Will ocean rise threaten Caribbean islands and shores?

Leaders of Pacific Island nations sense the growing urgency of combating global warming, since the sea may soon swallow their nations. But very little discussion touches on the rise of sea levels in the Caribbean. Will the rise be too small to cause a threat? What will happen? Have any sutdies made any predictions?

Here's an excerpt article posted on AFP about on the concerns of Pacific island nations:

KURUMBA VILLAGE, Maldives (AFP) — Dozens of the world's small island nations appealed Wednesday for rapid international action against climate change, fearing it is only a matter of time before they are submerged.

Delegates from 26 low-lying nations, including Tuvalu, Micronesia, Kiribati and Palau, ended two-days of talks in this Maldives tourist by closing ranks ahead of a global climate change meeting in Bali in December.

"We are the most affected. We deserve more support to protect our countries, our communities, from rising sea levels... our voices, our concerns must be heard and taken note of," Maldivian Environment Minister Ahmed Abdualla said.

He said low-lying nations urged the United Nations to include the human dimension of global climate change -- in other words the very survival of low-lying islanders -- on the agenda at Bali.

More than 100 ministers are expected to attend the Bali meeting, which aims to secure the agreement of nations to negotiate a new regime to combat climate change when the current phase of Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.

"We hope leaders who attend the Bali summit will take our concerns seriously," said a representative of the Comoros Permanent Mission to the United Nations, El-Marouf Mohamed.

Small nations feel the human element will give a new dimension to their fight to persuade bigger nations to cut back on the greenhouse gases that are causing global warming.

"We are using a different lever, to remind bigger countries of their moral obligations to honour their promises," Grenada's permanent representative to the UN, Angus Friday, told reporters.

Experts have warned that global warming will melt glaciers and polar ice caps, leading to a sharp increase in sea levels before the end of the 21st century.

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Sanibel Sea School seeks Lead Teacher

From the Coral-List:

Sanibel [Florida, USA] Sea School is currently seeking a Lead Teacher.

The Sanibel Sea School is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting marine conservation through experiential education. We are located on Sanibel Island, Florida. We offer day courses for both young people and adults. The young students range in ages 6-13 and may enroll for a single day, or for up to ten consecutive days. A detailed description of Sanibel Sea School, our programs and course offerings may be found on our web site, www.sanibelseaschool.org .

The Lead Teacher is the curriculum supervisor of, and an instructor in Sanibel Sea School, Inc. The Lead Teacher reports to the Executive Director, and is responsible for the organization's achievement of its mission, through the planning and execution of an excellent curriculum of experiential education centered on marine environments and conservation.

More details about the school and position here.

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Coral initiative meeting kicks off Year of the Reef

From the Web site of IRIC:

The Governments of Mexico and the United States of America, as co-hosts of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) Secretariat, in conjunction with the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, are pleased to announce that the first General Meeting of the current secretariat, and the launch of the International Year of the Reef will be held in Washington DC, US.

Date: 22-25 January
Location: Washington DC

Click here for the agenda.

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Babies dash to the ocean

Though filmed at Escobilla Beach near Oaxaca on the Pacific side of Mexico, a video on the Web site of The Guardian shows babies headed for the sea. It's definitely fun to watch them scurry to the water.

The photo above shows baby leatherbacks (not the turtles in the video) headed to the Atlantic along the North Carolina coast. Photo by Jeff Pollin/Marine Photobank.

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Saving coral reefs becomes a tourism priority

From an article by Bonnie Tsui in the New York Times:

GREEN sea turtles, cascades of glittering reef fish, blooming coral pillars — countless travelers have come nose to nose with a thriving undersea universe while on vacation. But increasingly, divers and snorkelers are swimming over bleached hunks of coral devastated by shore runoff or overfishing.

From the South Pacific to the Caribbean, coral reefs — which are among the most delicate of marine ecosystems — are bearing the brunt of climate change and other human-driven activities — including coastal development, deforestation and unrestricted tourism. Now, many in the tourist industry are trying to halt the damage.

