Holiday Wishes To My MBSL&S Readers

I know... I know... I've been somewhat an absentee landlord here at the blog the past few weeks. Two weeks in the field took it's toll and I returned from Fiji travel with a stupendous cold/flu thingie. Then right into pre holiday grant crunch.

I've been somewhat better over on Facebook (but just barely).

Here's a warm holiday greeting to all my loyal (and new) readers. I promise more coral reef and general ocean conservation news and views in 2010. Thanks for sticking with me through the slow times!

Size Matters: The Sequel

With the arrival today in Miami of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Oasis of the Sea--the world's biggest cruise ship ever constructed--I thought it would be worthwhile to dust off this piece I wrote back in 2007 when RCCL launched plans for what it was then calling it's Genesis Project.

Originally Published 5/6/07
Start with your typical American outdoor mall experience, like the self-proclaimed urban oasis of Santana Row in San Jose, California. Here you'll find over 70 shops, 20 restaurants, 5 spas, 1 hotel... all for your shopping pleasure.

Not good enough? Well, how about if it's all enclosed in climate controlled comfort. After all, there's no need to sweat while you shop. And let's throw in a casino and a few nightclubs to keep the party going all night long. Oh, and don't worry about carrying cash around. It's not even accepted in any of the shops! Got kids? No problem, there's a movie theater, video arcade, water park, and even roving Disney characters to keep the tots smiling. And when dad gets his fill of shopping and starts rolling his eyes, just send him to the driving range or rock climbing wall. Finally, to ensure that everyone stays happy, the on-site hotel can accommodate every single visitor. Lovely idea, but impossible you say? Impractical? Fantasy, right?

Well, take this entire self-contained urban/suburban fantasy oasis and float it inside one of these:Welcome to the reality of cruise ship tourism, the fastest growing segment of "sun and sand" tourism and perhaps the greatest recreational threat to coral reef health today.

Why such a threat? It's a matter of scale. With an 8% annual growth since 1980, cruise tourism has increased at almost twice the rate of tourism overall. A record 8.35 million people took cruises worldwide in 2005. By 2010 that number is expected to double. The North American market (which includes the Caribbean) is the dominant one, and in 2005 it grew by 8.6% to reach 3.4 million cruise passengers (a 6% increase over 2004.) In 1998, 71 cruise ships (which can carry over 93,000 passengers) from 24 lines plied the Caribbean, some year-round and some seasonally.

While new cruise markets begin to expand in the Pacific, the Caribbean is likely to maintain its position as the most popular cruise destination in the world because of increasing preference for shorter cruises and an ever-younger market. The 2-5 day cruise accounts for some 37% of the total product. Its convenient proximity to North America makes it an easily accessible "pleasure periphery" (actual industry term) for that market. Miami has ensured its place as the major hub from which most ships into the region operate, with up to 30 departures a week. Other major destinations include the Mediterranean (15%), Alaska (8%) trans-Panama Canal (6%), west Mexico (5%) and northern Europe (4%). The length of the cruise season in these locations, however, is determined by climatic conditions.

The South Pacific as a destination attracts only 2.2% of the world's biggest and most lucrative cruise market, North America, and Australia's own cruise passenger generating capacity has remained consistently low and very specific in its product requirement.

The "big three" cruise companies are Carnival, Royal Caribbean International, and Princess that collectively control over two-thirds of the North American market. Star Cruises, a Malaysian-based company which caters primarily to Asian tourists aims to be the fourth largest. On the Asian ships a high percentage of passengers cruise in order to access gambling facilities that are not readily - or legally - available in their home countries, while the ships provide many activities to occupy their families.

Anticipating the explosive growth in cruise tourism, Royal Caribbean International is about to debut its modern day Titanic of cruise ships: the Genesis Class. The first ship of this class, as yet unnamed (though, if it follows suit of previous lines, it will likely be named Genesis of the Seas), is expected to surpass the Freedom-class ships as the world's largest passenger ship in autumn 2009. It will be able to accommodate up to 5,400 passengers, will have a gross tonnage of about 220,000 tons and has cost the line around US$1.24 billion.

It has been estimated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that up to two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of waste per passenger per day is generated aboard cruise ships. While some cruise ships have their own waste-processing facilities (as an interesting aside, I have colleagues who report cruise line execs demonstrating the efficiency of their on-board waste processing facilities by drinking a glass of the final processed product), many more do not. When ships rely upon ports of call to process their waste, it puts extra strain on the land-based facilities of islands. In fact, the reason why not all countries have signed the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (or MARPOL, short for marine pollution) is that to sign it would increase the pressure on their own land dumps. By not signing it, countries are not obliged to provide waste-disposal facilities and can refuse to accept garbage from cruise ships. Yet according to the IMO, this tempts cruise ships to dump at sea, whether legally or illegally.

But what if all ships could clean-up their act and process their wastes? Do cruise ships still pose a threat to coral reefs or ocean health? Consider that when these behemoths visit ports of call, a large percentage of the passengers (when not shopping) will disembark and board smaller boats (local snorkel and dive companies holding contracts with the cruise lines) that ferry them to the reefs and drop them into the water en masse. Important to note is that the vast bulk of these reef recreationists receive no environmental briefings on coral-safe snorkel or dive behavior, are either inept or inexperienced snorkelers or divers who have a tendency to "go vertical" in the water where their fins can do the most damage to fragile coral, and the majority of these tourists are poorly supervised. Now repeat this process daily, 365 days a year and you start to get a sense of the impact. You have likely experienced this daily reality if you've visited Cozumel.

