, can the fish be defended, will divers wreck its reef, etc. But the point is that as much as the live food fish trade may value this fish, it can be worth more alive as a tourist attraction for divers. This is largely because diving can be a sustainable use. 3. Regarding my Feb 3 message about reserves in Negros Oriental, Philippines, I would like to make a couple of corrections: in some areas of the province, poison fishing (mostly the root Tubli but also cyanide) is still common. Credits for the work on reserves there should go to the Resource (not Research) Management Division, directed by Mercy Teves. Their work on reserves has been supported by the German Development Service for 5 years in the person of Maike Waltemath; Cemrino was a more recent addition. Destructive fishing remains epidemic in many parts of the country. For example, Apo Reef near Mindoro (not Apo Island near Negros) is said to have been largely destroyed by blast fishing. -Doug Fenner From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Wed Jul 16 07:54:50 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 07:54:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: NASA monitors deforestation and coral in Hawaii Message-ID: >From ECOLOG-L: ------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 17:18:47 EDT From: C Subject: NASA monitors deforestation and coral in Hawaii Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 15:54:31 -0400 (EDT) From: NASANews at hq.nasa.gov Deforestation of Hawaiian Island Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington, July 14, 1997 (Phone: 202/358-1726) Fred Brown Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA (Phone: 805/258-2663) Eric Dunn Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii RELEASE: 97-153 SOLAR-POWERED PATHFINDER SETS NEW RECORD; PREPARES TO MONITOR DEFORESTATION OF HAWAIIAN ISLAND A sleek flying remotely piloted vehicle named Pathfinder set a new unofficial world record for high-altitude flight by a solar-powered aircraft at the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii. The new mark of over 71, 500 feet set last week exceeds Pathfinder's previous record of 67,350 feet set in June 1997. Pathfinder is now being prepared to monitor coral reef degradation and deforestation around the island of Kauai. "The altitude achievement, a major milestone for the program, demonstrates the aircraft's capability to carry scientific payloads and other experiments into the upper atmosphere," said Jennifer Baer-Riedhart, Project Manager for NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology program at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA. Remotely piloted aircraft similar to Pathfinder could spend long periods of time over the ocean monitoring storm developments to provide more accurate predictions of hurricanes. These aircraft also could be used to monitor major croplands, forests and other large, remote expanses to provide early warning of crop damage or fires. The payloads for demonstration flights for the program are supplied by NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. The program is NASA's response to growing scientific requirements for measurements at higher altitudes and durations than the current fleet of scientific platforms permits. Additional technologies considered by the joint NASA-industry alliance include lightweight materials, avionics, sensor technology, aerodynamics, and other forms of propulsion suitable for extreme altitudes. Pathfinder is one of several remotely piloted aircraft being evaluated under the program. The program focuses on developing technologies required to operate slow-flying unpiloted aircraft at high altitudes. The most extreme mission envisioned for solar-powered aircraft would reach altitudes of 100,000 feet for environmental sampling missions that last a week or longer. Pathfinder is a flying wing (with a span of 99 feet), with two small pods that extend below the wing's center section, that can carry a variety of scientific sensors. The solar arrays on the wing can provide as much as 7,200 watts of power at high noon on a summer day to power the craft's six electric motors and other electronic systems. A backup battery system can provide power for up to five hours to fly the craft after sundown. Pathfinder was designed, manufactured and is operated by AeroVironment, Inc., of Simi Valley, CA, under a jointly sponsored research agreement with NASA. Pathfinder's record-breaking flight occurred on July 7, with a takeoff at 2:34 p.m. EDT. After completion of low-level system checks, Pathfinder began climbing. Just after 8:45 p.m. EDT, it passed its previous altitude record. The aircraft continued to climb to over 71,500 feet before mission controllers decided to bring the craft back to Earth. Pathfinder completed its mission with a perfect landing at 5:05 a.m. EDT. The record is the highest altitude ever attained by a propeller-driven aircraft. Before Pathfinder, the altitude record for propeller-driven aircraft was 67,028 feet set by the experimental Boeing Condor remotely piloted aircraft. -end- NOTE TO EDITORS: Still photos to support this release are available from the Dryden Public Affairs Office. Photos also are available on the Internet under NASA Dryden Research Aircraft Photo Archive, Dryden News and Feature Photos, at URL: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo NASA Dryden news releases also are available on the Internet at URL: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/PAO/PressReleases/index.html From Susannah.Hirsh at wcmc.org.uk Wed Jul 16 14:09:24 1997 From: Susannah.Hirsh at wcmc.org.uk (Susannah.Hirsh at wcmc.org.uk) Date: Wed, 16 Jul 97 14:09:24 BST Subject: Suntan lotion Message-ID: <9707161316.AA26549@wcmc.org.uk> Dear list members, I recently received an interesting enquiry, as to whether it's possible that suntan lotion could leach from snorkellers' skin and have any detrimental effect on the surrounding coral. I would be very interested to know if anyone has done any research in this field, or knows of any related papers. Thank you for your time. Could you please reply to me directly. Susannah Co-ordinator IYOR-UK ---------------------------------------------------------------- Susannah Hirsh, Tel +44 (0) 223 277314 World Conservation Monitoring Centre Fax +44 (0) 223 277136 219 Huntingdon Road, Email: Susannah.Hirsh at wcmc.org.uk CAMBRIGDE, CB3 0DL, U.K. WWW:http://www.wcmc.org.uk/marine/data/ From Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov Wed Jul 16 11:35:43 1997 From: Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov (Griffis, Roger B) Date: Wed, 16 Jul 97 11:35:43 EDT Subject: FISHERIES SERVICE TO UPDATE CANDIDATE SPECIES LIST Message-ID: FYI Re: Changes to Candidate Species List by National Marine Fisheries Service (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Dept of Commerce) Note changes to listing of coral species. For more information see Federal Register Notice Volume 62, Number 134 Pages 37560-37563 "Endangered and threatened species; Revision of Candidate Species List under the Endangered Species Act" _______________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 7/14/97 NOAA 97-39 FISHERIES SERVICE TO UPDATE CANDIDATE SPECIES LIST As part of the Administration's commitment to improve implementation of the Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service is updating its 1991 list of species that are candidates for possible addition to the List of Endangered and Threatened Species, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today. "The revisions to the candidate species list strengthen the scientific basis of the list," said Rolland Schmitten, director of the fisheries service. "This will enable the fisheries service, other agencies and our partners in the private sector to focus attention and resources