And it is no wonder. The dollars involved in reef-based tourism are significant: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef alone draws about 1.9 million visitors a year, supporting a $4.2 billion industry. According to the Nature Conservancy, the annual economic value of coral reefs to world tourism is $9.6 billion.

Growing awareness of environmental issues means that the tourism industry has lately been a partner to conservation efforts in major reef areas. Though the Great Barrier is the most famous reef, it is not the most threatened; its extensive marine management program is widely regarded as a model for conservation. It includes eco-certification programs for tourism operators within the boundaries of the marine park, environmental tourist fees, large no-take zones, species monitoring and tourism industry contributions to the Great Barrier Reef’s main research center.

But the world’s second-largest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Reef in the Caribbean, is seriously endangered by coastal development, runoff and pollution. The reef system stretches nearly 700 miles from the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico to the Bay Islands of Honduras.

And reefs in the Coral Triangle in Southeast Asia — which reaches from Malaysia to the Philippines, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, encompassing some of the planet’s most diverse marine habitats — have been severely damaged by overfishing and destructive practices, including the use of cyanide and dynamite to capture fish.

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From an article by Joe Cavanaugh in the newsletter of REEF:

In an E-news article last May, I wrote about a collaborative effort between REEF and the Bahia Principe Resort in Akumal, Mexico. The Resort has been working with ReefAid ever since Hurricane Wilma (2005) did major damage to the reefs just in front of the resort, in an effort to study, protect, and restore these reefs. I was originally invited down to conduct a fish census on a large patch reef area off the beach from the property. The destruction to the inshore reef during Wilma was severe and ever since, Bahia Principe has worked with ReefAid to restore this patch reef area, establishing a protected zone around the most hard-hit areas. Part of Bahia Principe's long-term plan is to create a mitigation plan for future storms and to educate guests about ways they, too, can help protect the reefs. The Hotel Gran Bahia Principe is the Yucatan's largest resort complex, and there are currently 14 such resorts worldwide. After our last visit, ReefAid's Founder, Eric Engler and I co-wrote a protection and monitoring plan for the Resort that included periodic roving diver surey assessments, special signs and enforcement of no-swim areas, a coral nursery, and coral and invertebrate monitoring using another non-profit's methodology (ReefCheck).

On our last trip a few weeks ago, Eric and I received Reefcheck training over two days with Gabriela Georgina Nava Martinez, learning their survey methodology. Gaby also taught a Reefcheck class to the Bahia Principe dive staff , their onsite turtle rescue non-rpfit, Ecologica Bahia, and some of the Resort public relations personnel.. Bahia Principe is now a REEF Field Station and is close to becoming an educational center for REEF, teaching fish ID classes and training Resort guests in how to conduct fish surveys. Resort staff will soon routinely conduct Roving Diver Surveys of both the protected area and the offshore reefs frequented by multiple dive operators. Additionally, Reefcheck will train the dive staff to conduct 3-4 surveys per year at first to form a baseline assessment of the inshore protected reef. And finally, this year REEF is running a Field Survey to Bahia Principe (May 17-24, 2008). Please see our Field Survey page on our website to learn more about our upcoming survey and how to participate.

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Marine extension position, St. Thomas

From Coral-list listserve:

JOB TITLE: Extension Specialist II

JOB CODE NUMBER: 120644

DEPARTMENT: Center for Marine and Environmental Studies (CMES)

ASSIGNMENT: The successful candidate will work as the primary agent for the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service covering the St. Thomas, St. John, and Water Island area. The candidate will be responsible for developing a comprehensive outreach and environmental education program addressing marine habitat conservation and the impact of human activities on marine environments; including non-point source pollution on coastal resources and the importance of marine protection areas for the sustainability of fishery resources. Candidate will also interact with local fishermen, teachers, students within the public school system, and the community; be expected to pursue other sources of grant funding and develop independent outreach projects; complete administrative tasks; and perform other related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Master's of Science degree in marine science or related field or Bachelor of Science degree with two (2) years experience;

Two (2) years experience related to public outreach and environmental education;

Working knowledge of Caribbean marine habitats and associated organisms preferred;

Proficiency in the use of word processing and data processing computer applications;

Excellent communication, interpersonal, organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills;

Able to work independently and cooperatively with others.

