One of nature’s most spectacular underwater wonders is the annual coral spawning, when many of the reef’s corals and other animals, cued by late summer’s full moon, synchronize their spawning. In 2010, several of our summer REEF Trips, one to Key Largo and one to Bonaire, are scheduled around the projected coral spawning for those areas. Join like-minded underwater naturalists and combine fishwatching with a chance to see this exciting event. To see the current REEF Field Survey Trips schedule, visit www.REEF.org/trips.

Ned and Anna DeLoach will host a one-of-a-kind, late August trip at Amoray Dive Resort, centering on Key Largo’s annual Coral Spawning. In addition to slide and video presentations about marine life spawning behavior, the couple will lead a week of diving with emphasis on the nights that corals are most likely to spawn. Laurie MacLaughlin, Resource Manager from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, will update us about her ongoing coral spawning research and describe coral spawn collecting methods. Ken Nedimyer, founder of the Coral Restoration Foundation, will speak about growing coral for restoring reefs and will escort the group to his famous coral nursery, where participants will have the opportunity for hands-on work. Day dives will provide the opportunity to hone fishwatching and survey skills and a special dusk dive is scheduled to observe fish spawning behavior and the evening gathering of hundreds of Midnight and Rainbow Parrotfishes. A rare opportunity for anyone who loves nature!

Jessie Armacost, author of the original Bonaire Diving Made Easy, and long-time REEF instructor will lead the late September trip at Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire. Few dive sites in the world can provide 100 fish species on a single dive - Bonaire is one of these special places where you can make that “Century Dive”. Jessie’s seven years of teaching fish ID in Bonaire makes her uniquely qualified to help you add fish species to your lifelist or gain the skills to move you up to your next surveyor level. Bonaire’s exceptional shore diving and easy boat diving give you access to a wide range of habitats with a chance to see everything from clingfish to Bonefish. We’ve scheduled this year’s trip to coincide with the Southern Caribbean’s annual coral spawning, so you’ll have the chance to watch fish by day and view this great natural history event at night.

For more information on either of these projects, visit the REEF Trips webpage - http://www.reef.org/fieldsurveys/schedule. To reserve your space please contact our dedicated REEF Travel Consultant at 1-877-295-7333 (REEF), or you can e-mail REEF@caradonna.com.