The largest inhabited island in Mexico and the oldest in the Caribbean group, Cozumel is located 12 miles off the eastern coast of the mainland (Yucatan Peninsula.) The island is 34 miles long (north to south) and 11 miles wide (east to west.) Cozumel is one of the top 5 dive destinations in the world thanks to the stunning coral reefs that are located just off it's southwestern coast. These reefs comprise the northern section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, second largest barrier reef on the planet (second only in size to the Great Barrier Reef off Australia) and stretch from Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala to the Bay Islands of Honduras. In 1998, 742 cruise vessels were reported in Cozumel and the maximum at one time was 11, although there are berths for up to 13 ships. With larger ships, many arriving at once, the numbers stress the existing capacity of the small town of San Miguel, as well as the available infrastructure.

Though receiving heavy use, tourism on Cozumel's reefs is not quite a free-for-all. The Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park was created by Presidential Decree in July of 1996. It embraces the southwest, south and southeast coast of the island and covers about 85% of the diving sites around the island, a total area of 67,133 acres. The Marine Park's goals are to protect the islands natural resources and to conserve and sustain their use over the long term. Park Manager, Robert Cudney, has instituted a variety of management strategies including scientific research, monitoring, regulation of commercial activities, education for environmental awareness, and promotion of ecologically-based (eco) tourism. But effective management is expensive. To achieve its objectives, the Marine Park, with municipal authorization, requires all visitors in the park pay a tourism/user fee of $20 pesos ($2.00 US) per day per person. The funds raised (according to the marine park website) are supposed to be used exclusively for purposes of reef conservation in the Cozumel Reefs National Park. On the ground evidence suggests this may not be entirely factual.

But again, I mention the problem of scale. To make conservation work, efforts cannot solely target the small operators carrying the cruise passengers to reef encounters. Conservation efforts must target the cruise lines themselves. The overwhelming majority of Caribbean cruise passengers are interested in swimming along coral reefs. Several interesting strategies are currently underway to test whether the cruise industry has the will and vision to preserve these Caribbean reefs and, ultimately, their bottom line. I've been working in four nations along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef for the past five years to help codify marine tourism standards for best environmental behavior by local tourism providers. Conservation International and their Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) has been attempting to work with cruise industry executives to build awareness and agreements to partner with conservationists. The message is a simple one: Healthy reefs means healthy business. Together, we're trying to squeeze both ends of the supply chain to drastically reduce tourism's footprint on Caribbean reefs.

But enormous businesses, just like enormous ships, don't turn on a dime. Thus far, Royal Caribbean has been the only major cruise line willing to come to the table and agree to contract with local tourism providers who employ best environmental practices through implementation of our standards. That's why it's important to simultaneously maintain a bottom-up approach to conservation efforts. While the hope is that cruise lines will have the vision to arrange contracts with operators in each port who are operating in an environmentally sustainable manner and are implementing marine tourism standards, we are hedging our bets and working with as many small operators as possible so that ultimately the only kind of marine tourism available in destinations like Cozumel is reef sustaining.

I have no delusions that this will be easy. In addition to reef damage from mass tourism, we still have all the other local and global reef threats to contend with. But I believe in resilience, I believe in the power of collaboration and conservation partnerships, and I believe that people will only change behaviors when they care. But caring requires understanding. Maybe this post began that process for you.

22nd US Coral Reef Task Force Meeting: San Juan-Puerto Rico

Oh the places I go. I've been in beautiful Puerto Rico since last Wednesday for the 22nd US Coral Reef Task Force Meeting. The official "Business Meeting" starts tomorrow, but I flew in last week to co-facilitate a special training on Friday in Sustainable Marine Recreation for Puerto Rico reef tourism providers, resource managers, and local conservation NGOs. Participants worked to identify local Puerto Rico reef threats, practical solutions to reduce those threats, and training in tools to evaluate best environmental performance in reef tourism business. Quite a successful day with over 50 participants making commitments to reef conservation.

I'll be reporting-out the outcomes from the training during the afternoon session of the US Coral Reef Task Force meeting on Tuesday.

The US Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) was established in 1998 by Presidential Executive Order 13089 to lead U.S. efforts to preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. The USCRTF works in cooperation with State, territorial, commonwealth, and local government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, the scientific community, and commercial interests to further the understanding and conservation of coral reef ecosystems.

USCRTF members meet biannually (in either Washington DC or a US coral reef state or territory) to discuss key issues, propose new actions, present progress reports, and update the coral community on past accomplishments and future plans.

Some of the topics under discussion at this meeting will include a status update of the success of no-take marine reserves in Florida, the USVI, and Puerto Rico; reports from the climate change working group; a special overview of Caribbean special interest topics (eg. Acropora coral recovery, Lionfish invasions, marine debris); and watersheds and land-based sources of pollution.

I plan to try Tweeting some of the juicy bits from the business meeting. You can follow along on my Twitter page or search Twitter using the #USCRTF tag.

I Get Email

This little gem appeared in my inbox today. I'll just hold onto this one in the event that all my other conservation efforts fall through.