COMPENSATION: The salary for this position is $30,587 to $43,079 for the administrative year depending on experience and qualifications. Benefits include two retirement plans and a group medical, dental, and life insurance program.

If applicable, economy jet fare to St. Thomas for appointee and immediate family and shipping allowance of up to $1,250 will be paid by the University upon presentation of receipts.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES: In order to be considered please submit an employment application, cover letter, resume/curriculum vitae, official college transcript(s) and three (3) letters of recommendation to: Human Resources Department, University of the Virgin Islands, #2 John Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, VI 00802-9990 or email at hrweb@uvi.edu.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Dec. 07, 2007.


When applying for this position, the job title and job code number must be included on your resume/cv.

Call (340) 693-1410 for assistance

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Florida nursery to raise staghorn corals

Fragment of staghorn coral illustrates the fast re-growth of the species between July and October 2007. Credit: James Herlan

From an article posted on Underwater Times:

Coral Gables, Florida (Nov 15, 2007 13:21 EST) In response to the need for localized efforts to protect and recover the surviving populations of the threatened staghorn coral, Diego Lirman, Ph.D., and James Herlan, researchers from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) have established an underwater nursery dedicated to the propagation of staghorn corals.

The goals of the coral nursery are to develop effective coral fragmentation and propagation methodologies, and to evaluate the role of coral genetics on the resilience of this species to disturbance. A total of 250 fragments of staghorn coral have been collected to date, and placed on cement platforms where they are individually measured at monthly intervals to assess growth and mortality patterns. It is expected that the staghorn fragments kept in the nursery will provide an expanding coral stock to be used in future reef restoration, as well as in scientific experiments.

Until recently, branching Elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and Staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) corals were among the most abundant reef-building corals in Caribbean and Florida reefs. However, in the last few decades a drastic regional decline of this genus has been recorded due mainly to elevated temperatures, coral diseases, and the impact of hurricanes. This region-wide decline, which has resulted in losses of up to 95 percent of colonies at several locations, has prompted the listing of these species as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2006.

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Ocean trash kills turtles

Green turtle stomach contents.More photos. Courtesy of Australian Seabird Rescue.

The Ocean Conservancy recently released the results of a five-year study of marine debris:

. . . Marine debris not only kills turtles, fish, birds and other wildlife through ingestion and entanglement, but it also costs coastal communities through removal, lost revenue from tourism and reductions in property values. Results from the study indicate that marine debris continues to plague the United States, and that certain regions face larger debris problems than others.

“This milestone research shows us that trash comes from a number of activities in the ocean and on land. Trash in our ocean doesn’t fall from the sky, it falls from our hands and it can be prevented,” said Laura Capps, Senior Vice President for Communications and Outreach at Ocean Conservancy. “Simple steps like properly disposing of trash, reusing packaging, and removing discarded fishing gear from the water makes a significant positive impact on the health of the ocean and its wildlife. Regardless of where we live, we all can play a part in keeping our beaches clean and our ocean healthy.”

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Hard-to-swallow hooks save turtles in Latin America

From a Reuters article by John McPaul posted on Planet Ark:

PUNTARENAS, Costa Rica - Endangered sea turtles accidentally caught by fishermen off Latin American coasts usually die but innovative hooks that are too big to swallow are increasingly saving the reptiles' lives.

The use of circular-shaped hooks lets fishing crews more easily remove hooks from the mouths of loggerhead, leatherback and other turtles caught up in long lines meant to catch fish and prevents them from bleeding to death.

Four years ago, the World Wildlife Fund conservation group, or WWF, began encouraging long-line fishermen from Ecuador to Mexico to replace traditional J-shaped hooks, which fish and turtles tend to swallow, with various sizes of circular hooks.

