by Reef To Rainforest | Mar 17, 2014 | Fish, Science
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MsKh2LaIew Aurelia Jellyfish Aquariums from Reef-Eden International are the newest jellyfish aquariums on the market. Working in collaboration with Tunze, the Aurelia Jellyfish Aquariums are manufactured in the UK and come in two configurations; a 16.9″ desktop cube (Aurelia 80) and a 24″ standalone cube (Aurelia 220). An even larger model (Aurelia 650) is slated for release in April 2014. Reef-Eden is also a UK-based source for the live tropical-strain Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) meant to be displayed in these aquariums. Reef-Eden is currently seeking overseas distribution as well. For more information on these and other Reef-Eden products, visit the Reef-Eden International website. by Reef To Rainforest | Mar 14, 2014 | Conservation, Fish, Science
How close are we? “This Close”! It occurred to me that sometimes we use the phrase “this close” in idle conversation, often holding up our fingers perhaps a centimeter apart, as if to give an actual indication of dimension when what we’re really trying to convey is is not something so physically concrete. Instead, we’re talking about missing the mark by “that much”, 9/10ths of the way, the slimmest of margins. We’re talking about a cry from the back seat, demanding to know “are we there yet?” with 10 minutes left on the car ride. In other words, “This Close” might be something best summed up as simply a goal not met, an accomplishment narrowly avoided, also known as hearbreaking disappointment, but on the edge of greatness all the same. Or my personal favorite twist on a classic phrase, “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” (yes you read that correctly)! The recent butterflyfish larviculture accomplishments by Frank Baensch & the Hawaii Larval Fish Project are nothing short of groundbreaking, but a captive-bred Butterflyfish is not here just yet. by Admin | Mar 10, 2014 | Conservation, Fish, Science
Dr. Clyde Tamaru and Ms. Karen Brittain of the University of Hawaii are important partners in Rising Tide Conservation. Karen has been focusing on looking at all things related to broodstock management, egg collecting and larval rearing for the Bandit Angelfish (Apolemichthys arcuatus). Back in December, Reed Morgan led his Boy Scout troop in building the first phase of our new microalgae culture area, which is part of Reed’s Eagle Scout project. The older boys built and painted a bench for the new algae cylinders. They constructed a wood frame and assembled and attached light fixtures to the frame. They made a PVC airline to the cylinders including drilling and tapping the air valves. The younger boys moved and spread gravel in the area fronting the hatchery that becomes slippery in the winter. I was very impressed with how hard they worked and how helpful they were towards each other! We had to wait for backordered bulkhead fittings for the cylinders so did not get to fully complete the project that day. The fittings are here now and Reed completed the project in January. This project now allows us to grow five 100 liter cylinders of algae in the space we formerly had room for one 200 liter rectangular algae tank. This gives us many more options for growing what we need and is greatly appreciated. Also appreciated is the loan of the cylinders from the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources. by Fused Jaw | Mar 5, 2014 | Conservation, Fish, Science, Seahorses
Hippocampus mohnikei found during Thailand survey. My name is Lindsay and I’m a PhD candidate and researcher with Project Seahorse. I study seahorses in their natural habitat to understand threats to seahorses and ultimately aid in conservation efforts. I’m currently working in Thailand and wanted to share a little bit about my current research. Last year I spent eight months in Thailand gathering baseline information on seahorse populations along the Andaman (western) coast. The first month I spent building relationships with my new Thai partners and training my research assistants. In the three months that followed, I searched for seahorses by diving and snorkeling at various locations to determine several ideal locations for future research. The results of our intensive searches for seahorses yielded only eight individuals, an unexpectedly low number for the area surveyed. On a positive note, two of these individuals were sightings of a seahorse species never before seen on the Andaman coast; the Japanese Seahorse Hippocampus mohnikei. This was a very exciting discovery – and I’m in the final stages of submitting a paper discussing the increase in range of this species. Hippocampus mohnikei among seagrass. The overall low numbers of seahorses found in our initial survey lead me to question why we found so few seahorses. Was it because we were surveying in the wrong habitats? Using inappropriate methods (Even though they had worked elsewhere)? Or was there so much fishing, and therefore accidental capture of seahorses in fishing gear, there were few seahorses remaining in the areas surveyed? Understanding how to answer these questions has now become the central question to my PhD research. Not to be discouraged, I spent the next four months interviewing fishermen, asking for their input on how often they catch seahorses, what habitats they live in, and creating maps where seahorses can are found. With this information, I have been able to identify many locations on the Andaman coast where fishers report high occurrences of seahorses. I’m now starting my second field season, in which I will test the efficiency of different underwater sampling methods. By searching in areas where divers and fishers have reported sighting seahorses, I can evaluate what conditions increase the likelihood of finding seahorses as well as determine which methods are the best for sampling. Hippocampus trimaculatus found during survey. By combining the data from fishers regarding the incidental capture rate of seahorses along side the mapping of fishing grounds; I will now be able to estimate how many seahorses are captured by fishers each year. This finally allows me to assess if there is a link between fishing and low numbers of seahorses. I’ve just returned to Thailand and have started my second year of research (diving) this week. Our first site is a place in Phuket called Kata Beach – where several dive instructors have reported constant seahorse sightings over the past six months. We’ve been diving here for a week so far and have seen six seahorses – mostly Hippocampus kuda and Hippocampus spinosissimus! Looks like this season is off to a good start. Thanks again to everyone who helped support my research last year. It was an exciting and challenging year and I’m looking forward to more seahorse adventures in 2014. Lindsay is raising funds to support her assistant’s salary. Assistants are the unsung heroes of conservation research and dedicated field assistants are priceless. They willingly put up with the demands of field research – long hours, remote locations, and physical exhaustion with little financial reward. Working in a foreign country can challenging; a local assistant knows his or her community, and will help build bridges between researchers and their communities. Donate ifyou can, and please share the link:https://experiment.com/projects/searching-for-seahorses-sustainability This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2014 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Conservation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. by Reef To Rainforest | Mar 4, 2014 | Corals, Events, Fish, Science
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHcsg3dnass Transcript of RESILIENCE, narrated by Bruce Carlson, Ph.D. Few places on earth captivate our sense of wonder as much as coral reefs. But how stable and enduring are coral reefs? Violent tropical storms frequently destroy fragile coral skeletons, but broken branches quickly sprout new growth. Coral reefs are resilient and adapted to recover from these natural events, but what happens when humans tip the balance? Let me show you two examples in Fiji. For centuries Fijians have harvested marinelife without serious harm to their reefs, but near the capital city of Suva there are may more people fishing. Let’s look more closely at this reef