on unlisted species that are most likely to need help in the future if we do not act now." In contrast to species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), no regulatory protections are granted to candidate species. The candidate species list assists the public by providing advance notification that these species may warrant listing in the future, identifies declining species for additional management attention, and encourages voluntary conservation that will help prevent the need to ever list the species. An effective program for the conservation of endangered species requires a means of addressing species that have not yet been listed but that face immediate, identifiable risks. Early management options, like Candidate Conservation Agreements, minimize the cost of recovery and reduce potential impacts on land use policies in the future. In addition, as threats are reduced and populations are increased or stabilized, attention can be shifted to those species in the greatest need of the ESA's protective measures. Candidate species are defined as "any species being considered by the Secretary for listing as an endangered or a threatened species, but not yet the subject of a proposed rule." Species included on the 1997 list were required to meet a higher standard of documentation than species on the 1991 list. Also, candidate species' selection criteria are now more specific: (1) species for which there are demographic or genetic concerns indicating that listing may be warranted; or (2) species that are rare or in poor biological condition and face a high degree of threat. Due to changes in many species' status, the 1991 list also was out of date. Some species are now listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA (Saimaa seal, Delta smelt, tidewater goby), others have been proposed for listing (Johnson's seagrass, harbor porpoise). One vertebrate population was found not warranted for listing (U.S. Atlantic coastal population of bottlenose dolphin), and various other species or populations have been recognized as possibly warranting listing. The old candidate species list contained 44 species, while the new list contains 22 species. The fisheries service removed 37 species from the old list for a variety of reasons. Nine foreign species were removed because the new list is restricted to domestic species only. The status of six species has changed. Twelve species were removed because the information currently available to the fisheries service does not meet the more stringent criteria. Ten coral species were removed because the information available indicates declines in certain populations, but not throughout the species' ranges (corals are invertebrates, and the ESA allows invertebrates to be listed on a species-wide basis only). The fisheries service added fifteen species that had not been identified in 1991, but meet the more specific criteria and higher documentation standard for the new list. Included in these fifteen species are six Pacific salmon species. On September 12, 1994, the fisheries service announced that comprehensive status reviews would be conducted for all populations of Pacific salmon and anadromous trout in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. This decision effectively classified all seven salmon species under fisheries service jurisdiction - coho, chinook, pink, chum, and sockeye salmon, steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout - as candidate species. These status reviews are at various stages of completion and have resulted in proposed or final listing determinations for several distinct population segments of Pacific salmon including a final determination that the listing of pink salmon was not warranted. A copy of the 1991 list of candidate species and the 1997 list is available to the news media by calling the public affairs office at (301) 713-2370. _______________ For more information see Federal Register Notice Volume 62, Number 134 Pages 37560-37563 "Endangered and threatened species; Revision of Candidate Species List under the Endangered Species Act" begin 666 ATTRIBS.BND M0F5Y;VYD(%!A8VME9"!!='1R:6)U=&5S```+0514*```````1DE32$522453 M(%-%4E9)0T4 at 5$\@55!$051%($-!3D1)1$%412!34$5#2453($Q)4U0````` M```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` M`%)O9V5R($(N($=R:69F:7,````````````````````````````````````` M``````````````````````````````````!/35HW*T-D0VYN```````````` M````````0F5Y;VYD(%!R;W!R:65T87)Y($1A=&$:`````!$`````````!`"1 M%@``````````````````````````5&5X=*041EE)(%)E.B!#:&%N9V5S('1O M($-A;F1I9&%T92!3<&5C:65S($QI2!C;VYS97)V871I;VX@=&AA="!W:6QL(&AE;'`@<')E=F5N M="!T:&4@;F5E9"!T;R!E=F5R(&QI65T(&)E96X@;&ES=&5D(&)U="!T:&%T M(&9A8V4@:6UM961I871E+"!I9&5N=&EF:6%B;&4@2!T:&4 at 4V5C M2!S<&5C:65S)R!S=&%T=7,L('1H M92`Q.3DQ(&QI2DL(&]T:&5R2!W87)R86YT:6YG(&QI"!S<&5C:65S(&AA64@$P$`WQ,/%`$`$!0W%`$`.!0X%`$` M.12A%`$`HA2B%`$`HQ2C%`$`I!2D%`$`I12E%````````````````&0``:0! M`4@#`>P$`9`&`30(`=@)`7P+`2`-`<0.`6 at 0`0P2`;`3`505`?@6#```$0`` M```````$`)$6``````````````````````````!497ATI!1&64D at 4F4Z($-H M86YG97,@=&\@0V%N9&ED871E(%-P96-I97, at 3&ES="!B>2!.871I;VYA;"!- M87)I;F4 at 1FES:&5R:65S(%-E2X*"B)4:&4@2!T;R!N965D(&AE M;'`@:6X@=&AE(&9U='5R92!I9B!W92!D;R!N;W0 at 86-T(&YO=RXB"@I);B!C M;VYT2!P2!W87)R86YT(&QIF4@=&AE(&-OF5D+"!A='1E;G1I;VX at 8V%N(&)E('-H:69T960@=&\@ M=&AO2!B92!W87)R86YT M960[(&]R("@R*2!S<&5C:65S('1H870 at 87)E(')AF5D(&%S('!O2!C;&%S2!O9B!T:&4@,3DY,2!L:7-T(&]F(&-A;F1I9&%T92!S<&5C M:65S(&%N9"!T:&4@,3DY-R!L:7-T(&ES(&%V86EL86)L92!T;R!T:&4@;F5W M2!C86QL:6YG('1H92!P=6)L:6, at 869F86ER,!`0#D M`>0!`0#E`1@"`0`9`AD"`0`:`G\#`0"``X`#`0"!`_$$`0#R!/($`0#S!+D& M`0"Z!KH&`0"[!K\(`0#`",`(`0#!"/H*`0#["OL*`0#\"MP,`0#=#-T,`0#> M#$<0`0!($$@0`0!)$#83`0`W$S<3`0`X$\X3`0#/$]X3`0#?$P\4`0`0%#<4 M`0`X%#@4`0`Y%*$4`0"B%*(4`0"C%*,4`0"D%*04`0"E%*44```````````` M````9``!I`$!2`,![`0!D`8!-`@!V`D!?`L!(`T!Q`X!:!`!#!(!L!,!5!4! %^!8,```@ ` end From bayu at bengkulu.wasantara.net.id Fri Jul 18 22:14:15 1997 From: bayu at bengkulu.wasantara.net.id (Bayu Ludvianto) Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 22:14:15 +-700 Subject: email address for seagrass research mailing list Message-ID: <01BC93C8.139F98E0@la2bkl.wasantara.net.id> Dear coral list members, I would be very appreciative, if you could suggest me with any email address of the seagrass research mailing list. Many thanks. B. Ludvianto Dept. of Biology. University of Bengkulu, Indonesia. From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Fri Jul 18 12:16:33 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 12:16:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Other Lists Message-ID: Please be advised that a provisional list of other listservers (including SEAGRASS_FORUM) can be found at: http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/lists/many_lists.html. Cheers, Jim Hendee coral-list administrator On Fri, 18 Jul 1997, Bayu Ludvianto wrote: > Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 22:14:15 +-700 > From: Bayu Ludvianto > To: "'coral-list at reef.aoml.noaa.gov'" > Subject: email address for seagrass research mailing list > > Dear coral list members, > I would be very appreciative, if you could suggest me with any email addres$ > > B. Ludvianto > Dept. of Biology. University of Bengkulu, Indonesia. > > From Coalter.Lathrop at noaa.gov Fri Jul 18 18:07:06 1997 From: Coalter.Lathrop at noaa.gov (Coalter Lathrop) Date: 18 Jul 1997 18:07:06 -0400 Subject: NOAA/IUCN 52 Reef Stories needs your help Message-ID: <031D233CFE90A007*/c=US/admd=ATTMAIL/prmd=GOV+NOAA/o=CCNMFS/s=Lathrop/g=Coalter/@MHS> Dear Coral List Subscribers: I am coordinating the NOAA/IUCN 52 Reef Stories media outreach campaign during the International Year of the Reef. Each week NOAA's Office of Public Affairs distributes a one-page, coral reef-related media tip sheet to local, national, and international media outlets in an