Unlike the J-shaped hook that has its point parallel to the shaft, the circular hook points toward the shaft and is also wider, making it more likely that it will lodge in the lip rather than the throat or stomach, which is fatal, the WWF says.

The WWF believes close to 250,000 endangered turtles, as well as thousands of sea birds, sharks and sea mammals, are accidentally caught every year by long-line fishermen, who troll the ocean with lines strung with thousands of hooks.

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Theme song for International Year of the Reef (IYOR)

From Reef Check:

The International Year of the Reef (IYOR) 2008 is a year long celebration intended to increase global awareness of the value of coral reefs, and the crisis affecting them and associated ecosystems. During IYOR, government agencies, environmental groups, universities and businesses are requested to come together to host and support activities that promote coral reef conservation. As Reef Check’s first activity leading up to IYOR, we present “The Year of the Reef” song. Please feel free to download this song and use it to help educate and inspire people everywhere about the value of coral reefs and the need to work together to save them. The song has been donated to Reef Check by our Board Member, Russ Lesser and his band Thin Ice.

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Take classes live from Aquarius underwater habitat

Monday, November 12th, through Wednesday, November 14th, the Living Oceans Foundation and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science will present six live underwater coral reef classes from the NOAA National Undersea Research Center Aquarius underwater habitat in Key Largo, FL. The four "Aquanauts" will descend to Aquarius Monday morning and our first live Internet webcast will occur at 2 pm EST followed by a night class at 7 pm. The four Aquanauts are CAPT Phil Renaud (Living Oceans Director), Mark Patterson, PhD (VIMS), Annelise Hagan, PhD, (Living Oceans Chief Project Scientist), and DJ Roller (Liquid Pictures Cinematographer). Coral and Sponge classes will occur on Tuesday (Nov 13) at 11 am and 2 pm. Physical Oceanography classes will take place on Wednesday (Nov 14) at 11 am and 2 pm. All times are EST.

You may freely access the detailed schedule and live webcasts at:
http://seacamel.livingoceansfoundation.org.

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Marine ecology and conservation semester abroad - Bonaire - Spring 2008

From Rita BJ Peachey, PhD, Resident Director, CIEE Research Station Bonaire:

Undergraduate Study Abroad Opportunity in the Caribbean
The Tropical Marine Biology and Conservation study abroad program is accepting applications for spring semester (2008). Student participants will register for 17 semester hours: Coral Reef Ecology, Scientific Diving, Environmental and Cultural History of Bonaire, Marine Conservation Biology and Independent Study. Complete details here.

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Mom irate over toy shark hunting ship; 'There is no excuse'

From a story on Stuff.co.nz:

An irate mother has bitten back at shops for selling a "shark ship" that encourages children to fire a plastic harpoon into the head of an oversized shark.

Louise Pearse saw the Mega Rig Shark Ship advertised in a Toyworld catalogue delivered to her home in Paraparaumu Beach over the weekend.

"There is no excuse they can give for that toy. They should apologise for even publishing the wretched thing in their catalogue, and certainly withdraw it from sale."

Mrs Pearse believes the toy, made by Mattel, is simply a whaling ship in shark's clothing.

"What are we going to get next? The Battered Seal Kit with realistic blood that squirts out when you hit it with a baseball bat?"

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New virtual stations and remote sensing resources from NOAA Coral Reef Watch

From the Coral-List listserve:

NOAA Coral Reef Watch is pleased to announce two new products now available on our website: an experimental expansion of our Satellite Bleaching Alert system, and a webpage that links to remote sensing datasets for coral reef managers. Both are available at: http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/current/experimental_products.html.

Adding to our 24 operational sites, 33 new experimental Virtual Stations have been implemented. These include many locations in the Florida Keys, plus the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Special focus was given to the Centre of Excellence sites designated under the World Bank/GEF Coral Reef Targeted Research Program: Zanzibar, Tanzania; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; Heron Island, Australia; and Bolinao, Philippines. Each of these sites now has its own webpage, with zoomed-in views of the CRW satellite bleaching data products and time series graphs. For all of the new sites, users can sign up for Satellite Bleaching Alert e-mails, automatically warning them when bleaching conditions change in their location. These new Virtual Stations are currently in an experimental phase, while we continue to expand the network.

