Turneffe Flats

Today, the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve was declared by Belize's Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, the Hon. Minister Lisel Alamilla. This monumental legislation establishes the Turneffe Atoll as Belize's largest marine reserve bringing improved protection and much needed management to the atoll. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of many individuals including the Turneffe Atoll Trust, The Belize Fisheries Department, Turneffes local fisherman and many more, this 325,000 acre reserve makes it possible to sustainibly manage the unique environmental, economic and social aspects of the Turneffe Atoll. This is a major victory for Belize and for Turneffe. Check it out on Facebook....

TEACHERS: Check out "Dinner at the Reef"

DINNER AT THE REEF - Teachers’ Notes (click for link)

Who is it for?               7-11 year olds

How long will it take? Approx 1 hour. (Depending on group size and how many times you play).

Learning outcomes:   Students learn about food chains in a marine environment, predator‐prey relationships and the fine balance of an ecosystem.

What do you need?   

Teacher resources:	Student resources:	Other resources:
­   Teachers’ notes (including discussion points and a glossary of terms) ­   Event cards	­   3 x sets of Species cards Set 1: Sharks & toothed whales Set 2: Big fish & rays Set 3: Small fish & crustaceans (There are three versions of these Species cards to choose from: detailed, simplified and blank).	­   Straws (or other small objects) to represent algae & plankton ­   A coral reef made up of a row of chairs or stools ­   Internet access (if you are using the ‘blank’ species cards)

WWF's New Website

Our brand new website just launched! Visit worldwildlife.org and explore 90 new species and subspecies pages--each with large, vibrant photos and interesting facts.

Conservation is all about stories--of species saved, landscapes restored, communities engaged and more. We've designed our new website to tell the tales of WWF's work around the world, which we hope will inspire you to join us in pursuit of a harmonious future for nature and humanity.

Last, but not least!

Our last day in the water in Belize was wonderful.  It was filled with a dive/snorkel to the world famous Blue Hole, where the group not only saw the infamous stalactites, but several cruising gray Caribbean reef sharks.  We also had a welcoming committee made up of large black groupers and Bermuda chubs.
On the last dive of the trip, the divers saw bottlenose dolphins, a sea turtle with big remoras, hogfish, an octopus and two large sharks.  We enjoyed a fried chicken lunch on picturesque Half Moon Caye, the first nature preserve in Belize. After lunch, the group walked through the island looking for lizards, iguanas, and hermit crabs.  We climbed up an observation deck to see red-footed boobies and circling frigate birds, that eagerly steal food or unsuspecting chicks out of the nests.  After a long, bouncing boat ride back to the resort, the group cleaned gear and posed for a group photo in the beautiful resort pool.  The trip has been a wonderful learning experience for all of us.  The hurricane teased us, the ocean amazed us, the staff kept us well fed and comfortable and we all enjoyed exploring Turniffe Flats atoll.
Here are a few visitors to the Great Blue Hole....

Very Early Good Morning Thursday

Hi Everyone, Free unlimited bandwidth from 1:00 to 5:00 AM!

Even windier this AM -40-45 mph wind and huge waves again from TS Ernesto! Yesterday morning we had a cooking class in the resort kitchen and a lab activity where we found all kinds of juvenile organisms in coralline red algae.Yesterday afternoon we were able to get out for a snorkel among the mangroves at Crickozeene. Some of the most healthy mangrove roots any of have ever seen!

Have to wait and see what activities may be possible later this morning....

Mangrove Tunicates on a Red Mangrove root

Wednesday AM Lab activity

Pipefish & crab from algae lab

Rachel greets a small Boa that Abel found in the mangrove

Invasive Lionfish on the reef

Trunkfish in Mangrove with small sharksucker

Jack on a dive

Abel finds a toadfish for the snorkelers!

Rose shows the Snorkelers a Donkeydung Seacucumber

Good Morning Wednesday

Just a note to say we are all fine.  the hurricane hit the coast yesterday north of us, and we are still dealing with maybe 30 mph winds (now from the south), lots of rain and waves this morning.  But, the resort is fine with less storm surge today; only had a couple feet of surge yesterday.  (We are 6' above sea level on land here.)  We never lost power or water or A/C.  Plenty of food, and so forth.  The group filled in extra time yesterday with more lectures, reading, and napping.