I know a way to make millions restoring coral reefs anywhere in the world. Just need the support of a partner willing to run with a great idea for nowand [sic] in the future. I am 53 and ready for a change in my life. This will be acompletely [sic] legal business with your contacts and my idea. It will envokeworldwide [sic] sales very quicky, and the money can go to restoring coral reefswith [sic] out breaking your annual budget ever again. Very minimal cost to get itgoing [sic]. Hope I have peeked your interest. When I hear from you via email, Iwill [sic] gladly phone you, if you can give me someone important to talk to. If I am right and this idea is a good one, I want your word, I will berewarded [sic] with creation of the idea and some royalties. Sincerily [sic], [name withheld]

MPAs Work: Make Your Voices Heard

I'm currently stuck in an airport, but I want to post this email that I just received from Heal the Bay concerning the California MPA process, reported on here at MBSL&S a few weeks ago. Now is the time to make your voices heard for ocean protection.

As you have likely already heard, instead of adopting one of the three map alternatives on October 22nd, the Blue Ribbon Task Force is forging their own to create a new proposal (by merging all three proposals and developing new MPA shapes). As a result, they were unable to make a final decision last week, and are delaying their final decision until November 10th.

Heal the Bay is disappointed about the delay, but we understand that the BRTF needs to weigh out the huge outpouring of public comment made last week, as well as take the time to hear more from the public.

In delaying their decision on a final map last week, the BRTF specifically asked for more written feedback from the public on their final decision.

Please help us by sending a final email to the Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) by November 3. Let them know protection of Los Angeles' critical marine habitats is necessary, and throwing science under the bus is unacceptable for the health of our critical marine habitats and for our coastal economy.

Following are two options for this last chance to make your voice heard:

Write a brief email to the BRTF at MLPAComments@resources.ca.gov using your own or some of the suggested points attached to this email; or

Take 30 seconds and sign an electronic form letter which will be sent to the BRTF for you at: healthebay.org/actionalerts

Currently, the BRTF is leaning towards taking the fishing (Map 2) shape in PV to appease socioeconomic concerns in that area, and they are considering a shape slightly smaller than the compromise (Map 1) shape at Point Dume. However, last Wednesday before the amazing number of letters received and the public comment from supports like you, the BRTF was actually considering choosing the fishing map entirely! Public outcry in the form of letters and comments makes a difference.

Thank you for writing letters, attending the meetings, and wearing blue in support of science-based MPAs! We’re ALMOST done. Hang in there…

And as always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions: cstevenson@healthebay.org.

Angelo For Mayor

As if you needed yet another reason.

Where Would They Be Now?

As you may have heard, an alliance of ocean science bloggers has recently formed in an effort to bring ocean science education to some needy K-12 classrooms around the country. Some of you have already contributed generously to this worthy cause. Some of you... haven't.

In an effort to demonstrate the critical value and importance that quality science education can have on future generations, I thought it might be helpful to consider some of our own ocean science blog stars and where they might be now were it not for good science education. Hopefully, it might inspire you to support ocean science education as an investment in the future.

Consider Deep Sea News founder and ocean scientist Dr. Craig McClain (seen here at age 11 in a vintage photo during the great Tennessee River flood of 1968).

Sure, today he's a well-published deep sea biologist and award-winning popularizer of science. But were it not for an inspiring 5th grade teacher at Saint Swithens School for the Prematurely Balding (who dedicated an entire week to deep sea life) Craig might have ended-up as night-shift distiller at the Jack Daniel's plant in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Not a bad job, but certainly not as cool as deep sea scientist!

Or how about Duke doctoral candidate and Southern Fried Science founder Andrew Thaler, seen here behind the wheel of "Big Red," his prized childhood toy.

A precocious child with an early love of fast cars and the roar of the crowds, Andrew was on the fast-track to a NASCAR future. But then, in 4th grade, a teacher introduced Andrew to the wonders of mold and fungus during a science lesson on decomposition. At that point, Andrew set aside "Big Red" (but not his mullet) to begin a lifelong voyage of science discovery.

Looking at the picture of Miriam Goldstein, The Oyster's Garter author, doctoral candidate at UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and chief scientist for the SEAPLEX Expedition, you can tell she's not one to take "No" for an answer.

Seen here at age six on vacation to Cape Cod, Miriam had an early love for the ocean. She also had a love for chocolate babka. In fact, she became so accomplished at baking babka that her parents considered opening their own bakery with little Miriam as a budding Martha Stewart. But that all changed thanks to a teacher who had her elementary class model ocean currents in table-top water tanks during a science class. Who knew that one day Miriam would still be tracking ocean currents in her study of the Pacific Garbage Patch?

Then there is Kevin Zelnio, deep sea scientist, musician, and new media pioneer triple threat.

Seen here is a promotional photo taken during his early modeling career, the photogenic and multi-talented young Kevin was a shoe-in as the next Macaulay Culkin or at least Danny Bonaduce. But then, while in his trailer in between takes of the Pepsodent commercial he was filming, his on-set tutor began a lesson on ocean invertebrates using Playdough models. On the spot, Kevin composed his first ocean science song, "Not SpineLESS! Spine MORE!" The rest, as they say, is history.

Science education has the potential to make a meaningful difference in a child's life. But we need to be sure to provide for these opportunities. I hope you are inspired to support one of our classroom ocean science projects and make a difference in science education for some needy students.