A new website has also been developed as a data portal to remote sensing datasets that are freely available over the web. The focus is on global, near-real-time data that would be useful for coral reef managers and researchers around the world: e.g. sea surface temperature and thermal stress, ocean surface winds, sea surface height anomalies, precipitation, sea surface currents, etc. We tried to include a variety of data formats, including easy-to-use imagery, to meet a variety of user needs. This project is part of the Coral Reef Targeted Research (CRTR) Program?s Remote Sensing Working Group. The new resources are [also] available at: http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/crtr/data_resources.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D.
Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Center for Satellite Applications and Research
Satellite Oceanography & Climate Division
e-mail: mark.eakin@noaa.gov
url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov

E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5308
1335 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
301-713-2857 x109
Fax: 301-713-3136

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Recognizing individual turtles

Though focused on Hawaiian green turtles (called honu), Turtle Trax explains how to identify individual turtles, which presumably would work for unique identifation of turtles world wide:

One of the first questions that occurs to people hearing about our turtle experiences is, "How do you tell them apart?" This question is of the utmost importance to us. If we could not tell them apart, we could not document the changes in a each turtle's tumors from year to year.

The answer is in the faces. Although some turtles are readily identifiable by some obvious characteristic, such as Noke's missing flipper, many turtles look alike at a casual glance--but not if you examine the turtle's "mug shots" closely.

Like people, turtles have individual faces. Most honu have 15-20 darkish scales on their cheeks, although some have more and some less. Regardless of number, the shape and arrangement is constant and in our experience, unique. This provides a way to tell honu apart.

While we can't prove definitively that no two turtles share the same facial pattern, we have collected plenty of documentation to show that within the Honokowai population, turtle profiles are a reliable way of identifying individual turtles.

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New Caribbean coral ID guide available

From the coral-list listserve:

An identification guide to corals, octocorals and sponges of Caribbean reefs is available. It is called Coralpedia v 1.0. It is free (its development was paid for by the OTEP fund of the UK government, to assist conservation work in the UK Overseas Territories).

Version 1 contains images and descriptions of about 64 Caribbean stony corals, 74 reef sponges and 41 octocorals (and a few other groups). Altogether over 1000 images are included. Its operation is designed to be by simple clicks only. Options are that species of each group may be ordered taxonomically (default) or by 'shape', and language options are English (default) or Spanish.

The Notes file (English and Spanish) gives many of the sources, other databases, and other taxonomic information and, most importantly, it contains the credits for all those who participated taxonomically, photographically, or both. The Notes file also explains that this can be regarded as work in progress, with feedback and additions welcome. (Other groups may be added, if someone is keen to add another Caribbean reef-dwelling group, or another major Caribbean language, given a volunteer translator). This Notes file is located in the main folder and is accessible both from the software itself or directly by a word processor.

Another file 'Readme.txt' is in the primary folder, for installation instructions and how to run it.

There are three ways to obtain it.

1. The primary source is a cd, available from Prof. Charles Sheppard. Send an email to charles.sheppard@warwick.ac.uk (with a mailing address in the text which is easy to copy and paste, please).

2. Download the cd as a .zip. For this, send me your email address (in the text of the message for easy copying, please), and I then get my University 'files' site to send you the link to download the zip file (it is 200 mB). This (when unzipped) is the cd content.

3. A web based version is available: http://coralpedia.bio.warwick.ac.uk
Its format is, as near as we can make it, a 'match' with the cd, although because of differences in how pages are loaded, families are ordered differently (alphabetically). Obviously, viewing images of sufficient resolution means that the web way will work slower. The British Virgin Islands' National Parks Trust will be hosting this shortly as well.

We hope it is useful.

