OUsnakebyte

Hey all - MANY thanks for starting a thread on this. It was my intention to let you all know that we are indeed keeping corals at the National Zoo (albeit it in a smaller venue...), despite losing the Invertebrate Exhibit a year ago. I just got soooooooo busy leading up to my departure that I forgot. Thanks mling. To fill you all in just a little bit - yes, the Elegance Coral is indeed going in that tank on the far left (stage right). As many of you know, that coral has been at the zoo since Invertebrates opened to the public in 1987. Given its history (and I still have yet to see a Catalaphyllia specimen rival its size...), I wasn't willing to part with it so easily. When I found out we could possibly get a donor to fund the exhibit, I kept as many of the corals/anemones/various crustaceans from Invertebrates that I could; they have all been living off exhibit in Amazonia the past year. The rework of that old Amazon GIS space (the alcove where the new exhibit is now) is part of a rebranding of the "Amazonia Science Gallery" to one of "The Science Gallery" - and is meant to focus on NZP Science (Amphibian Ark lab to the right, Zoo Nutrition science to the left, and more to come later about migratory birds). So, the coral lab will showcase the work done with corals at the zoo (Dr. Mary Hagedorn's lab in Hawaii). We tried to cram as much stuff in there that we comfortably could. There are 5 tanks total - the 3'x3'x3' Elegance tank to the left, 6'x3'x3' 'main reef' display in the center, and on the right, three smaller 50-ish gallon "focus tanks" meant to be species-only displays. These will likely rotate between things like mantis shrimp, anemone/clownfish, Frogfish, Flamboyant cuttlefish, etc. Ya know... "jewel-sized" tanks that showcase one or a couple of species. As the theme of the exhibit is the "Coral Lab," the decision was made to keep the main reef display without fish. In our experience, if there are big, showy, colorful fish, then the lay-persons' eyes tend to hit the fast-moving, colorful fish and never see the corals behind them (you all in this club don't qualify here... . This is why the tank at Invertebrates was also fish-free... And... the Elegance was never really "at home" in that main, hard-bottom reef display. Catalaphyllia is actually a seagrass/volcanic sand/muck habitat species. So, I was keen to put it in a black sand display, apart from the main reef. I hope whomever follows me will continue on with this theme and actually put sea grass in with it. All 5 of the tanks are connected underneath to a common sump - as you all know... easier to manage a single system. Alas... yes... there were MANY delays during installation. I won't go into them all here, but I was feverishly trying to piece the system together as much as I could before I had to leave. For those of you who don't know, I have moved to Hawaii (I left June 13) to return to graduate school to pursue my PhD in UH-Manoa's Marine Biology program. I'm still part of the Smithsonian family, just a research associate now and no longer a keeper/aquarist. Sadly, construction was so far behind that the water quality was not suitable to hold corals yet - so I had to leave without seeing it with life in it. But, at least I did see it with water running. It will be up to my coworkers to fill in with the rest of the corals as time passes on. They are indeed hiring for my position, though - job description has "experience with marine invertebrates" in the posting. Just saying'... Anyway, yes - I'm happy to report that corals and some marine invertebrates - and just salt water in general that is not marine mammals - can now be seen again at the National Zoo. You'll have to venture all the way down to Amazonia to see them though. If you all have any more questions, I'll be happy to answer what I can. Cheers Mike

Yes, I have received 22 copies of it - no kidding. The time stamp on them started yesterday and has continued through the evening/night and through this afternoon. It looks as if they are coming in every 40 minutes to 1 hour between messages. I actually logged on to the website to see if there was something wrong with the server... lol... Cheers Mike

Conversation has been moved to the members area, please. I posted answers to some of the questions/comments there.

