Author: Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., Director of Science
A new paper out earlier this month in the scientific journal, Ecology and Evolution includes REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project data as part of a sophisticated analysis of rockfish populations in the Puget Sound, Washington. The paper was published by Dr. Nick Tolimieri, and his colleagues at National Marine Fisheries Service and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Estimating a population’s growth rate and year-to-year variance is a key component of population viability analysis (PVA). However, standard PVA methods require time series of counts obtained using consistent survey methods over many years. The authors of this study used REEF data along with two other fisheries datasets to evaluate the long-term trends of rockfish in Puget Sound, Washington State. The time-series analysis was performed with a multivariate autoregressive state-space (MARSS) model. The authors show that using a MARSS modeling approach can provide a rigorous statistical framework for solving some of the challenges associated with using multiple, sometimes inconsistent datasets, and can reduce the proportion of fisheries assessment cases that are assigned a designation of “data deficient.”
The analysis was part of the 5-year review of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing of Puget Sound populations of three rockfish species (Bocaccio, Canary Rockfish, and Yelloweye Rockfish). The three sources of data included in the study were: (1) recreational catch data, (2) scuba surveys conducted by REEF surveyors, and (3) a fishery-independent trawl survey. Because there were too few observations of the three species of rockfish in the data sources to analyze these species directly, the MARSS analysis estimated the abundance of all rockfish. Because Bocaccio, Canary, and Yelloweye are deep water species, they are not often seen by REEF surveyors. The other two data sets showed that these rockfishes declined as a proportion of recreational catch between the 1970s and 2010s. The REEF data suggest that other species like Copper and Quillback rockfish have experienced population growth in shallower depths.
To read more about this study and the other scientific papers that have included REEF data, visit www.REEF.org/db/publications.
Author: Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., Director of Science
REEF is proud to announce Janet Eyre as our 2016 Volunteer for the Year. Janet has been a REEF member since 2002, and she is one of REEF’s most active surveyors. She is a Golden Hamlet member and to date has conducted 1,612 surveys (and counting!).
Janet spent her early years with REEF climbing the ranks of surveying in the Tropical Western Atlantic and Hawaii. In recent years, she has been instrumental in REEF’s expansion efforts to the tropical Pacific, including the South Pacific and Central Indo-Pacific regions. She is a Level 5 Expert Surveyor in all four of those regions. She has also conducted surveys in our Tropical Eastern Pacific region, and Janet participated in our REEF Expedition to the Azores Islands last summer to assist with our expansion to the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. She has participated in 18 REEF Trips and several Advanced Assessment Team projects.
Janet’s expertise in tropical Pacific fish taxonomy rivals any academically-trained scientist. She has documented over 2,000 fish species in her REEF surveys, and 1,478 of those species have been in the tropical Pacific regions. She holds the record for the most fish seen on one REEF survey: 260 species in 73 minutes at the dive site “Edy's Black Forest” near Waigeo in Indonesia.
Janet volunteers countless hours helping REEF staff create new survey and training materials, and she assists with the error checking and quality control of topical Pacific surveys. She is looking forward to working with our staff on developing the next region for the Volunteer Fish Survey Project, the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
Janet loves to find new-to-her species, which, after all the surveys in the different regions of the world, is getting harder and harder. She gets particular satisfaction finding undescribed species. In 2015 her quest for getting a fish named after her finally became a reality when she found an unidentified goby in Fiji. It was later described as Eviota eyreae, Eyre's Dwarfgoby.
Janet spends about 100 days a year diving (or traveling to dive). When she is home, she splits her time between San Francisco and Nantucket. We are so grateful for Janet’s enthusiasm and dedication to REEF and our mission. Janet - thank you and congratulations!