attempt to raise public awareness about coral reefs. Each tip sheet focuses on either a coral reef event (e.g.. Reef Check), a coral reef issue (e.g.. cyanide fishing), or both. See http://www.noaa.gov/public-affairs/coral-reef.html for the first 28 stories. We are currently over halfway through IYOR and would like your input in order to develop the final 24 stories. After viewing the NOAA Public Affairs coral reef website, if you have any suggestions for additional coral reef stories, please contact me by e-mail (coalter.lathrop at noaa.gov), telephone (301) 713-2319 x188, or fax (301) 713-0376. We plan to do a series over the next month on the effects of land-based activities (and their by-products) on coral reefs. If you have knowledge of the specific effects of 1) sewage, 2) persistent organic pollutants, 3) radioactive substances, 4) heavy metals, 5) oils/hydrocarbons, 6) nutrients, 7) sediments, or 8) litter on coral reefs, please contact me. I am interested in the land- based activities that produce these substances, and in the specific biological, chemical, and/or physical effects that these substances have on coral reefs. Specific examples are helpful. Other story ideas that need to be expanded are: blast fishing, anchor damage/ mooring bouys, artificial reefs, coral spawning, coral propogation, and corals and remote sensing. All assistance will be greatly appreciated. Coalter From acohen at whoi.edu Sat Jul 19 15:32:40 1997 From: acohen at whoi.edu (Anne Cohen) Date: Sat, 19 Jul 1997 12:32:40 -0700 Subject: growth rates of Atlantic gorgonian spp. References: <33D11429.2ED3@whoi.edu> Message-ID: <33D11658.D43@whoi.edu> I am in need of information regarding growth rates of individual colonies of 3 Atlantic gorgonians: sea rods Pseudoplexaura spp.and Plexaura spp. and the sea fan Gorgonia ventilina. I have not been able to find this info in the published literature - can you help ? many thanks, Anne Cohen *********************************************** Dr Anne L. Cohen Dept. Geology and Geophysics Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole MA 02543 acohen at whoi.edu Tel: 508 289 2958 Fax: 508 289 2183 From lucy.biologia at DARWIN.UPR.CLU.EDU Tue Jul 22 07:31:55 1997 From: lucy.biologia at DARWIN.UPR.CLU.EDU (lucy.biologia at DARWIN.UPR.CLU.EDU) Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 11:31:55 +0000 Subject: Slime-Blotch Disease Outbreaks Message-ID: <44E295834FB@darwin.upr.clu.edu> We have reports of slime-blotch disease, characterized by large, external lesions, in coral reef fishes from 4 widely spaced West Indian localities. Have you seen this disease or heard reports of its occurrence? We are concerned that it is becoming widespread and may cause a mass mortality. Thank you. Bert Ernest H. Williams, Jr. Phone (787) 899-2048 X 264 Department of Marine Sciences University of Puerto Rico FAX 787-899-5500 (under repair) P.O. Box 908 787-265-3837 c/o Dr. Bunkley Lajas, PR 00667-0980 From lucy.biologia at DARWIN.UPR.CLU.EDU Tue Jul 22 07:31:55 1997 From: lucy.biologia at DARWIN.UPR.CLU.EDU (lucy.biologia at DARWIN.UPR.CLU.EDU) Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 11:31:55 +0000 Subject: Slime-Blotch Disease Outbreaks Message-ID: <44E295834FB@darwin.upr.clu.edu> We have reports of slime-blotch disease, characterized by large, external lesions, in coral reef fishes from 4 widely spaced West Indian localities. Have you seen this disease or heard reports of its occurrence? We are concerned that it is becoming widespread and may cause a mass mortality. Thank you. Bert Ernest H. Williams, Jr. Phone (787) 899-2048 X 264 Department of Marine Sciences University of Puerto Rico FAX 787-899-5500 (under repair) P.O. Box 908 787-265-3837 c/o Dr. Bunkley Lajas, PR 00667-0980 From osha at pobox.com Wed Jul 23 11:21:43 1997 From: osha at pobox.com (Osha Gray Davidson) Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 10:21:43 -0500 Subject: Warm Pool Message-ID: <2.2.32.19970723152143.006b5eb8@soli.inav.net> Greetings-- I'm looking for an estimated volume for the Pacific "Warm Pool" associated with ENSO events (and bleaching). Can anyone help? Thanks, Osha Osha Gray Davidson 14 S. Governor St. Iowa City, IA 52240 USA +++++++++++ PH: (319) 338-4778 FAX: (319) 338-8606 e-mail: osha at pobox.com Center for International and Comparative Studies, University of Iowa From sbf at btl.net Wed Jul 23 10:57:08 1997 From: sbf at btl.net (Siwa-Ban) Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 09:57:08 -0500 Subject: VitaReef software price Message-ID: <19970723155706.AAA17305@port55.btl.net> Hello, coral-list; Can someone tell me the price of VitaReef software, used to analyse reef video transects? Thank you in advance E McRae The Siwa-ban Foundation 47 Caye Caulker Belize, C.A. From laerts at nioz.nl Fri Jul 25 00:12:27 1997 From: laerts at nioz.nl (Lisanne Aerts) Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 00:12:27 +02:0 Subject: coral extracts Message-ID: Hello, A few days ago my promotor R. Bak gave me a print of an abstract dealing with a coral extract research. Unfortunately there was no name, date or other references attached to it. A more specific description: "Aqueous extracts were made from the hermatypic corals Fungia fungites, Goniopora tenuidens, Goniastrea favulus, Platygyra daedalea, Favia matthai and Pavona decussata. Extracts were assayed against three life stages of hermatypic corals namely adults, single polyp juveniles (spat) and larvae. They were also assayed against the larvae of a polychaete, decapod, echinoid and an ascidian." Because this field of research has my interest I wanted to know who has been working with these coral extracts and if there is a publication of this research. So if anyone knows something more.... Thanks. Lisanne Aerts. *************************************************** Lisanne Aerts (laerts at nioz.nl) Netherlands Institute for sea research (NIOZ) P.O. Box 59 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands. tel. ( )31-222-369573 fax. ( )31-222-319674 *************************************************** From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Fri Jul 25 11:32:45 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 11:32:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: GCRMN Update Message-ID: Greetings, The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Home Page has been updated to reflect recent documents released by the GCRMN Steering and Technical Advisory Committee. You may view these documents at: http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/gcrmn/ Following are titles of the documents: ----------------------------------------------------------------- An Overview of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) GCRMN Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, First Annual Report (April, 1997) GCRMN Strategic Plan (May, 1997) GCRMN Summary of Progress (May, 1997) GCRMN Workshop; Mombasa, Kenya; 28 February 1997. (Document also available in PDF format.) South Africa and Mauritius Tasmania and Mozambique Eritrea and Kenya India (Andaman) Maldives and Reunion (All of above tables in RTF document.) Protocols for Coral Reef Monitoring Text sent by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) (July, 1997) ------------------------------------------------------------------ From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Fri Jul 25 11:32:45 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 11:32:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: GCRMN Update Message-ID: Greetings, The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Home Page has been updated to reflect recent documents released by the GCRMN Steering and Technical Advisory Committee. You may view these documents at: http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/gcrmn/ Following are titles