Currents Fall 2012 Newsletter - Volume XXVII, Number 2

15 OC Researchers and Students Participate in Galapagos Islands Research Cruise This June, OC faculty members, students, and NCRI researchers participated in a research cruise to seven islands in the Galapagos. Sam Purkis , Ph.D.; Joshua Feingold , Ph.D.; and Bernhard Riegl , Ph.D.; along withPh.D. candidate JeremyKerr andM.S. student AlexandraDempsey joined with researchers from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) and Galapagos National Park (GNP) to gather data on coral communities along the coasts of Darwin, Wolf, Marchena, Floreana, Isabela, and San Cristobal Islands. Fisheries Researchers go to Morocco As part of a research project exporting swordfish alternative gear, M.S. student Travis Moore , along with South Florida fishing captain Tim Palmer and NOAA International Affairs representative Henry DeBey, traveled to Morocco to outline the project and evaluate local facilities and materials with Moroccan Ministry officials and commercial fishing industry representatives. This completed phase one of the project. Phase two—which will involve returning to Morocco to teach the local fishers how to construct and fish with the gear, as well as evaluate catch rates—is planned to take place at a later date. Moore is studying with OC research scientist David Kerstetter , Ph.D. Divers search for a dive site near the Arch at Darwin Island, the Galapagos A whale shark passes by at Darwin Island, the Galapagos Back row (left to right): Gwilym Rowlands, Sam Purkis, Ph.D.; Dean Richard Dodge, Ph.D.; Barbara Dodge; Brian Walker, Ph.D.; Charles Walton; Paola Espitia; and David Gilliam, Ph.D.; Front row (left to right): Wendy Wood-Derrer; Nicole Fogarty, Ph.D.; Liz Larson; Mauricio Lopez-Padierna; and Bernhard Riegl, Ph.D. Faculty Members, Researchers, and Students attend ICRS in Australia The 12th International Coral Reef Symposium was co-hosted this year by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University. Held in Cairns, Australia, from June 8–13, the symposium is hosted ever four years, and draws faculty members, research scientists, and students representing the OC and NCRI. Presenters held eight workshops and published a combination of 15 abstracts and posters. Topics included dredging and shipping impacts on southeast Florida coral reefs; utilizing GIS in coral reef conservation; extreme heat-adaptability and coral population responses to climate extremes; population dynamics of four unique Acropora cervicornis populations; response of Cinachyrella’s bacterial community to oil contamination; condition and management of coral reefs in Veracruz, Mexico; Acropora cervicornis symbionts and diseases investigated by next generation sequencing; survival and fecundity of Eunicea flexuosa (Cnidaria: Octocorallia ) transplants; and satellite imaging coral reef resilience for regional scale management. Whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, sea lions, sea turtles, dolphins, and penguins swam over and around the scientists as the expedition gathered information on sea floor topography, habitat distributions, benthic community structure, and other data to understand the resilience of the Galapagos’ coral communities. The Living Oceans Foundation sponsored the trip as a part of their Global Reef Expedition, an ambitious project to visit remote coral reefs in each ocean basin. The Galapagos National Park provided logistical support. A local fisherman with Travis Moore (second from left), Henry DeBey, and Captain Tim Palmer and Nourredine Abid and Said Benchoucha (Moroccan Fishery Scientist) at the Port of Tanger, Morocco