What Part Of "Protected" In "Marine Protected Area" Don't You Get?

Marine protected areas (MPAs) work as a conservation tool. No take MPAs have demonstrated their success in allowing previously over-fished species of fish to recover. The consensus of coral reef scientists who gathered in Florida last month for the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium was that MPAs are still our best defense against global coral threats. But we need more of them, and those already in existence need strengthening.

But tell that to decision makers on Guam.

Bill 327, introduced by Sens. Judith Guthertz and Rory Respicio on July 2, seeks to grant Chamorros (indigenous residents of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana islands) "special rights to off-shore fishing and harvesting of resources in order to redress historical discriminatory policies," according to the proposed legislation. But a pesky little problem has arisen surrounding this bill. Who is Chamorro and how, precisely, does one decide what indigenous means?

As Dave Davis of the Marianas Variety writes,

Most of those who claim Chamorro ethnicity would probably have a tough time proving it through bloodline tracings. After truly indigenous Chamorros were virtually exterminated by the Spaniards in the 1600s, vestiges of original bloodlines were diluted by intermarriage and other less formal domestic relationships with Spaniards; Filipinos; Mexicans (many of whom were ethnic Native Americans); Chinese; Japanese; several varieties of European Caucasian (British, Portuguese, Italian, Scottish, etc.); and who-knows - what else over the ensuing four hundred years, and it continues today. Modern Chamorros can likely trace bloodlines only part way back through that maze, so it's probably not the most reliable proof of origin. Even local law acknowledges that uncertainty by alluding to bloodline qualification "to the remotest degree," but makes no attempt to address any bloodline criteria prior to 1898. That's pretty thin.

If Bill 327 is passed it will open open Guam's MPAs for fishing, claiming that such conservation areas are causing the loss of tradition and culture. So once again, arguments for tradition apparently trump sound resource management. But why do I get the feeling that tradition has very little to do with Bill 327? Color me skeptical, but this smacks more of profit and greed as motivators. And it has all the markings of a certain fisheries lobbying group written all over it.

Wordle! Wordle! Wordle! Then Wordle I Will Play!

A little homage to the Dreidel Song as a hat tip to Miriam. As she posts over on The Oyster's Garter, Wordle is a cute visual word scrambler for blogs and such that creates beautiful word clouds. I suspect it culls from your most recent blog posts to create the cool art.

Any guesses as to what I've been writing about lately? Hmmm...

New Web Site, Same Unanswered Questions

In addition to resuscitating itself with a new name and new web design, San Francisco-based Planktos Science (formerly Planktos) has decided to step up the defense of it's reputation and spurious science by confronting blogosphere naysayers directly. Case in point, Craig over on Deep Sea News has just received a retort to his post on the reappearance of Planktos as Planktos Science. But man, do they need to put someone other than their president, Russ George, behind the keyboard. Word up, Mr. George, you need to save some money on your web design and invest in a PR consultant as you're not really strengthening your cause.

You can head over to Deep Sea News to catch-up on George's rather long paragraph of accusations of how Planktos--and now Planktos Science--has suffered unfair scrutiny and "strawman attacks" for what he sees as pioneering ocean restoration. Yet with all the new rhetoric and dollars apparently dumped into filling a new website with content, old unanswered questions still remain.

Craig's questions as to potential adverse affects to benthic communities from iron dumping are also awaiting a response. But Craig and I are not the only ones befuddled. Miriam has unanswered questions about Planktos. So does Popular Science. And last I checked, Earth2Tech was still waiting for some validation of Planktos' claims,

New web site, same questions: Who are the credible oceanographers that are associated with this effort? Where are the studies, and the modeling for the projects he has proposed? Who will lead the cruise–Russ? Where is the funding and what is the business model? Russ George seems to be a curiosity– a distraction to the real science involved.

I'll get in line for the time that George intends to fully articulate the science behind the hype. But I'm afraid that accusing your critics of having a lack of vision and faith in your unproven (and potentially deleterious methods) is just not sufficient grounds for giving Planktos the benefit of the doubt.

Look, I'm all for solutions to our climate crisis. But dubious, untenable assertions and bad science is not helping any of our efforts. Particularly with a public that is already skeptical of what science has to say.

And as to George's sign-off in his post on Deep Sea News that "ranting and lying about those who actually do things is way easier than actually doing something productive for the benefit of the planet," all I have to say is come spend a week in my shoes, Mr. George. Some of us don't have the luxury of selling promises, but actually need to demonstrate quantifiable results for the resources and support we solicit. If you'd really like to get your hands dirty and start producing results, shoot me your CV. I'm always on the lookout for fresh talent.

Get Sharked!

Yee-Haw! It's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel! Which means another opportunity to further convince my oldest brother why he will never ever step foot in the ocean. I'm certain he's not alone in those sentiments.

But I choose not to focus on the scary side of sharks. Sharks are utterly beautiful. Sharks are what got me interested in the ocean as a child. I so wanted to be Eugenie Clark and dive with and study sharks as an adult (I got to study coral reefs instead, but I see that as a twofer). I still have the shark scrapbooks that I kept of every sharky photo I could find in magazines and newspapers. I have book shelves of shark-tacular titles such as Death in the Sea, Sharks and Other Ocean Killers, Blue Water, White Death, and of course Jaws. If it had a pointy dorsal fin, Ampullae of Lorenzini, and teeth then I did my best to know about it.

While I think Shark Week gets a bad rap for pandering to the sensational, I like to think that it's also an annual opportunity for the public to celebrate a magnificent, and unfortunately endangered, keystone marine species.

So, commence au festival! Oh, and head over to the Discovery Channel Shark Week website to upload your photo and get yourself sharked. I did (above), and I really think it's an improvement.

They're Baaaaaack!

A death rattle is a gurgling or rattle-like noise produced shortly before or after death by the accumulation of excessive respiratory secretions in the throat. I could have sworn I heard one emanate a few months ago from Planktos--the San Francisco-based start-up that claimed it had the answer to fight climate change through the spurious science of iron fertilization of the oceans. But it now seems they are pulling a George Romero and refusing to go gently into that good night.

As I reported back in February, Planktos closed up shop based on lack of investor interest. Me thinks it had something to do with the poor reception of their claims by the scientific community.

But like a zombie in search of fresh brains, Planktos has risen from the grave to convince the public that it's really, really serious about its science by renaming itself Planktos Science. Oh! Well okay, then!

But don't expect to find anything remarkably new here. It's the same high-falutin' vision with little empirical validation. What you will find is a lot of new expansive rhetoric that paints Planktos as the all-things-to-all-investors answer. There's the Planktos fisheries efforts, biofuels research, and drug research. Drug research? You betcha! According to the web copy, Planktos Science intends to "create a collaborative network to speed up research on targeted compounds from the ocean realm. This network includes centers of marine biology, pharmacology, chemistry and world-class basic science and clinical research."

This "oceans as potential medicine cabinets" utilitarian argument is by no means novel. Conservationists have been making this call for preservation of biodiversity of rain forests and coral reefs as treasure troves of novel proteins and other molecules that can benefit human health. That Planktos Science intends to be seen as a preeminent player in this area makes for nice investor copy. But get in line. There are numerous research institutions and Big Pharm companies already making inroads here.

Why am I even bothering to spend my first free Saturday in nearly a month to waste electrons in writing about Planktos again? To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. But it might have something to do with the rambling, unsolicited email I received last week from Planktos founder and president, Russ George. In six turgid, purply-prosed paragraphs, he explained how coral reefs are doomed. The only glimmer of hope is, wait for it... Planktos Science and its proprietary methods of iron fertilization of oceans as a spur to phytoplankton blooms.

I'm choosing not to reprint George's email here, not simply because it's bad science or bad reasoning. Mainly, I'm not reprinting it because it's simply bad writing. Need proof? Here's just one choice, painful example. If left unchecked, ocean acidification will continue to build as, according to George, "our reef beauties cry out and dissolve like Dorothy's wicked witch in our acidifying oceans."

But didn't the Wicked Witch deserve to dissolve? At least in the movie The Wizard of Oz, not the play Wicked. I mean, she was wicked, right? Surely reefs don't deserve to dissolve? And didn't she melt? I remember her saying, "I'm melting... I'm melting!" And coral polyps can "cry out?"

Then again, maybe he is saying reefs deserve to dissolve. His parting salvo suggests that biodiversity loss may be fitting punishment, "If you are a religious person you might liken what we need to do as seeking absolution for our sins of emission by our acts of contrition and ecorestoration, otherwise the path to perdition is that of dissolution of those CO2 sins into dying oceans."