Telemundo, Here I Come

I get asked to do a lot of interviews. Considering the current global coral reef problems we're facing, I welcome any opportunity I can get to try to inspire conservation action. The more outreach and awareness I can do the better. But tonight here in Mexico, I experienced what was simultaneously my most surreal and fun interview.

The story starts when I was asked by friends of the producers of local Yucatan cable TV newsmagazine, 4+1, if I'd be interested to talk about my work in coral reef conservation in Mexico. I was told 4+1 covers current events, arts and culture, and environmental issues. Normally filmed in Cancun, the production team was in Playa for a change of pace. What I wasn't told was that we would be filming the interview in a restaurant.

Oh yes, the other detail was that none of the crew--including the interviewer--spoke a word of English.

Now, Romance languages are not my forte. Small talk in Russian? Не проблема. Chit chat in Indonesian? Tidak apa-apa. But Spanish? Mi español es no muy bonita.

But we live in a time of coral reef crisis, and I'm not about to let a little thing like a language barrier stand in my way. While I explained that I was happy to do the interview, I apologized that I could only manage to do so in English. We all agreed that we could make this work.

I arrived at Tierra España, a fantastic looking and great smelling tapas bar in downtown Playa, to find the crew finishing-up a previous interview. I sat with one of the producers, immediately intent on trying to figure out how we would pull off this interview. I began to panic a little when it was obvious that my very little Spanish was barely enough to formulate a few prepared questions. This must be what the UN coffee shop is like on a daily basis.

After lining up questions as best I could, I was introduced to the on-air talent for the show, a warm, friendly, and beautiful young woman named Talina González. She escorted me to the table where we would conduct the interview, I was poured a glass of wine, and make-up was applied to my overly-shiny head. Oh, did I mention that the restaurant was still open for business? There were couples seated at their tables trying to enjoy dinner while watching all of this like some demented dinner theatre. In my terrible Spanish, I asked one of the crew, "¿Soy el primer gringo?" "Sí," answered the crew, "Perhaps the last!" But before I could dwell on that too long, it was, "Cuatro... Tres... Dos... Uno.... y Acción!"

We went through about four takes before I was able to remember the question sequence (all the while watching the entire waitstaff crack-up in bent-over laughter at the big, bald American). And then my hostess needed to practice a few times as well to pronounce my last name correctly. [The "ph" diphthong is a tough one in Mesoamerica.] After a few flubs pronouncing it "MacPERSON," Talina finally got it right after I spelled out my name as "MacFEARson."

Anyway, I can't know for sure how it will all end up (perhaps all on the editing room floor), but everyone had lots of good laughs at the surreal goofiness of the interview. I'm told that my segment will be subtitled rather than dubbed. If I can find an online version of the show or get a DVD of the segment I'll definitely post it here so we can all have a few more laughs at my expense. Ah, the ends to which I'll go for coral reefs!

And if you're in Playa, be sure to drop by Tierra España for some amazing paella, delicious sausage, and Spanish wines. And tell them Rick sent you.

An Open Letter To Americans Who Are Annoyed At Those Americans Who Are Annoyed At Obama's Nobel Prize

In truth, I'm not annoyed at President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. But I am a wee bit annoyed at those folks who certainly seem annoyed that some of us are more interested in a prize honoring achievement rather than potential. Getting elected President is certainly no slouch act. And getting elected as a Black, Democratic, progressive-sounding President is certainly cause for celebration. But we did our celebrating and fanfare and accolades last November through January. I want to applaud hope and promise and new blood and ambition and dreams and unity and kumbaya and all that. And I had tears of joy in my eyes too on election day last year. I'm not here to crap on a man's achievements.

But so far, for this gay Obama-supporting American, the President has been only "good on paper". I've been waiting for him to roll up his sleeves and get to work on issues most dire for me.

Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Lecturer and Director of the Human Rights and Social Movements Program at Harvard, explains succinctly what I mean,

During his campaign, Barack Obama made some audacious promises to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. He supported the repeal of both "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act. He rejected the Federal Marriage Amendment and any attempt to stifle state efforts to legalize civil unions or same-sex marriage. He stated that the federal government should recognize all state laws respecting such relationships. He called for a more comprehensive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the inclusion of both sexual orientation and gender identity in federal hate crimes statutes. He supported Medicaid coverage for low-income, HIV-positive Americans, and sharp increases in funding for HIV/AIDS research. He endorsed the re-authorization of the Ryan White CARE Act and was a vocal advocate for expanding initiatives to deal with the increasingly global AIDS crisis. He wouldn't support marriage equality -- a stance we understood politically, but never accepted morally -- but he did endorse civil unions that give same-sex couples the same legal rights and privileges as married heterosexual couples.

On paper, then, Barack Obama was perhaps the most LGBT-friendly Presidential candidate in the history of the United States. He was our candidate. When he was elected last November, we had every reason to hope that there would no longer be a gay America and a straight America. Under his leadership, we would finally become full, free, and equal citizens of the United States of America.

We are still waiting.

I wait for Lt Dan Choi to be reinstated and back on active duty. I wait for the Matthew Shepard Act to pass and give some hope for young queers that hate crimes against them will not be tolerated. I wait for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act to allow the legitimacy of same-sex marriage to be recognized in all states. I await the passing of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that will ensure no GLBT worker is denied a job or advancement because of sexual orientation. And while I myself don't seek marriage as a personal choice, I wait with other Californians and residents of other states to have the right to love and marry whomever we choose.

