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Volume 6 - Issue 3, November 2006 |
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Reef Check Dedicates This Issue to Eddy Medora Site Spotlight - Isla Natividad, Baja California Reef Check Champion - Mike Guardino Reef Check News
Reef Check Teams in Action Coral Reef Impacts of the 2005 Caribbean Bleaching Event Mark
Your Calendars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tribute to Eddy Medora | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reef Check Establishes Eddy Medora
Memorial Fund Reef
Check Board Member Eddy Medora passed away on October 26, 2006 following a
brief respiratory illness. Eddy was a California kid, who began working in
earnest in the 7th grade playing lead guitar for “the Renegades”, a
garage band that rehearsed in his parent’s home in Pacific Palisades.
Later Eddy became the lead guitarist and saxophone player for “the
Sunrays”, playing all over West Los Angeles. In 1963 Eddy met Carl and
Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, who introduced the Renegades to their
father, Murray Wilson, who was looking for another group to manage. A
string of hits followed, including “I Live for the Sun” and
“Andrea,” and were released by Tower Records. The band played (singing
in five part harmonies) under several names, including “The Snowmen”,
“The Rangers”, and finally “The Sunrays”. For great photos and
stories about Eddy’s early life please visit the Sunrays website at http://sunrays718.tripod.com/id1.html
and an interview at http://www.earcandymag.com/sunrays.htmThe
Sunrays performed with a seemingly endless list of music greats, including
the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, the
Doors, Neil Sedaka, the Loving Spoonful, the Righteous Brothers and Neil
Diamond. They played such venues as the Hollywood Bowl, Disneyland and the
Cow Palace, and were featured on every major television show devoted to
music during the fifties and sixties, including Dick Clark’s American
Bandstand, Casey Kasem’s Shebang, and “Hollywood-a-Go-Go”. Eddy’s
first job was working as a designer at Barker Brothers Design Centers, and
his clients included Lorne Green of Bonanza fame, Jimmy Durante, Dean
Martin and Bob Hope. Eddy’s talents as a painter were developed more
recently, and he was in high demand for his portraits in Beverly Hills.
His work can be seen at: http://medorapaintings.tripod.com.
Eddy was very generous, and donated a number of his paintings to Reef
Check auctions, including Reef Rescue ‘06.
Eddy
will be remembered forever for his irascible humor and for the wonderful
stories that were made even richer through the prism of Eddy’s humor and
love of life. At the request of his lovely wife Joann and his beautiful
children Nicole and Christopher we have established a Memorial Fund that
will carry his name and that will be used to fund the Reef Check
California program so that we can continue to care for the reefs where
Eddy used to play. We will also name a California reef survey site after
Eddy and carry out an annual survey there in his name. If you would like
to make a tax deductible donation, you may use the PayPal button at www.reefcheck.org/news/eddy.asp or simply send your check to Reef Check
Foundation, P.O. Box 1057, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 and make a note
that your gift is to support the Eddy Medora Memorial Fund. |
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| Site Spotlight- Isla Natividad, Baja California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By
Mary Luna We
wish to thank the Buzos y Pescadores and community of Isla Natividad for
their generous hospitality and dedication to marine conservation, as well as
COBI for organizing such a wonderful project. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reef Check Champion- Mike Guardino | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Reef Check News | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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New Staff at Reef Check Headquarters Cori Kane - Program Manager
First EcoAction Training of Trainers Held
in Mexico Reef Check Inhabitants Show in Las Vegas
A Big Hit The
result was a spectacular show and a very enthusiastic crowd. Video clips
and photos from the night can be viewed online at http://www.reefcheck.org/events/inhabitants/inhabitants.asp.
Plans are already being made to incorporate elements of the show into
future Reef Check events. Special thanks to all the participants,
Chameleon Studios, and sponsor Oronoco Rum which donated a mojito bar for
the night! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Corner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By
RC California Director, Dr. Craig Shuman
Under Cyndi Dawson’s fearless leadership, the central coast teams surveyed 12 sites in preparation for the implementation of the new network of marine reserves approved by the California Fish and Game Commission on August 15, 2006 (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/MRD/mlpa/commissiondocs.html). Not to be outdone, the teams in southern California completed surveys of 8 sites in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties for a total of 20 new survey sites in our first year!!! Another
exciting development is the inclusion of several new partners into the Reef
Check California network.
We wish to welcome the dive programs of Humboldt State University,
the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Carmel High School, Santa Barbara Channel Keeper,
the University of California Santa Barbara Research Experience and Education
Facility, and the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific as our first
institutional partners to join the monitoring network.