Hi all - I posted something in the Members forum, FYI. Mike

Yes, they are juvenile sergeant major damsels. Cheers Mike

I certainly believed you researched the shrimp to know that they only eat certain stars and would possibly help your asterina problem; however, I would file the questions asked above under "research prior to buying" to know if rotating CC stars is a viable strategy. And, I believe that it isn't. It takes a spindly-armed brittle star months to regenerate its small arm. I have a cold-water Pisaster star at work that was preyed upon by a tank mate in which two of its arms were eaten. It is now 3 years later, and this star has barely put on 3cm of regenerated arm growth. Now, this is a cold-water species, but it is similar in size to a CC star - more so that a brittle. The point is, those stars are likely not going to regenerate arms fast enough to be a viable feeding strategy - which even begs another question... Are our tanks even an environment fit to encourage CC star arm regeneration? If you have 10-20 in a sump, some wounded, some not... would they cannibalize each other, if one sensed the other was injured? How many stars would you even need to feed a shrimp like this for the rest of its life? Again, all questions I would encourage asking before buying. Heck, you could have even purchased a CC star, hacked off an arm and threw it in your sump to see how long it would take a star to regenerate an arm. Then, you could begin with some data before purchasing. Regardless, once again, I believe it is not a good idea to keep bringing animals in from the reef to feed these animals. In an era of searching for less impact and moving toward sustainability, it is my opinion that H. picta does not fit that model. Don't get me wrong - I think they are fascinating and amazing and completely awesome looking. But, one animal that should - IMO - be left on the reef, given its specialized feeding requirements AND that it is a direct predator on COTS, which brings me to...... News from Australia and COTS? The last paper I saw from 2012 suggested that the GBR has declined at least 50% during the past 27 years, and one of the three major factors was COTS outbreaks. If you are talking about the recent program of injecting the stars and subsequent removal, then sure, that's all fine and dandy, but once again... why is the Australian government having to pour money into this venture to begin with? Well, juvenile COTS have likely been given an advantage in the form of more phytoplankton during their larval phase, and the adults have seen decreases in predation. But, this is Australia we are talking about - they have much more money to pour into this research and implement a program to send diver teams out to the reef like this than say does... Indonesia, Philippines, Micronesia, Palau, other island nations, etc., etc., etc..... COTS are not restricted to the GBR. Look... I would try to prevent someone from buying a Triton Trumpet shell for their coffee table or Napoleon wrasse on the menu just the same as I will try to discourage hobbyists from buying H. picta for their tank - all are natural predators of COTS. And, again, given their specialized feeding requirements, these are probably animals we should move away from collecting/importing altogether. Cheers Mike

Well, unfortunately, many of these questions should have been researched and asked prior to buying the shrimp. And, in general, this is one of those fantastic-looking reef animals that should probably be left on the reef. - They have been known to prey on Crown of Thorns Sea stars (COTS). In an era of declining predation on COTS (removal of predators such as the Triton's Trumpet snail and larger predatory fish, such as Napoleon wrasse), this is yet removal of another predator of COTS. Is removing H. picta going to have an increasing impact on COTS populations? I don't know, and I'm not sure there have been many studies yet. But, we do know that removing predators from an ecosystem can see a population explosion of the prey item - and we've already seen that for COTS with removal of the above-mentioned predators (in addition to them possibly getting a jump-start on life for other ecological disturbances). - The practice of harvesting reef animals to feed another reef animal is also not very sustainable. After they finish off your asternina problem, you'll need A LOT more than two CC stars (or any large star for that matter). Many stars do have an incredible capacity for regeneration of a limb, but that regeneration is not going to happen nearly fast enough to feed your shrimp, let alone a second one if you purchase it. No way rotating out two stars is going to be enough - possibly 20 stars, and even then... probably not. But again, the point is that you have to keep flying in reef animals to feed a reef animal. How much fossil fuel is that shrimp going to "consume" over its life in your tank? If my tone sounds scolding, it's not meant to be - so please do not try and take it as such. But again, a little more research on the front end could have answered many of these questions. But, in general I do not favor importing these animals b/c they are a predator of a predator of already stressed ecosystems, and there does not seem to be a good way to feed them without having to continually import reef animals to feed them. Cheers Mike

That article is missing a very crucial component - references...

Yes, there is. Email me at ehenley1@gmu.edu for more details. Mike

The first Lionfish I ever saw in the Caribbean/western Atlantic was at that dive site - in 2006. That site was once a haven for juvenile wrasse and other juvenile fish, but going back year after year I've seen fewer and fewer juveniles...