I've been a patient queer. I've shown patience as a teen, a young adult, at middle-age, and now as a graying queer. The frustration that I am (and many others are) feeling is that we feel we finally have our moment. We thought we had the right man... the right time... the right place... the right Congress. It's time to see progress, not simply promise.

We are still waiting.

Which perhaps explains (at least for some of us) why a prize, however contextualized, still seems premature and a little frustrating.

If I were not traveling for work this weekend, I'd be joining masses of other frustrated GLBT folk in Washington DC for the National Equality March. Perhaps in the wake of this Peace Prize award, it can underscore for President Obama and other elected officials that hope and promise will only get us so far. I still support and believe in my President. But it's time he rolls-up his sleeves and get the job done.

New Kid On The Block

There's a new ocean blogger on the scene, so I hope you will join me in welcoming Heather Stoker and Aristotle's Lantern to the blogosphere. Heather finds her inspiration from the amazing blizzard of invertebrate diversity in the ocean. And Aristotle's Lantern (also the name for a sea urchin's mouthparts) expresses its own diversity through natural history musings, almost weekly features such as That’s gross (but cool), Invertebrate Haikus, From the Glass Cabinet (dead stuff or invertebrate artifacts that readers have to ID), and Tank Diaries. Best of all, Heather uses a generous dose of humor to keep things interesting and readable to non-biologists.

When Heather emailed me recently to introduce herself and her blog, she also offered some very flattering kudos of my humble efforts at ocean science and conservation communication. As she wrote, "I have to say one of the things that most intrigued me about your blog was your personal intro about advancing the queer and godless agenda. I told my son in second grade to say “…one nation under ostracod…” during the pledge of allegiance- I’m a dork and an atheist.

We do love our dorks and atheists here at MBSL&S, Heather. But you had me at ostracod!

I plan to make Aristotle's Lantern part of my daily online reading. I hope you will too.

Give Till It Hurts!

The boys over at Deep Sea News have wrangled a cadre of ocean bloggers including Southern Fried Science, Blogfish, Oyster’s Garter, Echinoblog, Cephalopodcast, Drop In, The New Blue, The Right Blue, Natural Patriot, and yours truly here at Malaria, Bedbugs, Sealice, and Sunsets to sponsor ocean science education in K-12 classrooms. We are doing this through Donor's Choose, a charity that allows individuals to directly fund projects proposed by the teachers themselves.

The ocean blogging collective have selected a great lineup of ocean-themed projects. In the next week, DSN will be featuring all these projects in their posts. We are calling upon all our collective readers to donate to a project of your choice. Donate $10-20 for any of these worthwhile projects and we will quickly meet our challenge goal. You can follow our progress through the widget to the left.

Dr. Benthos and his henchman Master Ooze at DSN indicate that they will be holding their blog hostage until we meet our goal. Since I'm supporting this cause, I can't be held accountable if by some strange occurrence one of the abyssal twins hijack my blog for a few threats words of encouragement to spur on your philanthropy.

Donate early! Donate often! Make science education a reality for some needy classrooms.

I Hear I'm Big In The Cook Islands...

...Or soon will be! My stat counter alerted me that I logged my very first visitor from the Cook Islands today. To the reader who likely stumbled upon my blog while searching for malaria medicine or bedbug repellent, I bid you a warm Kia Orana and welcome!

For those of you needing a bit more info on the Cook Islands, head here.

Phoenix Islands Expedition: Q & A

If you've been paying attention here at MBSL&S or at any of my Facebook or Twitter microblogging, you know I'm a big fan of ocean scientists who value public outreach (often called broader impact) as an important component of the scientific enterprise. Too often, broader impact is seen as an afterthought and I've had way too many run-ins with scientists who think a lecture or droning PowerPoint presentation is broad impact.

But to channel Bob Dylan: the times, they are a changin'.

I've been handing out quite a few YAOSGBIR (Yet Another Ocean Scientist Getting Broader Impact Right) recognitions recently. SEAPLEX, Finding Coral, NE Pacific Expedition, the Beagle Project-Tocorimé Pilot Project, to name a few. And joining the list was the recent New England Aquarium-Woods Hole-Conservation International 3-week research expedition to the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA). This expedition, made up of an international team of scientists, divers, and photographers, surveyed what may be the most pristine, intact coral reef ecosystems on Earth.

You may have been following the Aquarium's expedition blog that's kept an almost daily play-by-play of the mission. If so, you know the expedition got off to a (literally) rocky start with 8-10 foot seas during the open water crossing from Fiji to the Phoenix Islands. But the expedition team prevailed, and what sights they saw!

I was delighted when New England Aquarium media master Jeff Ives (Jives) invited me to submit a few questions to Dr Randi Rotjan, one of the coral reef scientists on board the Phoenix Islands Expedition. I want to thank Dr Rotjan for taking time out of her incredibly busy post-expedition schedule to answer my queries. And special thanks as well to Jives for being the virtual glue that connected me to the expedition. Yet another reason to love the internet!

And now on with the Q&A:

MBSL&S: I'm fascinated by your interests and exploration of what you call "ecosystem engineers," or species that can significantly alter or manipulate their environments. What ecosystem engineer species are you hoping to study on this expedition? Can you describe some of the experiments (or observations) you plan to conduct?