Each of these groups has completed at least one Reef Check California
survey and/or training and many will be offering the course to their divers
on an ongoing basis.
Finally, I am pleased to announce that our first California brochure
has been printed.
Thanks to the generous folks at Quiksilver, our brochure will help to
spread the word about our program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reef Check Teams in Action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Reef Check Philippines Hosts
“Visions of the Reef” to Garner Support for Local Reefs On
September 15, Reef Check Philippines organized "Visions of the
Reef", a fundraising photo and film exhibit held at the Rockwell Loft
in Manila. The event aimed to increase public awareness of the dazzling
beauty of the country’s coral reefs and the need to protect them, and to
raise funds for Reef Check’s activities such as training divers and
fishermen to monitor reef health and the establishment of marine protected
areas. “Visions
of the Reef” featured the stunning and award-winning photos of
underwater photographer Gutsy Tuason and the beautiful footage from
cinematographers Marissa Floirendo and Carina Escudero. Ballet
Philippines, Cynthia Alexander and Pinikpikan provided musical
performances. Dr. Domingo Ochavillo, Executive Director of Reef Check
Philippines, gave an overview of Reef Check activities to conserve coral
reefs. The guest speaker, Mr. Federico Lopez, President of First Gen,
spoke eloquently on the need for corporate responsibility for marine
conservation especially since the Philippines sits at the global center of
coral reef biodiversity. The event was hosted by celebrity Paolo Abrera
and actress-model Angel Aquino, and presenters included Studio 23,
Conservation International Sulu-Sulawesi Conservation Program, DHL,
Jewelmer, Aquamundo, First Philippine Conservation Inc., Newsbreak,
Hewlett Packard, Manila Bulletin, The Radio Partners Inc., and Campaigns
Social Response. Other sponsors included Sea Air, TechnoMarine, Tris-Star,
Direct Aquatic, Cuervo, CPKelco, Davao Pearl Farm Resort, El Nido Resorts,
Solana Bezo Resort, Alegre Beach Resort, Ocean Adventure, Captn Gregg's
Resort, Taal Lake Yatch Club, Oceana Resort and Garden Spa. The
celebrities and public figures who lent their time for the event’s cause
included Margie Moran-Floirendo, Richard Guttierez, Amanda Griffin and the
environmental policy senator Jamby Madrigal. Reef Check Australia Partners with
Australian Government Reef Check and Earthwatch Join Forces for
Thailand Expeditions If
you are interested in joining one of the 2007 Thailand expeditions already
scheduled, visit http://www.earthwatch.org/site/pp2.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&b=1170773
for more information and booking details. Monitoring South Sinai’s
Coral Reefs
The
‘Dahab Reef Monitoring’ will not only provide core data for the global
Reef Check database, but
is particularly intended to serve as a basic tool in conservation
management of the South Sinai coastal environment. The data will provide
greater detail, specificity and validity for interpretation, better
detectability of changes in reef health and thus assist resource managers
of the protected areas in design and implementation of environmental
action plans. The procedures of the ‘Dahab Reef Monitoring’ are by no
means restricted to Dahab and its surroundings, but may well be applied to
other reef sites both along the Gulf of Aqaba and further sites along
Egyptian Red Sea shores. For information or to find out how you can help: office.dahab@redsea-ec.org Reef Check 2006 in the Negril Marine
Park, Jamaica Preliminary
data analyses indicated a range of coral cover from a high of
approximately 23% at El Punto de Negrilo to a low of 1% at Sandy Cay.
Cover by Nutrient Indicator Algae (NIA) ranged from 61% at the El Punto de
Negrilo shallow site to a low of 15% at the Little Bay deep site. Bloody
Bay, the best reef site selected, had a hard cora Fish
populations were low at all sites. Fish from the Haemulidae (Grunts)
family were observed more often than other families, followed by fish from
the Lutjanidae (Snapper) family. At Bloody Bay, the fish moved towards the
diver suggesting that there was fish feeding activity in the area. Due to
the high incidence of spear fishing in Jamaica, fish generally move away
from divers. |
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| Coral Reef Impacts of the 2005 Caribbean Bleaching Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coral Reef Impacts of the 2005 Caribbean
Bleaching Event
In
2005 a major coral bleaching event occurred in the Caribbean Sea, on par
with some of the largest bleaching events on record.
In addition to scheduled surveys, after the initial onset of
bleaching, Reef Check teams were deployed to conduct surveys and record
the potential effects of the major bleaching event.
