Author: Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., REEF Director of Science
We are excited to share a new scientific paper published last month in the journal PLoS ONE that included REEF data - Global Population Trends and Human Use Patterns of Manta and Mobula Rays, by Christine Ward-Paige, Brendal Davis, and Boris Worm. Despite being the world’s largest rays and providing significant revenue through dive tourism, little is known about the population status, exploitation, and trade volume of mobulids (Manta and Mobula species). There is anecdotal evidence, however, that mobulid populations are declining, largely due to the recent emergence of a widespread trade for their gill rakers. Researchers from Dalhousie University and eShark.org used expert divers’ observations from two citizen science programs, REEF's Volunteer Fish Survey Project and eShark.org, to describe global manta and devil ray abundance trends and human use patterns. The study highlights the relative rarity of aggregation sites on a global scale and reveals that many populations appear to be declining. The authors warn that newly emerging fisheries for the rays gill-‐rakers likely exceed their ability to recover. The study also demonstrates the deficiency of official catch reports, as only four countries have ever reported landing manta or devil rays– Indonesia, Liberia, Spain, and Ecuador. However, numerous diver reports compiled in the paper illustrate that many other countries are regularly landing and selling these rays without reporting.
The paper can be viewed online here. A complete listing of all papers that have featured REEF data can be found online here.
Author: Sasha Medlen, REEF Membership Coordinator
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.
This month we highlight Joe Gaydos, Ph.D., an avid REEF volunteer in Washington State and Director of the SeaDoc Society (a REEF Field Station). Joe has been a REEF member since 2003 and has conducted 120 surveys. He is a member of the PAC Advanced Assessment Team, and Joe was instrumental in initiating the AAT San Juan Islands Annual REEF Monitoring Project that kicked off this summer (see story in this enews issue). Here's what Joe had to say about REEF:
How are you involved as a REEF member?
I conducted my first REEF survey in Washington State in 2003, and have been doing them ever since. In addition, the program I run, the SeaDoc Society, is a REEF Field Station. We’ve hosted numerous fish and invertebrate identification classes and multiple Great Annual Fish Count dives, but I’m most excited about our new monitoring program collaboration. We’ve partnered with REEF to have Advanced Assessment Team Divers come to the San Juan Islands for annual week-long survey trips. We expect that over the next 8-10 years these data will help us understand long-term sub-tidal changes in the ecosystem.
What inspires you to complete REEF surveys? What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned doing a REEF fish survey?
I live and dive in the Salish Sea, a 17,000 square kilometer inland sea shared by Washington and British Columbia. The data collected by REEF volunteers are valuable to the managers in the region who are working to recovery declining species like Northern Abalone and Rockfish. I love being able to collect data that is meaningful.
In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of REEF’s projects and programs?
As a scientist, I love that the REEF data are collected in a way that is scientifically rigorous. Volunteers are trained and their level reflects their training and experience. Also, it is great that the data are collected and stored in a way that they will always be available for evaluation – even decades from now. This is citizen-science at its finest.
Where is your favorite place to dive?
My favorite place to dive is about 2 miles from my house. It’s a high current area split by an island so you get the benefits of seeing all of the invertebrates that flourish in the current, but you can always dive on one side of the island or the other. The site is familiar, but strikingly beautiful and I always find something new. The water is cold here and people generally expect everything to be dull and they are amazed to see videos or stills of colorful invertebrates and fishes.
Is there a fish (or marine invertebrate) you haven’t seen yet diving, but would like to?
Here, most everybody wants to see a Giant Pacific Octopus – 150 lbs, 2,240 suckers (unless it’s a male, then they only have 2,060) – what’s not to love. But me, I still want to see a Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker. They’re only the size of a golf ball, but dang are they cute. When is Disney going to make a movie starring one of them?! Maybe this year.
Author: Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., REEF Director of Science
Thanks to support from the SeaDoc Society (http://www.seadocsociety.org), REEF has initiated a multi-year monitoring project around the San Juan Islands in Washington State. The goal of the 10-year project is to identify changes in sub-tidal fish and invertebrate communities. The project will use recreational SCUBA divers from REEF's Pacific Advanced Assessment Team (Level 4 and 5 Expert surveyors), conducting about 100 REEF surveys each Fall. The project kicked off in September, with a team of 18 enthusiastic surveyors diving in the cold (49-degree!) but beautiful waters around the San Juan Islands. Data from this long-term project will be used by SeaDoc and other researchers over the coming years to see how well efforts to restore the Salish Sea ecosystem are working. A major mortality event among sunflower sea stars in the region was coincident with this year's monitoring effort. The team was able to provide valuable information to collaborating scientists from Cornell University and Wildlife Conservation Society on sightings of healthy and sick sea stars.