Not sure what we will do today since the water seems pretty stirred up and murky..... Karen suggests a duck bill craft since we have exhausted the fish charades game!

Good Morning Tuesday

Always a good morning when a hurricane passes north of your location! Weather here is still calm and we have had some hard showers amounting to about an inch of rain. There are some good sized waves crashing on the reef this am but we are planning for water activities this AM and then some lectures this afternoon.....

Bandwidth for internet is not likely to allow for photos... Sorry.

Good Morning Monday

Monday begins with a clear sky and an almost total calm with a "flat" ocean! We are keeping a close eye on Ernesto and expect to have some extra lecture time in a day or so!

The internet is too slow to post photos today but we had really wonderful snorkels and dives yesterday and hope to get some photos up soon.....a highlight for divers was seeing 4 spotted eagle rays on their last dive. The snorkelers saw all three sting rays here and a white spotted toadfish!

Good Morning from Belize!

It's a breezy, no, windy, morning here at Turneffe Flats. The good news is that everyone arrived on time yesterday and with all our bags... We had a good crossing to Turneffe Atoll and saw lots of birds in the mangroves. Most everyone was pretty tired from our early Saturday flights and after a wonderful meal of almond encrusted snapper and Grandma's Chocolate Heaven (cake) we all agreed to forego our scheduled lecture and get some rest.... More later... A few of us did get a chance to enjoy the pool!

Tropical Storm Ernesto

As we put the finishing touches on our packing we keep one eye on Tropical Storm Ernesto!

ICRS Plenary Sessions

The International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS) gathers their leading scientists every four years for a conference. This week the conference was held in Cairns, at the James Cook University. Plenary sessions are available here. I had these playing in the background yesterday afternoon and was especially impressed by Helene Marsh and her work with dugongs (Manatee counterparts) and Peter Kreiva, Nature Conservancy chief scientist. I hope you can get to hear some of these....

Reef Reminiscences

On the occasion of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, held from 9 to 
13 July 2012, in Cairns Australia, the United Nations University Institute for 
Water, Environment & Health (UNU-INWEH) is releasing a colourful 35 page 
brochure containing a series of reminiscences by the older generation of coral 
reef scientists, about particular times and places. The brochure can be 
downloaded as PDF at: http://www.inweh.unu.edu/Coastal/Publications.htm






TME Jamaica participants will appreciate the article about Jamaica by Judith Lang (p. 16).

National Geographic Live! : Brian Skerry: Ocean Soul

Be sure to listen about the message of hope found at 21 minutes into this presentation about MPAs...

Chautauqua Institution

Week Four — July 15–21, 2012

Water Matters

In partnership with National Geographic Society

Water’s importance to life on Earth cannot be overstated: without it, there is none. We are drawn to water also for its simple beauty — the red rays of a setting sun over the sea, snowfall in the glow of streetlights, a river cascading down the face of a cliff, morning fog on Chautauqua Lake. However, much of humanity knows not to take water for granted. This week, join National Geographic at Chautauqua to explore our world of water, locally and globally, from availability, conservation and health concerns to consideration of all living matter, with whom we share this essential, apparently limitless yet ultimately limited resource.

Confirmed Lecturers

Monday 7/16	Tuesday 7/17	Wednesday 7/18	Thursday 7/19	Friday 7/20
Sandra Postel Dennis Dimick	Enric Sala	Sylvia Earle	Brian Skerry	Don Belt

Celebrate World Oceans Day LIVE from the Galápagos with Sylvia Earle and the Golden Shadow

10:00 am EDT, Friday, June 8th - Live Education Webinar

Classrooms and schools are invited to participate in a live presentation by the Living Oceans Foundation’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Andy Bruckner, as he discusses the Foundation’s mission to survey coral reef communities, entitled The Galápagos: a unique field laboratory to assess the effects of climate change on marine environments.

The Galápagos Islands are in a unique oceanic location and are considered to be a living laboratory of evolution. The 19 islands and surrounding waters are characterized by fragmented, isolated landscapes, a high numbers of species found nowhere else in the world, and dramatically variable climatic conditions. During the 1982-83 El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event, most of the coral reefs died and the framework disintegrated to rubble and sand. Remarkably, the reef systems have shown unusually high resilience, rebounding from this catastrophe, with only minimal subsequent damage from the 1997-98 ENSO event. Our research in the Galápagos is helping determine what makes these reefs so resilient, and whether they are likely to survive future climate change perturbations.

