Well folks,

To those cc'ed on this mail, please feel free to post this to various boards, sources, web pages, etc., including reefs.org, Aqualink, CompuServe, rec.aquaria, etc. of which I do not have the time to visit - thanks! :-)

I returned the other day from a fantastic conference in Ft. Lauderdale from the International Conference on Scientific Aspects of Coral Reef Assessment, Monioring, and Restoration where I presented two topics with Jonathan Lowrie:

ADVANCES IN CAPTIVE HUSBANDRY AND PROPAGATION: AN EASILY UTILIZED REEF REPLENISHMENT MEANS FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR?
and
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF THE MARINE AQUARIUM TRADE ON CORAL REEFS

both of which were seemingly well accepted and now lie in the hands of some a great deal of people who were both interested and will hopefully use the information to benefit the world's coral reefs. The conference was attended by over 500 scientists and students. Among those present were:
Alina Szmant, Robert Richmond, Esther Peters, Bob Buddemeir, Paul Sammarco, Walter Jaap, Judith Lang, Eric Mueller, Nancy Knowlton, Terry Done, Helmut Schumacher, Paul Jokiel, James Porter ,James Cervino, Arnfried Antonius, Deborah Santavy, Martin Le Tissier, Andy Bruckner ,Alina Morse, etc etc etc...

to say the the world's leaders were there would be an understatement. I plan to write about several of the more "Aquaristically" interesting subjects in the next few days, and I won't bore everyone with recaps of every presentation (of which there were almost 300!), nor of my dive trip to the Florida reef tract to help map a ship grounding that ultimately resulted in us diving a recently submerged wreck in white-out squall conditions with a water spout forming off the starboard stern, 20 foot visibility, and a raging current that made us feel like a kite in the wind (the second dive was much better and actually involved coral reef hardbottom), but will summarize the results and note a few interesting areas. These are summaries, the conference proceedings are available, and I would be happy to address specific topics as best I can.

It appears that there is no good correlation between the presence of algae and nutrients (N), but rather that grazing is the primary method by which algae is removed, with secondary metabolites produced by algae a likely reason for decreased herbivory. Macroalgae are quite poor at nutrient uptake, with turf algae only slightly better. High grazing with low nutrients favors coral growth. High grazing with high nutrients favors coralline algae. Low grazing with low nutrietns favors filamentous algae. Low grazing with high nutrients favors macroalgae. Ecologicallly, some coral act as algae, some act as animals.

Some corals can shift between zooxanthellate and azooxanthellate depending on conditions, along with concurrent changes in reproductive mode and variance in larval state, reproductive method, motility of planulae, etc.

Islanders consume 10,000 kg burned coral limestone to chew betel nut each month

3-10 cm coral fragments seem optimal for survival and growth.

Zooxanthellae occur in enormous diversity of types, and not just different species or strains...."we are not talking about strains, we are talking about things as different as cows and rats." These occur between and within coral taxa, species and even colonies.

Some coral diseases may be a disease of the symbiotic algae and not the coral animal

Genetic work makes coral species we were once certain about tenuous....that coral we have always called one thing may very well be its own species even if it looks like a growth form or morph of a known species, whereas once we thought it was mostly due to the morphological flexibility (plasticity) of their nature...which they also have! i.e. taxonomy may be back to square one, but we have no time to address this now (below)

There is absolutely no question that coral setttlement depends on specific chemical cues from coralline algae. Biofilms, rugosity, etc. do not appear to be involved at all, for any corals, and there is remrakbale uniformity in this in all scleractinia and even octocorallia. Depth is the only other factor. The compound is a lactosamine suflfate from the cell wall of corallines.

Hermaphroditic corals can self fertilize, but prefer not too.

Cultured corals using larval seeding is already here and is being used in reef replenishment.

Dry methods seem best for transportation of colonies up to 14 hours.

Fragments propagated in the wild branch while those in aquaria encrust at the base more.

Allegra Small's presentation at MACNA LA is likely quite correct...biodiversity studies in systematics recently show or suggest double or triple the number of species once thought to exist.

Daphne Fautin just got a grant to work with the miserable and questionable taxonomy of the Pacific corallimorphs we know as "mushrooms" (Actinodiscus =Discosoma) to which no certain taxonomy currently exists, even to the genus level.

