Off To Fiji

Apologies for the long bouts of quiet here at MBSL&S, but summer has been brutally busy. And in truth, I've been spending more time than usual microblogging over on my Facebook and Twitter pages. An interesting discussion for another day is how does one adequately (and efficiently) use all this new media for life-streaming without running into burnout or message dilution. But yeah, thoughts for another day.

As the title above indicates, I'm off to Fiji tomorrow for 10 days of work. Don't let the idyllic image of palm trees and sunsets fool you. I won't be seeing much of that. I'll be based in the Fiji capital of Suva, sitting in windowless meeting rooms most of the time. I'm headed to Fiji to meet with new potential conservation partners for work in the Western Pacific. If things go well, I hope to be able to add new depth to our coral reef conservation work throughout the Western and Indo-Pacific. Stay tuned for exciting announcements.

While I expect to be in the noisy, urban bustle of Suva most of the time, I'm hoping to take advantage of a few field excursions in-between meetings. I am told we will be visiting a locally managed marine area (part of the LMMA Network) along Fiji's Coral Coast. LMMA's are, as the name implies, marine protected areas that are managed and protected by local communities who rely upon their healthy reefs for food, storm protection, tourism income, and cultural identity. A lot of what I do in coral reef conservation is based upon this model, so it will be great to see another example of what success looks like.

There may also be an opportunity for some world-class diving at the famous Beqa Lagoon, just a short distance from Suva. Beqa (pronounced Beng-kha) is renowned for it's shark diving. I'm not a fan of shark dives where sharks are chummed or fed in order to attract them for dive tourists, so I'm hoping to learn more about the sustainability and local benefits of the practice.

I also expect quite a bit of time spent sitting around the kava bowl. There's no way around having to drink coconut shell after coconut shell of this foul, gritty, dirt-like tasting brew. It's part of the social and cultural fabric of the Western Pacific. After the fifth or sixth shell, the numbness of your lips and tongue sort of takes your mind off the disgusting taste and questionable cleanliness of the water used to prepare the kava. Sort of.

While I hope to post some reports from the field, I'm not yet certain what internet access is available. If past experiences in Fiji are any lesson, internet will be spotty and slow. Regardless, I'll do my best to provide some field updates.

Oh Yeah, This Is Why I Hate Fishing!

Christie at Observations of a Nerd reminded me that National Geographic has a new TV series called Hooked: Monsters of the Deep, that features stories about amazing animals brought up on fishing poles. Which transported me back to a childhood in Pennsylvania, and a massively failed fishing adventure with two brothers. I've never fished since.

Until this afternoon, after I discovered Reel 'em In, a virtual fishing game on the Hooked website. Let's just say that my virtual fishing was no more successful than the real thing.

Let me know if you have any better luck.

Quantum Coral: Your Friday Dose Of Zen

A few months ago, my blogging pal Doug Taron of Gossamer Tapestry sent me this fascinating TED lecture by physicist and surfer Garrett Lisi. Garrett presents a controversial new model of the universe that -- just maybe -- answers all the big questions. I must admit, he loses me once he stops talking about coral. If nothing else, it's the most beautiful 8-dimensional model of elementary particles and forces you've ever seen. And, as Doug Taron points out, "It isn't often that coral and quantum physics intersect."

You Can Take Action On Ocean Acidification

Fellow marine biologist Sheril Kirshenbaum of The Intersection asked me to post a terrific letter on ocean acidification from Randy Repass and Sally-Christine Rogers of West Marine. It's an excellent letter urging readers to take action and do more about this important issue. Have a read and then do the right thing!

We are both lifelong boaters. What we have learned from sailing across the Pacific over the past 6 years, and especially from scientists focused on marine conservation, is startling. Whether you spend time on the water or not, Ocean Acidification affects all of us and is something we believe you will want to know about.

What would you do if you knew that many species of fish and other marine life in the ocean will be gone within 30 years if levels of C02 continue increasing at their present rate? We believe you would take action to stop this from happening, because informed people make informed choices. This letter is about what we can and must do together now to help solve a very serious but little-known problem, Ocean Acidification.

Ocean Acidification is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels. When carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ends up in the ocean it changes the pH, making the sea acidic and less hospitable to life. Over time, C02 reduces calcium carbonate, which prevents creatures from forming shells and building reefs. In fact, existing shells will start to dissolve. Oysters and mussels will not be able to build shells. Crabs and lobsters? Your great-grandchildren may wonder what they tasted like.

Carbon dioxide concentrated in the oceans is making seawater acidic. Many of the zooplankton, small animals at the base of the food web, have skeletons that won’t form in these conditions, and sea-life further up the food chain – fish, mammals and seabirds that rely on zooplankton for food will also perish. No food – no life. One billion people rely on seafood for their primary source of protein. Many scientific reports document that worldwide, humans are already consuming more food than is being produced. The implications are obvious.