of the documents: ----------------------------------------------------------------- An Overview of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) GCRMN Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, First Annual Report (April, 1997) GCRMN Strategic Plan (May, 1997) GCRMN Summary of Progress (May, 1997) GCRMN Workshop; Mombasa, Kenya; 28 February 1997. (Document also available in PDF format.) South Africa and Mauritius Tasmania and Mozambique Eritrea and Kenya India (Andaman) Maldives and Reunion (All of above tables in RTF document.) Protocols for Coral Reef Monitoring Text sent by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) (July, 1997) ------------------------------------------------------------------ From teng at ccpl.carr.lib.md.us Fri Jul 25 20:28:37 1997 From: teng at ccpl.carr.lib.md.us (Terry Eng) Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 17:28:37 -0700 Subject: Taxonomic database Message-ID: <33D944B5.6AE4@ccpl.carr.lib.md.us> Hi all, Does anyone know of any organization responsible for cataloging scientific names? I am interested in knowing who actually officializes these names or if they are officialized by the various societies dealing with specific groups of organisms, such as an ichthyological society with regard to fishes. I feel that such a database would be an extremely useful resource if a single one exists. My current question involves the validity of the nomenclature of the blue mandarin dragonette native to the Pacific. I have seen it listed as Synchiropus splendidus but more recently as Pterosynchiropus splendidus and am wondering which is the official name. Any feedback on this issue is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Pam From edrew at ultra.net.au Sat Jul 26 06:06:41 1997 From: edrew at ultra.net.au (ed drew) Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 20:06:41 +1000 Subject: Halimeda web page Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970726100641.00691778@mail.ozemail.com.au> Those of you interested in Halimeda may like to check out the updates to my web site which now includes the beginnings of the long awaited Atlas of Halimeda Banks of the Great Barrier Reef plus some ancillary material on the banks themselves, and what they look like on aerial photographs. Use the basic URL for access as old bookmarks will probably no longer work http://www.ozemail.com.au/~edrew Ed ------------------------- Dr Edward A Drew ----------------------- | PO Box 361, Castletown, Hyde Park, Townsville, Q 4812, Australia | | TEL +61-077-724452 FAX +61-077-213538 MOBILE +61-014-879869 | | EMAIL edrew at ultra.net.au WWWeb http://www.ozemail.com.au/~edrew | ------------------------------------------------------------------ From albert at athiel.com Sat Jul 26 20:43:17 1997 From: albert at athiel.com (Albert Thiel) Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 20:43:17 -0400 Subject: Rapid Tissue Necrosis Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19970726204317.00b18f70@pop3.athiel.com> Is there any evidence that RTN is actually a secondary infection (possibly by Vibrio sp. bacteria) and not a primary disease but that the onset may be due to massive attacks by Vibrio organisms because a small polyp coral (e.g Acropora sp.) is stressed and may suffer from nutritional or other deficiency ? Albert Thiel From fautin at kuhub.cc.ukans.edu Sat Jul 26 21:38:19 1997 From: fautin at kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (DAPHNE G. FAUTIN) Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 20:38:19 -0500 (UTC -05:00) Subject: Taxonomic database In-Reply-To: <33D944B5.6AE4@ccpl.carr.lib.md.us> Message-ID: Dear Pam et al., I am responding to everyone since I think one or more of Pam's concerns may not be confined to her. On Fri, 25 Jul 1997, Terry Eng wrote: > Hi all, > > Does anyone know of any organization responsible for cataloging > scientific names? I am interested in knowing who actually officializes > these names or if they are officialized by the various societies > dealing > with specific groups of organisms, such as an ichthyological society > with regard to fishes. I feel that such a database would be an > extremely useful resource if a single one exists. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is a set of rules that governs how animals are named (there is an analogous Code of Botanical Nomenclature and one for bacteria, as well). As long as an animal name meets the conditions of the Code, it is considered "official," in the sense of your question ("available" in the terms of taxonomy). The name must be published to meet particular criteria but not in any particular journal. One responsibility of editors of journals in which descriptions appear is to be sufficiently familiar with the Code to ensure the descriptions are in accord with its provisions. Errors tend to creep into taxonomy/nomenclature -- such as misspellings, mistaken dates, etc. More insidious is the problem of homonymy, in which the identical name has been published for more than one taxon. As long as both have met the provisions of the Code, the one published first generally is the one to which the name applies. (The International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature rules on disputes and publishes the Code.) Bill Eschmeyer of the California Academy of Sciences has devoted many years recently to indexing the nomenclatural literature on fishes, and his "Genera of Fishes" (gopher.calacademy.org:70/11/depts/icht/genera) and "Species of Fishes" (www.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/species/) are the definitive sources for taxonomic and nomenclatural data on fishes. (I am engaged in a similar effort for sea anemones.) > My current question involves the > validity of the nomenclature of the blue mandarin dragonette native to > the Pacific. I have seen it listed as Synchiropus splendidus but more > recently as Pterosynchiropus splendidus and am wondering which is the > official name. Any feedback on this issue is greatly appreciated. This is a different question. "Official" probably has nothing to do with which name you should use. Which genus a species belongs in is usually a taxonomic issue and a matter of opinion. There is no arbiter of most questions of this sort. In terms of genera, "splitters" recognize more of them, each containing fewer species than "lumpers," who tend to put more species in each of fewer genera. I am unfamiliar with the taxonomy of dragonettes so do not know the reason for some people placing the species *splendidus* in the genus *Synchiropus* and others putting it in the genus *Pterosynchiropus*. Typically, however, names that are rooted in other names came later and were erected to accommodate some of the species that had been placed in the first genus. So, in this case, the genus *Synchiropus* might have contained species that differed so much that an ichthyologist thought they should not all be placed in one genus (which implies a close degree of evolutionary relationship) and so described a new genus *Pterosynchiropus* for some of them. Of course, other ichthyologists who disagree would consider the later name a synonym of the earlier one and thus use the earlier one. Less commonly a name is found to be a homonym or not to have met the provisions of the Code, and then the species that had been associated with it are moved to another genus -- and in this case the transfer is not a matter of opinion, as it is in the more common situation I described above. > Thanks in advance, > Pam > Daphne G. Fautin Division of Biological Sciences Haworth Hall University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045 USA 1-785-864-3062 From lirman at oj.rsmas.miami.edu Sun Jul 27 20:59:50 1997 From: lirman at oj.rsmas.miami.edu (diego lirman) Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 