Over 185 Reef Check surveys were conducted between January 2004 and
June 2006 in 16 different countries and territories within the Caribbean
region before, during and after the bleaching event. As a result, Reef
Check has been able to determine the extent of coral bleaching and
mortality in the Caribbean Sea.
On
a Caribbean-wide basis, the effects of the 2005 bleaching event were
significant. The
percentage of bleached corals per 100m2
of reef ranged from 2 to 62%.
Bleaching occurred from depths of 2 to 12 meters, indicating that
even mid-depth corals were affected by the increased sea surface
temperatures. One
of the biggest concerns regarding coral bleaching events is coral
mortality. Corals
have the ability to survive after becoming bleached, but if the stress
that causes bleaching occurs for too long or is too intense, these corals
will eventually die. Of
the corals surveyed, mortality ranged from 4 to 15% Caribbean-wide.
While
overall bleaching was high (up to 62% overall with some reefs experiencing
100%), mortality was relatively low, ranging from 4 to 15% as a result of
the 2005 Caribbean bleaching event.
Proposed mechanisms may depend on the resiliency of the coral
species themselves. Massive
or mounding corals may be less susceptible to the effects of bleaching
than branching corals.
As a result, if major bleaching events continue to occur, there
could be potential shifts in dominant corals to those that are best able
to resist bleaching and subsequent mortality.
This can be detected already in different parts of the world.
By contrast, the 1998 Indo-Pacific event resulted in approximately
95% mortality in corals at some locations.
Caribbean reefs are dominated by massive corals and have
experienced lower mortality rates than those observed in the Indo-Pacific.
As
a result of the hard work and numerous surveys conducted by Reef Check
teams throughout the Caribbean, we have been able to successfully evaluate
the effects of the 2005 bleaching event.
The data received from these teams have been provided to groups
such as the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) for further analysis
and publication. Detailed
results have also been presented at the 3rd
annual International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management
Symposium,
which was held in Cozumel in October. We greatly appreciate the efforts of teams in the following countries for their extra surveying efforts: the Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Florida, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, the Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the US Virgin Islands. Without teams like these Reef Check could not achieve its primary goal: to reverse the coral reef crisis and to provide ecologically sound and financially sustainable solutions for local communities worldwide.
Before =
January 2004 to August 2005. During = August
thru December 2005. After =
January to May 2006. |
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| Mark Your Calendars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Reef Check Hawai’i’s Luau With The
Stars: December 11, 2006
Biosphere
Expeditions Organizes Survey Trips to Honduras: March 18-30 & April 1-13, 2007 The
Cayos Cochinos form part of the world’s second largest barrier reef
system, known as the Meso-American Barrier Reef, and have been identified
as one of the key sections of the barrier reef system to preserve. Data
from this survey will be compared to that of other parts of the Meso-American
Barrier Reef System and to reefs worldwide. For more information contact
Erin McCloskey at northamerica@biosphere-expeditions.org or call toll free
(800) 407-5761. See www.biosphere-expeditions.org/honduras for more
details. Maldives
EcoExpedition: July 28 - August
10, 2007
The
next survey trip is in January 2007, and the following one (with spaces
available) will be from July 28th to August 10th 2007. You can book now
at: http://www.scubascuba.com/ Visit
our site for further information and to download reports: http://www.mcsuk.org/mcsaction/diverspages/coral+reef+surveys+with+mcs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Support Reef Check | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Looking
to make the most of your diving and snorkeling experience? Then take
the Reef Check Underwater guide with you. More than just a standard
fish ID sheet, the RC Underwater Field guide has photos and key facts
on over 50 different reef species, allowing you to fully explore and
understand life on the world’s coral reefs. It’s like taking a
marine biologist with you on every dive. There is also a slate and
pencil so you can record what you see and contribute valuable data on
the health of the world’s coral reefs. Order yours today. Your
diving will never be the same. Reef
Check Adventures
$9.95*
Quantity _________
Sign up for a $50 membership and get a free T-shirt or hat!!
________________________________________________________________________
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Email
or Detach & Mail to: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Reef Check: Saving
Reefs Worldwide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The
Reef Check Foundation |
Eddy
was best known in the entertainment community as the beloved National
Marketing Director for the Walt Disney Company, where he worked from 1970
until his retirement in 2000. In his thirty years at Disney Eddy met and
befriended all of Hollywood, and his passing has left every one of his
friends and family with a heavy heart and endless memories of Eddy’s wit
and charm. Eddy’s lively good humor was a constant source of energy and
laughter at Board Meetings and events. He was one of the key designers of
the “Inhabitants” Las Vegas show and our annual Reef Rescue event. His
advice on marketing and sales was invaluable in the development of the
Reef Check EcoAction program that includes a variety of books and
educational programs.
