Artist Rogest Celebrates Grouper Moon Project With New Artwork
By Christy Pattengill-Semmens, REEF Director of Science
REEF friend and world famous painter, diver and character extraordinaire, Ron Steven (aka Rogest), has done it again. After talking with REEF scientists about the REEF Grouper Moon Project and the important conservation research being done to study one of the last remaining spawning aggregations of the endangered Nassau grouper, Rogest created his latest piece of artwork to celebrate this Caribbean icon. "Grumpy" features the face of a Nassau grouper, with the tag line "Extinction Makes Me Grumpy". Rogest completed the painting in early summer 2009.
The artwork is being featured on T-shirts now available for sale in the REEF Gear Store. These high quality, pre-shrunk T-shirts are available in green short sleeve ($25) and red long sleeve ($30). Get yours today, they won't last long.
REEF members will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase the original painting later this Fall and Rogest will be donating over half of the proceeds to the Grouper Moon Project. We extend a big thank you to Rogest for his dedication and passion for REEF's marine conservation efforts.
REEF News Tidbits
By REEF Staff
New REEF Survey T-Shirts - Our latest addition to the REEF Online store, these T-shirts provide a comic look at our world of fish surveying. The shirts sport a REEF logo and "REEF Survey Team" on the front and a cartoon on the back. Shirts are available in three colors. Click here to get yours today!
Visit REEF this weekend at the Beneath the Sea Dive show in Secaucus, New Jersey - REEF volunteers will be there to tell you about our latest activities and sign up new members. Sensational Seas Two will premiere at the show and we’ll be selling the DVD in the booth as a fundraiser. Many of the production contributors will join us during the day to sign DVDs. Anna and Ned DeLoach will be there to talk fish. Stop by Booth 220 and say "hello"! You can check out a sample of the DVD on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bC4T5bMu_s
Free California Fish and Invertebrate Identification Seminars Scheduled - Thanks to support from a regional foundation, REEF is offering a series of free training classes to be held at The Ocean Institute in Dana Point and The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Classes will be held this June. Pre-registration is required. There will also be a coordinated REEF survey dive aboard the SunDiver at a reduced cost just prior to the SCUBA2010 show in Long Beach. For more information, check out the class page here.
Preview of REEF 2011 Field Survey Schedule
By The REEF Team
We are pleased to present a preview of the 2011 REEF Field Survey Schedule to our valued members. Destinations include many exciting locations that offer great diving and prime fishwatching experiences, including the San Blas Islands in Panama, Saba, Hawaii, and for the first time, a South Pacific destination -- Fiji! These trips offer a great introduction to fish identification for novice fishwatchers, and are a fun way for experienced surveyors to build their life list while interacting with fellow fishwatchers. REEF staff, board members, and other REEF instructors lead these trips, and each features daily classroom seminars and a full diving schedule.
Our travel consultants at Caradonna Dive Travel are finalizing many of the trip details, and the full schedule with prices and package information will be posted on the REEF Trips website in the coming weeks. We hope that this early preview will allow you to start planning your REEF dive travel. Some of these trips will sell out quickly, so if you are interested in reserving your spot, or being on a list to find out more, contact Caradonna today at 1-877-295-7333 (REEF), or via e-mail REEF@caradonna.com. They can also handle your airfare.
Preview -- REEF 2011 Field Survey Schedule*
*Please note that details are still being finalized. Dates listed below are tentative for some trips.
REEF Fish Survey Project in Hawaii Turns 10, and Reaches 10,000 Survey Milestone!
By Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., Director of Science
Almost 10 years to the day of launching the Fish Survey Project in Hawaii, the 10,000th REEF survey was conducted at Palauea Beach on Maui this past weekend! The landmark survey was conducted by long-time REEF member, Flo Bahr, who was diving the site with a group of active Hawaii REEFers. Flo was recently featured in our Member Spotlight (read her profile here). A huge thanks to Flo and all of the surveyors who have been busy in Hawaii. REEF launched our citizen science program in Hawaii on February 3, 2001, during a week-long celebration with partners from Project S.E.A.-Link, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the Maui Community College Marine Option Program. Since then, many other partners have joined forces with REEF as Field Stations. We are looking forward to the next ten years! In honor of our anniversary, we have highlighted a local Field Station and one of our many local surveyors in this month's Making It Count. To celebrate our 10 years in Hawaii, we have scheduled a Field Survey Trip to Maui in April, we hope you will join us! Click here for more information.
Visit REEF's Top 10 Stats webpage to see the number of surveys and other top stats for all of REEF's regions - http://www.reef.org/db/stats
Putting It to Work: Who’s Using REEF Data, July 2011
By Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., Director of Science
Every month, scientists, government agencies, and other groups request raw data from REEF’s Fish Survey Project database. Here is a sampling of who has asked for REEF data recently and what they are using it for:
- NOAA scientists from the Protected Resources Division are using data on three species of endangered rockfish to evaluate their status in the Salish Sea.
