Event: "Beyond the Beauty of Coral Reefs"

[OUsnakebyte]

Copied below is the email I received here at work. Usually these talks are open to SI staff only, but I called, and the lady said, "It shouldn't be a problem if non-SI staff attend." The photos are also displayed in the Ripley Center - 3rd floor I believe. It should be a good talk concerning conservation of the reefs. Anyway, I'm going and hope to see some familiar faces there!

 

Cheers

Mike

 

 

 

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program presents a panel, "Beyond the Beauty of Coral Reefs," in conjunction with the exhibit, "Miracle Under the Waves: Photographic Art of Akiyoshi Ito." The exhibit opened on March 2 and runs until May 1, 2005. This panel will be an educational event about the condition of our coral reefs. It will take place on Thursday, March 31, 2005 in the Lecture Hall, located at the Ripley Center on the 3rd level. The afternoon's program will begin at 3:00 p.m. and last until 5:00 p.m.

 

Panelists are:

Mr. Michael Lang, Marine Science Network Director, Smithsonian Institution;

Dr. Anthony Coates, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; and

Dr. David Kennedy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

 

The photographer, Akiyoshi Ito, is an excellent artist from Japan. His collection of color photos of coral reefs from many parts of the world is an inspiration to at least two separate worlds: one is the artistic realm of photography, especially of the world within our oceans; the second is the absolutely critical nature of coral reefs in the world's ecosystem. This program focuses on the latter aspect to educate the public about the endangered nature of coral reefs and its impact on our future.

 

This panel is presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.

For more information, call 786-2409.

[Guest tgallo]

very cool mike, thanks for the heads up.

[R Baxley]

Thanks Mike! I'll see you there

 

R

[Guest goblinshark]

Ill try to make it too

[OUsnakebyte]

Bump :58:

 

Hope to see many of you there!

 

Cheers

Mike

[ReefMon]

I would really like to make it to this, but this JOB thing keeps interfering with my lifestyle

 

Mike, can we get a detailed review?

 

Also, see if they would be interested in doing a presentation to the club at a future meeting.

[OUsnakebyte]

Jen is coming with me - she's my note taker! B)

 

I'll also see about speakers for a meeting.

 

 

Cheers

Mike

[dbartco]

I was lucky enough to go today. 3 speakers, ranging from general reef geologic info, to continuing SI reef research, to reef legislative bodies. Not too in depth in any area in particular, but lots of names and websites to continue some personal research, and a list of possible new speakers for our meeting. The photographs were just amazing. Akiyoshi Ito has captured some brilliant colors, and I will be looking to collect any prints that might be out there.

 

Thanks Mike for posting, and when you see more of these coming down the pike, keep us informed. Maybe we can get a larger WAMAS presence next time.

 

-And Mike took copious notes, and will complete his 10 page report by the end of the week.

[OUsnakebyte]

Below are the notes I took at the lecture (from what I wrote down, supplemented by what I can remember...). The talks started off very basic - what is a coral - to current threats and what is happening to the reefs, ending with policy action that is occuring to help save the reefs. The photos are simply eye candy, and only in my dreams could I ever hope to take a photo, above or below water, that good. I highly recommend scooting by the Ripley Center before they are gone in May.

 

 

Dr. Anthony Coates started the presentations with introductions to what a coral reef is and types – fringing reef and atolls – and where they are located. His talk covered:

 

Competition

Zoox and what it does for corals in the nutrient deserts that are reefs

current threats (bleaching, predation – i.e. crown of thorns star, disease, and human activity, etc.)

 

And he finished with why are reefs valuable:

Diversity

Coastline to mangroves, seagrass beds

Source of food/employment

Pharmaceutically valuable compounds

Fossil reefs = reserves of petroleum

 

All in all, his talk was nice with some great photos, but it was certainly introductory, especially to anyone in this club.

 

 

 

The second speaker was Michael Lang, director of Smithsonian Marine Science Network.

 

He was a great speaker – very enthusiastic. He went really fast, but he mainly covered the current conditions of the reefs and delved more deeply into the current threats. My notes are a little sketchy, but here’s what I have:

 

1995 to 2004 – Significant declining status of reefs, especially Caribbean

 

He had a good site on mangroves – www.mangroves.si.edu - very interactive, and he went into further depth on how important mangroves are for harboring juvenile marine species, as well as manatees, etc.