20:59:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: WBD reports Message-ID: <199707280059.UAA18139@oj.rsmas.miami.edu> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text Size: 1262 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/pipermail/coral-list-old/attachments/19970727/d11ac4d4/attachment.pl From seafdec at po.jaring.my Sun Jul 27 23:52:14 1997 From: seafdec at po.jaring.my (seafdec at po.jaring.my) Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 11:52:14 +0800 Subject: information coral research at Japan Message-ID: <199707280352.LAA28513@relay1.jaring.my> Greetings--- I'm doing some research on Malaysia coral reef (Marine parks). I'm understand that coral list can help me to provide any information about coral reef research at Japan. Can anyone help?. Please send the information to this email adderess seafdec at po.jaring.my or fax number ++609-6175136 I apprreciate very much and look forward to hearing from anyone soon. best regards Mr. Shukri Yusoff Marine Departmen Fisheries Resources Development and Management Department Terengganu 21080 Malaysia From gap1 at acpub.duke.edu Mon Jul 28 16:21:58 1997 From: gap1 at acpub.duke.edu (Gregory Andrew Piniak) Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 16:21:58 -0400 (EDT) Subject: coral reproduction Message-ID: i've been using a statistical approach called path analysis to model changes in caribbean coral community structure caused by eutrophication. part of my classification scheme relies on coral feeding strategies and mechanisms of reproduction. i've been searching the literature for information on coral reproductive strategies, and although i've found much useful information, i haven't been able to find any information (spawners or brooders, gonochoric, hermaphroditic, etc) on the following species: madracis decactis, madracis mirabilis, leptoseris cucullata, diploria clivosa, meandrina meandrites, dichocoenia stokesi, colophyllia natans, stephanocoenia michellinii, mycetophyllia aliciae, mycetophyllia danaana, and isophyllia sinuosa. i realize that the info i'm looking for may not exist, but i'd welcome suggestions as to where else i may look...please reply to gap1 at acpub.duke.edu. many thanks... greg piniak From reefnet at cerf.net Tue Jul 29 04:40:17 1997 From: reefnet at cerf.net (Wendy Holland) Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 01:40:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Reefnet Summer Issue Message-ID: Announcing Summer Issue of Reefnet: http://www.reefnet.org REEF RESEARCH Mark Hixon Predators Regulate Local Abundance of Marine Fish: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea NGO NEWS Save Our Seas Clean Ocean Conference Brian Tissot Community-Based Management of Coral Reefs in Hawai'i CONSERVATION STRATEGIES John McManus Gets the Big Picture on Coral Reefs ReefBase Data Collection Wendy Holland Productions 98 Main Street, Suite 421 Tiburon, CA 94920 USA 1-415-257-5677 reefnet at cerf.net http://www.reefnet.org From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Tue Jul 29 11:55:43 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 11:55:43 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SEA LIFE WEEK June 1-7, 1998 Message-ID: FYI, from marbio listserver: Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 16:02:41 +1000 From: oneocean at comcen.com.au an event Not to miss! SEA LIFE WEEK June 1-7 1998 Tulamban, Bali. MIMPI Resort- for marine life lovers and underwater photographers The Speakers Dr. Gerry Allen PHD author of Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Guide & Discoverer of many new fish species Dr. Carden Wallace PHD Curator of Museum of Tropical Queensland, Discoverer of coral spawning & coral species Roger Steene author of Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Guide & Discoverer of many new fish species Michael AW author of Tropical Reef Fishes & Reef Life, Beneath Bunaken, Metamorphosea & Dreams from a Rainbow Sea - Maldives & many more other personalities. The Above -Water Attractions Lectures & slide shows on Ecology & Behavior of Corals & Fishes from the Experts Underwater photography workshop & including how to Shoot and Select Award- winning images. Count the Fishes Competition - 1st prize US$1000 Cash Count the Coral Competition - 1st prize US$1000 Cash Marine Photography Competition - Total Prizes - over US$10000 Learn & Shoot with the Experts! The Venue - Mimpi Resort A deluxe boutique-style resort by the waterfront Exquisite cuisine Infinity Pool & lush gardens & outdoor shower in all room Dedicated diving centre The Underwater Attractions WWII wreck - the Liberty Ship, Drop-off and walls, thousands of swirling jacks, friendly critters ready to pose include- ghost pipefish, anglerfish, sea horse, devilfish, gobies, blennies, anglerfish, Long-nosed hawkfish, uncountable species of nudibranch, allied cowries and many rare crustacea species. Tulamban is one the favorite locations of Gerry Allen, Michael AW and Roger Steene, in fact many of their published photographs are captured in the small bay area. Last year, world famous photographer David Doubilet spent over 20 days photographing the same location that you will be diving on. The package 7 day / 6 night accommodation, Set Breakfast/lunch/dinner/ 15 dives with tank & weights / Entry to all workshop, lectures , airport transfer. US$685 pp (twin sharing / single supplement US$150) Entry to photocomp - US$100 (include films and processing) Entry to fish and coral comp - US$50 * Mimpi is a boutique resort with only 30 rooms - Limited spaces left - book now! For Reervation contact: Sea Life Week, MIMPI, email: oneocean at OceanNEnvironment.com.au or Fax: 61 2 9 686 3688 Sponsors: MIMPI Tulamban Resort : OceanNEnvironment Check out Dreams from a Rainbow Sea - Maldives at our Web site. A Marine Awarenss Guide (include photography tips) to Tropical Reef Life is ready for delivery! OceanNEnvironment Ltd P.O.Box 2138, Carlinford Court Post Office Carlingford NSW 2118, Australia Fax: 61 2 9 686 3688 Tel: 61 2 9 686 3688 / 6838 Email:oneocean at OceanNEnvironment.com.au Http://www.OceanNEnvironment.com.au From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Tue Jul 29 11:56:46 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 11:56:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: CALL FOR PAPERS: SICB ANNUAL MEETING Message-ID: FYI, from Ecolog-L listserver: ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 19:50:29 -0500 From: Faith Kearns Subject: CALL FOR PAPERS: SICB ANNUAL MEETING CALL FOR PAPERS: Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting 1998 Co-sponsored by the Ecological Society of America, American Microscopical Society, Animal Behavior Society, International Society for Reef Studies, Julia B. Platt Club, and The Crustacean Society January 3-7, 1998 Boston Marriott Hotel Copley Place Boston, Massachusetts The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) will hold its 1998 Annual Meeting, co-sponsored by the Ecological Society of America, January 3-7 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts. This meeting will be an educational and research forum for scientists in the fields of evolutionary biology, ecology, physiology, and other biological sciences. The meeting will include ten symposia, numerous workshops and special programs, and hundreds of contributed papers in divisional and interdivisional sessions. These sessions will feature current topics by researchers in their fields of expertise and insights into the latest developments. Symposia featured at the meeting include: Coral Reefs and Environmental Change-Adaptation, Acclimation or Extinction?