Come back on June 8th at 10:00 am EDT for the Live Webinar
with Chief Scientist Dr. Andy Bruckner aboard the Golden Shadow.

3:30 pm EDT Friday, June 8th - Live Conversation with Sylvia Earle

Famed ocean explorer, Sylvia Earle, will have a live conversation from the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History with the researchers on board the Golden Shadow as they discuss the status of the coral reefs in the Galápagos Islands. The Foundation will give an update on their current studies on rare coral reefs at the north of the Galápagos archipelago.  Dr. Earle and the science team will also discuss how the Galápagos species respond to El Niño driven temperature fluctuations and why that may give us hope for corals’ ability to be resilient to future climate change.

 The conversation will include photos and videos of from the seas round Galápagos. Join us online or in person at the Baird Auditorium, Smithsonian Institute’s National museum of Natural History in Washington DC.

Come back on June 8th at 3:30 pm EDT for a
LIVE conversation with Sylvia Earle and the Golden Shadow.

 http://www.livingoceansfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=163&Itemid=499

Scientists Discover Seven New Species of Fish

DNA Sheds New Light on Fishes

Starksia blennies are less than 5 cm (2 inches) in length and generally native to shallow to moderately deep rock and coral reefs in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans. It would have been reasonable to assume that there was little about the group left to discover. Modern DNA barcoding techniques, however, suggested otherwise. While trying to match larval stages of coral reef fish to adults through DNA, the team of scientists from the Smithsonian and Ocean Science Foundation noticed contradictions between the preliminary genetic data and the current species classification. Further investigation revealed that the team was dealing with many species new to science, including the new Starksia blennies. Read more at: Smithsonian Ocean Portal

Bringing Bioluminescence into the Light

Bioluminescence, or cold chemical light made by living creatures, answers a simple question: how can an animal survive in the dark? Making its own light by which it can find food, attract mates or defend itself against predators is an easy fix. This phenomenon has evolved at least 40 times in evolutionary history—a clear indication of how important the trait is for various animals’ survival.
Read more at:

World Oceans Day Event LIVE from the Galapagos!

The Living Oceans Foundation is pleased to present two live presentations from 
the Gal?pagos as part of World Oceans Day, June 8, 2012!
 
On the June 8, 2012 at 3:30PM EST, join the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans 
Foundation and the Ocean Project, featuring "Her Deepness" Sylvia Earle, on a 
live call to the research vessel Golden Shadow in the Gal?pagos.  This 
transcontinental conversation on coral reef research will include photos, videos 
and coral reef news direct from the sub-aquatic research site near Darwin 
Island. Dr. Earle and the science team will discuss current studies on rare 
coral reefs at the north of the Gal?pagos archipelago; how the Gal?pagos species 
respond to El Ni?o-driven temperature fluctuations; and why that may give us 
hope for corals? ability to be resilient to future climate change.

Visit www.livingoceansfoundation.org to view the live webinar or come downtown 
to the Smithsonian's Baird Auditorium in Washington, D.C. to watch LIVE with 
Sylvia Earle. 

In addition, at 10:00AM EST on June 8, LOF Chief Scientists, Dr. Andrew 
Bruckner, will be hosting an education webinar titled ?The Galapagos: A unique 
field laboratory to assess the effects of climate change on marine 
environments.? This webinar is open to all high school students, teachers, and 
members of the public. 

Both events will be streamed from the Living Oceans Foundation website. Visit 
www.livingoceansfoundation.org for more details. Details should be posted this 
week. A flyer is also attached.

Please distribute to others that may be interested.

Sincerely,

Eddie Gonzalez

Education Director
Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
8181 Professional Place, Suite 215
Landover, MD 20785
240-624-2285

The world's second largest coral reef is under threat, off the coast of Belize.

National Geographic Video

The Belize Lionfish Project

Lionfish at The Terrace, Turneffe Atoll. Photo by Blue Harbor.