Sins of emission? As a product of catholic schooling, that only means one thing. It's hard to tell what Planktos Science is talking about. Needless to say, I suspect investors and the scientific community won't have a clue either.

Virtual Reef

I'm a big fan of traveling science exhibits. And not just signage, texts, and pictures. That's old school. Today's interpretive exhibits need to be interactive, inquiry-based, and designed to draw the user in and make them think. One new exhibit on display here at the National Marine Educators Association meeting in Savannah does all three.

It's called Discovery Reef, a product of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota Florida. Discovery Reef consists of six activity stations on three separate kiosks (see above image) that help visitors explore coral reefs using different approaches to learning. My first stop was at the Coral Polyp station, where a three dimensional, enlarged model of an individual coral polyp with labeled parts (image at right) provided a sustainable opportunity to touch coral. I watched as a group of adults explored this station with their hands, running their fingers over the simulated coral nematocysts (stinging cells). There's also a very cool simulation of a coral polyp releasing its spawn.

On the opposite side of the Coral Polyp kisosk is a station devoted to Reef relationships. Here, visitors are challenged to spin wheels (below image) to align reef inhabitants and identify their associated relationship: commensalism, mutualism, or parasitism. Panels illuminate when correct matches are made.


Another station had a video monitor that displayed underwater footage of living reefs. Above the monitor was mounted a video conferencing camera. Jason Robertshaw, one of the Mote educators and designers of this exhibit, described to me how the camera would be used to allow visitors to interact in real time with Mote educators and scientists. A series of video programs can be displayed on the monitor to fill-in when live teleconferencing is not available.


My favorite section of the display was one of the stations on the middle kiosk that displayed a simulated coral reef ecosystem, with coral, fish, and invertebrates in dioramas depicting ecological roles. Best of all, there were child-sized face masks build into the front of the display so little faces could press against the masks and pretend they were diving on a living reef. The effect is powerful and brings you right up close with moray eels (my fave of course), cleaning stations, and amazing adaptations of reef fish.




Mote gets an A+ on this display. Jason says it should be ready to hit the road by 2009, so look for Discovery Reef at your nearby science center or aquarium soon. Perhaps it can inspire a new generation of coral reef lovers, scientists, and conservationists. I only hope that we can act now to reverse coral reef decline so that this traveling exhibit isn't our only reminder of what a healthy reef looked like.

That's A Moray Monday: Stalemate?

As I'm currently preoccupied with sessions at the National Marine Educators Association conference in Savannah, I don't have time to do Moray Monday justice this week. Besides, you can still reflect back on last week's wonderful post. But to keep you moray fans entertained, I thought I'd post an apropos Moray Monday image that was forwarded to me by Liz Foote, CORAL Hawaii Field Manager.

It's obviously a moray, but look closer. There are sea urchin spines protruding from the head of this specimen. Did the vertebrate make a poor choice for dinner and get served by a humble urchin? Or did the invertebrate put up a good fight, but end up in the moray digestive tract? Impossible to tell from the evidence. So let's call this a draw.

So if I'm keeping up with the stats, that makes this:
Inverts: 11
Verts: 2
Stalemate: 1

Ocean Blogging 2.0

Fete accompli!

I'm quite happy with how Ocean Blogging 2.0: Expanding the Conversation turned out. That's the workshop Jason Robertshaw and I pulled together for the National Marine Educators Association annual conference here in Savannah. We had a great attendance (practically standing room only) of ocean educators who were interested in exploring how to get involved in ocean blogging. If we were successful, we might expect a new crop of ocean blogs to appear on the scene or maybe even more commenter's frequenting existing ocean blogs. Either way, as Martha Stewart might say, "It's a good thing!"

Participant evaluations indicate either agreement or strong agreement that Jason and I apparently knew our subject area (phew!), were well organized and prepared, presented information in an interesting manner, and provided useful information. Quite a few comments indicated that participants now see ocean blogs as a novel way to incorporate research and writing into their classrooms. That's very cool!

A few people wanted more time on the "how," that is tips and suggestions for those less technologically inclined. Also, classroom teachers were looking for specific ideas for incorporating blogs in their lesson plans. Good suggestions for ocean bloggers who are looking for new audiences.

Jason will be uploading a podcast of the fully narrated event over on Cephalopodcast (where you'll be able to savor my booming voice as it keeps educators awake for an early morning workshop).

Pre-Conference Savannah Song

Proceedings of the National Marine Educators Association annual meeting kick-off Monday morning here in Savannah, Georgia and I'm looking forward to it. I've been exploring a bit of the historic district close to my hotel today. To be honest, I explored the historic district until I was reduced to a sweaty, overheated mess. Which didn't take very long.

I know this climate is probably comfortable to the locals, but it feels like Papua New Guinea to me. Already damp from sweat at 10AM, I strolled along the Savannah River past the odd monument to "Savannah's Waving Girl." Apparently, this young woman made a habit of waving a towel at passing ships from 1900-1931. At night, she apparently waved a lantern. It's not clear why she did this. But this is Savannah, so you don't really need a logical reason.

I made my way along the tourist traps of River Street, climbed up the bank (and steps) to Bay and Congress Street and eventually down to City Market, the dining, shopping, arts, and cultural hub of this beautiful city. I walked along streets lined with amazing antebellum architecture and trees dripping with Spanish moss. All a feast for the eyes. That is, it would be if my eyes weren't blurry from the rivers of flop sweat pouring down my face.

I paused in front of the local celebrity restaurant, The Lady & Sons, home of Food Network star Paula Deen. I paused not because I particularly enjoy Ms. Deen's style of deep-fried everything, but because she had the genius to install mist sprayers beneath the restaurant awnings that cooled the air. I quite literally basked in the cool mist and found the reserves to continue my explorations. Ms. Deen, I promise to drop by for dinner this week just to drop coin as a "thank you." Not that you need it.

Savannah's history is everywhere. Want revolutionary trappings? There's a pair of bronze cannons on display that were presented to the city by General Washington after his visit in 1791. Pirate lore more your thing? There's the Pirates House, built in 1753 and allegedly the drinking hole of many a privateer. Cotton is what made Savannah the Jewel of the South, underwriting much of the historic architecture now under preservation. The Cotton Exchange above River Street was the portal for all cotton business through the city.

Cotton was also the fuel for the slave trade in the south, and Savannah does not hide this unfortunate legacy. The First African Baptist Church was established by former slaves and is the oldest black church in North America. The pews I saw and touched were hand-made by Savannah slaves. But according to oral tradition, the church was also an important stopping point along the Underground Railroad. Downstairs, we were shown floorboards in the church that had an unusual pattern of holes in the boards. We were told these were breathing holes for runaway slaves holed-up beneath the floors. The hole patterns are said to be traditional African symbols. The ceiling of the church consists of a quilted pattern of nine-patch squares. This pattern, we were told, was a code used along the Underground Railroad for slaves and their supporters to communicate safe havens.

I love the depth and breadth of East coast history. Having grown-up near Philadelphia and spent a good portion of my life in Boston, I was surrounded by American history all the time. And like most things that surround us every day, we often take them for granted. So now that I live in San Francisco, where 1849 Gold Rush seems like "deep history," I treasure the chances I get to bask in the trappings of a rich historic city like Savannah. I certainly hope I get a chance to see a bit before heading home.

Good Advice

I know I've had a recurring crocodilian theme the past few weeks, but it's been a convergence of crazy reptilian coincidence. Here's yet another. A sign posted on the hotel deck overlooking the Savannah River. Needless to say, swimming is ill advised.

I Live In Airports

I survived, enjoyed, and blogged right through the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Florida. I sweated gallons while live blogging the annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology in Chattanooga. And now my final leg is before me as I leave at 4AM for the annual meeting of the National Marine Educators Association in Savannah, GA.

I'm honestly over all these 3AM and 4AM shuttle rides to the airport. I've been patted-down so many times over the past few weeks that I'm beginning to think that the TSA may ask me to go steady soon.

Regardless, the NMEA conference is once again an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and play an active role in the future of ocean science education in the formal and informal worlds. Count on news from interesting sessions, discussions with stars of the ocean education community, and of course local Savannah color (I'm psyched to see the setting for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil).

SeaWeb Launches Coral News Portal

SeaWeb, the ocean science and conservation news and information dissemination folks, have used the International Coral Reef Symposium to launch Coral Reef News: a new web portal dedicated to coral reefs. Take a coral reef blog (like Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice and Sunsets), add a discussion board (like the one we just ditched from CORAL's website since it had poor ROI), mix in a news aggregator (like the Coral Reef Alliance coral news page), and sprinkle with an image bank (like the Coral reef Alliance coral photo bank)... that's sort of the idea here.