Dr Randi Rotjan: Ecosystem engineers abound on coral reefs, and include the corals themselves! Coral animals build the structure of reefs with their calcium carbonate deposition. In many ways, they are analogous to trees in a forest – both trees and corals create the physical structure on which so many other organisms depend, and thus dramatically alter the landscape with their presence. In temperate forests, beavers are often cited as ecosystem engineers because they cut down trees – thereby again altering the landscape by creating dams, which not only changes the distribution of trees, but also diverts waterways. Similarly, corallivores (organisms that eat live coral) are also ecosystem engineers because, like beavers, they can change the shape of the habitat.

MBSL&S: As far as reef ecosystem engineers are concerned, there seem to be varying levels of "engineering" at play. You have the "frame building" species such as the stony corals, but then you have an amazing assortment of more localized bafflers and encrusters like sea fans, soft corals, crinoids, tunicates, sponges, and so on. It all can seem quite complex and confusing to non-scientists. Is there a system you use to make sense of all the players and associations (large and small) that comprise the reef complex?

Dr Randi Rotjan: I’ve tried to touch on this a bit above with my forest-beaver analogy, but you are referring to the more minor reef builders here, I think. Just like a forest has birds, shrubs, fungi, flowers, insects, mammals, etc; a coral reef has a large and diverse assemblage of residents. Remember that a healthy coral reef (like a forest) is among the most diverse and complicated ecosystems on the planet. All of the myriad reef denizens contribute to this complexity, and in their own way, any organism might be considered an ecosystem engineer, since everything impacts something, at some point. But think of it this way – if you removed the trees, would a forest be a forest? Similarly, if you removed all of the corals on a reef, the landscape would be dramatically and instantly changed, and there would be major habitat loss supporting the majority of reef critters. That’s why I think the corals themselves are the critical ecosystem engineers of the system.

MBSL&S: The Phoenix Islands expedition is quite an undertaking. Surely there are closer and more easily accessible coral reef systems to study. Why are the Phoenix Islands so interesting to the expedition team?

Dr Randi Rotjan: The Phoenix Islands are among the most remote reefs in the world. Thus, they can serve as a reference site (relative to other reefs) for examining the effects of global change, in the absence of local change (little to no direct human influence at the present time).

From my 2nd blog post:

“Most of the islands are uninhabited, and the PIPA Marine Reserve is now the largest in the world, there is very little (if any) local impact by humans. In other words, there is no tourism, only artisinal fishing (if any). There is no local or point-source pollution, no dynamite fishing, etc. While these islands probably experienced major human impact in the 1930s and 1940s when the Phoenix Islands were a strategically important military base, the Phoenix Islands have been mostly left alone for the past 50+ years. Thus, they are now one of the most remote (and among the healthiest) coral reefs on the planet.

However, no reef is immune to global change (after all, global change is ... global!). Thus, studying the Phoenix Islands is an opportunity to isolate local versus global human impacts on reefs. Almost anywhere else on earth, global and local impacts are mixed together, and scientists can't separate one from the other! But here, we will be able to look at global impacts with very little (if any) local influence.”

MBSL&S: Clearly, the team will be involved in quite a bit of direct data collection and sampling in the field, but how much of the science will have to wait until the team members return to the aquarium or their research facilities? Will this expedition fuel your non-field activity and writing over the next year or more?

Dr Randi Rotjan: Our goal for the trip is to examine a reef exempt from local human impact. To do this, we collected lots of samples (for example, to look at aspects of coral symbiosis, health, and condition). We will analyze these samples in our labs at home, and will share some samples with our collaborators (who have additional expertise).

In the field, we collected data via transects and quadrats, where we counted the number and status of fishes and corals along a given distance. We will be statistically analyzing these data and writing the results for scientific publications over the next year or so.

The scientific process is never complete until the data are published, so we still have a lot of work ahead of us.

MBSL&S: I totally sympathize with what you must be enduring on those high seas from Fiji to the Phoenix Islands. I have a tragic, fatal flaw as a marine ecologist in that while I LOVE being on the water, I get horrifically sea sick. How are you and the crew coping? Any sure fire remedies that work?

Dr Randi Rotjan: We share the occupational irony of seasickness. My sympathies! As for remedies – people tried various drugs. The scopolamine patches worked pretty well. But in the end, we just had to ride it out. We all found our sealegs after 3-4 days.

MBSL&S: Finally, what's your all time favorite, must have treat that you always pack to get you through expeditions and field work? Be honest! Mine is packing several cans of Pringles!

Dr Randi Rotjan: Funny you should ask. I have several coping strategies on these sorts of trips (an MP3 player is a must!), but my #1 all-time favorite treat is a cup of delicious herbal tea (I bring lots of flavors). I also love wearing skirts and dresses in the field – besides being surprisingly practical between dives, nothing else brings the same sense of civility and calm to a working trip.

They Like Me! They Really Like Me!

I'm absolutely flattered that the folks at Mauka to Makai: A Science Blog for the Masses have bestowed the honor of a Kreativ Blogger award to Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice & Sunsets:

"For covering all the important issues with plenty of humor and just being an all-around great blogger, we're giving you a Kreativ Blogger award."

I got so excited over the announcement that I told everyone here at the MBSL&S sweatshop to take $20.00 out of the register and take the rest of the day off.