Best wishes
Charles
-------------------
Professor Charles Sheppard
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Warwick
CV4 7AL, UK
charles.sheppard@warwick.ac.uk
(+44) (0) 2476 524975

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Fla. loggerhead turtle nests lag in 2007, green and leatherback are up

From an Associated Press story:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The number of loggerhead turtle nests was substantially lower in 2007 than in past years, according to preliminary numbers from scientists statewide.

Scientists found 28,500 nests from 19 surveyed beaches, down from almost 50,000 last year. The number was so low that this could be the lowest nesting year on record for loggerheads, said Blair Witherington, a research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The turtles' nesting numbers have declined in at least four of the past seven years.

Green and leatherback turtles, however, surpassed scientists' expectations and may have made a record number of nests this year on Florida's Treasure Coast.

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Green turtle nesting sites discovered in Senegal

From the WWF:

Dakar, Senegal – A WWF survey has discovered several marine turtle nesting sites on the beaches of Senegal, prompting calls from conservationists to improve protection of the endangered species.

The survey — conducted by WWF staff, Senegalese wildlife officials and the local community between July and September — discovered nine new green turtle nests on the beaches of Joal-Fadiouth in the Saloum Delta south of the capital, Dakar.

Turtle tracks in the sand left by female turtles were also discovered at nearby Palmarine Beach as well as at Langue de Barbarie at the mouth of the Senegal River in the northern part of the country.

“The nests confirm that these beaches are important nesting sites and must be protected,” said Dr Mamadou Diallo, WWF Senegal’s programme manager for species.

“Even beaches with tracks but no nests are important to protect as they are potential nesting sites.”
In Joal-Fadiouth, where the nine nests were found, each was marked and enclosed with wire mesh to protect them from predators.

Thanks to a broadly supported public awareness campaign, illegal turtle capture and consumption has dropped by over 80% in Joal-Fadiouth.

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Mote Marine Lab announces grant RFP for Florida-based groups

From the Mote Marine Laboratory:

Mote Marine Laboratory is proud to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Protect Our Reefs License Plate grant funding for 2008.

Approximately $450,000 will be available from 2007 license plate receipts for use in 2008.

Elibible organizations shall be based in Florida and engaged in reef research, education and/or conservation.

Proposal are due; December 14, 2007.

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Parrotfish on menu putsCaribbean coral at risk

From an article in Nature, as reported by on Underwater Times:

Exeter, U.K. (Oct 31, 2007 20:17 EST) Coral reefs could be damaged beyond repair, unless we change the way we manage the marine environment. New research by the Universities of Exeter and California Davis, published today (1 November 2007) in Nature, shows how damaged Caribbean reefs will continue to decline over the next 50 years.

Coral reefs conjure up images of rich, colourful ecosystems yet an increasing number of reefs are becoming unhealthy and overrun by seaweed. The research team wanted to test whether reefs that are overgrown with algae could return to good health if the original causes of the problem, such as fishing or pollution, were addressed. This could mean, for example, reducing fishing or introducing better sewage management. The study revealed that the answer is ‘no’ because coral reefs can become permanently unhealthy.

In the 1980s, reefs in the Caribbean were hit by the devastating impact of the near-extinction of the herbivorous urchin, Diadema antillarum, with devastating results. Along with parrotfish, this grazing urchin kept seaweed levels down, creating space for coral to grow. Parrotfish are now the sole grazers of seaweed on many Caribbean reefs, but fishing has limited their numbers. With insufficient parrotfish grazing, corals are unable to recover after major disturbances like hurricanes and become much less healthy as a result. The team discovered this result by creating and testing a computer model that simulates the effects of many factors on the health of Caribbean reefs.

Professor Peter Mumby of the University of Exeter, lead author on the paper said: “The future of some Caribbean reefs is in the balance and if we carry on the way we are then reefs will change forever. This will be devastating for the Caribbean’s rich marine environment, which is home to a huge range of species as well as being central to the livelihood of millions of people.”

Photo (c) Wolcott Henry 2005, Marine Photobank

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