Author: Amy Lee, REEF Trips Program Manager
We have been working hard the last few months on our 2018 REEF Field Survey Trips schedule, and it's almost ready! We have a great line-up of destinations in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Eastern Pacific, Tropical Western Pacific, and even the Indian Ocean. In addition to our usual fish ID trips and lionfish research trips, we are adding a new eco-adventure trip next year perfect for the entire family. Keep an eye on your inbox for our special announcement next week. If you haven't yet been on a REEF Trip, these are a great way to "Take a Dive Vacation That Counts". Each trip is led by an expert and the itinerary features daily diving, learning, and fun. Check out www.REEF.org/trips for more details.
Author: Martha Klitzkie, REEF Director of Operations
We are very excited to welcome two new staff to the REEF Team - Bonnie Barnes and Ellie Place. Both joined our staff based at REEF Headquarters in Key Largo, Florida, in April 2017. Bonnie will serve as REEF's Development Manager, bringing a wealth of experience and passion to our fundraising program. Ellie came to REEF originally as a Marine Conservation Intern in 2016, and we are so happy she has decided to stay. She will be REEF's Conservation Coordinator of the Volunteer Fish Survey Program. More about both of our new staff is below, and you can read about all of our staff here - Staff Bios Page. We feel so lucky to have such a dedicated team. Our staff, together with our amazing volunteers and supporters, ensure that our mission-oriented, marine conservation work can happen.
Bonnie Barnes joins REEF as our Development Manager. Bonnie’s heart is in conservation, whether scuba diving, traipsing through a forest, or swooshing down a mountain, she loves and cares about our environment. Having started her first business at 17 in her hometown of Las Vegas, she eventually found her way to Florida where she owned a marketing company for another 14 years. After earning her MBA in 2006, she jumped head-first into the nonprofit world, leading a conservation organization in Jacksonville, Florida. As an avid diver, she trained to be a member on the Jacksonville Reef Research Team, and, as their Communications Officer, organized the first Artificial Reef conference in the early 90’s at Jacksonville University, in which REEF also participated. For her work in the offshore marine environment, Bonnie was awarded Florida’s Sea Grant Volunteer of the Year Award in 1991. With over 10 years in nonprofit management and cultivation of donors, Bonnie has found her way to the Florida Keys, where she can combine her love of diving with protection of our ocean life by actively engaging and inspiring the public to become involved.
Ellie Place joins REEF as the Conservation Coordinator of the Volunteer Fish Survey Project. She attended Brown University where she earned two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts in Geological Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies. She first started at REEF as a Marine Conservation Intern in the fall of 2016, and enthusiastically joined the staff in the spring of 2017 after serving as an Education Leadership Intern. She grew up in Washington State, halfway between the Puget Sound and the North Cascades, where her passion for exploring and conserving the natural world lead her to REEF. Before moving to Key Largo, Ellie worked as a co-leader for kayaking expeditions in the San Juan Islands and as a lab assistant in an oceanography lab that studied sediment samples from the East China Sea to measure centennial scale climate change. Ellie’s passion for sharing conservation efforts support her role with the Volunteer Fish Survey Project and in expanding its many components. Ellie is a member of REEF’s Advanced Assessment Team for the Tropical Western Atlantic, but has also enjoyed diving in the Pacific Northwest.
Welcome Bonnie and Ellie P!
Author: Janna Nichols, REEF Outreach Coordinator
We have some fantastic Fishinars coming up in the next few months, and we’d like for you to join us. Fishinars, REEF's brand of online webinars, are live, fun, interactive, and educational. Never boring! They last one hour, and you can log on from your home computer or mobile device.
Our next Fishinar in May (Wednesday the 3rd) will focus on “Fish in the Land of Finches: Galapagos”, and will be taught by our Science Director Christy Semmens. After that, shift your focus to a favorite destination of divers, Roatan, when Scott and Patti Chandler teach the Fishes of Roatan on Thursday May 11th.
You can register and get more information on these and other great Fishinars scheduled for 2017 by going to: www.REEF.org/fishinars. ‘Sea’ you online!
