Author: Sasha Medlen, REEF Membership Coordinator
REEF is delighted to announce our 2014 Volunteer of the Year, Dawn Vigo. As an enthusiastic member for the past 12 years, she has done over 75 fish surveys on Field Survey trips, and is a Level 3 surveyor in the TWA region. In addition, she’s participated in and helped with many other facets of REEF’s programs and outreach efforts.
Dawn has gone to great lengths to help at many dive shows including the DEMA show in Las Vegas and is a big factor in REEF’s success at Our World Underwater show in Dawn’s hometown of Chicago. She enthusiastically explains about REEF’s programs to show-goers and has a never-ending supply of energy.
If you are a regular attendee of our online webinars (Fishinars) within the past two years, you’ll recognize Dawn as a regular behind-the-scenes staff person helping with technical details or answering your questions.
Dawn has also helped administer Experience Level tests to others, furthering the success of REEF’s Volunteer Fish Survey Project. We are lucky and thankful to have a super volunteer who contributes to REEF in so many ways. Thank you, Dawn!
Author: Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., REEF Director of Science
A recent publication in the scientific journal, Conservation Letters, examined the invasion of lionfish in to the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters. The authors compared traditional reef fish monitoring efforts to less traditional data including the observations of divers through REEF's Volunteer Fish Survey Project and spearfishers. They found that citizen observations documented lionfish 1-2 years earlier and more frequently than the more traditional monitoring efforts. The authors also explored the willingness of spearfishers to help minimize impacts of the invasion by harvesting lionfish. They found that spearfishers who had encountered more lionfish while diving perceived them as more harmful to the habitat than less experienced divers and were also more likely to participate in harvesting initiatives. The authors also report that encouragement from scientists and managers was a far better motivator than the desire to harvest lionfish for personal consumption. This study demonstrates the value of engaging citizens for assessing and responding to large-scale and time-sensitive conservation problems.
The full citation of the paper is: Scyphers, SB, SP Powers, JL Akins, JM Drymon, CW Martin, ZH Schobernd, PJ Schofield, RL Shipp, and TS Switzer. 2014. The Role of Citizens in Detecting and Responding to a Rapid Marine Invasion. Conservation Letters. doi: 10.1111/conl.12127
Visit www.REEF.org/db/publications to see this and all of the scientific publications that have included REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project data.
Author: Paul Humann, REEF Co-Founder and President
Thank you to everyone who supported REEF during our annual fundraising campaign! With your help, we raised enough to continue our critical marine conservation programs in 2015. These programs make a huge IMPACT worldwide and protect iconic species, such as Goliath Grouper, Nassau Grouper, manta and mobula rays, parrotfish, and rockfish. REEF also protects ocean habitats through addressing invasive species like the Indo-pacific Red lionfish.
Saturday, February 28th is the last chance to donate to REEF's annual fundraising campaign - and receive my limited edition Goliath Grouper print. For more information on how I captured this amazing moment, please check out www.REEF.org/impact. Don't miss this opportunity to share a once in a lifetime moment I was lucky enough to witness with these gentle giants of the sea.
Thank you again for your support! We rely on individual donors so we can provide quality data to researchers and scientists who are exploring our underwater world. With your help, I look forward to another year of ocean adventure and discovery!
Author: Heather George, REEF Trips Program Manager
We are excited to announce the first of our 2016 REEF Trips -- a land and sea adventure in the Philippines. On this inagaural REEF trip to the Central Indo-Pacific, we will explore this diverse region by land and by see during two weeks of adventure -- by land, based at the Atlantis Resort in Dumaguete, April 9-16, 2016, and then by sea, aboard the Atlantis Azores Liveaboard, April 16-23, 2016. Join us for either week or both! The area is known for some of the most interesting and beautiful fish and critters to add to your life list, including ghost pipefish, mandarinfish, pygmy seahorses, flamboyant cuttlefish, and much more. Visit the REEF Trips page to see all the details.
During the first week, we'll dive and stay at the all-inclusive Atlantis Resort, featuring first class accommodations and an on-site restaurant, spa, camera room, and five star PADI dive operation. On April 16th, we will transfer to Puerto Princesa, where we will board Atlantis Azores. Our at-sea itinerary includes the isolated Tubbataha Reefs Natural Marine Park, which features dramatic underwater terrain, incredible biodiversity, and megafauna such as sharks and manta rays. The liveaboard package includes double occupancy twin share accommodations, all diving (up to 4 dives a day), all meals and snacks on board, local soft drinks, beer and wine.
The Philippines archipelago is home to more than 3,000 species of fish, and the dive sites combine unbelievable muck-diving with pristine coral reefs and shoals of schooling fish. The diving, accommodations, and amenities are all sure to make for a once in a lifetime adventure - sign up early to secure your space! Both weeks will be led by our Director of Science, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens.
We have a few special offers: REEF members who sign up for both weeks will only pay one REEF Program Fee of $300 (a $300 savings), and discounted early bird prices for booking before June 1st. Visit the Philippines Land and Sea Package page to view all of the details. We'll be announcing more 2016 trips soon. Keep an eye on www.REEF.org/trips for more details.
Author: Martha Klitzkie, REEF Director of Operations
We are excited to introduce Ellie Splain, who recently joined REEF staff at headquarters in Key Largo, FL. Ellie will serve as REEF's Education Program Manager. Ellie is no stranger to REEF, as she was a REEF Marine Conservation Intern in the summer of 2013. From a small rural town in Illinois, Ellie attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in FIsh and Wildlife Conservation. Despite growing up landlocked, Ellie has always been drawn to the ocean (and the good weather of South Florida doesn't hurt!). In addition to the REEF internship, during her undergraduate time, she spent time living in the Turks and Caicos Islands and assisted in REEF lionfish research in the Bahamas. After graduation, she moved back to the Florida Keys, where she earned her dive master rating and worked as a field instructor for Marine Resources Development Foundation. Ellie brings with her experience teaching marine ecology and conservation programs in both a classroom and field setting. Her primary focus at REEF will be education, outreach, and capacity building within the REEF Explorers Program, an informal education program offered to visiting groups of all ages. A big fish welcome to Ellie!
Author: Janna Nichols, REEF Outreach Coordinator
If you haven't participated in one of our free, educational webinars yet, you don't know what you are missing! Known as Fishinars, these hour-long sessions enable you to learn and have fun from the comfort of your living room. Check out the full schedule at www.REEF.org/fishinars. And keep an eye on that space because we are always adding new ones. We recently added a new Fishinar scheduled for March 26th that will cover common fishes and invertebrates found in San Diego's La Jolla Canyon. The remaining schedule includes...
- Hamlets! - Carlos and Allison Estape, March 3rd
- In a Cavern, In a Canyon - Jonathan Lavan, March 26th
- The Fishes of Fiji, Part 1 - Christy Pattengill-Semmens, April 6th
- The Fishes of Fiji, Part 2 - Christy Pattengill-Semmens, April 9th
- Jack Attack - Jonathan Lavan, April 14th
- Snap On, Snap Off - Caribbean Snappers - Jonathan Lavan, May 21st
- More to come!
Explore our Fishinar webpage, register for the sessions you like, and we'll see you online! You can also request viewings of archived Fishinars, a special perk for REEF members. No special software or microphone is required - just a computer with speakers and an internet connection. And did we mention they are FREE to REEF members!
