Itziar Aretxaga, a long-time REEF surveyor who lives in Veracruz Mexico recently sent in this rare fish sighting report about finding a Swordtail Jawfish. What a great sighting! Here's Itziar's story:
We just added a few great items to REEF's online store -- new rash guards and the much-anticipated 2nd edition of Tropical Pacific Fish Identification. Now is a perfect time to get a jump on your holiday shopping! The rash guards provide stylish sun protection while showing off your support for REEF. The new book includes information on over 200 new species and features over 2,500 color images of fishes you will see throughout the tropical Pacific regions of Indonesia, Philippines, Fiji, and more.
Mangroves provide important nursery habitat for coral reef fishes, such as grunts, snappers, and others. While this has been shown locally in some studies, a new paper by scientists from NOAA Fisheries and University of Miami RSMAS used REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project data to evaluate mangrove-reef connectivity at the Caribbean regional scale.
#GivingTuesday is coming up! Are you ready to pledge your support for REEF's vital marine science and education programs? On December 1, watch your inbox for an important message from our co-founder, Paul Humann, describing how REEF is taking action to address our changing seas.
We are very excited to announce our 2016 Fishinar schedule. We have a great lineup of free and fun webinars, covering a wide array of ocean topics. In addition to many fish and invertebrate ID classes, we also have a Manta-nar on the schedule, as well as sessions with dynamic guest speakers including Ned and Anna DeLoach, Ray Troll, and Val Kells. In total, we have 23 Fishinars planned for next year!
REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. Over 50,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.
Several studies conducted at the scale of islands, or small sections of continental coastlines, have suggested that mangrove habitats serve to enhance fish abundances on coral reefs, mainly by providing nursery grounds for several species known to have different habitats as juveniles and adults. However, evidence of such enhancement at a regional scale has not been reported, and recently, some researchers have questioned the mangrove-reef subsidy effect. Authors of this paper used the REEF database to evaluate mangrove-reef connectivity at the Caribbean regional scale.
If you haven't checked out REEF's online store recently, now is a perfect time to get a jump on your holiday shopping! We have added several new items, including a newly-designed REEF shirt that features our logo with all your favorite ocean creatures intertwined and a brand new Nudibranchs of the Indo-Pacific book. Visit www.REEF.org/store to check out these items and more.