-The symbiotic modular organisms central to coral reef ecosystems provide a natural laboratory for studying rates, mechanisms and ranges of adaptation and acclimation. Evolutionary Biology-This innovative symposium will explore the latest developments in evolutionary biology. Drs. Lynn Margulis and Stephen Jay Gould will share their research. Comparative Embryology of Myogenesis-Certain molecules are known to play similar roles in myogenesis in different species of animals, but the details vary phylogenetically. This will be the first symposium to examine comparative aspects of muscle development. Aquatic Organisms, Terrestrial Eggs: Early Development at the Water's Edge-This symposium will integrate studies of algae, invertebrates, and vertebrates and consider topics such as the physical properties of eggs and parental care in the intertidal zone. In addition to symposia, the ten SICB divisions will sponsor up to 400 talks and posters on an array of topics. The SICB divisions include: Animal Behavior, Comparative Endocrinology, Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Developmental and Cell Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Integrative and Comparative Issues, Invertebrate Zoology, Neurobiolog, Systematic Zoology, and Vertebrate Morphology. ABSTRACTS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED DEADLINE--AUGUST 22, 1998 The SICB Abstract Transmittal Form and Guidelines are available on the ESA web site at http://esa.sdsc.edu (under Meetings). To submit your abstract electronically via the web, you must provide a credit card number for the $30 abstract processing fee. If you would like a copy of the Abstract Transmittal Form and Guidelines mailed to you, please contact Corinne O'Brien at corinne_o'brien at sba.com. For general meeting information or registration materials, visit ESA's Homepage or contact the SICB Business Office at 401 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, 312/527-6697, Fax: 312/245-1085, E-mail: sicb at sba.com, http://www.sicb.com. ------------------------------ From atinker at accessone.com Tue Jul 29 21:35:05 1997 From: atinker at accessone.com (Aaron B Tinker) Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 17:35:05 -0800 Subject: Symposium on Marine Conservation Biology Message-ID: (sorry for any cross-postings) THE FIRST SYMPOSIUM ON MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY KICKS-OFF NEW SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE After the successful completion of the first Symposium on Marine Conservation Biology, I'd like to share some observations for those who couldn't attend what one participant called "the Woodstock" of marine conservation biology. Held at the Society for Conservation Biology's Annual Meeting at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, June 4-6, and organized by Elliott Norse, President of Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI), this Symposium represented the largest gathering of scientific presentations on marine conservation biology ever assembled. Among the presenters and 1000-plus attendees from at least 30 nations were premier marine scientists including Bob Paine, Paul Dayton, John Ogden, Steve Palumbi, Tundi Agardy, Jon Lien, Jeff Levinton, Dick Strathmann, Stuart Pimm and other stars of marine sciences. A round of applause is in order for the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) for recognizing the need to expand conservation biology research into the marine realm, and strengthening its commitment to making marine conservation a significant part of its focus (including its heightened interest in publishing manuscripts on marine topics in its superb journal Conservation Biology). Although this meeting served as the inaugural event for the new discipline of marine conservation biology, the hundreds of papers presented demonstrate that marine conservation biologists have already been looking at crucial marine conservation questions ranging from the value of marine protected areas to the impacts of harmful algal blooms. While previous SCB annual meetings have held only two sessions of talks on marine species and ecosystems, this meeting had 44 marine sessions on a wide range of marine topics, among them alien species, declining fisheries, conservation of coral reefs and coastal ecosystems, conservation of cetaceans, and genetics and conservation of marine organisms. The meeting began with a stirring Keynote call to action by marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco and ended with a sobering Plenary by marine paleoecologist Jeremy Jackson. Two central themes emerged from all of the presentations, panel discussions, speeches, and conversations. The first is that fishing is the greatest threat to marine ecosystems today. The second is the need for a dramatic increase in the number and effectiveness of marine protected areas - including more areas with no take zones to allow populations and habitats to recover from fishing pressures. This seems consistent with recent calls by Jane Lubchenco, Past President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and others, that 20% of the world's marine waters be included in marine reserves by the year 2020 -- a bold figure politically, given the minuscule percent of the sea currently protected and the weakness of many protections in these areas. Still, there were many marine conservation biologists claiming that this would not be enough if we want to sustain fisheries and protect marine biodiversity. To express their concern about the decline of marine ecosystems and the urgent need for citizen and government action to conserve them, over 400 scientists signed onto "Troubled Waters: A Call for Action" which will be released to the media after more have had a chance to sign on. MCBI urges all concerned scientists to read this statement and sign on by contacting me at MCBI's Redmond WA office via email at . The statement will be appearing on this listserver, and also can be read at MCBI's web page (http://www.mcbi.org). From atinker at accessone.com Tue Jul 29 21:35:21 1997 From: atinker at accessone.com (Aaron B Tinker) Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 17:35:21 -0800 Subject: Troubled Waters Statement Message-ID: (sorry for any cross-postings) SCIENTISTS URGE DRAMATIC STRENGTHENING OF MARINE CONSERVATION EFFORTS When scientists speak with one voice, the media, the public and decision makers pay attention. The time is now ripe for scientists to make a public statement on threats to marine biodiversity and the need for action to conserve it. The following statement was drafted and sent to prominent scientists who offered many improvements and signed on. Marine Conservation Biology Institute is now circulating the statement for signatures to marine scientists and conservation biologists (senior scientists and scientists-in-training as well); upon gaining enough signatures, the statement will be released to the media. More than 400 marine scientists and conservation biologists have already signed (partial list follows the statement). Timing is very important in this effort, so please respond by email as soon as possible, and please include your NAME, TITLE, and AFFILIATION. A copy of the statement is also available from our website at http://www.mcbi.org - to sign, please send me an email (Aaron Tinker, MCBI Program Assistant - atinker at accessone.com). TROUBLED WATERS: A CALL FOR ACTION We, the undersigned marine scientists and conservation biologists, call upon the world's citizens and governments to recognize that the living sea is in trouble and to take decisive action. We must act quickly to stop further severe, irreversible damage to the sea's biological diversity and integrity. Marine ecosystems are home to many phyla that live nowhere else. As vital components of our planet's life support systems, they protect shorelines from flooding, break down wastes, moderate climate and maintain a breathable atmosphere. Marine species provide a livelihood for millions of people, food, medicines, raw