My first take? I think it's a great idea to consolidate coral news in one place. But I hope the writing peps-up a bit. The purpose statement on the homepage states that SeaWeb aims "to bring you news of the latest developments in coral reef conservation and research in a snappy, easily accessible way." It's not there yet. It's a tad on the dry side. Especially a lot of the coverage of ICRS. When it's not coming off like an advertisement, it's bogged down in minutia (Does anyone really need verbatim transcripts of discussions?).

But it's just getting started. And like I said, I hope it flourishes.

When Bad Science Understanding Happens To Good People

When environmental problems strike, a natural response is to point to the cause. Sometimes that's easy. But more often, it's a complex process to identify causal relationships. In marine ecosystems, it's often incredibly complicated. In part because it's an open system with many inputs. But it's also because we still don't fully understand how marine ecosystems operate. An example of how our lack of understanding is rubbing up against our human desire to cast blame is playing out right now in Hawaii regarding the ornamental fish collection business.

Reef fish collection for the aquarium trade is big business in Hawaii. I've written about it a few times. But the latest round of public input focusing on this issue has raised some concerns over how scientific data is interpreted and used to "support" a cause. On one side is the State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources who have attempted to better manage targeted ornamental reef species through the use of no-take protected areas called fish replenishment areas (or FRAs). The idea being that fish stocks protected within FRA's are able to recover and both adults and juveniles spillover and replenish stocks in non-protected areas.

"But wait," cry some concerned Hawaii residents, that's not happening. Populations of commonly collected ornamental fish such as butterfly fish and some wrasse species are not recovering. Fewer fish are being observed on reefs. And over-collection of grazing species is leading to uncontrolled growth of algae on reefs that can smother healthy coral colonies. Their conclusion? FRA's don't work and ornamental fish collectors are to blame. Their solution? The State of Hawaii needs to ban fish collection or heavily regulate it.

Now let me say right up front that I'm ALL FOR increased regulation around ornamental reef fish collection in Hawaii. But I'm reading the same scientific reports by the State of Hawaii and the rationale being used by local reef fish defenders and I'm coming to a rather different interpretation of the data that leads me to this position.

I certainly agree that some butterfly fish and wrasse species are declining on Hawaiian reefs. But this is a trend almost across the board for both ornamentally collected as well as non-aquarium trade targeted reef fish species. In fact, according to a report released this week, 75 percent of reef fishes are depleted or in critical condition around the main Hawaiian Islands. And while I attended the International Coral Reef Symposium in Florida last week, NOAA released "The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008," which outlined that the nation’s coral reef ecosystems, particularly those adjacent to populated areas, continue to face intense human-derived threats from coastal development, fishing, sedimentation and recreational use. Even the most remote reefs are subject to threats such as marine debris, illegal fishing and climate-related effects of coral bleaching, disease and ocean acidification.

So to single-out the ornamental fish trade alone is disingenuous. In addition, Hawaii reef fish defenders are using selective quote mining from state scientists and officials to bolster their argument.

Let's take a look at the logical problems first. The argument being used to blame the ornamental collectors has an embedded fallacy of reason called Affirming the Consequent. It goes something like this:

If P, then Q;
Q
Therefore, P

Put another way:

If I have the flu, then I have a sore throat;
I have a sore throat;
Therefore, I have the flu.

The logical connections get at the causal relationship. Not all sore throats are caused by the flu. In the same way, not all fish declines in Hawaii are caused by ornamental collectors alone.

The second point about quote mining simply undermines the credibility of the reef fish defenders. Take for example this quote lifted from a report by State of Hawaii scientist Dr. Bill Walsh on the reef defender's website:

“One major challenge in this debate has been gathering sound data on an ecosystem as complex as the reef and an industry as broad-ranging as aquarium collecting. To adequately document the impact of all of these [100] species and their interactions with other members of the reef community, [Bill] Walsh says, would ‘take generations’."

The rhetorical effect of this out-of-context quote is that a State scientist appears to confirm that science is either lacking or cannot provide guidance in a timely manner. But this just isn't the case.

I know Dr. Bill and have interacted with him on a few occasions with our Kailua-Kona projects. His analysis shows a somewhat more complex ecosystem reality. For the top five aquarium species collected in Kona, representing greater than 90% of all collected fishes, three of them have increased pretty dramatically (22%-44%) along the entire coast since the inception of FRA's. The two that didn’t increase are species targeted not only by aquarium collectors but also food fishers. So these fish get pinched from two directions.

He has also indicated that even species which nobody is collecting undergo population changes for reasons we don’t quite understand. Of 50 different species which are in the non-food/non-aquarium collection category, 28 declined and 22 increased. The bottom line seems to be there are variable patterns of abundance in fish population that can occur apart from human influences. Resource managers typically don’t know the cause, but in a healthy ecosystem these changes tend to be relatively minor and likely reverse themselves over time; given, of course, that habitat and water quality don’t degrade.

For dramatic effect, I'll reiterate: Provided HABITAT and WATER QUALITY don't degrade.

So to conclude that regulation is needed because FRA's don't work is not recognizing other reasons for decline and cherry picking the scientific data to suit your agenda. And what agenda might that be? To distance one's own contributions to the problem. Coastal reefs are taking a battering from a variety of local sources. Coastal development and sedimentation, water quality degradation, agricultural inputs to coastal water, unsustainable marine tourism practices, and coastal fishing and collection. We need to be honest with ourselves that coral reef decline is suffering a death by a thousand cuts and we (all of us) are to blame. It's by no means too late to stem this decline. But it will take some tough self-realization of ALL our contributions to reverse this.

It certainly is not helping to constantly look to "the other" for the blame.

Cue Screams And Arterial Bleeding In 3, 2, 1...

Just to give you a taste of some of the challenges we get to deal with in our project sites, here's a picture sent to me by Rich Wilson, my Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Program Manager. It's the latest (and growing) fad in "ecotourism" in Belize: Crocodile Feeding.

Tour guide baits a string with a dead chicken and lures wild American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) from the water for photo opportunities. This species of croc averages about 13-15 feet in length though some old males have been reported at a length of 20 feet.

What's so bad about a harmless photo op? The problem is that this behavior habituates fed crocodiles to the presence of humans. In fact, it actually attracts crocodiles who begin associating human activity with a chicken dinner. Problem is, crocodiles are just as happy with fresh human as they are with fresh poultry.

What makes this so frustrating is that this new "tourist attraction" is apparently supported by the town council of San Pedro, Belize. I have no doubt that this activity can put San Pedro on the map as a tourist draw for this daring practice. But at what cost? It's a contrived situation, not "natural." It's "rewarding" tourism operators (and crocodiles) for bad behavior. And should an accident happen to the fellow holding the chicken or to some unsuspecting swimmer attacked by a curious croc, you can be certain that the crocodiles will be the villans and hunted down. NOT the tour operators or the town council.

If you still don't think this is crazy behavior, have a talk with this guy.

I Love The Local Color

I leave for San Francisco in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, and I've gotta say that I'll really miss Chattanooga. Perched on the banks of the Tennessee River, Chattanooga is a beautiful, vibrant, and rejuvenated city. I enjoyed meeting the local people, talking about civil war history, and enjoyed the warm evening walks along the waterfront. If today's news of Volkswagen opening a new manufacturing plant in Chattanooga are any indication, economic prosperity is also assured for this small community.

And despite the crazy humidity and excessive goddiness, it's actually a place I'd like to return to someday soon. The food was great and the hospitality warm. Plus, if the freshwater collections at the Tennessee Aquarium were any indication, I absolutely MUST get underwater in the Tennessee River! From the exhibits, there's some bizzaro, monstrously huge life in there: sturgeon, carp, tarpon, alligator gars (and alligators too!).

And how can you not LOVE a place with classified ads like this (verbatim from the Chattanooga Times Free Press):

Fire Wood for sale, must get rid of, interested email me please. Or if you are in need of the wood we can give you a couple pieces, just email me about it.

Do We Protect The Strong Or Protect The Weak?

No, this post is not an argument for social reform. However it was the underlying question at the heart of a presentation I attended today by Eddie Game (et al.) with The Ecology Centre, University of Queensland, at the Society for Conservation Biology meeting. He presented a paper which had received a lot of buzz at the International Coral Reef Symposium, though I didn't manage to hear him last week in Fort Lauderdale.

With only 18% of the world's coral reefs protected by marine protected areas (MPAs) and only 2% of these in areas of adequate conservation capacity, we need a means to prioritize an approach to protection and MPA strengthening. But how to proceed? Game's paper, Should We Protect The Strong Or Weak? An Analysis Of Risk And Resilience In Marine Protected Areas, asks whether we should prioritize protection for those reefs at greater risk of unfavorable disturbances we can not control, or instead should we invest our limited resources in consolidating the health of those reefs at least risk of disturbance. In other words, should we protect the strong or the weak?