-University of Washington scientists are using REEF data on invasive tunicates to map distribution of the species throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Meet the New REEF Marine Conservation Interns
By Martha Klitzkie, REEF General Manager
We are pleased to introduce our latest Marine Conservation Interns - Lucy Davis and Brandon Lenderink. Lucy was born and raised in Texas and has spent the past few years traveling around the world. In 2009, she lived in New Zealand assisting with various research projects using her underwater skills as a diver and driving boats. She recently went backpacking through Southeast Asia where she was able to dive and see the Lionfish in its native habitat. Although she began her college degree in elementary education, Lucy now is focusing more on environmental education. Brandon is a Colorado native and a recent biology graduate whose passion for wildlife and conservation has led him to pursue a career in marine biology. Brandon has worked as an aquarist for the Denver Downtown Aquarium, promoting conservation and working the animals such as endangered turtles and Sumatran tigers, as well as for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in the Aquatic Nuisance Species program. Brandon’s future goals are to become a research diver and scuba instructor.
The REEF internship program provides college age juniors, seniors, and graduate students the opportunity to experience working at a nonprofit environmental organization. Interns assist REEF staff with education, outreach, lionfish research, and day-to-day office assistance. Many REEF interns move on to successful careers in conservation and the marine environment, including natural resource agencies, academics, and conservation non-profits (including REEF). If you or someone you know is interested in applying to be a future REEF Intern, visit the application page -- http://www.REEF.org/about/internships/application.
Another GREAT Annual Fish Count
By Janna Nichols, REEF Outreach Coordinator
The 21st annual Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC) took place in July, with many dive shops, dive clubs, and other groups organizing fish ID classes, dive /snorkel days, BBQs and more fun gatherings. The concept behind the GAFC is not only to accumulate large numbers of surveys during the month of July, but to introduce divers/snorkelers to fishwatching and get them started doing REEF surveys. Groups from California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, Hawaii, Florida, North Carolina, and new to the event in 2012 - New Brunswick, all participated! Once again, this year's largest one day event was held in the Northeast, coordinated by the New England Dive Club. Thank you to ALL participants, and we hope you'll continue conducting REEF surveys on your dives year round!
Putting It To Work: New Publication Showing Validity of REEF Survey Data
By Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., REEF Director of Science
A new scientific paper published earlier this month in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution reports that REEF surveys conducted by citizen scientists compare well with traditional scientific methods when it comes to monitoring species biodiversity. The findings of the research, conducted by Dr. Ben Holt from University of East Angila in the UK, give weight to the growing phenomenon of citizen science programs such as REEF's Volunteer Survey Project. The field study compared methods used by REEF volunteer divers with those used by professional scientists to measure the variety of fish species in three Caribbean sites in the Turks and Caicos. The divers surveyed the sites using two methods – the 'belt transect', used in peer reviewed fish diversity studies, and the 'roving diver technique', used by REEF volunteers. Two teams of 12 divers made 144 separate underwater surveys across the sites over four weeks. While the traditional scientific survey revealed sightings of 106 different types of fish, the volunteer technique detected greater marine diversity with a total of 137 in the same waters. Dr Holt led the research in partnership with the Centre for Marine Resource Studies in the Caribbean and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He said: "The results of this study are important for the future of citizen science and the use of data collected by these programs. Very few, if any, scientific groups can collect data on the scale that volunteer groups can, so our proof that both methods return consistent results is very encouraging for citizen science in general. We're living in a world that's changing very significantly. Environmental changes are having a big impact on ecosystems around us so we need to harness new ways of measuring the effect. Our study demonstrates the quality of data collected using a volunteer method can match, and in some respects exceed, protocols used by professional scientists." Click here to read the full paper, entitled "Comparing Diversity Data Collected Using a Protocol Designed for Volunteers with Results from a Professional Alternative".
Advanced Assessment Team (AAT) Wrap-Up for July
By Joe Cavanaugh, Director of Field Operations
REEF completed two Advanced Assessment Team (AAT) projects this past month, the Wellwood Monitoring Project and the Spiegel Grove Monitoring Project. Many of you may not know about REEF's AAT program, please check this link to learn more about this very important REEF program - http://www.reef.org/member/aat.htm. Essentially, as REEF members gain more experience identifying fish and conducting surveys, they can move through our experience level testing and hopefully achieve expert status, after which time these members are invited to participate in special monitoring and assessment projects with REEF staff. To learn more about our experience level testing, please click here - http://www.reef.org/member/experience.htm.
Both the Wellwood and Spiegel projects were 5-year AAT assessments. The M/V Wellwood, a 122-meter Cypriot-registered freighter, ran aground on August 4, 1984, on Molasses Reef off Key Largo, Florida. The ship impacted the reef's upper fore reef and remained aground for 12 days. The grounding destroyed 1,285 square meters of living corals and injured 644 square meters of coral reef framework. In an effort to restore habitat structure and stability to the grounding site, restoration began in May 2002. REEF was contracted by the National Marine Sanctuary Program to document recruitment of fishes onto the site as well as the subsequent changes, if any, to surrounding reefs sites. Our final assessment was completed on July 29th.
