We are kicking off March with REEF's second annual Month of Membership Madness. We have tons of great benefits this month for new members and current members who help us reach our goal of 500 new members in March. So help us spread the word - get your friends and family to join REEF today.
For everyone who donated this winter to support REEF’s critical marine conservation programs, we thank you! For those of you who are still thinking about giving, we are very close to reach our goal this year and still have a limited amount of Paul Humann’s beautiful print of a Fiji reef scene featuring stunning soft corals and colorful Anthias. Please support our work.
Join renowned underwater photographers and REEF Board of Trustees members Ned and Anna DeLoach for an unforgettable Field Survey Trip to one of the best yet least known dive destinations in the world, nestled in the unique, volcanic landscape of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The 11-day adventure will begin in Lembeh Strait at Eco Divers Lembeh, a macro marine creature-lover’s paradise. |
Join REEF’s first Field Survey Trip to Darwin’s domain aboard the luxurious Galapagos Sky Liveaboard! The entire archipelago is a National Park and marine reserve filled with life not found anywhere else on the planet. Observe penguins swimming with tropical fish, iguanas feeding underwater and swim beside giant whale sharks and Galapagos sharks. |
This will be REEF’s inaugural trip to the Solomon Islands, an archipelago of 992 tropical islands and atolls, situated in the South Pacific between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. This 10-day charter on the Bilikiki Liveaboard will provide opportunities to visit and dive remote areas such as the Florida Islands, Russell Islands, Mborukua Island, and Marovo Lagoon, the largest saltwater lagoon in the world! |
Scientists and volunteers from REEF, and our partners at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Cayman Islands Department of the Environment, are wrapping up two weeks of field work on Little Cayman for the Grouper Moon Project. Since 2002, the collaboration has conducted ground-breaking research on the Nassau Grouper spawning aggregations in the Cayman Islands, to help ensure that populations of this iconic species recover. Around winter full moons, Nassau Grouper leave their home reefs and aggregate in mass to spawn.
Don't miss REEF's Fishinars scheduled for this month. We'll talk about Grunts in the Caribbean, and a two-part session to compare common fishes of northern and southern Gulf of Mexico. And then next month, we welcome back the fabulous Ray Troll, who will talk about cool sharks, both modern day and extinct. These free, online webinars offer the opportunity to learn from our experts on a multitude of topics. For the complete 2016 schedule and to register, visit www.REEF.org/fishinars. Upcoming Fishinars include:
Last year we shared an article about a new non-native fish, the Regal Demoiselle (Neopomacentrus cyanamos), showing up in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. REEF surveyors in the Yucatan region of Mexico have since reported the species. And now a new publication co-authored by REEF staff Lad Akins documents that the species could become established and spread in the western Atlantic. The study incorporated a computer model to evaluate the the non-native species’ potential to impact native populations.
A diminutive, non-native damselfish (Neopomacentrus cyanomos) was recently discovered inhabiting coral reefs near Veracruz, Mexico—far removed from where it is native in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific. This publication, co-authored by REEF's Director of Special Projects, Lad Akins, evaluates the threat of establishment and spread in the invaded range.