The answer it turns out really depends on what your conservation objective is. Are you looking to protect one reef or are you protecting a network of reefs? This question stirred up some heat at ICRS last week when I suggested during a reef resilience session that this question is not just academic, but a potentially useful conservation approach. Coral reef biologist and author Sue Wells actually got herself worked-up into a bit of a tizzy that I raised the issue. In her opinion, we shouldn't even be asking questions of either/or, but instead protecting all reefs we can.

With all due respect, Ms Wells... No Duh! But if you read Game's paper, that's his point. We can't protect them all and the current situation requires somewhat more pragmatic ideas. And why shouldn't we question our return on conservation investment? I always have to consider potential projects for likelihood of success or even weigh relative "value or importance" of some reef resources against alternate sites.

But that was ICRS. Back to SCB.

Game's finding provide a clever and simple mathematical formula that can provide a rubric for selecting between competing potential protected areas. If our conservation objective is to maximize the chance at least one reef is in a healthy state, then the best strategy is always to protect the reefs at lower risk of catastrophic disturbance. On the other hand, if we wish to maximize the expected number of healthy reefs in our system, then the optimal strategy is more complex.

As Game states,"If protected reefs are likely to spend a significant amount of time in a degraded state, either through high disturbance or slow recovery rates, then it is best to protect low risk sites. Alternatively, if our reefs are generally in a healthy state due to fast recovery and low disturbance, then we should (counter-intuitively) protect the sites at higher risk of uncontrollable disturbance."

After Game's presentation today, I asked him how he sees ecological connectivity playing into his "strong or weak" considerations. Shouldn't "strong" or "weak" reefs also be weighed against their connections to sources of productivity or, alternatively, as exporters of productivity? After all, we rarely get to select just a single reef system to protect. Doesn't connectivity favor multiple protected areas by default?

He agreed that considerations of connectivity are absolutely important to consider, but also wanted to be clear that our current understanding of reef connectivity may be at too early a stage to be useful to resource managers alone. He suspects that considerations of resilience and connectivity together will play an important role in the future of marine protected area management. As such, the "strong or weak" analysis still provides predictive value.

I think Game's paper is important for the abundance of chatter it has catalyzed. If frequency of appearance in corridor discussions is any indication, he's provided an important contribution to future marine conservation thinking.

Somebody Say Cracker?

I've been way to busy to notice anything going on in the blogosphere (or elsewhere) the past few weeks. So I was taken by surprise by the recent Cracker-gate.

Needless to say, apparently condemnation is a one-way street for the righteous who have whipped themselves up to a frenzy. It's fine for them to dole it out, but oh my do they not like it leveled back at them. MBSL&S's got your back, PZ. Hang tough!

Society For Conservation Biology Update

I haven't posted nearly as much about proceedings of the annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology here in Chattanooga. Truth be told, I've been doing a lot more dipping in-and-out of sessions and it's keeping me running around. While there is a marine science working group of the SCB, the offerings of presentations having to do with marine protected areas or coral reef conservation are few and far between.

One of the presentations I was looking forward to this afternoon, How Are Our MPAs Doing? Assessing Global Patterns in Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness by Jed Holtzman, et al., was withdrawn from today's agenda and moved to Thursday. Bummer for me since I leave Wednesday morning.

Still, there have been several interesting presentations I've attended already:

Larval Spillover From South African Marine Reserves;
Comparing and Integrating Science and Community-Based Conservation Approaches: Prioritizing Areas for Marine Protection;
Promoting Aquatic Tourism Potentials of Nigerian Protected Areas;
Software Tools for Coastal Marine Ecosystem-Based Management.

My favorite presentation today was From Fishmeal To Fish Meals: Affecting the Largest Single Species Fishery in the World. The presenter was the amazing Dr. Patricia Majluf with the Conservation Biology Unit, Cayetano Heredia University, Peru. She described the incredible progress she has made in changing perceptions and attitudes of the commercially harvested Peruvian anchoveta. It's amazingly high in protein and quite delicious. As a fast reproducing planktivore eating low on the food chain, anchoveta are an excellent option as a sustainable fishery.

But anchoveta has had a PR problem. It has historically been considered a "trash catch" and is almost exclusively used for making fishmeal or deriving fish oil in Peru. But things have changed, thanks to Dr. Majluf.

She described an ambitious and amazing campaign to change attitudes and behaviors of consumers in Lima, Peru. From helping to educate consumers through outreach and education and even hosting anchoveta "give-aways" in markets to change tastes and opinions all the way up to facilitating government meetings to talk about incentives for getting more anchoveta into markets. The result has been nothing short of impressive. Majluf even brought a few tins of Peruvian anchoveta and crackers for everyone to taste!

Dr. Majluf admitted that perhaps she had a relatively easier time of convincing consumers to make the perception switch given that Lima is a city of "foodies" anyway. I told her I was skeptical that such a rapid shift can occur here in the States where we are a population absolutely addicted to firm, white fleshed fish. Don't get me wrong, I've already gone on the record as being a big fan of anchovy. But it's not like you find anchovy on many restaurant menus. She agreed that more aggressive strategies would indeed be necessary, and also pointed out that they are far from finished with Peru. There's a long way to go, especially in creating incentives to reduce fishing pressure on those species and fisheries that are less sustainable.

Still, it was a truly inspiring example of what is possible. Find out more about anchoveta fisheries, Dr. Majluf's work, and the "Eat Like a Pig" campaign from a great article by Jennifer Jacquet.

That's A Moray Monday: The "You Ask-I Deliver" Edition

Never let it be said I won't willingly go to great lengths to keep my readers happy. Case in point, a few weeks ago, Christopher Taylor--Kiwi, "working taxonomist," aficionado of well-groomed facial hair, and author of the blog Catalog of Organisms--commented on one of my That's a Moray Monday posts where I put forward that I don’t like to feature images of preserved (or pickled) specimens (such as the one pictured at the top of this post) from museum collections. To which Christopher responded:

Despite your prejudices, can I put in a request for a post about pickled specimens in jars of formalin? It might be interesting to see a "we don't know as much about morays as we think we do" post. Even as a working taxonomist, it always amazes me to consider just how many organisms - from trees to toads to ticks to tapeworms - we know from specimens floating in jars and absolutely f***-all else.

Ask and you shall receive, Christopher. Mind you, it took a wee bit of time to pose your question and a few others to an arbitrary (though distinguished) cadre of museum colleagues:

• Karsten Hartel, Curatorial Associate and Manager of Ichthyology Collections for the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University;
• David Smith, eel specialist with the Division of Fishes, Smithsonian Institution; and,
• Dave Catania, Senior Collection Manager, Ichthyology, at the California Academy of Sciences.

My sincere appreciation at the start to all of these busy scientists for taking time from their daily workload to answer my questions. Mr. Catania was happy to provide some feedback, but referred me to the Academy's legendary John McCosker, as he has published extensively on the systematics of Muraenids. Unfortunately, Dr. McCosker was out of town for July and I wanted to get a post in before too long. What I'm most happy to report is that every one of the museum scientists I contacted replied to my rather unusual query within just a few days. In addition to providing great info, they affirmed warm feelings of science camaraderie while also validating that others share my general geekery about all things moray.

Holy Holotype, Batman
I asked Karsten Hartel if the MCZ has one of the more extensive collections of moray holotype specimens (the actual specimen of an organism that's used when the species was formally described.) He explained that in total, the MCZ's moray collection is not that large (material applied to about 35 names). He noted however that the Smithsonian, by comparison, has 102 type specimens. This was confirmed by the Smithsonian's David Smith who said that the august DC institution probably does indeed have the largest collection of morays in the world (in fact, the Smithsonian has the largest collection of preserved fishes in the world). Cal. Academy's Dave Catania reported back that the Academy has 15 Muraenid holotypes. He suspects that the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia has somewhat more moray holotype specimens.

A Question of Numbers
As far as how many species have been identified, things get a little fuzzy. Karsten noted that if you go to the California Academy of Sciences database (it lists all of the known names ever applied to fishes) and search on Muraenidae (the fish family that includes morays) you will get 533 species names that have been applied to the family at one time or another. However, he explains that we now know that there are almost 200 valid species (Nelson's Fishes of the World says 185) and that is largely because ichthyologists were able to examine the actual specimens used to describe each taxon.