materials and recreation for billions, and are intrinsically important. Life in the world's estuaries, coastal waters, enclosed seas and oceans is increasingly threatened by: 1) overexploitation of species, 2) physical alteration of ecosystems, 3) pollution, 4) introduction of alien species, and 5) global atmospheric change. Scientists have documented the extinction of marine species, disappearance of ecosystems and loss of resources worth billions of dollars. Overfishing has eliminated all but a handful of California's white abalones. Swordfish fisheries have collapsed as more boats armed with better technology chase ever fewer fish. Northern right whales have not recovered six decades after their exploitation supposedly ceased. Steller sea lion populations have dwindled as fishing for their food has intensified. Cyanide and dynamite fishing are destroying the world's richest coral reefs. Bottom trawling is scouring continental shelf seabeds from the poles to the tropics. Mangrove forests are vanishing. Logging and farming on hillsides are exposing soils to rains that wash silt into the sea, killing kelps and reef corals. Nutrients from sewage and toxic chemicals from industry are overnourishing and poisoning estuaries, coastal waters and enclosed seas. Millions of seabirds have been oiled, drowned by longlines, and deprived of nesting beaches by development and nest-robbing cats and rats. Alien species introduced intentionally or as stowaways in ships' ballast tanks have become dominant species in marine ecosystems around the world. Reef corals are succumbing to diseases or undergoing mass bleaching in many places. There is no doubt that the sea's biological diversity and integrity are in trouble. To reverse this trend and avert even more widespread harm to marine species and ecosystems, we urge citizens and governments worldwide to take the following five steps: 1. Identify and provide effective protection to all populations of marine species that are significantly depleted or declining, take all measures necessary to allow their recovery, minimize bycatch, end all subsidies that encourage overfishing and ensure that use of marine species is sustainable in perpetuity. 2. Increase the number and effectiveness of marine protected areas so that 20% of Exclusive Economic Zones and the High Seas are protected from threats by the Year 2020. 3. Ameliorate or stop fishing methods that undermine sustainability by harming the habitats of economically valuable marine species and the species they use for food and shelter. 4. Stop physical alteration of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems that harms the sea, minimize pollution discharged at sea or entering the sea from the land, curtail introduction of alien marine species and prevent further atmospheric changes that threaten marine species and ecosystems. 5. Provide sufficient resources to encourage natural and social scientists to undertake marine conservation biology research needed to protect, restore and sustainably use life in the sea. Nothing happening on Earth threatens our security more than the destruction of our living systems. The situation is so serious that leaders and citizens cannot afford to wait even a decade to make major progress toward these goals. To maintain, restore and sustainably use the sea's biological diversity and the essential products and services that it provides, we must act now. **end of statement** A few of the over 400 endorsements gathered include: Jane Lubchenco, Michael Soule, Jim Carlton, Sylvia Earle, Jon Lien, Elliott Norse, Robert Paine, Winston Ponder, Stephen Palumbi, Carl Safina, Paul Dayton, Gary Meffe, John Ogden, Jeff McNeely, Victorin Mallet, Judith and Fred Grassle, George Rabb, Jeff Levinton, Les Watling, Liana and John McManus, Dee Boersma, Les Kaufman, Bruce Robison, Dennis Murphy, Paul Ehrlich, Elizabeth Flint, Julia Parrish, Richard Brusca, Don McAllister, Rod Fujita, Cheryl Ann Butman, Gary Davis, John Terborgh, Ed Bowlby, Joshua Sladek Nowlis, Michelle Paddack, Callum Roberts, Anson Hines, Chris Glass, Monte Hummel, JoAnn Burkholder, Andrew Cohen, Jeremy Jackson, Yuvenaly Zaitsev, Sabine Jessen, Deborah Crouse, Jack Sobel, Robert Spies, Katherine Ralls, Larry Dill, Judith Weis, Nancy Turner, Peter Auster, Michelle Wood, Timothy Werner, Stuart Pimm, Bruce Menge, Marjorie Reaka-Kudla, Bruce Leighty, David Schindler, Jack Williams, Devra Kleiman, Richard Harbison, Shao Kwang-Tsao, Tundi Agardy and many others. From psa at bishop.bishop.hawaii.org Tue Jul 29 21:33:38 1997 From: psa at bishop.bishop.hawaii.org (Pacific Science Assn) Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 15:33:38 -1000 (HST) Subject: PSA Coral Reef Committee Message-ID: During the VIII Pacific Science Inter-Congress held in Suva, Fiji, July 13-19, 1997, the Scientific Committee on Coral Reefs (PSA-SCCR) convened a symposium "Coral Reefs 1997--The International Year of the Reef" as well as held a committee meeting. A website has been established for the PSA Coral Reef Newsletter. In addition to news and notes on research activities and announcements, the newsletter includes a bibliography on information on previous transects and surveys of coral reefs in the Pacific islands and is the most complete compilation of quantitative reef assessments in the past in both refereed journals and unpublished technical reports. In addition, there are bibliographies on effects of storms on coral reefs and on coral reef survey handbooks. The address of the website is: www.bishop.hawaii.org/bishop/psa/ Through a grant from the U.S. Department of State's International Coral Reef Initiative [via Dr. Robert N. Ginsberg] funding was provided for the publication of: Grigg, R. W., and C. Birkeland (eds.). 1997. Status of coral reefs in the Pacific. University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program. 144 p. Twelve coral-reef scientists, nine members of PSA-SCCR, were commissioned to prepare reports on the status and health of coral reefs in ten regions of the Pacific: Coral Reef Health in the Central Pacific--J. E. Maragos [East-West Center, Honolulu] Assessment of the Present Health of Coral Reefs in the Eastern Pacific-- P. W. Glynn [University of Miami] The Status of Coral Reefs in French Polynesia--C. E. Payri and F. Bourdelin, [Universite Francaise du Pacifique, Papeete] Hawaii's Coral Reefs: Status and Health in 1997, the International Year of the Reef--R. W. Grigg [University of Hawaii] Assessment of the Present Health of Coral Reefs in Indonesia--A. Soegiarto, [Indonesian Institute of Science, Jakarta] Status of Coral Reefs in the Marianas--C. Birkeland [University of Guam] Recent Status of Coral Reefs in Okinawa, Japan--K. Yamazato [Meio University, Okinawa] Assessment of the Present Health of the Coral Reefs in the Philippines-- [H. T. Yap, University of the Philippines, Quezon City] Assessment of the Present Health of Coral Reefs in Taiwan--C.