REEF Trips Program and Communications Manager
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This year is off to an exciting (and jetsetting) start for the REEF team, as two of our staff recently traveled to Tasmania, the southernmost state in Australia, to present at various scientific conferences. First, REEF Co-Executive Director Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., attended the International Temperate Reefs Symposium. Christy and her husband Dr. Brice Semmens, a frequent REEF scientific collaborator, both gave presentations at the conference, which hosted scientists from around the world who study kelp forests and rocky reefs.
As 2011 comes to an end, please consider a tax-deductable gift to REEF so that we can continue our cutting edge marine conservation programs. We rely on your
Caroly's Notes: Ocean Connections
Congratulations to Fred Hartner, who recently joined the Golden Hamlet Club! This distinguished group is made up of highly dedicated volunteers who have conducted 1,000 or more REEF surveys as part of the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project.
On December 14th, 2014, REEF staff and volunteers recorded the third successful pre-emptive removal of a non-native fish in south Florida coastal waters when they removed a mimic lemon peel surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus) from waters under the Blue Heron Bridge in Palm Beach County.
Monitoring fish species to track population growth and general health is vital, and our Conservation Science team has commenced field testing for a new pilot study called SMILE (Size Matters: Innovative Length Estimates). The SMILE Project incorporates the collection of fish length data with the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project, using a special FishSense camera.
Since last week, our partners at the Cayman Islands Department of Environment have been busy in the field, conducting multiple dives each day on the Nassau Grouper spawning site on the west end of Little Cayman. Since 2002, this site has been the focus of our collaborative conservation effort, the Grouper Moon Project. The team has been performing visual assessments, collecting size estimates through stereo-video, and capturing images of individual fishes for our "Fish Faces" project, which uses artificial intelligence to measure population size.
On World Oceans Day, REEF kicked off our annual summer matching campaign. Every donation that comes in through August 8, up to $40,000, will be matched dollar for dollar! We are highlighting all the exciting new discoveries REEF staff and members are making through our core programs. With your help this summer, REEF can continue to study the vast underwater world that remains largely unexplored and encompasses more than 70% of our blue planet.
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.