by Rich Ross | May 12, 2014 | Corals, Equipment, Fish, Science
Checking in for a 14-hour flight is always a good time. Checking in for a 14-hour flight with 11 items (three suitcases, five Action Packers, two bags, and Steinhart Director Bart Shepherd’s guitar) between three people is an amazingly good time. We started planning for this expedition in earnest five weeks ago, and considerable effort went into making sure our bags were under size and weight limits—a not insignificant task when equipment needed for the expedition includes Bobbit-worm catching devices, a series of newly designed hyperbaric chambers (for decompressing fish hand-collected below 300 feet), a ton of SCUBA and rebreather gear, and myriad other critical items needed to collect and ship live fish and corals from the Philippines back to Golden Gate Park. As it turned out, our packing efforts were worth the time we put into them, as all of our luggage was deemed to be within weight limits. Sadly, though, there was one piece of luggage that stayed in San Francisco because it couldn’t be hand-carried onto the plane, and we were scared it wouldn’t make it through the checked baggage experience. Oh guitar, we will miss you. The first aquarium team arrived safely at the Anilao Beach Club and enjoyed a delicious breakfast overlooking the Verde Island Passage. As soon as our luggage (which arrived in Manila in great shape, but is currently stuck in traffic) arrives on-site we’ll begin setting up scuba gear and animal holding. Then, the real work begins. —Rich Ross, Aquatic Biologist by Matthew Stansbery | May 7, 2014 | Conservation, Corals, Invertebrates, Travel
In an ongoing effort to understand the effects of ocean warming scientists have made yet another breakthrough in determining which reefs are more susceptible to increases in temperature. Tracking patterns of decline and measuring recovery rates of reefs throughout 291... by Matthew Stansbery | May 5, 2014 | Conservation, Corals, Reef
Researchers from The University of Western Australia, CSIRO and the University of San Diego teamed up recently to discover how the corals from Australian reefs are coping with changing water conditions.… by Robert Loren | Mar 5, 2014 | Conservation, Corals, DIY, Invertebrates, Science
Although notoriously intolerant of tissue damage, the beautiful Heliofungia actiniformis is an exciting addition to any reef display. Willing to test this coral’s vitality, I made an attempt to propagate... by Reef To Rainforest | Feb 4, 2014 | Conservation, Fish, Industry, Invertebrates, Opinion, Science
Fish catch for the table: reef-side native people depend on their local waters for food and income. Landmark new paper says that a sustainable marine aquarium trade may be a key to the future of healthy coral reef areas By Ret Talbot The fate of coral reefs worldwide is now a well-publicized, front-page, six o’clock news crisis. In fact, three marine scientists just published a landmark paper that leads with this daunting proclamation: “Coral reefs are at the brink of a global, system-wide collapse.” Lead author of the paper, Dr. Andrew L. Rhyne: “Ending cyanide fishing and effective trade monitoring are necessary and critical short-term gains for the marine aquarium trade.” Ending cyanide fishing and effective trade monitoring are necessary and critical short-term gains. For those involved in the keeping of marine aquaria, it is logical—perhaps even imperative—to wonder whether or not embattled reef ecosystems can sustain fisheries pressure in addition to all the other stressors they face. Often the heated arguments come down to these two points of contention: 1. Is it possible to harvest live fishes and invertebrates from coral reefs in a sustainable manner?