If you have not yet checked-out Mauka to Makai, what are you waiting for? Mauka to Makai (Hawaiian for "mountains to oceanside") focuses on the connections between land and sea, people and resources, science and environmentalism, and the human dimensions to science.

Thanks for the love, M to M! In honor of your award, I'm treating myself to the lau lau and Kalua pork combo plate at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue for lunch. Here's hoping I don't stroke-out from the sodium before finishing!

Yeah, MPAs Work

Have you been watching the new Ken Burns PBS series on the US National Park system? I'm not the weepy and emotional type, but I have to say that the combination of archival images, dramatic reading of letters, and plain old American pride for people with the vision to set aside natural areas had me all teary-eyed at times. Having spent a good portion of my adult life visiting and working in national parks, I guess I never needed much convincing in the value of natural areas areas being set aside and managed in perpetuity.

I get the same sense with all the recent hubbub surrounding the efforts to establish a network of protected areas--MARINE protected areas--along the California coast. Granted, I'm a bit biased when it comes to marine protected areas (MPAs) since my day job is helping coral reef MPAs reach their conservation and management objectives. But we are essentially talking about a national park, albeit submerged.

And like a national park that you or I can visit on land (Acadia, Yosemite, Zion, Great Smoky Mountains, whatever), MPAs need relatively similar care and feeding as terrestrial protected areas in order to be effective and meet the objectives behind their protection in the first place. They need enforcement to ensure that protection is actually happening. Since tourists are likely to visit, they need some form of visitor management and education so the public can understand the history and needs of the protected area. Local communities that live adjacent to (or within) protected area boundaries cannot feel disenfranchised from protection, so some form of benefit sharing or zoning for multiple use will need to be established. And of course, there need to be reliable, sustainable funds to keep all of these activities functioning.

Whether we are talking about Yellowstone National Park or the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, protection in perpetuity requires collaboration between diverse user groups, compromise, and active management. Certainly easier said than done.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect behind the MPA process, at least here in California, has been that our coastal waters have suffered from the tragedy of the commons. The basic premise being that relatively free access and unrestricted demand for a finite resource ultimately dooms the resource through over-exploitation. Granted, we have had centuries of over exploitation of our common nearshore ecosystems as standard practice. Getting behaviors, minds, and hearts to change in how we view marine resources is a little like putting the genie back in the bottle.

But what is our collective alternative?

That's why I applaud and support the efforts to build an effective MPA network along the California coast. And the nearly year-long effort to to implement the landmark conservation law, the Marine Life Protection Act, is at an important step. Three groups of ocean users and enthusiasts have created the final options for Southern California's network of MPAs. The Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) will decide on the preferred map at a final October 20-22nd meeting in Long Beach.

Each of the three proposed maps differs in how much protection it provides.

Map 3 was prepared by conservation and science-oriented stakeholders and includes high quality habitats and areas of conservation priority, promising rapid and profound increases in the number and, size and diversity of ocean wildlife.

Map 2 was prepared by fishing interests, and falls short of scientific recommendations for MPA size, habitat inclusion and space between MPAs; it will not produce the benefits envisioned by the Act.

Map 1 was prepared by a cross-section of ocean users, and proposes a compromise between the two other options; it best demonstrates the balance of interests involved but is not as effective at protecting southern California’s coastal resources.

In my view, protection can't just be about compromise. At the end of the day, meaningful protection must also be the result. Otherwise, why are we bothering with protection at all? For this reason, I support Map 3.

Here are 2 important ways you can also help in the next 2 weeks:

SEND AN EMAIL: Write an email (electronic or post) for public comment to the decision makers before October 11, 2009. Crafting a personal email to this group in support of one of the maps will make a real difference. These public comments should be emailed to: mlpacomments@resources.ca.gov.

**If you do not have time to write your own email, use the MPA Works online letter form to send in a form message.**

The MLPA staff and Blue Ribbon Task Force WILL be counting the number of letters and diversity of interests they receive in support of each of the maps.

ATTEND the Big Hearing on October 21 in Long Beach: If you live in the area, tell your friends and family to attend the meeting with you at the Hilton Long Beach & Executive Meeting Center.

And who knows, perhaps in another 100 years, a new Ken Burns will document the leadership and foresight of those visionaries and local communities who recognized that protecting marine ecosystems was just as much an investment in our future as protecting mountains, canyons, rivers, and prairie.

Happy Birthday, Ladies!

Two of my favorite science blogs, Oh For The Love Of Science and Observations Of A Nerd, tuned one-year-old this week. Allie and Christie both maintain consistently high-quality content on their blogs as well as in their microblogging on Facebook and Twitter. If you are not reading them, then you should start immediately.

I have a couple favorites I'd like to feature from their past year's science writing efforts. And as you might expect, I have an inordinate fondness for their conservation and ocean writing. First of all, in Hey Bungalow Bill, What Did You Kill?, Allie wrote a powerful analysis of the startling fact that African elephants are being poached for their tusks at a greater rate today than they were before the international ivory ban was established by CITES in 1989.

My fave post from Christie was part of her rogues gallery of parasitic horrors, this time coming from the ocean depths. Her Sci-Fi Worthy Parasite this time was Isistius brasiliensis, the Cookie Cutter shark. I've had my own nightmares thinking about one of these beasties taking a chunk out of my ass while night diving in Hawaii, and Christie's post didn't add much comfort. Holy crap on a cracker indeed!

