Following on the heels of our milestone in Hawaii in January of reaching 10,000 surveys, the REEF Survey Project saw its 20,000th survey submitted from the Pacific Coast Region. Divers from California to the Pacific Northwest have been conducting surveys on fish, invertebrates, and algae since 1997. Over 1,300 sites have been surveyed and 1,554 volunteers have participated. Mike Delaney conducted the lucky 20k survey at Whitecliff Park in British Columbia on February 4th, 2011! Congratulations Mike! It was particularly exciting that this landmark survey was conducted at Whitecliff because not only is this the 407th REEF survey conducted in this important little marine park but it is also where the very FIRST surveys were ever conducted in the Pacific Northwest.

As part of the NOAA-funded Coastal Partnership Initiative, REEF has joined forces with Florida SeaGrant to organize and conduct a series of lionfish collecting and handling workshops and hands on training dives in Southeast Florida. REEF Staff trained over 75 divers during recent workshops and dives in the Florida Keys, Miami, and Palm Beach. The project also includes organized removals by local volunteer teams throughout the year. Additional workshops and dives are planned through the summer for the entire southeast Florida coast and it is anticipated that, after training, organized removal efforts will take place year round. For a list, and to register for upcoming workshops and dives, visit http://www.REEF.org/lionfish/workshops.

REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. Over 50,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.

This month we highlight Michael Murphy, a REEF surveyor in the Northeast. Mike joined REEF in 2010 and has conducted 79 surveys, mostly around his home in New Brunswick, Canada. Here's what he had to say about REEF:

When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member?

I have always used Andrew Martinez's Marine Life of the North Atlantic as a guide to fish and other under water sightings. It was a pleasure to meet him at Deer Island Point and talk with him about fish that we observed as well as their distinguishing features. He mentioned REEF and encouraged me to join as a way to record fish sightings. I have been a surveyor ever since! (Martinez's book is available through the REEF online store.)

What do you enjoy about being a REEF surveyor?

Being a REEF member has allowed me to participate in the Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC) each July as well as submit data year-round. I really enjoy learning about the most common fish species found in the Northeast and other dive destinations such as the Caribbean. The REEF educational webinar component, "Fishinars", is always entertaining and informative. In the future, I am hoping to use the data submitted from divers to aid in the establishment of an artificial reef and use ongoing submissions as a method of monitoring fish species. (Be sure not to miss the "Northeast Fishes" Fishinar coming up on June 13.)

Do you dive close to where you live, and if so, what is the best part about diving there?

I regularly dive at an awesome location, Deer Island Point in New Brunswick, Canada. It is about a two hour drive and free ferry trip from my home outside of Saint John. We often encounter divers from the New England States who come for the variety of organisms to be seen. It is great because there are four possible shore dives that you can enjoy, two of these are drift dives. The dives range from easy to advanced, but are subject to ties, and we can dive there year-round.

What is the most fascinating fish encounter you have experienced?

I would list as most fascinating fish encounter as being a Tuna that was swimming so fast that my dive partner missed the sighting; although seeing some Spiny Dogfish ranks a close second. My favourite fish to see is a Wolffish, they are on the endangered species list and they are so distinctive that only their mother and a hard core diver would say they are beautiful to see.

Do you have any surveying, fishwatching, or identification tips for REEF members?

I always encourage my dive partners to record their fish sighting and to submit their data. A good reference book is essential. Having the REEF Fish Identification Cards as well as a dive slate to record numbers is also important. Searching for fish, invertebrates, and plants connects me to the underwater world, which makes my diving experience that much more interesting and memorable.

This past summer, REEF completed its 5-year monitoring and assessment of the ex-Navy Landing Ship Dock, U.S.S. Spiegel Grove, intentionally deployed in 130' deep water as an artificial reef off Key Largo in June of 2002. At the time of its sinking, the Spiegel, at 510' in length, was the largest vessel intentionally sunk as an artificial reef. More recently, REEF completed its final report on the data collected, largely through members' efforts in the water these last few years, so a multus gratia (big thank you) from all of us at REEF to those of you who participated on the Advanced Assessment Team monitoring of the Spiegel. This was every bit your project as much as ours. I am asked quite often in the field how REEF surveyor efforts contribute to science, conservation, and education so I want to share with you some of our findings as the Spiegel assessment serves as a great example of the power of concerned and active citizen scientists to effect positive changes in our communities. For a full viewing of our final report, please visit our website at 5 Year Spiegel Grove Monitoring .