The issue of Ocean Acidification is causing irreversible loss to species and habitats, and acidification trends are happening up to ten times faster than projected. We want you to know what this means, how it affects all of us, and what we can do about it.

Today, the atmospheric concentration of C02 is about 387 parts per million (ppm) and increasing at 2 ppm per year. If left unaddressed, by 2040 it is projected to be over 450 ppm, and marine scientists believe the collapse of many ocean ecosystems will be irreversible. Acidification has other physiological effects on marine life as well, including changes in reproduction, growth rates, and even respiration in fish.

Tropical and coldwater corals are among the oldest and largest living structures on earth; the richest in terms of biodiversity, they provide spawning areas, nursery habitat and feeding grounds for a quarter of all species in the sea. Coral reefs are at risk! As C02 concentrations increase, corals, shellfish and other species that make shells will not be able to build their skeletons and will likely become extinct.

The good news is we can fix this problem. But, as you guessed, it will be difficult. Ocean Acidification is caused by increased C02 in the atmosphere. Solving one will solve the other. The House of Representatives has acted, passing HR 2454, the Waxman-Markey “American Clean Energy and Security Act”, but it was severely weakened. Now the Senate has announced that it will move similar legislation this fall. We need the Senate to join the House in its leadership, but to demand far greater emissions reductions than were able to pass the House.

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that in order to stabilize C02 in the atmosphere at 350 ppm by 2050, global carbon emissions need to be cut 85% below 2000 levels.”That's a very tall order! And the way our political system works (or doesn't) makes its tougher. It will take all of us to step up and take responsibility to make this happen.

Here is what you can do: Contact your Senator now using one of these techniques listed in order of effectiveness.

1. Visit your Senator at their local office. It is easy to make an appointment. Tell them your concerns about C02 and the oceans, and to move strong climate legislation immediately that will reduce our greenhouse gas concentrations to levels that will not threaten our oceans. The experience is rewarding. (Alternatively, drop a letter off at their local office.)

2. Call your Senator and leave a message urging action be taken to reduce C02 , address Ocean Acidification, and move strong climate legislation immediately that will reduce our greenhouse gas concentrations to levels that will not threaten our oceans.

3. Click on this link to send an email, which will go directly to your Senator based on your address.

You may use the letter provided, but it is more effective to edit it, and in your own words urge them to move strong climate legislation immediately that will reduce our greenhouse gas concentrations to levels that will not threaten our oceans.

Ocean Acidification is an issue we can do something about. We need a groundswell of informed citizens to get Congress to have the backbone to stand up to the entrenched interests of coal, oil, and gas and not compromise on the reduction of C02. We also need real leadership to aggressively create jobs using sustainable technologies. The choice is ours. We can solve this or not. What we do know is that the future facing our children, grandchildren and indeed all of humankind depends on our decision.

Please join us in sharing this letter with others. We appreciate your taking the time to contact your Senators; it is easy to do and effective.

Thank you for your support.

Randy Repass
Chairman
West Marine

Sally-Christine Rodgers
Board Member
Oceana

A more complete report on ocean acidification here.

The Deep Irony Of Deep Sea Vent Research Ethics

Woods Hole's Alvin sub sampling from a vent
Fresh back from attending a conference on chemosynthesis in Japan, Andrew posted a fascinating piece over on his blog Southern Fried Science. Entitled Responsible Research at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents and Beyond, Andrew outlines a set of guidelines for responsible research practices at deep-sea hydrothermal vents that has been developed over years by InterRidge.

As listed in the InterRidge statement on responsible research practices at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, these guidelines are:

1) Avoid, in the conduct of scientific research, activities that will have deleterious impacts on the sustainability of populations of hydrothermal vent organisms;
2) Avoid, in the conduct of scientific research, activities that lead to long lasting and significant alteration and/or visual degradation of vent sites;
3) Avoid collections that are not essential to the conduct of scientific research;
4) Avoid, in the conduct of scientific research, transplanting biota or geological material between sites;
5) Familiarize yourself with the status of current and planned research in an area and avoid activities that will compromise experiments or observations of other researchers. Assure that your own research activities and plans are known to the rest of the international research community through InterRidge and other public domain data bases; and
6) Facilitate the fullest possible use of all biological, chemical and geological samples collected through collaborations and cooperation amongst the global community of scientists.

InterRidge frames the importance of developing such guidelines in its overview,

As marine research scientists we especially appreciate the uniqueness and complexity of the deep-sea hydrothermal vent fauna and environments, and are particularly interested in preserving vents for their scientific, aesthetic, ecological, and potential economic values.

Andrew himself concludes,

I think a variation on these guidelines should be adopted by all scientist who do field work. At the very least it will serve to remind us that as scientist, we do have an environmental impact, and we need to do everything in our power to minimize that impact.

Let me go on the record in saying that I fully endorse Andrew's sentiments that all scientists (deep sea and otherwise) should adopt similar guidelines. And I appreciate the InterRidge efforts in establishing criteria for deep sea vent scientists to minimize environmental impacts to their complex and sensitive study sites.