The Smithsonian's eel specialist, David Smith, says no one is really sure precisely how many species of morays there are worldwide. The figure of 200, he said, is almost certainly too low, "We are continually finding new species of morays," reports Smith. "Some species are very widely distributed, while others inhabit only small, restricted areas. One species is known only from Walters Shoals, a submerged reef south of Madagascar. Another is restricted to the Red Sea, and another to the Indian Ocean off South Africa. With the advent of DNA testing, we are sure to find even more species."

Today's Special: Pickled Moray
Getting right to Christopher's primary question of what we know about morays solely from pickled museum specimens, the answer appears to be "quite a lot." The Smithsonian's David Smith responded, "Actually, much of what we know about morays comes from these preserved collections. We can gain information on where each species lives geographically, the ecological habitat, and the variation in characters both within an area and between one place and another." Smith goes on to explain that these preserved specimens also provide information on comparative anatomy, and this in turn can enable us to determine evolutionary relationships.

So with all these one-of-a-kind moray specimens filling up shelf space in museum collections, they must get picked apart and probed a lot, right? "Nope," says MCZ's Karsten Hartel. "Primary type specimens are almost never dissected in order to keep them intact as possible for future generation of scientists," he said. "The non-type parts of the MCZ collections offer a wider opportunity to study all aspects of eel biology from molecular to biodiversity. But by using x-rays or scans, some internal anatomy can be obtained. This, Karsten notes, is very important in eels where the number of vertebrae is incredibly important to understand what is a species and what is not.

Classify Now? Classify Later?
I was curious (as a non working taxonomist) as to the process from collection of specimens in the field to ultimate identification and storage in museum collections. Is this a speedy process or, like a lot of scientific enterprises, does lack of capacity mean that some collected and potentially novel species can sit for quite some time before undergoing classification. In other words, is it possible that our museum collections have new moray species just waiting to be taxonomically defined. David Smith with the Smithsonian was first to weigh-in, "I not only suspect, but I know for a certainty, that many new species of moray eels currently reside in museum collections, some right here at the Smithsonian. With more DNA sampling, those numbers are bound to increase," he said. Harvard's Collection Manager, Hartel, agreed, "I'm sure there are new species out there but I'm not an eel specialist."

I asked if one could quantify an "average time" (if there is indeed such a thing) it might take to ascribe taxonomic description and identity to a collected moray specimen. Do most specimens that are collected by museums sit in bottles on shelves for quite some time before a researcher gets around to writing a monograph or some such taxonomic description? Karsten responded that it's, "Almost impossible to average. He described that the turnaround time depends on current knowledge of the group. "If its a poorly known group that has not been looked at in years, it might require a full review of the group by borrowing material from around the world, visiting museums around the world," he explained. "This can literally take years!"

"On the other hand," he coninued, "if a new very distinctive species is found, then things could move very fast especially with new electronic journals like Zootaxa as was witnessed for the moray species Gymnothorax baranesi. That specimen sat on the shelf since 2002, but once the study was finished and the paper accepted in Nov. 2007 it was published by January 2008."

Smithsonian's David Smith concurred, "There really is no average time between the discovery of a new species and its published description. It depends on the situation." Smith explains, "A scientist may find the new species in the field and describe it shortly after returning to his (her) home base, if he is working on that particular group. Or it may be collected as part of an expedition and sit on a shelf until someone comes along and finds it, recognizes it, and publishes on it. It also depends on how much time a scientist has, how many other tasks compete for his time, etc. It is probably more common for a specimen to sit on a shelf for a while than to be published immediately. There are a lot more specimens in museums than there are scientists to study them. Some groups have no one studying them."

So the message here is clear: We need more moray taxonomists! Hear that, Christopher? For the good of the scientific enterprise, you need to start considering a way to disseminate those taxonomically inclined genes of yours. Take one for the team and get those genes in circulation! Either that or we all need to step up the message that taxonomy and classification is an exciting and living branch of the natural sciences and NOT the dry "stamp collecting" for which it often gets the unfair rap.

The Science Behind The Specimens
A final query I put to my museum contacts was to describe some of the current or recent scientific research in which museum moray specimens have proven vital. Karsten Hartel was first to respond that, "During my tenure, MCZ material (and other museums) has been very important for scientists who have studied eels. One example is the two volume (adults and leptocephali) work on the eels of the western North Atlantic or the Fishes of the Atlantic Ocean regional series." He also provided a link to the volume that describes species from the Western Central Pacific.

Both Karsten and Cal Academy's Dave Catania both pointed out that museum specimens are proving crucial in compiling online, searchable databases for fish species. Karsten mentioned that, "information on the holdings of major museums are being assemble into searchable databases (see the Global Biodiversity Information Facility) which is becoming more and more important for understanding diversity, especially in difficult to identify species where access to museum specimens is a necessity." Catania mentioned that FishBase is another searchable site that is assisting scientists in better understanding fish diversity and biogeography.

Dave Smith with the Smithsonian reminds us that while we have compiled new understandings of morays, a lot of scientific work remains to be done. To this point, he adds, "Very little is known about the anatomy and the biology of morays. Only a couple of species have ever had their osteology (structure of the bones and skeleton) described, and we know very little about their ecology, behavior, and reproduction, except in the most general sense. So, there is much more to learn about morays."

So there you have it, Christopher. Seems we have mapped just the tip of the iceberg in so far as understanding moray species. It's exciting to think that there’s still plenty of work and understanding yet to accomplish. Which to me at least is incredibly encouraging to think that future generations of marine biologists, taxonomists, and museum curatorial personnel can take-up the challenge.

Et Tu, Chattanooga?

From a window display for a local housewares store, downtown Chattanooga.

Coral reefs as window dressing. Sigh.

Butterfly Kisses To Doug

I'm a big fan of Doug Taron's blog, Gossamer Tapestry. This despite his obvious character flaw of neither studying coral reefs nor writing about them. Be that as it may, Doug suggested I check out a few butterfly exhibits while on my conference junket. "Butterflies?", I initially thought. They aren't commonly found on coral reefs. What could possibly be interesting about that.

I've had an epiphany, courtesy of the Tennessee Aquarium's butterfly exhibit. Thanks for the tip, Doug! I only wish I had you there to tell me what I was seeing.

First Four Hours In Chattanooga

The last 48 hours have been a bit of a blur. With the International Coral Reef Symposium winding down on Friday, last minute meetings and fond farewells to friends and colleagues, a 4AM shuttle to the airport on Saturday, a hop up to Atlanta then a skip to Chattanooga for the Society for Conservation Biology conference, some hotel mayhem in finding me a room, a failed attempt at a wake-up call this morning, a scramble to get to the convention center to set-up for my workshop, and then two-hours of presenting, I'm feeling some reality vertigo. Especially since my brain is still on coral-time and I want to process last week.

Anyway, things went well for my workshop (lots of interested participants) and I'm now back at the hotel for some down time.

Some initial thoughts about Chattanooga? It's hot. And humid. But to say that it's humid is missing how soppingly wet the air feels here. Combine that with the thunderstorms last night and this morning, and you get a crushingly heavy humidity that steams-up my glasses going into and out of the hotel and makes me feel like my clothes are lined with rubber.

Did you know that Chattanooga is the birthplace of the bottling industry? True that. It's where Coca Cola bottling first created the iconic image of the product. From here, the bottling technology spread to other products and applications around the world.

I'm also loving the quaint Tennessee dialect. People really do say, "I swear, y'all." No really. And somehow, they can make words like "hey," "that," and "yeah" come out of their mouths with two syllables. Sometimes three.

While Chattanoogans seem like perfectly nice folk so far, there's no question I'm in the bible belt. Easily one-quarter of my flight from Atlanta was on their way to Chattanooga for a bible ministry study. The fellow sitting next to me on the plane was chatting to someone on the phone about that evenings meeting at the church. And based on the drive to my hotel from the airport, you can't swing a cat without hitting a baptist or Lutheran church. When I explained to the local cab driver that our conference officially started tomorrow, he said (shocked), "On a Sunday?"

Needless to say, sticky humidity and god tend to put me in a bit of a mood. Luckily, the Tennessee Aquarium, just a few sweaty blocks from my hotel, saved the day. First of all, it was heavily air conditioned. Secondly, it was well-designed and entertaining. I enjoyed walking through the freshwater river sections with some of the local families, just soaking in the conversations.

It's always interesting to find a local community that's close to their resource. I heard a young boy call out to his father to look at an exhibit, "Dad, look! Mocc's!" Referring to the display of venomous Water moccasin's. I listened as two young boys identified species of river trout in one display of moving water. And I wondered if any of the kids back in San Francisco would know a brook trout if it slapped them in the face. Of course opportunity to interact with the environment is part of the familiarity here. But still, it was just what I needed to hear.