The SeaDoc Society is a program of the Wildlife Health Center at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. It was founded in 1990, and strives to find science-based solutions for marine wildlife in the Salish Sea using a multi-species approach. Dr. Joe Gaydos (see REEF Member Spotlight in this enews issue) is SeaDoc's Director and Chief Scientist. We extend a big thanks to Joe and all of the SeaDoc Society supporters for making this important long-term project possible. We also greatly appreciate the Friday Harbor Laboratory and Bandito Charters for their logistical support
Author: REEF Staff
REEF Field Surveys are a great way to take a dive vacation that counts! We offer trips throughout our project regions. The 2014 trip schedule includes many sites in the Caribbean and Pacific Northwest, as well as several Lionfish Research Expeditions.
One of our featured destinations in 2014 -- Honduras aboard the MV Caribbean Pearl II Liveaboard, June 21-28, 2014. REEF's Director of Science, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, and her husband and reef fish scientist, Dr. Brice Semmens, will lead a great week of diving, learning, and fun! We'll spend the week cruising around the Bay Islands of Honduras aboard the luxurious MV Caribbean Pearl II. We will begin our diving journey in Utila, then explore hidden sea mounts and search for whale sharks enroute to Roatan. After diving in Roatan we will head back to the home port on Utila. The week ends with a walk around the charming town of Utila. The trip costs $2,610 per diver double occupancy, and includes lodging for 7 nights in a Deluxe Cabin with private bathroom, unlimited diving, and all meals and drinks while on board. An additional REEF Program Fee of $300 is added to cover the program costs, seminars, and survey materials. Click here to find out more about this trip. Or visit the REEF Trips page at www.REEF.org/trips to see the complete schedule.
We hope to see you on our Honduras liveaboard trip, or one of our other Field Surveys in 2014! These trips are are a great introduction to fish identification for novice fishwatchers, and a fun way for experienced surveyors to build their life list while interacting with fellow fish watchers.
Author: Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., REEF Director of Science
REEF Staff Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens (Director of Science) and Lad Akins (Director of Special Projects), joined over 300 scientists, resource managers, and fishers at the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) meeting last week in Corpus Christi, Texas. All three of REEF's major programs were represented.
Christy presented a research poster on an analysis of patterns of rarity in fishes in the Caribbean basin using the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project database. Over 90,000 surveys from our citizen science program were used to explore where the rare things are, and why some places seem to have so many more of them than others.
Lad co-chaired a session on Invasive Lionfish, featuring 21 talks on the current state of lionfish research and control efforts in the Atlantic. During this session, REEF Affiliate Scientist, Dr. Stephanie Green, presented her findings on the efficacy of lionfish derbies. Her research shows that one-day derby events like the ones REEF coordinates in Florida and the Bahamas can result in a significant reduction of lionfish densities, up to 70%, over 180 square km, all the result of volunteer teams. Lad and Nova Southeastern University graduate student and upcoming REEF Intern, Adam Nardelli, also presented a research poster on the demographics of participants in the 2013 Key Largo Lionfish Derby.
And finally, REEF Grouper Moon Project collaborators, Dr. Brice Semmens (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) and Dr. Scott Heppell (Oregon State University) both presented talks during the fish spawning aggregation session, and we were also joined by collegues from the Cayman Islands Department of Environment (CIDOE). Brice presented findings from our research using Passive Acoustic Monitoring on a multi-species spawning aggregation on Little Cayman, and Scott presented a theory for why spawning aggregations have collapsed around the world and how our Grouper Moon research can be used to help inform future protection efforts.
Author: Janna Nichols, REEF Outreach Coordinator
Have you joined a Fishinar yet? These popular online REEF webinar training sessions provide fishie fun in the comfort of your own home. Fishinars are free, and open to all REEF members. You need to register for each session you want to attend. No special software is required, just a web browser. Upcoming sessions include:
Spineless Critters Series: Pacific NW Invertebrate ID - While Pacific Northwest waters are not known for their schools of colorful fish, the amazing invertebrate life will blow you away! In these four sessions we'll cover a select group of invertebrates from 8 phyla, all of which are monitored by REEF volunteer divers.
Sponges and Stingers - January 8th, 2014
Gettin' Crabby - January 9th, 2014
Marvelous Molluscs - January 15th, 2014
Stars and Squirts - January 16th, 2014
Squirrels, Soldiers & Cardinals: Seeing Red? Count on It! - January 21, 2014
New Fishinars are always being added. Check out the Webinar Training page (www.REEF.org/fishinars) for the most up-to-date listing and to register for each session.
