Jump to content

Coral Restoration Foundation - WAMAS Intern updates


Recommended Posts

Hi folks!

 

We're alive!!!

 

It's been a good long while since I've posted anything here for you all, but as you know there was a bit of a hurricane issue recently.  To give you all the official update: 

 

CRF weathered the storm fairly well. Our facilities made it through unharmed, but two of our boats sustained minor damage. Overall, the nurseries fared well and we lost very few coral trees. Our greatest loss was to coral stock, in particular the staghorn production. Our priority is to fragment the staghorn and elkhorn stock in order to give those new fragments 4 - 6 months to grow to outplant size for 2018. But while we lost a small percentage of our stock, we did not lose any genotypes – our greatest asset in the nursery. Our large-scale restoration calls for a vast number of corals with great genetic diversity to ensure a resilient, healthy reef. 

    

Reef sites throughout the Keys saw damage to both outplanted and natural colonies. CRF is partnering with NOAA to repair damaged reef sites and to conduct assessments for all of our restoration work.

    

 

Our work will continue and the need for healthy reefs has never been greater. Outplanting will move forward as planned for next year. In the meantime, CRF is hiring local divers and chartering dive boats to assist in our efforts. These shops are our partners throughout the year, so we’re trying to lend them a hand until the tourism resumes. We will aid in rebuilding our island community as we rebuild the reef!

 

-------

I was out in the nursery just earlier today and it's not great, to be honest.  The most surprising part is that things are buried! There was a whole lot of sand that washed into the nursery and buried some old pedestals and fallen corals so the cleanup effort is in full force. My boat was one of four in the nursery so it's all hands on deck (literally).

 

We also wanted to let you know we'll be in the DC area coming up! There will be a showing of the movie Chasing Coral at the Patagonia store on Wisconsin Ave and a couple of our representatives will be joining for a panel discussion afterwards.  If you haven't seen this film yet, I highly encourage you all to either come to the showing or watch it on your own time, it hits incredibly close to home for us here at CRF.  Actually we were highlighted in the unedited version of the film, but they cut out that part to really drive home the point that the reefs aren't in great condition and we have to make some big changes. I cried at probably three separate times when I watched it, I'm such a sucker for the ocean.

 

My computer is not letting me post a picture right now so I guess I'll just have to share all the information myself!

 

Chasing Coral Premier

October 12th, 2017

Doors at 7:00pm, movie at 7:30pm

Patagonia Store

1048 Wisconsin Ave NW

202.333.1776

 

There will be snacks and drinks and a discussion panel afterwards so come hang out with us!

 

Also this will be my final post (unless you all have questions or want to chat, of course), I'm handing the baton over to one or all of the new interns. It's been a pleasure talking with all of you, and I hope you can make it out to the movie!

 

Happy Diving!

 

-Emma

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Emma! I received an invitation from Martha today and will try to make it if I can get away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"What are the leading causes of decline in staghorn corals in the keys?"

 

--- Well that's a tricky question, to be honest.

 

There are a whole slew of issues that are causing the decline in our staghorn populations. These corals are 'built to break', if you will, referring to their predominant form of reproduction: fragmentation. They grow intending to have their branches break off due to wave action, boat strikes, etc. which then roll across the reef, end up stuck somewhere, and reattach themselves to the reef as they continue to grow.  This process worked amazingly well for hundreds of thousands of years, resulting in the massive thickets and vast fields of cervicornis that we may still find in scattered places across the ocean.  However, when you factor in poor water quality, higher acidity, warmer temperatures, chemical and physical pollution, a steep decline in the diadema population, plus the increased human population (and thus more traffic on the reef), it's much more difficult for the fragments to attach and grow. Instead we're seeing a whole lot of breakage, and not enough reattachment. 

 

I guess I'm saying that I'm not sure I can give you a fast and clean answer listing out the leading causes. Our ocean is an open system so all of these factors work in tandem, building on one another to the detriment of our reefs. 

 

People who don't love the ocean as we do tend to forget (or not care) that almost everything they do affects the ocean in one way or another. CRF can only work on so many of these factors at a time, so we so appreciate you all taking an interest and spreading the word! Also movies like Chasing Coral, because that was awesome, am I right??

 

I love the questions so ask away!

-Emma

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Hello all!

 

My name is Joe and I will be assuming CRF's representation on this thread. It's been a busy couple of months since Hurricane Irma swept through, but with the help of our staff, interns, and volunteers, our nursery has recovered very well. Our nursery "trees" are once again full of corals growing at max speed. As we head into this new year, we will have to work harder than ever to fulfill our out-plant goals for 2018. This year we will get over 15,000 new corals planted on Florida Keys' reefs.

 

In order to facilitate this ambitious goal, we have 9 new interns for the January-May term. They join the three lead interns continuing from last year (myself included), a team of highly qualified staff members, and an army of hard working volunteers. We are also looking forward to road testing some new innovation to make our work more efficient and reduce our environmental footprint. As we embark on this journey, support from our donors has never been more important.

 

To that end, we will be holding our annual "Raise the Reef" Gala on Saturday April 28th here in Key Largo. There will be guest speakers, a silent auction, and, most importantly, a sustainably sourced menu. All proceeds go towards the work we do to restore the reefs in the Florida Keys.

Information regarding tickets and sponsorships can be found on our website at: https://coralrestoration.org

 

As always, we welcome every last question you may have for us. Post in this thread or come down to the Keys and talk to us in person at our Exploration Center.

 

5 Seagate Blvd.

Key Largo, FL 33037 USA

 

 

-Joe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...