Cyanobacteria have specific chemotypes that can be used to measure bloom biodiversity. They are poor indicators of nutrient enrichment and have no relationship with phosphate, a negative relationship with Nitrogen/Nitrate, a strong negative relationship with salinity, no relationship with other algae growth (slightly negative with certain macroalgae (which I asked if it may be due to secondary metanbolites acting as antibiotics, to which I discovered that was the next course of study), a positive relationship with temperature and a strong negative relationship with water motion. They tend to occur in 3 week cyclical periods and are grazed, by far, primarily by amphipods and sea hares.

Corals are apparently every bit as chemosensitive and immunologically competent as we had been proposing (MACNA, etc.), and it is a cause for concern in terms of recruitment. more to come.

"To say reef aquarium keepers are fanatical would be an understatement" - a notable quote

All aquarium corals for the private sector can be provided within 5 years by matching cultivation techniques that include electrolysis and genetic larval fusion and hybridization (like cactii).

There are now 13-15 known coral diseases, more and more which seem to be from land based influences.

Be wary in placing trust in some hobby views on coral pigmentation. More in the near future.

The US role in coral trade is "particularly disturbing" and a handwritten note from the President suggested that "this is an issue we want addressed."

Sponges are an important reef glue in binding rubbles, are good sediment clearing organisms, and higher order taxa and erect branching forms tend to be the most survivable.

Visible bleaching is not a good indicator of zooxanthellae densities. Corals are considered bleached when their zoox density is 50% or less, and many corals with densities at this level appear normal. Seasonal peaks in tissue biomass occur in winter and spring and both tissue biomass and zoox denisties can be good indicators of coral stress levels af you know control values.

Interesting (very) news and discussions on WBD and SDR=RTN.

Aquarists have caused the decline of up to 45-65% of target species (Kole, yellow and Achilles tangs, Moorish idols, Potters' angels and Longnose Buterflyfish) in Hawaii. The situation may be far worse in other areas.

The overall speeches in this conference, however, dealt with methods and efforts in monitoring, preserving, and replenishing the increasingly damaged reefs of the world. The news is depressing, to say the least. Since a fe wyears back, the picture has dimmed considerably, and the decisions adopted were based largely on the plenary talks by Bob Buddemeir and Terry Done - get ready -
"It is the end of the world as we know it, but think of it as a learning experience"
"We are dealing with the very probable and imminent demise of all reef ecosystems"
"We should probably give up in 9 years"
- there are probably only another 10-20 years left to save the world's coral reefs. 3-4 years of mapping and determining which reefs can be saved and protecting them.

Carbonate is changing faster than we thought because of the stratification of ocean layers. CO2 levels are out of range, higher than any time in the Quaternary period and the rate of change is unprecedented in evolutionary history. Temperature levels and change are almost out of range and in uncharted territories.We have now also created chaos in the Nitrogen cycle, as well as the Carbon cycle. At least 4 major global variables are now out of range and increasing rapidly - atmospheric CO2, Carbon cycle flux, Nitrogen cycle flux, and the population of the genus Homo. Global tempoerature will join within a decade. We have increasing numbers of bioactive compounds, biocides and endocrine disruptors. These rates will continue on for decades. There is a systematic decline in the world's coral reefs. The rate of decline of stressed reefs will probably get worse faster. Political and social considerations not governed by the laws of nature far outweigh scientific basis and conclusions. Therefore, a triage theory is mandatory. Time is a critical limitng variable, but so are resources and manpower. The triage states that, in times of war and wounded, three classes exist:

1. those who are wounded, but will likely (though not definitely) recover without attention
2. those whose recovery is possible, but require immediate attention
3. those where death is imminent and recovery is unlikely (though possible) even with attention.

Under only the very worst conditions do we adopt what is now being adopted...we ignore groups 2 and 3 entirely. This will include virtually all of the reefs of the Caribbean and Southeast Asia/Indonesia. Gone. Period. Even if given the preservation AND enforcement of still unmonitored reefs in good conditon, the ability of them to recruit IF all impacts are stopped is questionable, and if total environmental chaos doesn't result. Reefs are very regenerative, but only if they are given the opportunity.

And, on that note, I end this post and really seriously urge everyone to use your aquaria as tools for learning and observation, as well as beauty, because they may soon be one of the only places we will be able to see coral reefs. Please, please buy conscientiously, in breeding pairs, of sustainable common species, and support captive propagation, especially those like Bob Mankin and those with the Solomon's project, where in situ coral farming provides an income that stays in the resource countries and provides an alternative to destructive collection. Finally, there are fakes being made, so caveat emptor.

Peace all
Eric Borneman