The Integrative Reef Conservation Research Lab’s (CORALIUM) mission is to develop inexpensive best practices for the conservation and restoration of corals & coral reefs.
 

RESTORATION OF THE MONTH: CORALIUM, Puerto Morelos, Mexico

• CORALIUM conducts research on reproductive biology and ecology of corals to improve survival rates of corals at different life stages.

• Develops simple, low-cost techniques to collect coral gametes during spawning, culture corals in the lab, and use coral recruits to restore degraded reefs.

• Educates the public by participating in science fairs, seminars, and conferences. Trains coral restoration practitioners and students on coral reproduction and reef restoration techniques,  and produces free educational materials for teachers, politicians, and academics.

Happy March!  We have been hard at work taking feedback from Reef Futures 2018 to tweak the structure of the CRC to be more inclusive, transparent, and diverse. Stay tuned for more details and opportunities in the next newsletter! Meanwhile, check out our new CRC YouTube Channel to see videos from Reef Futures 2018!   

PARTNER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Join the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS) today and be part of a global team of reef scientists! Only 17 months to ICRS2020.

• Videos from the August 2018 public workshop hosted by the National Academies of Science on Coral Interventions to Increase Resiliency are now available.

• The Reef Resilience Network has hosted a new webinar on sustainable financing for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) with Ramón de León, former manager of the Bonaire National Marine Park. Ramón presents on Reef Support: a simple, robust, and customized tool that offers not only a safe way to receive money, but also access to a growing database of park visitors, a unique ticketing system, and the possibility to generate customized financial reports.  

• Corales de Paz, the Noble Caledonia Charitable Trust, and Nature Seychelles are inviting leaders from the West Indies Ocean region to apply for its Leaders in Coral Reef Restoration Training Workshop, to be held at the Reef Rescuers Centre for Ocean Restoration Awareness & Learning (CORAL) in Praslin Island (Seychelles) June 1-10, 2019.

• The XPRIZE Foundation seeks further input for the guidelines and requirements for the upcoming coral restoration prize. Join the online community to review and comment on the guidelines and sign up to be a competitor, judge, advisor, or sponsor.

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENTS  

• The Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology is looking for a new Director. Applying before March 29, 2019 is highly recommended. Contact Darren Lerner (lerner@hawaii.edu) with questions.

• Coral Vita is looking for a Coral Restoration Specialist to aid their efforts in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

• The Mote Marine Lab’s Reef Restoration Program is seeking interns.

• Grupo Puntacana Foundation is looking for a temporary Hatchery Intern at their facility in the Dominican Republic. Please contact Victor Galvan (vgalvan@puntacana.com) if interested.

• Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire is looking for an Assistant Coordinator to develop new and innovative ways to restore reefs that are supported by research collaborations and shared worldwide. Email applications to coordinator@reefrenewalbonaire.org.

• The partnership among NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee, and Nova Southeastern University seeks a National Coral Reef Management Fellow in Florida, USA, to build the next generation of coral reef conservation leaders and strive to address current capacity gaps, as well as build long-term management capacity in the U.S. jurisdictions by addressing local coral reef management needs.

• Iberostar Group’s Wave of Change movement is looking for a Science Communicator to help translate the oceans biggest problems to clients and staff. The position will be based in Miami, Florida (USA).

FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The International Coral Reef Society announces the Ruth Gates Memorial Award and six Graduate Fellowships.  Applications due 11 March 2019 and 15 May 2019 respectively.

• The Mote Marine Lab has scholarships available.

 UPCOMING MEETINGS:

• May 7-9 (Queensland, Australia): Australian Coral Reef Society (ACRS) Conference 2019. Abstracts due March 15.

• May 15-17 (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic): 4th Caribaea Initiative Research & Conservation Conference covers coastal resilience and coral reef restoration. Abstracts due 15 March 2019.

• May 20-24 (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic): 39th Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean (AMLC) meeting hosted by the Grupo Puntacana Foundation- special session on Marine Connectivity in the Caribbean. Early Registration is open. Check out AMLC’s Facebook page for more information on student travel awards and grants-in-aid.  

• Jul 29-Aug 2 (Cartagena, Colombia): 7th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals. Early Registration and abstract submission is open.

• Sep 9-13 (Berlin, Germany): 5th Young Earth Scientists Network (YES) Congress 2019.  

• Sep 30 - Oct 3 (Berlin, Germany): Wildlife Research and Conservation 2019 (WRC2019) an exchange of ideas between wildlife scientists studying life-history and phenotypic plasticity, conservation genetics, assisted reproduction, ethics linked to management, and more. Organised by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria.

• Nov 3-7 (Mobile, Alabama): 25th Biennial Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Conference.

MARCH 2019 MEDIA ROUNDUP

Email coral.restoration@noaa.gov to have your news & research included.

For the kids! Any environmentalist with children knows that high quality, engaging resources for children are hard to find. Behold two new items. One written and designed by the CRC’s own genius logo designer!!

Research:

• Bachtiar, I., Suharsono, Damar, A. et al. (2019). Practical Resilience Index for Coral Reef Assessment. Ocean Science Journal: May pp. 1-11. doi.org/10.1007/s12601-019-0002-1

• Barshis. DJ. (2018).  High-frequency temperature variability mirrors fixed differences in thermal limits of the massive coral Porites lobata. Journal of Experimental Biology: 221. jeb188581 doi: 10.1242/jeb.188581

• Hutchings, P., Kingsford, M. & Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2019). The Great Barrier Reef: Biology, Environment and Management: Second Edition. Posted in: Arc Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies. February 19, 2019.

• Tortolero-Langarica, JJT. et al (2019). Accelerated recovery of calcium carbonate production in coral reefs using low-tech ecological restoration. Ecological Engineering, 128: 89-97.

News:

• O’Brien, N. (Jan. 31). Is coral gardening going to save South Pacific reefs from bleaching?

• Yes! Weekly News Release ( Feb. 5). Greensboro Science Center Aquarist Participates in Prestigious Coral Restoration Workshop.

• Kapherr, HV. (Feb. 6). Kimpton Angler's offers excursions to its adopted coral reef.

• Cross, L. (Feb. 13).  Can the Cayman Islands save the Caribbean’s remaining coral reefs?

• Salahi, S. (Feb. 13). When art meets social change: how two ASU students' exhibitions promote ocean conservation.

• Dickens, Z. (Feb. 14). Time savers: The watch brands helping protect the oceans.

• Burleigh, N. (Feb. 18). Bonaire: Where Coral and Cactus Thrive, and the Sea Soothes the Soul.

• UNC Chapel Hill Communications (Feb. 18). New research suggests a different approach to protecting reef-building corals.

• The Maui News (Feb. 19). Coral grown on land is subject of presentation.

• Hay, Z. (Feb. 24). 3D Printed Coral Reefs – 4 Most Promising Projects.

• Fregger, A. (Mar. 1). 4 students help repair Florida Keys coral reef using drone technology.

The mission of the CRC is to foster collaboration and technology transfer among coral restoration scientists, practitioners, and managers, and to facilitate a community of practice that will advance coral restoration to keep pace with rapidly changing ocean and environmental conditions.