Yes, I do run the course every year. I used to run it in May but am now changing it to June - too difficult for it to be a spring semester/summer trip class. It's just easier to make it a summer term only - and the admin at GMU like it that way as well... I'm also going to apply for permits from the Bahamas Fisheries department to allow us to take lionfish on scuba (normally only spearfishing allowed is free diving). In addition to getting the invasives off the reef, I like to dissect out the gut contents for the students - or have them do it if they want to - and show them what the lions have been eating. The most I have ever speared on a dive is 37 at the blue hole outside of Nassau. The place was infested... Even found a mantis shrimp, recently consumed... But then, hard work is rewarded, and we eat the lionfish - very tasty... I only have 1 or 2 more berths open at this point. Welcome aboard, Dave. Cheers Mike

Brutal - I didn't even see that... :( Hmmmm... not sure. I just saved the course announcement to jpgs and posted them as pictures. So, if you can see the pictures/course info, then that's it. Cheers Mike

It happens almost every year - even to me sometimes. Happily, it usually passes in the first day or two, and then everyone is fine. But, the patches that fit behind the ear usually help most people a lot. And, it's not really that choppy - we are on the lee sides of the island most of the week, and it's usually calm. The only time it's really that rough is when we are passing the channel to the Exumas. You can always get a tank sitter...

Hello all - I still have a few openings for my Coral Reef Ecology course that I teach at George Mason University each summer, and I inquired about posting the announcement here for the WAMAS community. The course is geared toward undergrads, but it is also available as a grad (degree or non-degree) course as well. For biology students, it counts toward a 400 level biology elective, but this year I was also able to get it cross listed with Environmental Science and Policy. And, you don't necessarily have to be a GMU student; credits *should* transfer to your university, but double check with your advisor/department about that. But, if you are a non-degree graduate student looking to learn more or a working professional who just wants to know what you are looking at underwater, then that is perfectly fine too. I've even had accounting majors take this class as an elective! My prerequisites are this: 1) I need you to have a sense of adventure. If all you want to do is sit on the boat and sunbathe or fish all day, don't apply for this class. I need people who want to see and explore some of the most amazing habitats I've ever had the opportunity to see. 2) I need you to be low maintenance. I'm stuck on a 65' sailboat with you the entire week and can't get away. I don't need or want drama. About the course: This is a field-based course designed to get students out of the classroom and into the field. We spend the week in The Bahamas on a live-aboard dive boat - eat on the boat, sleep on the boat, dive from the boat. We move locations after almost every dive, so we get to see a number of different habitats (and also do a snorkel through mangroves). For the week on the boat, we will pull in about 15-19 dives (including night dives). We do of course have an in-class component where I briefly cover the geologic history of coral reefs, the biology and formation of reefs, different reef zones and ecology of those zones, coral biology and physiology, decline and conservation and a select covering of other reef invertebrates (primarily looking at the different phyla). As the field component takes place in the Exumas Land and Sea Park of The Bahamas, there is also a component dedicated to learning about 50 of the mist common Caribbean reef fish (common name only) and about 50 of the most common reef-building corals (scientific names) and the 5 most common reef algae (genus level only). Where/when appropriate - and depending on conditions - I'm also going to be teaching how to conduct reef surveys. We will do this by using photo and/or video transects and doing photo quadrats. Really, I just want students to see/learn some of the tools we use to assess reef health by measuring coral vs algal coverage. And, to do this, you need to know what species you are looking at, of course... I meet with the class at least 6 times before departing to give lectures, go over identification and administer exams. There are also assigned readings we cover. Of course, most of the learning happens while on the boat, as there is only so much you can learn from a picture or reading. SCUBA CERTIFICATION IS NOT REQUIRED. I cannot, nor would I ever, force a student to dive. However, you stand to miss A LOT if you do not dive. If you are not certified but can take the classroom/pool session before we leave in June, then you can do your certification dives on this trip - in The Bahamas - and not in the Virginia quarry... We build time into the trip for these certification dives (toward the beginning of the trip, of course). The trip dates are from June 21-27, and I meet with the class at GMU from 7-10pm a few select weekdays two weeks prior to the trip. As you can see from the announcement below, the cost is inclusive of tuition (but will be slightly higher for grad students - contact me for more info) and does not differ for out-of-state students, airfare to/from Nassau, the cost of the live-aboard including meals for the week, and all transfer fees. The only thing extra is the cost of gear rental if you need it (BC, regulator and dive computer). If you have any questions, please let me know. Following is the course announcement I use, and a few, select pictures of past trips: Cheers Mike

The way I tell my students to remember this one is to "put the doctor behind bars." (the scalpel or blade behind the vertical lines) Corny but it works... Mike