Before I highlight a few of our findings, let's go over what our methods were for conducting our Spiegel assessment. Surveys were conducted using the Roving Diver Technique (RDT), a non-point visual survey method that serves as the mainstay for most REEF efforts in the water. The purpose of this method is to gather a comprehensive species list with sighting frequency and relative abundance estimates, for fish species only in the case of this study. Staff and REEF volunteers all had to be members of the Advanced Assessment Team (AAT) for REEF (learn more about how to become an AAT member http://www.reef.org/programs/volunteersurvey/aat). Each monitoring event consisted of 4 days of two-tank monitoring dives at the Spiegel Grove and 7 surrounding reference sites.

The overall objective of the study was to assess any changes in fish community structure over time with the addition of the newly deployed artificial reef, changes not just to the Spiegel site, but changes to the surrounding natural reef sites as well. A central biological question as to the merits of vessel type artificial reef deployments is whether or not they add fish species in terms of both numbers of fish (biomass) and numbers of fish species (biodiversity) to the artificial reef and the surrounding natural reef sites. In other words, in the Field of Dreams metaphor, if you build it will they come and where will they come from? Ultimately, resource managers and other stakeholders hope that the addition of the artificial reef adds fish not only to the targeted site, but seeds surrounding reefs with the reproductive output from the resident fish population. The scale of these questions cannot be adequately addressed in a 5-year pilot study such as the one REEF just completed and that was not our charge but it is important to understand the concept behind sinking ships as artificial reefs. And we should commend Monroe County, the Upper Keys Artificial Reef Foundation (UKARF), and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) for funding this initial pilot study. A second socioeconomic question not addressed in REEF's work asks the important question of how much SCUBA diving pressure is decreased on natural reefs by the addition of a top recreational dive site such as the Spiegel and how much additional tourist revenue is gained? Finding answers to both the biological and economic questions above are critical in providing guidance for future marine resource management decisions on whether or not to deploy artificial reefs of this type and when and where the sinking of these large retired vessels is appropriate.

Okay, some quick highlights but again for the full report, please visit our website. Over the 5-year study, REEF conducted 76 RDT surveys on the Spiegel itself and another 445 survey dives on the surrounding 7 reference sites. 191 fish species were documented on the Spiegel Grove for all surveys combined. 46 species of fish were observed on the Spiegel just one month after deployment with the average number of species climbing to 76 per monitoring event thereafter. Approximately 3 years after deployment (Aug 2005), persistence in species composition at the Spiegel Grove site through time had increased to levels closer to those of the surrounding reefs. Striped grunts and Tomtates were immediate arrivals on the newly deployed site. Currently, 5 years post deployment, fish species composition on the Spiegel site is more akin to what you would expect on a deeper reef site including schools of Blackfin Snapper, Creole Wrasses, Bluehead Wrasses, Purple Reeffish, Sunshinefish, Bluerunners, Yellowtail Reeffish, Greenblotch Parrotfish, Tomtates, Spotfin Hogfish, Yellowmouth Grouper, Black Grouper, and the Federally protected Golilath Grouper (for a complete list of species sighted and statistical comparisons between study sites take a peak at the report). Blackcap and Fairy Basslets rarely occur in the Keys but interestingly, on several occasions, both have been surveyed on the Spiegel, most notably after hurricane storm surges from offshore. Of course, the Spiegel originally sunk on its starboard side was righted during Hurricane Dennis in July of 2005, confounding results of our survey shortly thereafter. And large, deeply sunk vessels such as this one certainly offer numerous hiding places to groupers in particular, making full visual assessments difficult. We have included in our report suggestions for future studies as well.

REEF would like to thank Mike Ryan of Horizon Divers for supplying important anectodal information about the Spiegel. He was one of the first divers on the newly deployed vessel and has logged more than 240 dives on site since then, meticulously recording fish and invertebrate sightings in the true naturalist vein. Also, REEF thanks Quiesscence Divers and Horizon Divers and Scott Fowler for providing boat and logistical support for all of our diving efforts over the past 5 years. This spring (2008), the Hoyt Vandenberg is scheduled for deployment a few miles off the coast of Key West. REEF will be leading the monitoring efforts over a similar 5-year time period and we'll keep you posted on our efforts. Two suggested readings are referenced in our report, one by Arena et al (2007) and the other by Leeworthy et al (2006) assessing biological and economic impacts of artificial reefs, respectively.

Happy Holidays everyone and if you are visiting Key Largo next year, visit the wreck and see for yourself how things are coming along.