Happy B-Day, Ladies! And looking forward to many more great posts from you both!

Ocean Science Café

Wow, do we need one of these in San Francisco!

Heads up, all you ocean science types in the Maryland area. Science Café is coming to town with a fantastic session dedicated to coral reefs and conservation (my favorite combination). The Science Café series, presented by The Society for Ocean Sciences, is a casual gathering of people interested in science meeting in an informal location.

You can grab a cup of coffee or a pint of beer (might I recommend a Palo Santo Marron) and join in a conversation about science. You don't even have to be a scientist to participate... this is a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere open to anyone with an interest in science. Jump right in and chat, ask questions and contribute or sit back, sip your drink of choice and just listen. To quote my hippie pals, "It's all good!"

When: September 23rd. 6pm - 8pm
Where: Dogfish Head Ale House, 800 West Diamond Ave., Gaithersburg, MD, 20878
Topic: Coral Reef Biodiversity and Conservation

Science Café will meet once a month, usually on a week night in the evening. Each meeting is organized around a different topic of conversation. A scientist will give a brief presentation and may show a short video clip to kick off the discussion. You can leave a café meeting when you want, but sounds as though you'll miss out if you show up late.

I always get homesick for the East Coast in the Fall, and now I'm really wishing I could be there for some ocean science-speak and good company. Someone tell me how it goes!

Angelo Villagomez Is All Wet

But you probably knew this. He's also blue this month, as in host of Carnival of the Blue XXVIII. So stop what you're doing and head right over to The Saipan Blog for a roundup of the best in ocean blog writing.

Send GrrlScientist To Antarctica!

Now while this post title might sound a bit like a threat, in this particular case I can assure you it's far from it! In fact, you would be doing GrrlScientist (the sobriquet of prolific science writer and force behind the amazing blog Living the Scientific Life) a HUGE favor.

GrrlScientist is currently in third place in a competition to send a blogger to the great white south for a month of first-hand commentary on what they see, smell, and think in this vast frontier. How cool! Literally! I've already cast my vote to send GrrlScientist on her way. But she needs your vote as well. So I'm compelled to reach out to my 15 readers and ask you to throw down for my science blogging colleague and cast your vote to send her to Antarctica.

I met GrrlScientist at Science Online '09 last January in North Carolina and I can confidently affirm that she's precisely who I'd love to see relaying Antarctic impressions to a curious readership. An evolutionary biologist and ornithologist, I can just imagine the ruminations we could expect from her on penguins, Antarctic adaptations, penguins, isolation, penguins, and her many and varied descriptions of frozen nose hairs.

And if she makes it to Antarctica, I'm sure she will feel such gratitude to this ocean blogger that we can expect more than just a few posts on marine life below the ice. Can you say chased by hungry Leopard seals?

Please vote for GrrlScientist today. Vote early. Vote often.

I ♥ Australian Megafauna

A few more snaps from my visit to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary outside of Brisbane, Australia. Despite the all-koala-all-the-time name, Lone Pine is also home to a menagerie of usual Australian suspects. Here's a quick collection of my faves.

Theropod Dinosaur Emu
Megapod
Another Sleepy Megapod
Megapoop
Kangaroo (L) and Wallaby (R)
The sign said "Dingo" but I'm not buying it!
The sign I was looking for!
The build-up!
The reality!
Perenti Rock Monitor
Sleepy Wombat

Lost Sailing Tradition in PNG

While in Madang, Papua New Guinea, last week, I was awestruck each morning watching the daily commute of local Madang Lagoon islanders in small canoes transiting back and forth from island to mainland. Most of the traffic, in simple dugouts or traditional outriggers, would happen just after sunrise and before sunset. Amazing though the daily display of canoe prowess over sometimes surging, turbulent waters may have been, it pales in comparison to the seamanship once common in this part of PNG.

Until I saw the model in the image at the top of this post, I had no idea of PNG's nautical traditions. These giant outrigger canoes were once a common sight along the coast of Madang. Albert Masem, a master canoe builder from Riwo Village in Madang, built these models which were on display in the Madang Tourism Authority's small, practically unknown museum. Canoes such as this would sail from Riwo to Karkar and Bagabag Islands (a distance of 60 miles) trading yams, wooden celebration plates for serving roasted pigs, and galip nuts.

The canoes could apparently only sail when the wind blew in the direction the sailors were headed, and a trip would take 4-5 hours.

The entire village would take part in building a big canoe, taking approximately a month to complete. No metal was used, only wood, durable lantana bindings, and pandanus sails were used in the construction. The canoe would carry 20 people or more in the house-like structure.

The last Riwo canoe was seen in 1990. With the growth and development of the Madang area and access to markets and trade opportunities on the mainland, the desire to maintain existing canoes (or build new ships) vanished. While the local knowledge and skills necessary to build these ships still exists in a few Riwo elders, the cultural tradition will likely vanish entirely with their passing.

How incredible would it be to salvage this tradition and bring these amazing ships back to life? I had this conversation with my PNG Field Rep and some Riwo residents, and they think it could be an ideal village-wide project that could revive the traditional practice and bring much needed cultural pride back to this needy community. More than just a project, the end result could attract tourist visitors on their way to and from the nearby Sepik River region and create a small but sustainable revenue stream for a village interested in ecotourism possibilities.

I'll keep you posted on what develops.