Thursday night, 8 pm Bali, Auditorium Room 6

[Ove Hoegh-Guldberg]

Coral Reefs and Climate Change - a chance to discuss
Please distribute widely
(Flier for printing at http://www.marine.uq.edu.au/Bali/)

Thursday, 26 October 2000.
Auditorium Room 6
Starts at 8 pm

OPEN TO ALL

This exciting evening session should be of considerable interest to a wide
group
of scientists, students, managers and others interested in the future of=
 coral
reefs.  The principal participants will be the symposium chairs listed in=
 the
table (below).  Each panel member will deliver a 5-7 minute summary of their
symposium or research area, particularly as it might relate to coral reefs=
 and
climate change.  The symposium chairs will then form a panel that will lead=
 a
discussion of key questions associated with the debate concerning coral
reefs in
changing climate. It is hoped that opinions from the audience will be a
centrepiece of the second part of the evening and that lively debate will
develop.

A major ambition is to help draw together (provide a =93community level=
 opinion=94
if possible) on the many important issues that confront our research=
 community
and the world=92s coral reefs.

Some of the questions to be addressed are:

a.	Is climate change affecting the world's coral reefs?  If so, how do we
know?
b.	Does climate change represent a risk to coral reefs?  What are the three
most
"worrying" variables?
c.	Will reefs adapt?  If so, what does it depend on (variables like=
 generation
time, symbiosis switching) and how would we know if it adaptation was set to
occur?
d.	Are we going to see a climate related decline in coral reefs over the
next 50
years or is this simply alarmist rhetoric?
e.	What actions can we, the reef science community, promote in our efforts=
 to
(1) better understand these issues and (2) mitigate the negative effects.
f.	Does the recognition of a major problem of climate change for coral reefs
distract us from serious, shorter-term pressures (e.g. nutrients, over
fishing)
being placed on coral reefs?  If so, what can we do to avoid the "its all=
 over
anyway =96 so why worry about the current issues=94 syndrome?

The proceedings of the debate will be recorded and written up as a summary=
 of
the state of knowledge that we currently have on these issues.  Several
science
media interests will be present at the evening.  It is hoped that this=
 debate
will clarify what we know and don=92t know, and will focus the attention on=
 the
issues that require addressing in the next four years of research.  Ove
Hoegh-Guldberg (Centre for Marine Studies, University of Queensland) will
mediate the event. The following symposium chairs have agreed to participate
(order of presentation).

Panel member

Dr. Joanie Kleypas(Climate & Global Dynamics, National Center for=
 Atmospheric
Research)
Dr. Chris Langdon(Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)
Dr. Ben Greenstein(Department of Geology,Cornell College)
Dr. Mairi M R Best(Geophysical Sciences,University of Chicago)
Dr. Richard B. Aronson (Dauphin Island Sea Lab)
Dr. Al Strong(National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration,
Washington)
Dr. William Fitt(University of Geogia, Athens)
Dr. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg(Centre for Marine Studies, University of Queensland)
Dr. Andrew Baker(Wildlife Conservation Society, New York)
Dr. Piers Larcombe(Marine Geophysical Laboratory,  School of Earth Sciences,
James Cook University)
Dr. Paul KenchThe International Global Change Institute, The University of
Waikato, New Zealand)
Dr. E. A. Shinn (Gene)(U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, Florida)
Dr. Tom Spencer (Department of Geography, University of Cambridge)
Dr. Kristian Teleki (Department of Geography, University of Cambridge)
Dr. Heidi Schuttenberg (Applied Science Associates, USA and Coastal=
 Resources
Center, University of Rhode Island)
Dr. Clive Wilkinson(Australian Institute of Marine Sciences)