But here's the thing. It strikes me as not just a little ironic (and perhaps even smacking of greenwashing) for InterRidge to claim scientists are minimizing their environmental impacts while fully aware that deep sea vent systems are on the chopping block for commercial mining.

Deep sea mining companies such as Nautilus Minerals are hot on the heels of the scientific community to get their manipulator claws into the polymetallic sulfides found associated with deep sea vent systems. If you think deep sea vent scientists can have a negative environmental impact in the day-to-day aspects of their field research, what sort of condition do you think mining interests will leave the delicate vent ecosystems? Deep sea mining will likely result in orders of magnitude greater environmental disruption. Granted, mining may still result in less ecological damage than volcanic/tectonic activity. But in considering resource management and biodiversity conservation of a fragile and utterly unique ecosystem, do our choices need to be between the lesser of two cataclysmic environmental disruptions?

Perhaps the greatest irony is when you consider that a hefty portion of the financial underwriting for scientific research of deep sea vent ecosystems is coming from the very mining interests that are so anxious to strip deep sea vents of their mineral riches. Duke University, home to some of the world's leading research in deep sea vent biology, received a little over a quarter of a million dollars ($230,836) from Nautilus Minerals for their research. Duke's not alone in relying on the largesse of Nautilus. Australian National University deep sea research also benefits from Nautilus dollars.

I'm not naive. Research and scientific understanding, especially in relatively frontier areas such deep sea vent systems, requires funding. All too often, scientific research must accept funding from sources with very self-serving interests. Deep sea vent biology is NOT junk science. It's revealing answers not just about evolution of life on Earth, but perhaps how life might currently exist on other planets. But as fascinating as it may be, it's not exactly at the top-of-mind of a lot of private foundations or major donors.

Again, let me be clear, I support the InterRidge efforts at sustainable research guidelines and think all scientists should adopt or establish similarly clear criteria for minimizing environmental impacts to their study sites. But efforts by scientists to adhere to stringent guidelines--knowing that mining interests are circling overhead and will not be bound by such criteria --sounds a lot like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

I Warned Him

The BF has this charming habit of insinuating himself into otherwise perfect nature pictures that I'm attempting to capture. Case in point: while strolling along the shore in Pacific Grove last week, we spotted this stack of granite cobblestones someone had balanced on driftwood. While not strictly "natural," it made for a nice picture. In composing the shot (above), I failed to notice a certain party had himself "drifted" into the frame.

Another image for the Spoiled Nature folder.

Adorable though he may be, in an attempt at behavioral modification I warned The BF that should he persist in hamming-up my nature shots that I'd start posting his performances online.

At the risk that this may ultimately backfire and encourage his performance art, here's a choice selection of his hammy best from last week:

Many Cephalo-Thanks!

I'd be remiss and a real lout if I didn't publicly acknowledge and thank Cephalopodcast's Jason Robertshaw for all his planning, ideas, and friendship last week during the National Marine Educators Association conference. We teamed-up on a successful and well attended workshop, Carnival of the Blue: An Ocean of Blogging and New Media for Marine Science.

Jason's been a real catalyst and inspiration for me (both personally and professionally) as I continue to explore this new media landscape. He always seems ahead of the curve in fascinating applications and implications of open access and technology in broadening ocean education and conservation messaging efforts. And he's got the most wonderfully dry sense of humor.

Thanks for everything, Jason! Looking forward to our next collaboration.

NMEA Session: Carnival of the Blue

Cephalopodcast's Jason Robertshaw and I are presenting a workshop, Carnival of the Blue: An Ocean of Blogging and New Media for Marine Science (informally called Using Social Media Before It Uses You) at the National Marine Educators Association conference here in Pacific Grove. This is a continuously evolving discussion Jason and I have been having over the past few years, and the workshop is an opportunity to have this discussion in front of a captive audience of ocean science educators in the hopes of seeing greater use of blogs, podcasts, and other online social media to communicate ocean science principles.

Jason will soon be posting our talk on a few different presentation-sharing sites, but we also wanted to create a place for participants to log comments and thoughts. So here it is. Let us know your thoughts about social media, how you might successfully integrate it into ocean science curriculum, or even give us constructive criticism to improve the talk in the future.

Best NOAA Offices Evah!

When I think of federal government buildings, style, color, and creativity aren't the first things that pop into my head. While the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Grove facility (I'm staying just down the road from this office while attending the National Marine Educators Association Conference) won't win any architectural awards (it reminds me of a fallout shelter), it's exterior decoration is a feast for the eyes.

Unveiled last year, the spectacular mural (click on images to enlarge) wrapping-around the NOAA building was created by renowned artist Ray Troll (he of Fish Worship: Is It Wrong? fame) and painted on 32 separate panels by public artist Roberto Salas. Titled Green Sea/Blue Sea: The California Current, Climate Change, and Sustainable Fisheries, the mural illustrates how the California Current ecosystem responds to changes in climate and ocean conditions.