After cooling-down at the aquarium, I was ready to head back to the hotel for a nap. But on my walk back, I found myself pulled, like an iron filing to a magnet, by the aroma of barbecue hanging thick in the Chattanooga air. The source was a barbecue joint called Sticky Fingers. A southern franchise, but still good. Their specialty was dry-rub pork ribs. I settled into a booth and quickly ordered-up a plate that included a 1/2 rack of Memphis-style ribs, pulled pork, baked beans, slaw, and all washed down with a icy glass of southern sweet tea.

At that perfect moment, I allowed for the slight possibility of a divine being.

Show Some Support

Okay, so if you're reading this on a news reader, do me a favor and jump over to my actual blog and take a peek at the very cool new badge just below the "About Me" sidebar. Neat huh? Now you too can show your support for coral reef conservation and the work of the Coral Reef Alliance.

Head over to our fabulous redesigned website and peruse a beautiful selection of banners and badges (like the one above) that you can add to your blog or website. Yes, coral reefs are in trouble. But it's not too late to make a difference. That's the consensus of coral reef scientists and conservations at this week's 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. It begins with spreading this message.

Thanks, Jennifer!

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that fisheries biologist and blog colleague Jennifer Jacquet of the amazing Shifting Baselines blog is in attendance at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium here in Fort Lauderdale. We bumped into each other in the halls and it was great to catch-up even briefly. I also have to take a moment to thank Jennifer for indulging my star struck request to introduce me to Dr. Daniel Pauly. It wasn't just a handshake and a see-you-later that he gave me. Dr. Pauly invited me to sit next to him and we had a chance to chat during lulls in the afternoon sessions.

I didn't realize Dr. Pauly was such a wise ass! He was cracking me up with side comments throughout the afternoon. Thanks again, Jennifer. It was great seeing you again and spending some time with Dr. Pauly made my afternoon!

Coral Reef Alliance Launches New Website

Just in time for the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, CORAL has launched an entirely redesigned website. Head on over and check out the new project descriptions, pictures and stories from the field, and find out how you can partner with us on our coral reef conservation work. We're the hardest working conservationists in the coral biz!

Real Coral Relics On Display

On display today at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium was an amazing collection of antiquarian books on coral and coral reefs, all part of the professional library of Dr. James W. Porter. Some of the books and prints stretched back 500 years. Five-hundred years!

I stopped by to catch a glimpse of the holy grail of coral reef tomes (at least for me), Charles Darwin's The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. And there it was--under a protective cover--a second edition copy with original fold-out illustrations of the formation of atolls. Last time I did a search for one of these on a rare books website it was listed at US$12,000.

A bit rich for my blood. But for today, looking was free.

Enough About Coral! What About Coral Reef Fish?

With all the talk about coral the past few days, I haven't been paying much attention to the other "reef" parts of the ecosystem. But that certainly was rectified Wednesday afternoon here at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium when the afternoon keynote was presented by fisheries guru Daniel Pauly. Author of over 500 scientific articles, 30 books and reports mainly dedicated to the management of fisheries (including coral reef fisheries), and to ecosystem modeling (including coral reef ecosystems), Daniel Pauly is a walking legend. Did I mention he also coined the phrases "fishing down the food chain," and "shifting baselines?" Yeah, makes you wonder what your doing with your spare time, doesn't it?

But back to coral reef fish.

His presentation, Coral Reef Fisheries: A Re-Assessment of Their Ecological and Socioeconomic Impacts (or at least that was one of his titles... he came with two) offered a lot of to think about. In particular his observations that traditional fisheries management in the Pacific appears to have been sustainable. Why not more conclusive than "appears?" According to Pauly, it's because the fish catch data was not recorded until recently. So all we have to go by is anecdotal reports of historic catch. Pauly puts most of the blame for this data gap on the failure of early anthropologists to record catch values. While effort can be expended to recreate some of this data from anthropologists field notes, he asked why it should be this way. As he put it, a group of social scientists whose speciality is dealing with people are not recording what traditional fishers caught. Perhaps more importantly, these habits are informing an entirely new crop of anthropologists who are continuing in this tradition.

I don't hang around many anthropologists so I have to take his claims on face value. But they certainly seem plausible.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Pauly's talk was when he described what he calls Malthusian Fisheries. Named after the economist Thomas Malthus whose economic theories on population growth inspired Darwin's thinking on natural selection, it speaks to a similar rise and fall of once traditional fisheries.

In traditional fishing communities (it really doesn't matter where in the world you look as the pattern is replicated globally), new generations of fishers (generally fisher MEN) are trained by fishing fathers. These new generations learn the traditions and sustainable practices passed down through the generations. However most coastal fishers today are non-traditional fishers. Migration of farmers and others to the coast to take up coastal fishing were never taught the sustainable traditions. These new fishers do not tend to use traditional gear, seasonal fishing closures, or replenishment areas. As a result, increased coastal fishing effort combined with non-traditional fishing practices drives fish catches down. But why do these non-traditional fishermen continue fishing even in the face of reduced catch? Pauly explained that many are essentially receiving subsidies from wives who often move to cities seeking employment. They then send money back home as supplemental income to offset poor fish catch. The result is a lack of incentive to leave fishing (even if it is a meager living) all the while the coastal resource continues to erode.

A lot to digest, for sure. And made all the more worrisome by one of Pauly's final conclusions that because of a variety of factor (some of which I've mentioned above) we really can't produce a reliable approximation of reef fish catch at this time. Did he leave us with any options? Indeed he did. We need to aggressively increase the rate of MPA growth. The current rate of MPA growth and strengthening is too slow to meet the overwhelming demand for them.

For those of us in the MPA effectiveness biz, it's certainly not a revelation. But it is a further kick in the ass to get our collective acts together and make conservation happen.

"We Don't Want To Be Your Friend"

Yes, these words came out of the mouths of journalists and were directed at us coral reef scientists. Fighting words? Nope, just a statement of fact of the journalist relationship. But still, not exactly the first words you want to hear in a session exploring relationship building. But I didn't really take it personally. I saw it more as a crystal clear articulation of the role of the media and the need to eliminate any impression of collusion.

But that blunt pronouncement was just one of many interesting moments during the panel discussion, Can This Relationship Be Saved? Why Journalists and Scientists Just Don't Communicate, the brainchild of SeaWeb/Compass on Tuesday night at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. The session pulled together a panel of distinguished science journalists from a variety of US and UK media outlets and put them head-to-head with some of the most media savvy coral reef/ocean science gurus in attendance. I wish I had a full list of names of the journalists, but I missed the introductions. On the scientist's side there were some legends indeed: Nancy Knowlton, Bob Steneck, Daniel Pauly were just a few of the heavyweights.

Things started out with some back and forth pleasantries of what journalists and scientists like about their counterparts. But I have to admit that at the end of a long day of absorbing information at sessions, I wasn't there to listen to a love fest. I wanted to get right down to business and hear what's not working, get some suggestions for what can be done to improve ocean science communication, and then someone (PLEASE) put a beer in my hand.

I didn't have to wait too long for some stone throwing to begin. Scientists complaints? You could probably guess them: misquoting, journalists already have a story or agenda in mind, dumbing down the science, journalists want sensational stories, journalists want quotes right now. You could probably also guess the journalist gripes: jargon-filled interviews, too much detail, scientists already have a story/agenda in mind, overly process-oriented, scientists are hard to get in touch with, scientists can't tell stories, scientists won't let journalists do their jobs, scientists don't see media relations as part of the scientific process.

Certainly all valid points and there's truth to issues on both sides. One alarming consensus on the part of the journalists was the admission that since they are part of an industry whose business is to sell papers, giving people what they want must come first. And if online news has done anything, it has allowed us to see what people (or at least online people) want to read. As such, no matter how cool our science is or how important our messages may be, at the end of the day Paris Hilton will get page one and coral reefs will (maybe) get a sidebar in the lifestyles section. When some audience asked if perhaps it might be the job of journalists to try to raise the bar a bit, there was general rejection on that point by the panel of journalists. "We try, we can't, and really not our job," was the common refrain.

I don't really believe that this is not part of a journalists responsibility. Maybe in the most basic, stripped-down sense of what journalism's expected role has been, as objective conveyors of information, I can buy into that somewhat. But the point was raised that journalists are certainly not doing their job well when they continue to waste paper and ink giving credibility to flat-out kooks such as climate change denialists when covering the larger issue of climate change. It only continues to instill confusion in the public perception that scientists are "undecided" as to whether climate change is a real threat.

I didn't hear a good answer from the journalists on that one. If anything, I heard something that sounded an awful lot like "presenting two sides of any story is important." Well okay, but can you wonder why some scientists disengage from media contacts?

