With almost 350,000 hours of underwater visual survey time collected at more than 17,000 locations around the world over the last 33 years, the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project represents one of the most comprehensive marine sightings databases available. We are grateful to you and the thousands of other volunteers who have contributed to this amazing citizen science effort. We are excited to share two recent uses of the REEF database for conservation and ecological studies.
1. Hogfish stock assessment, Gulf of Mexico & East Florida.
Dr. Brice Semmens from Scripps Oceanography participated in a Hogfish fisheries assessment workshop with the South Atlantic Fisheries Science Center. Brice's role in the SEDAR 94 workshop was to explore incorporating REEF data into this population model for Hogfish in the Gulf of Mexico and East Florida/Florida Keys. This resulted in the development of a Unified Reef Visual Census (RVC) and REEF Citizen Science Index, which the Working Group recommended be used as a sensitivity run in the SEDAR 94 stock assessment. This is a great step forward in having REEF VFSP data be included in future NOAA Fisheries Assessments.
2. Sea star wasting disease, Pacific Northwest.
Dr. Drew Harvell from Cornell University recently gave a NOAA webinar titled “How are Salish Sea Stars Faring in our Ocean's Menagerie?”. She discussed the status and trends of sea stars in the face of changing ocean conditions that have fueled the decade-long epidemic of sea star wasting disease. In her talk, she relied heavily on the long-time data series of echinoderms that REEF volunteers have collected in the Pacific Northwest since 2008. The REEF data are critical to validating the continued detrimental impact that many species are experiencing, including Spiny Pink Star and Sunflower Sea Star.
To date, 138 scientific papers and reports have used REEF data. Visit www.REEF.org/db/publications to see the full list.