If you haven't yet booked your space on one of our 2013 REEF Field Surveys, don't delay. They are filling up fast and several are now sold out.
Over 100 REEF Sustainers, marine conservationists, scientists, and prominent figures in the diving industry gathered in South Florida earlier this month to commemorate REEF's successes at the biennial REEF Sustainers Event. REEF Sustainers are donors who contribute at least $1,000 a year to support REEF's programs. REEF Board of Trustees and Staff welcomed our Sustainers and other invited guests to Mango Manor, the home of esteemed underwater photographer and REEF President, Paul Humann, for a day of presentations and camaraderie.
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.
Research conducted by Dr. Ben Holt from University of East Angila in the UK shows that methods to record marine diversity used by REEF surveyors returned results consistent with techniques favoured by peer-reviewed science. The findings 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 SCUBA divers with those used by professional scientists to measure the variety of fish species in three Caribbean sites in the Turks and Caicos.
We proudly announce our Volunteer of the Year for 2012, Jonathan Lavan. Jonathan joined REEF in 2004 and since then, he has logged 324 REEF fish surveys and become a member of REEF's Advanced Assessment Teams for both the Tropical Western Atlantic and Pacific Coast survey regions. He has submitted surveys in five of REEF's six regions. Jonathan's involvement with REEF has been instrumental in spreading the word about REEF and its programs.
In the summer of 1993, the first REEF fish surveys were conducted by a group of pioneering volunteers. Twenty years later, REEF's Volunteer Survey Project and other REEF initiatives are leading the way as innovative and effective marine conservation programs. To celebrate, we will be hosting 4 days of diving, learning, and parties this August in Key Largo, Florida, and we hope you will join us! REEF Fest - Celebrating 20 Years of Marine Conservation Success will take place August 7-11, 2013.
Many of you know that REEF helps out sea-dwelling creatures, but you may not know that we also help prepare our future land-dwelling leaders to deal with issues facing our marine ecosystems. Meet the faces of our Marine Conservation Internship Program! Every four months, REEF invites hundreds of applicants to compete for four internship positions. The chosen interns implement community outreach and education programs focused on reef fish identification and lionfish handling and collection. Interns also dive and volunteer with partner organizations in the Florida Keys.
On behalf of the REEF Staff and Trustees, I want to thank all the donors from our Winter Fundraising campaign who helped us reach our target goal. With your help, we can continue REEF's core conservation programs, such as fighting the Lionfish invasion in the Caribbean, protecting Grouper spawning aggregations, collecting data through our Volunteer Fish Survey Project, and providing free online "Fishinars" to the general public and fish experts worldwide.
This paper is part of the larger body of genetic research being conducted on Nassau Grouper in the Caribbean. The authors identified ten polymorphic microsatellite loci for Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) by cross-amplification of loci isolated in Gulf coney (Epinephelus acanthistius). Samples from three geographic localities were scored for these loci –Glovers Reef off Belize (n = 50), Little Cayman (n = 50) and Grammanik Bank in the U.S. Virgin Islands (n = 50). Screening samples yielded 8 to 27 alleles per locus with observed levels of heterozygosity ranging from 0.30 to 0.96.
2010 Our World Underwater Scholar and Grouper Moon researcher, Josh Stewart, recounts his time in the field studying the iconic Nassau Grouper as part of REEF's Grouper Moon Project. The article provides an overview of the research being done and why protecting the Nassau Grouper's spawning aggregations makes sense to ensure the future of the species.