But the take home from the entire evening was not that media is bad, scientists are good. It was that scientists indeed need to do a better job of communicating to the public. And since we are busy with our own scientific work most of the time, that means developing relationships with the media. It means being willing to talk to reporters when the phone rings. It means recognizing that we need to practice our message. Nancy Knowlton had a great line about taking every opportunity we can find to tell our "story." Eventually, we reach a point where our rap doesn't sound rehearsed, canned, or staged, but sounds natural and understandable to any audience. And that's the key.

But what about the sensationalism/Paris Hilton obsessed media and their unwillingness to raise the bar? An interesting dialogue may have germinated at this meeting as a number of us began talking after the event that if the media is unwilling to raise the bar and start appealing to a readership with some intelligence, perhaps the onus is upon us to find avenues to those readers. They certainly are out there. But if they have turned away from conventional media for just this reason, maybe we can get to them in other ways.

Connect The Dots

If acidification is the unofficial buzzword of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, then connectivity is runner-up. Reef connectivity is a hot field in coral reef ecology and genetics and it's certainly obvious by the volume of presenters focusing on the topic in both the Reef Connectivity and Genomics of Coral Reefs strands and the theme has also percolated into some Reef Management presentations as well. Reef connectivity generally attempts to get at the notion that reefs are not closed systems but rather--through currents and other ocean transport systems as well as through an organisms motility--reef networks that sometimes span considerable geographic distances are connected.

Where this gets fascinating is in boring down a level deeper into the concept and asking what sort of connectivity is at play. This is the work of Bob Cowen, Robert Maytag Professor of Ichthyology and Chair of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami. He provided Tuesday's afternoon keynote address on connectivity in reef systems. Bob described his work in both genetic connectivity (dispersal of gametes) and population connectivity (dispersal of organisms) and tried to explain some of the ecological and evolutionary importance.

At a very simple level, try to understand connectivity through this example. Imagine an island archipelago consisting of many small, geographically isolated reef systems. If this archipelago had low reef connectivity, we might expect to find high degrees of endemism (one of a kind species found nowhere else) on many of the isolated islands. But in a system with high connectivity, we might expect more homogeneity of species across the entire archipelago. This is broad brush connectivity, but you can sort of get at the evolutionary implications if we can better understand some of the drivers for connectivity in the first place.

The usual suspects are of course currents and other physical oceanographic processes. But Bob did a terrific job of forcing us all to challenge our assumptions of how the ocean operates. Much of how we expect the ocean to "behave" is based on some rather incomplete data. For example, he pointed out that a lot of literature in the marine biological community describing larval dispersal (a major connectivity event) is based on something called "mean ocean current." Bob elicited some chuckles in deconstructing that there really is no such thing as a "mean" ocean current.

Much of our classic understanding of currents comes from ship drift data. But when you compare these charts against satellite drift tag data, it's difficult to find matching drift lines. In fact, satellite drift data he illustrated was all over the map. Some tags sort of went where ocean "drift lines" said they should go. Others drifted orthogonal to expected paths. Still others hardly moved at all. If you imagine each tag as not a floating satellite telemetry but an organism or gamete, you realize there's an ecological story to tell and potential evolutionary implications for wherever that organism/gamete ends up. The drift situation becomes even more complex when you look at other physical drivers of connectivity such as salinity flow. The message here is that that our understanding of reef connectivity needs a closer examination at oceanic processes as drivers.

Part of what I really found interesting about Bob's presentation is that a lot of my work in strengthening MPA networks looks at an altogether different type of connectivity. I spend a lot of time examining social and cultural connectivity, especially in similarly isolated island archipelagos. What have coral reef communities developed as traditional resource management practices? How have these practices and traditions either maintained or "evolved" following dispersal from source to sink? And how can understanding these connective systems (and their drivers) inform contemporary resource management strategies? I think parallels to the sort of population connectivity Bob examines in pelagic larval dispersal could have similar ecological, cultural, and management importance for those of us today trying to maximize coral reef health.

SeaWeb Scores A Hit

I'll write more on this later, but SeaWeb hosted a fantastic evening panel discussion last night at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium that paired leading voices in coral reef science and conservation with leading journalists who report on ocean science. The goal? Have some frank discussions about what we like and don't like about the scientist-journalist relationship and create inroads for better messaging of coral science and conservation.

It wasn't a battle royal, but it did have some sparks. After the panel, SeaWeb hosted a reception that really encouraged scientists and journalists to carry-on the conversations. In addition to chatting-up the room, I got to reconnect with Liz Neeley, SeaWeb's Assistant Director of Science Outreach as well as meet UK-based Julia Roberson, Senior Project Manager for SeaWeb's caviar and coral jewelry campaigns. Liz and Julia were kind enough to pose for a shot (Julie on left, Liz on right). And no, apparently they didn't plan to dress as twin!

ICRS Is Kicking My Ass

It's only Wednesday and yet I've already been unable to keep up with reporting back on all that's transpiring here at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. There's just so much going on. Constantly! And I'm NOT complaining.

It's hard to describe having access to this many coral colleagues in one place at the same time. I go from chatting about the coral triangle with folks from Indonesia, to word on progress with the Micronesian Challenge in Palau from Koror State representatives, to getting the latest on MPA management in Bonaire from the marine park manager himself. It's fantastic. I have some catching-up to do to relay some of the best from Tuesday, but I'm already ramping-up for this morning's sessions on coral reef management, so I'll need to do some retro-blogging later today.

The Art Of Coral Reef Science

There's no getting around the fact that as primates, we are exquisitely visual creatures. Which makes the use of scientific posters to convey our data and findings all the more important. As I mentioned previously, there are some 1230 scientific posters here at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. Last night was the opening reception for poster sessions where I got to do a two-hour meet and greet for CORAL's poster submission. But as soon as my poster duties were finished, I grabbed a beer (okay, two!) and made my way through the galleries. After a long day of presenting and attending great sessions, it wasn't long before mental fatigue set-in.

There's a lot to absorb here and it will take the entire week to do all these posters justice, but I thought I'd share some of the posters that at least caught my eye on a first pass. Some are an overkill of words. Others let the data do the talking. And then some are just simply beautiful works of art, in my opinion. Here's just a smattering.

Seeing Is Believing

After the first day full of scientific presentations here at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), the clear buzzword is acidification. (Since this is a scientific gathering, the word acidification is the preferred sobriquet. Though I have to agree with Mark over on blogfish that "acidification" will probably never register a blip on public understanding.) But whether you use "acidification" or "CO2 poisoning," it refers to the uptake of excess atmospheric CO2 into the oceans resulting in a lowering of seawater pH and an increase in difficulty for calcifying organisms to secrete carbonate shells or "skeletons." The calcifying organism everyone is here to talk about, of course, is coral. But the chemistry of ocean acidification has impact not just on corals but on important planktonic food and photosynthesizer like Prochlorococcus, coralline algae, shelly mollusks, and much more.

Two presentations today helped outline the challenges from acidification. The first was the afternoon plenary address by Joanie Kleypas with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Her presentation, Helping Coral Through Climate Change Crisis: Mission Possible, was a perfect framing piece. She reminded us all that four years ago at the 10th ICRS in Okinawa, Japan the perceived global threat from acidification was quite low among attendees. What ranked at the top of concern? Coral bleaching. Which makes sense given that four years ago, coral bleaching was perhaps the most visible and stark calling card for the effects of climate change on our oceans. As Dr. Kleypas put it, seeing is believing.

Comparing bleaching to acidification, it's not surprising that it barely registered on our consciousness just a few years ago. Where coral bleaching is an acute threat, acidification is a creeping one, building slowly over time. Bleaching is visible, acidification is invisible and hard to measure. Bleaching can often kill coral colonies where, at least in the short to medium term, acidification does not. Perhaps the most important difference however is that adaptation by coral colonies to bleaching events is possible as coral polyps take-up new, more heat tolerant clades of symbiotic algae. When coral skeletons dissolve due to lowered seawater pH, little adaptive options remain.

So yes indeed, ocean acidification is the latest "Big Bad" (to use a Buffy-ism) breathing down the neck of healthy oceans. Certainly not breaking news to anyone here, but still vital to keep front and center as we discuss reef management, conservation, and policy options. What could have been a dour doomsday presentation by Dr. Kleypas was anything but that. She kept her message focused on possibilities and solutions and clever strategies for reef management in the face of this challenge. I particularly liked her reference to a paper being presented this week that asks the question, Which reefs should we prioritize for protection: the strong or the weak? Do we focus our energies on the most "valuable" reefs (however you wish to characterize that word) or do we throw our energies at those reefs most likely to succeed? These are far from academic questions as they get to the heart of how limited conservation capacity should best be spent.