 

He covered the 1998 bleaching event in the Caribbean – apparently the first (as I have scribbled, but maybe the largest in scale…?) in 3,000 years. He chalked this one up to mainly “El Nino” as well as other factors.

 

Off the Galapagos a few years back, a research team got funding for a submersible. He commented that whenever someone gets funding for one of these submersibles, they tend to go DEEP, and divers can go little past 100ft. So, the scientific community knows very little about life in the 100-300 ft range. Anyway, this team found 15 new species of fish and invertebrates in 15 days in this range – just a thought about how little we know about the ocean. I found that fascinating…

 

He also described the first known example of eusociality in a marine organism. Apparently, there is a species of sponge-dwelling pistol shrimp that lives in a colony with a queen and workers – similar to ants, termites, and bees – again, totally fascinating. However, for the life of me, I cannot remember if this was on the same research expedition that described the 15 new species…. I should like to research this more. Eusociality in marine organisms!!! Do you all realize how cool that is!!!

 

Then the talk got depressing… stressors on the oceans and reefs. By over fishing, the removal of the top predators (megafauna) is having a direct negative impact on the reefs (affects the entire food web from the top down). This is in conjunction with pollution (oil, sediment, nutrient, etc.) that is already hitting the reefs. Corals are resilient, and could likely fight off one of these stressors. But, multiple stressors are proving too much of a tax on the reefs.

 

Are US reefs in danger – in short, yup. And the outlook is not good.

 

- To help, stop over fishing and establish “no take” areas/quotas. This is also in the best interest of the fishing industry

- Reduce terrestrial pollutants/greenhouses gases

- Reduce coastal development that are next to reefs

- Global change is a huge threat that will probably be the most difficult to overcome – will require the cooperation of multiple governments and years of successful policy implementation

- If successful, you will see the return of the top predators/megafauna and hopefully a healthy reef

 

 

 

Last was Dr. Gary Matlock – Director of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in the National Ocean Service (NOS). He is formerly of NOAA.

 

He spoke about assessing ecosystem conditions, and his talk was primarily policy-based. Basically, he talked about what is being done and what policies need to happen to restore the reefs. I’m sorry I don’t have more, but he blazed even faster than the other two, and quite honestly, by this point my hand was hurting…

 

You can request the “state of the reefs” (I think annual) report from coralreport@noaa.gov

 

 

 

Overall I was very pleased with the talk and found it very informative. Sadly, it seems much of the problem is due to human activity, but I was happy that the aquarium hobby did not get hit too hard. During the Q&A, someone made the point that the majority of tropical ecosystems are located in developing countries, while environmental consciousness exists in the temperate world. During this discussion, another representative from NOAA chimed in about the US being part of the problem by being the largest importer of live coral from these developing countries.

 

In my opinion, this is all the more reason to teach these countries about sustainable, environmentally sound harvesting practices. I would hate for our passion as reefkeepers to have a detrimental impact on the natural world.

 

As Doug said, I would like to have seen more of a turnout from our membership at an event such as this. I understand people have to work, and Thursdays at 3pm is not the easiest time to get away – still… Maybe next time, huh…?

 

 

I also spoke to Michael Lang about speaking at one of our meetings. He said that he would be interested, but he is very busy. Apparently, the fall would be best for him – October frag trade? Glenn, I have his contact info if we would like to tap him for the meeting.

 

 

Cheers

Mike

[OUsnakebyte]

He also described the first known example of eusociality in a marine organism.  Apparently, there is a species of sponge-dwelling pistol shrimp that lives in a colony with a queen and workers – similar to ants, termites, and bees – again, totally fascinating.  However, for the life of me, I cannot remember if this was on the same research expedition that described the 15 new species….  I should like to research this more.  Eusociality in marine organisms!!!  Do you all realize how cool that is!!!

29052[/snapback]

 

 

A quick Google search - eusociality in marine shrimp, go figure - yielded this paper:

 

http://www.vims.edu/bio/mobee/Duffy_IUSSI_...e%20shrimp'

 

 

Typical research paper, but an interesting read - if you are into that sort of thing.

 

This J.E. Duffy is from William and Mary - future speaker, if he is still there...? I'd be all ears.

 

Cheers

Mike