The final Spiegel Grove AAT was completed on August 8th. The Spiegel Grove is a 510' LSD that was intentionally sunk as an artificial reef structure in the waters between Molasses Reef and Elbow Reef in Key Largo, Florida, in May 2002. Previous to the May 16, 2006 sinking of the Oriskany (aircraft carrier), the Spiegel Grove was the largest ship ever intentionally scuttled to create an artificial reef. Pursuant to the permit received by the Upper Keys Artificial Reef Foundation (UKARF) to sink the ship in National Marine Sanctuary waters, a plan for pre-deployment and periodic monitoring was implemented. The UKARF contracted REEF to conduct pre-deployment and periodic monitoring of the Spiegel Grove and adjacent natural and artificial reef sites. Monitoring documented fish presence/absence and relative abundance at 8 sites during 7 monitoring events in Year 1 and then bi-annually thereafter for four years. Thank you to all the AAT members, who over the past 5 years contributed to either of these survey efforts.
I also want to send out a BIG thank you to everyone who helped out on our AAT projects the past few weeks. In addition to the Wellwood and Spiegel projects above, we completed our annual middle and upper Keys Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary assessments - 12 days straight! Specifically, I would like to thank Horizon, Paradise, and Quiescence Divers dive shops, and the following individuals, a couple of whom did all 12 days of AAT project diving- Dave Grenda, Brenda Hitt, Brian Hufford, Lillian Kenney, Wayne Manning, Ann Outlaw, Mike Phelan, and our two past interns (newest AAT members) - Marissa Nuttall and Paige Switzer.
Our next AAT project will be the Biscayne National Park AAT in early October (team already assembled). Also, the Hoyt Vandenberg will present an exciting and new AAT project for REEF beginning next year. Currently the ship is being prepared for sinking in Norfolk, VA. It's due to be brought down to the Keys in January (08) and deployed in early April, about 6 miles off the coast of Key West http://www.fla-keys.com/news/news.cfm?sid=1854. We are currently finalizing our monitoring plan for this vessel and will be monitoring this newest artificial reef over the next 5 years, beginning in early spring with a pre-deployment event. You will hear more about this project in the coming months.
Hope to see you in the water soon.
Best "fishes,"
Joe
DEMA 2007: New Partnerships Help REEF, Help Dive Industry
By Leda A. CunninghamOn October 31, while many of you donned witch's hats and goofy masks, the REEF team suited up in Diving That Counts! t-shirts and made the annual pilgrimage to DEMA Show 2007, the largest dive industry trade show. DEMA was again held in Orlando, Florida, allowing local volunteers Mike Phelan, Tom Isgar, Dave Grenda, Lillian Kenney, and Nancy Eickelmann to generously donate their time in helping at the REEF booth. Fall interns Catherine Whitaker and Lauren Finan were rock stars as REEF ambassadors at the show by promoting the Volunteer Survey Project among attendees, helping recruit new Field Stations and selling REEF merchandise. Many thanks to Tom Isgar for donating four marine life prints to a daily raffle at the REEF booth.
One notable difference at DEMA this year was the undercurrent of environmental awareness among both exhibitors and attendees. REEF Executive Director, Leda Cunningham, co-led a workshop on using eco-activities (like the REEF Volunteer Survey Project) to increase diver acquisition with Project AWARE Director Jenny Miller-Garmendia. More than 12 organizations - non-profit, government, small business - have formed an alliance to serve as a resource for eco-activities and environmental education to the dive industry. We were honored to meet with White House representative, Gerhard Kuska, DEMA President, Tom Ingram and others with an interest in seeing this "Blue Diver Alliance" grow into active partnerships with the dive industry.
From the dive industry's perspective, the environment sells. Recent market research shows that the target dive consumer is the baby-boomer, for whom the environment is an important factor in their consumption decisions, including whether and where to go diving. Many exhibitor-sponsored seminars focused on practical strategies for marketing to the eco-conscious customer; one even demonstrated ways that a dive shop might "green" itself by, for example, using bio-diesel in its boats or installing energy efficient appliances. REEF continues to work with dive industry members in promoting the Volunteer Survey Project as a way to recruit and retain divers while helping collect important underwater information to help preserve the marine life that divers want to see. REEF survey materials like Starter Kits and the new home study DVD course (read the press release here) and the Field Station program (visit www.REEF.org for more info) are tools REEF uses to provide incentives to dive shops and other industry members to get involved with REEF.
REEF is excited to be working closely with the dive industry as DEMA launches its new "Be A Diver" campaign (January, 2008). We look forward to welcoming a new wave of environmentally engaged divers and training them to better understand and preserve marine life.