Kleypas also injected a good deal of humor into her talk (Mission Impossible theme and all). What could have been an hour of doomsday predictions instead left me and other attendees I spoke with feeling encouraged and empowered to be part of the solution. We all study and work to protect coral reefs because we genuinely love the habitat we've spent so much time studying. As strange as it may sound, it felt great to be in a room full of individuals with so much passion for the same ecosystem and all facing the same crisis together.

The other related presentation I really enjoyed today was later in the afternoon at the Predicting Reef Futures in the Context of Climate Change thread. Dr. Maoz Fine from the Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel presented on Scleractinian Corals response to Ocean Acidification Conditions. This presentation revisited some of the 2007 findings by Maoz and others of how some stony coral skeletons can undergo complete dissolution in acidic conditions, yet individual coral polyps can survive, sometimes up to a year. I read this report last year in Science and remember the startling images of formerly stony corals living as anemone-like, stalked polyps in loose aggregations in seawater with a pH of 7.3. While the coral skeletons were completely gone, Maoz noted that reproductive ability was maintained.

The upshot of this initially grim response is that some stony corals could potentially "wait-out" acidification scenarios until pH can increase to 8-8.2 again. Maoz got a lot of flack last year when researchers complained that his message of coral "waiting-out" acidification missed pointing out that it's the complex carbonate reef architecture itself that supports the ecosystem. Losing coral skeletons means loss of niche space and habitat, loss of substrate for encrusting or attached life, and an overall weakened frame for future re-calcified corals to settle upon.

But Maoz was very clear about all of this in his presentation today. While the ability of some corals to decalcify can offer some hope in worst-case scenarios of ocean acidification, our responses need to consider the larger reef complex. Of course, the best response is to not let ocean acidification get to the point of decalcified reefs. Easier said than done, admittedly. And there are certainly individuals roaming the symposium who suspect we may have already passed a critical tipping point for ocean pH.

Which makes our job here at the ICRS all the more important. We need to make our messages resonate not just among us coral geeks, but outside these symposium walls and into policy makers awareness. We need to encourage and empower our leaders and citizens to make smart choices and think a bit further than their own lifetimes. It's not too late, but time is not on our side. What a truly incredible testament it would be to the human species if we could say we faced this global challenge of ocean acidification but managed to avert it. Now that's the meeting I want to attend!

A Lot Like Irony

I'm staying at the Ft. Lauderdale Grande Hotel this week across the street from the symposium. The hotel is certainly grand in many ways, but I find it a little odd that one of the hosting hotels for the world's largest coral reef science and conservation conference is utterly festooned with dead coral specimens and other reef-related marine life like shells and seastars. I mean, I know coral is a very trendy home decor these days, but maybe the management would want think this is a good week to swap out the dead coral for, I dunno, some other innocuous chotchkes?

Or perhaps it's meant to be an interactive game? So far I've counted two species of Acropora, one Pocillapora coral, and a Linkia sp. seastar from the Indo-Pacific.

Now THAT'S A Great Poster!

Over 1230 scientific posters have been accepted for mini-symposia presentations here at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. And I just got to hang CORAL's poster: Voluntary Standards as a Tool for Increasing the Sustainability of the Marine Recreation Industry and Improving MPA Effectiveness in Hawaii and Mesoamerica. I'm quite proud of it, frankly. Not only is it a great presentation, it's beautiful too!

Tomorrow is my poster session so I'll be on the floor answering questions. Maybe I can squeeze-in an interview with one of my poster neighbors.

2225 2987 Strong!

Early estimates that I've heard on the first day here at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium is that attendance is at a record 2225 2987+ attendees. That's simply amazing! I've already said hello to living legends in coral reef science, Bob Steneck and Mark Erdmann, and met delegates from Indonesia, Africa, China, and the Middle East. What an incredible opportunity it is to have this much talent and knowledge in one place.

Not that getting here was a delight. Most of us were thwarted in getting here on time yesterday when summer thunderstorms closed Atlanta and Miami airports for a while. I sat on the tarmac in Knoxville, TN for over an hour waiting for Atlanta to reopen. I have nothing to bitch about, though, as one of the delegates from Israel just told me about the crazy security checks she had to endure just getting here.

The schedule at a glance indicates what a full week it's going to be. This morning is all about ceremonial openings (and abysmal speeches from Florida Congressional representatives), checking-in, collecting abstracts, uploading presentations, and meeting old friends. Not that there aren't scientific sessions today either. Reef Management sessions kick off at 11AM, so I'll have more to comment later. For now I'm off to hang my poster and grab coffee.

All Coral, All The Time

Hollywood has the Oscars, NASCAR has their Indy 500, and those of us who study and work to conserve coral reefs have the International Coral Reef Symposium. And I'm off to the 11th such global gathering of coral geeks in beautiful Ft. Lauderdale: land of Spring breaks, hanging chads, and a Fuddrukers ever 500 feet.

Today is filled with a lot of hurry-up and wait in airports, but the scientific program kicks-off first thing Monday morning. Once I get my bearings, register, upload my presentation to the conference media center, and hang my poster I'll begin live blogging from the event. Stay tuned for the latest coral science, management, news, and updates anywhere on the blogosphere!

Star Island Threat Dead Or Asleep?

Readers will recall a few months back when I visited the Turks and Caicos Islands and learned about a rather shady, government-endorsed development plan that involved dredging a Dubai-style, artificial island smack in the middle of a marine protected area there. The Star Island project was perhaps the most visible part of a more massive development plan consisting of luxury homes, high-end marina, cruise ship dredging, and other coastal modifications all within protected waters and near healthy coral reef systems.

Word from the Islands this weekend, however, is that permission to continue dredging activity on Star Island has been revoked. In fact, it was found that the developers hadn't even followed correct procedure in the first place. I'd like to think that putting the spotlight on the government through a petition campaign by the Coral Reef Alliance as well as startling images of the project from the air posted by yours truly contributed to this decision. And of course the day-to-day efforts of conservationists and concerned TCI citizens also needs to be recognized.

However, don't pop the champagne cork quite yet. While activity on Star Island has halted, I suspect it just means there are lawyers charging lots of overtime and no doubt plenty of closed-door meetings with the Premier underway. Projects of this type don't often go gently into the good night. But at least the developers got a sense that TCI residents refuse to behave like sheep and that profit can't simply trump environmental common sense.

Happy Birthday USA

2008 Coral Resource Roundup

The Education and Outreach Working Group of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force has just released the 2008 Coral Resource Roundup: a revised collection of educational resources for teachers and environmental educators all focused on coral reefs and their conservation. Available as an online resource or as a CD, the Resource Roundup is a collection of coral reef education and outreach materials created by state and federal agencies as well as non-profit organizations.

There are teacher lesson plans for all age levels, posters, brochures, guidelines to sustainable practice, background material on coral reef ecology, even videos and music.

If you know a teacher or informal educator, send them the link to this great resource.

Fijian Marine Protected Areas Go Digital

The Coral Reef Alliance has been working since 2003 in Fiji to strengthen marine protected areas that not only achieve reef management objectives but also help local Fijian communities receive tangible benefits from partnering in conservation. Some of these tangible benefits might include increased fish yield in non-protected areas by safeguarding no-take zones or spawning sites, or financial benefits derived from increased dive tourism to healthy reefs. An important step to achieving success is putting marine protected areas (MPAs) or managed marine areas (MMAs) on the map.

This week CORAL launched two new MPA websites that showcase our project sites in the Namena Marine Reserve and Waitabu Marine Reserve. Head over and check them out!

The websites provide visitors with some basic natural history, background on the local communities who manage the reefs, insight into Fijian culture, and efforts underway to protect the resources. There's also info on planning a trip to visit Fiji's MPAs.

What A Remarkably Sad Day For UC Berkeley

As if retired professor of law and anti-evolution and HIV denialist whack job Phillip Johnson wasn't enough of a stain on UC Berkeley's reputation. The birthplace of student activism and the Free Speech Movement uttered a collective groan last week as Prof. John Yoo, legal advisor to President Bush, advocate for the legality of torture of Guantanamo prisoners and other so-called enemy combatants, and advocate for limitations of prisoner protection under the Geneva Conventions, testified in front of Congressional leaders. Watching him evade direct answers or dodge any accountability for his legal council to the President would be laughable if it weren't so tragic and should be evidence enough of the moral bankruptcy of the current administration.


And Yoo will return to a comfortable tenure at Cal to no doubt lecture till retirement on the subtle yet vital distinctions between torture and strong coercion.