The spread of lionfish throughout the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Belize is being monitored by ECOMAR and our partners.  In December 2008 after the first lionfish was observed in Belize, ECOMAR raised the alarm and in partnership with the Belize Fisheries Department began educating stakeholders by distributing Lionfish Toolkits that included posters, dip nets and fact sheets. In 2010 ECOMAR partnered with COMPACT and GCFI to increase project activities and to reach a wider audience. In 2011 ECOMAR continued its outreach campaign with the production of many materials with one common message, "Eat Lionfish!"

Read more.....

Some Photos from Our January Visit to Turneff Flats...

 This is a Solitary Gorgonian Hydroid attached to the tip of a Sea Plume. 

Click on any photo to enlarge.

 This Flamingo Tongue was moving to a different Sea Fan for lunch.

A Pederson Cleaning Shrimp with eggs! Note the transparent body and legs.

Half Moon Caye at Lighthouse Reef is home to a Red-footed Boobie rookery. Magnificent Frigate Birds also nest on this caye.

Great Lakes ice cover down 71% since 1973

Ice cover on North America's Great Lakes--Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, and Erie--has declined 71% since 1973, says a new study published in the Journal of Climate by researchers at NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Read More....

Mapping Ancient Civilization

For a quarter of a century, two archaeologists and their team slogged through wild tropical vegetation to investigate and map the remains of one of the largest Maya cities, in Central America. Slow, sweaty hacking with machetes seemed to be the only way to discover the breadth of an ancient urban landscape now hidden beneath a dense forest canopy.
Read more....

Informational Meeting Tonight

An informational meeting will be presented Thursday, March 22, 2012 at the Science Resources Center, 10001 Route 60, Fredonia, NY at 7:00 PM.  For directions or additional information please call Helen Domske, Sea Grant Resource Agent at (716) 645-3610 or Garry Dole, Science Resources Coordinator, Erie 2 BOCES  at (716) 679-3419 or 800-344-9611 ext. 2598 (from 716 area code).

What is a Coral?

Check out these microdocs from Stanford...

And be sure to visit "For Teachers" on the home page.

Referendum Says No to Belize Offshore Oil Exploration

Yesterday was a busy day for the Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage 
as they held the People’s Referendum, as a way to give a voice to many 
who were silenced when signatures were rejected from a petition to host a
 national referendum. People came out by the numbers to vote and the 
results were released today at a press conference in the front yard of 
the OCEANA Belize office. Ninety six percent of the twenty nine thousand
 two hundred and thirty five voters came out, voted no to offshore oil 
drilling while the remaining four percent voted yes.

Read more at Belize Marine Trec 

Ocean Acidification

The Carbon Group at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) works to advance our scientific understanding of the ocean carbon cycle and how it is changing over time. Take four minutes to watch this video presentation....

Participant Funding for Teachers

All awards have been assigned. Call to add your name to the waiting list....

 
TME has been successful in securing funding for five teachers attending the summer workshop. The award amount is $300 each and will be paid with the expectation of completing a Great Lakes Exotic Species activity with your class during the 2012-13 academic year. Please call 716-679-3419 or e-mail for more details. Funding awards will be to the first five eligible teachers submitting enrollment forms with a deposit for the trip.  Enrollment form may be downloaded from the list on the left side of this blog.

Trip Details Set!

The TME Workshop flyer with details and registration information is now available for download in the left margin. We will be staying at Turneffe Flats Resort on Turneffe Atoll in Belize, Central America. Trip dates are August 4-11, 2012.

The cost of the trip does not include airfare this year. Belize City Airport (BZE) is served by most US carriers and this will allow participants to choose their airline as well as flexible travel dates for trip extensions.

Participants may choose from either a snorkeling or diving package at the advertised price. A fishing option is also available for an additional fee. We do not have any grant funding for educators this year.

Please see the "Additional Info" section of the workshop flyer for a presentation date and contact numbers. If you are unable to download the flyer please email: Garrydole@aol.com.

Maybe this is the year you will take the plunge into tropical seas with TME!

TME 2012

Dates for Tropical Marine Ecology 2012 are August 4 to 11, 2012. We have considered several possible locations and now plan to use Turneffe Flats  at Turneffe Atoll in Belize. The final numbers are being worked out and the trip flyer should be available next week! (Jan 31, 2012) Feel free to call for advanced details (716) 679-3419.

Stay tuned for details and downloads....

Green Sea Turtle from TME 2011 trip.