In August, Reef Check
California’s Dr. Craig Shuman and Mary Luna traveled to Isla Natividad,
Baja California as part of a training expedition organized by 
The next day the team
practiced the invertebrate and algae surveys at a shallow reef with a dense
kelp bed. The visibility was good and the sea life abundant. Kelp bass and
sargo were so abundant that you could see them from the surface with a mask
and snorkel. Our urchin calipers were rendered useless because the
invertebrates were much larger than those found back home. After four days
of training, the team set out to dive in the reserve at La Punta Prieta.
Reef Check’s work was done; Craig was now diving as an observer and the
fishermen were laying transects and conducting the surveys.
This
month we are proud to feature Mike Guardino as our Reef Check Champion. He
has been an integral part of Reef Check California’s great success
during our first year of sampling. Mike is a certified PADI instructor and
a teacher at Carmel High School where he has taught a Subtidal Marine
Research course to students since 1998. The students learn to identify an
extensive list of local marine algae, invertebrates and fish, as well as
basic scientific sampling techniques.
Jennifer
Pietro is the Director of Development for Reef Check. Ms. Pietro is an
experienced executive, with over twenty-five years of experience in
private sector marketing and nonprofit administration, development and
public relations. She received her Master of Science degree in Management
from Lesley College Graduate School, completed her Internship at Harvard
Business School, and received her undergraduate degree from the University
of California, Berkeley with Phi Beta Kappa honors. She has held senior
management and development positions at the University of California, Los
Angeles, the Fulfillment Fund, Hathaway Children and Family Services, and
the Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families, as well as in private sector
marketing for Energy and Environmental Engineering, Inc. She is a
certified NAUI Open Water Scuba Diver since 1982 and has traveled
extensively, diving recreationally throughout the South Pacific, the
Atlantic and the Caribbean.
Reef
Check has officially launched our new EcoAction program with an October
training in Cozumel, Mexico, organized by RC Mexico Coordinator Gabriela
Nava and supported by the 
In
September, 
It
is hard for me to believe that our first official field season is behind us.
In eighteen short months (trust me, they flew by) we applied our tropical
model of community monitoring to the temperate waters of California.
k Thailand, led the expedition
starting with a training session in the survey method. Several reefs
within the Mu Koh Chumphon National Marine Park were surveyed and the team
participated in a workshop and many stimulating discussions on the topic
of Marine Protected Areas in Southeast Asia. The diverse group shared
their experiences with marine conservation in their respective countries.
Many thanks to Earthwatch, HSBC, Kim Obermeyer, as well as Reef Check
Europe coordinator Georg Heiss who participated in earlier expeditions.
Reef
scientists at the Red Sea Environmental Centre (RSEC) in Dahab (South
Sinai, Gulf of Aqaba), are currently observing a human impact on the reefs
of Dahab of apparently substantial magnitude. Their observations are based
on sightings from numerous dives, snorkelling transects and near-shore
inspections and reveal almost daily violations of National Parks'
regulations. Frequent violations include net and line fishing within reef
areas, mechanical coral damage by fishermen as well as recreational
snorkelers and divers, and solid waste pollution. Due to these sightings,
the scientists felt a pressing need for thorough documentation of the
overall health status of the coral reefs and their linked habitats.
It is clear that such a monitoring effort demands excellent skills from
the volunteers. There are some eligibility criteria, such as diving
experience and adequate biological knowledge. Experience from former
participation in Reef Check surveys will add to one’s qualification, but
is not a must. Training is provided and the identification skills of each
participant are tested before the start of the surveys to ensure success
of the monitoring campaign and the reliability of the results. 
As
part of an effort to improve coral reef monitoring and reporting on the
status of coral reefs in Jamaica, a team of scientists and volunteers led
by the 
l cover of 14% at the
shallow site and a NIA percentage of 24% and 40% at shallow and deep
sites, respectively. The revision in the Reef Check methodology to include
all algae in the NIA category has resulted in a dramatic increase in NIA
readings for Bloody Bay.
Hurricanes,
El Ni
Please
join us for a very special private event on December 11th, beachside at
the 
Pacific
Underwater Guide with Slate & Pencil
