2021 is winding down, and there are just a couple weeks left to complete the Super Surveyor Challenge! You can complete the challenge by conducting and submitting 25 REEF surveys from any region (or a combination of regions) in 2021. More than 100 volunteer snorkelers and divers have completed the challenge this year. You can see a list of everyone who has done so here.
Held annually on the last Friday in April, Give BIG for the Oceans is a way for the REEF community to come together and celebrate our collective impact on ocean conservation. Join the REEF team, along with some of our affiliate scientists and research partners, for a vibrant and uplifting conversation about how REEF programs are helping to build a brighter future for the ocean.
Be sure to also watch your email inbox for information about a special donation match opportunity during Give BIG for the Oceans!
Those darn Damselfishes! Join us as we get some tips and tricks about how to tell them apart in the Tropical Pacific area. Part 1 of a 2 part series. Part 2 is scheduled for April 4, 2022.
Species taught in this session include:
Please join REEF staff Janna Nichols for another fun FISHY HOUR with a game of "Fishardy" - a fish Jeopardy-style game. This version will feature fish found in our Tropical Western Atlantic region, which includes the Caribbean, Florida and The Bahamas.
Based on Maui, Maggie Sutrov is a professional artist and a teaching artist. You can find more about her at paintthere.com. Maggie loves helping people form a deeper connection with the natural world through drawing and painting. She is also a keen advocate for the skills developed through the act of drawing, such as our powers of observation--perfect for learning and identifying marine animals! This session will be geared toward beginners, so no artistic skills are necessary.
Instructor: Maggie Sutrov
Suggested Materials:
Poke your head under ledges, shine your light in between corals, peer into any cave, or explore crevices in Hawaii and you're bound to see at least one of these fish. Learn how to identify them and tell lookalikes apart.
IMPORTANT: Note the time zone and make sure you adjust it as needed for your location!
Photo of Brick Soldierfish (Myripristis amaena) by Janna Nichols.
Fish species included in this session are:
September was an exciting month for members of the Pacific Northwest REEF Advanced Assessment Team (AAT). Expert Level surveyors (Levels 4 and 5) assisted with the annual Salish Sea monitoring project. This year’s effort was focused in the southern Salish Sea - South Puget Sound in Washington. The project, now in its 8th year, is conducted in partnership with UC Davis’ SeaDoc Society, and also includes sites in the San Juan Islands and islands off Vancouver, British Columbia.
Welcome to the Citizen Science Corner, our quarterly feature to acknowledge those who recently reached a milestone in our Volunteer Fish Survey Project. We are celebrating those who moved up an Experience Level or who achieved the 2021 Super Surveyor Challenge in July, August, or September 2021.
Join REEF Volunteer Instructor Rhoda Green as she teaches fish and invertebrate ID classes for the Pacific Northwest. Survey dives to practice what you've learned will be afterward.
Saturday and Sunday, July 17 and 18.
Meet by the beach entrance.
Sign up and get more info by emailing Rhoda at: friends.saltwater.statepark@gmail.com
Rhoda will also be administering Experience Level quizzes 2-5, so if you'd like to take a quiz, be sure to let her know in advance.