-F. Dai [National Taiwan University, Taipei] Status of Coral Reefs in Thailand--S. Sudara and T. Yeemin [Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok] Several of the papers were presented during the Symposium. This "Status" report may be obtained [US$20] from: Sea Grant College Program, Communications Office, 1000 Pope Road, MSB 200, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, U.S.A. At the request of the Director of the Coral Reef Research Center of the Republic of Palau, the PSA-SCCR has provided supporting documents for the importance of developing a Coral Reef Research Center in Palau to the Vice-President of Palau and to the U.S. Department of State International Year of the Reef. Clive Wilkinson convened a special workshop on the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN). Copies of the second edition of the "Survey Manual for Tropical Marine Resources" were made available. The International Society for Reef Studies held its annual meeting at the close of the Symposium with Steve Miller conducting the business meeting. The following Resolution was ratified at the Closing Session of the VIII Inter-Congress: International Decade of Reef Conservation Whereas coral reefs are the most diverse marine ecosystem in the world and a most important source of natural resources both culturally and economically for tropical coastal societies, and Whereas coral reefs and their resources are under significantly increasing pressure from human population growth, urbanization, and economic development, and Whereas 1997 has been established and recognized as the International Year of the Reef; Be it resolved, therefore, that the Pacific Science Association endorse and support a program to continue the International Year of the Reef for another year as part of the International Year of the Ocean with the express purpose of establishing an International Decade of Reef Conservation and to solicit support for such a program from member countries of the Association and stakeholder countries in which reefs are major and significant resources. The IX Pacific Science Inter-Congress "Sustainable Development in the Pacific" will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, November 15-21, 1998; the XIX Pacific Science Congress "Science for Pacific Posterity: Environments, Resources and Welfare of the Pacific People" will be held in Sydney, Australia, July 4-9, 1999. Coral reef activities are being planned for both of these future meetings. From coral at aoml.noaa.gov Wed Jul 30 12:03:43 1997 From: coral at aoml.noaa.gov (Coral Health and Monitoring Program) Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 12:03:43 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Spam (junk email) Message-ID: First, let me apologize for recently forwarding a message which was, shall we say, a little on the commercial side. Commercially oriented email is not appropriate for this listserver. Second, if you're like me, you sometimes get spam, otherwise known as junk email, in your inbox. What some may call junk, the sender may call free speech; however, we know junk email when we see it. Following are some Web sites which may help to control spam at your site: Promote Responsible Net Commerce: Help Stamp Out Spam http://spam.abuse.net Private Citizen http://www.private-citizen.com (Although I think this site is legitimate, some places like this reportedly get your email address then add it to a junk email list, rather than deleting it!) Junkbuster http://www.junkbuster.com Some of these folks in the list below are the people that provide the email lists. You may want to contact them and ask them to remove your name(s) from the lists. Bigfoot http://www.bigfoot.com Four11 http://www.four11.com NetPages http://www.aldea.com Switchboard http://www.switchboard.com WhoWhere? http://www.whowhere.com I hope this helps. Cheers, JCH From pdustan at zeus.cofc.edu Wed Jul 30 15:09:17 1997 From: pdustan at zeus.cofc.edu (Phillip Dustan) Date: Wed, 30 Jul 97 15:09:17 EDT Subject: Vitareef Software to assess coral vitality Message-ID: <3.0.16.19970730151434.3567d3da@zeus.cofc.edu> Hi, A number of peple have asked about the availability of Vitareef software. Below is a short description of Vitareef and what it might do for you. Vitareef can be a powerful tool for assessing thepresent condition of a reef coral community. Vitareef software is not used to assess percent cover from transect data of any sort. However, it can be used on video imagery to help you gather data on the conditions of corals. Should you are interested in analyzing video transect data, PointCount for Corals will be available sometime early in the fall. Information on Vitareef, PointCount for Corals, and additional info on coral conditionscan be found at www.cofc.edu/~coral/coral.htm Phil Dustan Vitareeef: The term vitality refers to the degree to which organisms of the reef ecosystem can carry out their natural life functions. Surveying coral populations for signs of distress and tissue or skeletal damage gives insight into coral health on a colony-by-colo ny basis. An underlying assumption to the interpretation of survey data is that an undamaged coral will not need to allocate metabolic energy for tissue and skeletal repair and regrowth, while a "less than perfect" colony will need to allocate resources t oward "repair" in the most general sense instead of new growth and reproduction. Temporally spaced surveys provide a basis for detecting change in reef coral populations and predicting the future condition of reef coral populations (Dustan 1993). The field technique is a fast, comprehensive survey technique that allows a group of investigators to gather data in a format that can later be subjected to multivariate statistical probing techniques. The condition of each coral is observed by a diver an d described with numerical codes that provide as complete a description of the state of a colony as possible through direct observation. The code is adaptable and can be modified if new conditions are found during surveys. The field data is entered into a spreadsheet format and then converted to simple ASCII which is submitted to vitareef. You can edit each of the data files for species names, locations, even conditions. The most current version (VITA1997) runs in DOS 3 or higher, but perhaps lower too. I am working on a Windows version for 3.1 and Win95 for relaes sometime this fa ll. If you decide to try Vitareef let me know and I can ftp a copy to you or send you a floppy (any format). Phil Dustan, P., 1977. Vitality of reef coral populations off Key Largo, Florida: recruitment and mortality. Environmental Geology 2:51 58. Dustan, P. 1993. Developing methods for assessing coral reef vitality: a tale of two scales. Global Aspects of Coral Reefs, June 10 11. University of Miami, pp. M8 M14. From oveh at bio.usyd.edu.au Thu Jul 31 07:37:01 1997 From: oveh at bio.usyd.edu.au (Ove Hoegh-Guldberg) Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 21:37:01 +1000 Subject: http://www.reef.edu.au (Reef Education Network) Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970731213652.00686db8@mail.bio.usyd.edu.au> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 759 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/pipermail/coral-list-old/attachments/19970731/391c0257/attachment.bin From dbg2 at ukc.ac.uk Wed Jul 30 21:14:18 1997 From: dbg2 at ukc.ac.uk (David Bruce Gunnersen) Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 21:14:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Dive boat mooring buoys Message-ID: Hello coral list subscribers. Can nayone advise me of any standard procedures and equipment for attaching permanent mooring buoys to coral reefs in order that dive boats may moor and avoid anchor damage to the reefs? Is there any standard eqipment on sale/ to hire? I seem to recall seeing a video of underwater drilling into a reef to affix a buoy and wonder how this is done. Regards, David Gunnersen From dbg2 at ukc.ac.uk Wed Jul 30 21:11:02 1997 From: dbg2 at ukc.ac.uk (David Bruce Gunnersen) Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 21:11:02 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Madagascar Reefs Message-ID: Hello Coral List subscribers. Does anyone know of the most up to date reports as to the extent, quality and threats to the coral reefs around the coast of Madagascar? I am interested in establishing what are the best reef areas in terms of coral health, lack of damage, biodiversity and opportunities for eco-tourism development. Any references or contacts would be appreciated. I did have a contact e-mail for a certain Francois Odendaal, I think from the university of Cape Towm but have mislaid it. Does anyone know of him? David Gunnersen