Caribbean Conservation

[thebanker]

Let me start by saying: I DON'T intend to start a political discussion.

That being said, we can't ignore the harsh reality of the gulf oil spill. It makes sense to pitch in as hobbyists and help conserve the ecology of the Gulf and Caribbean. I've been to the Caribbean many times and I'm amazed with the diversity of life in the water there. While most reef hobbyists aren't able to support a pod of porpoises, we can certainly help by adopting a colony or two of Caribbean Staghorn acropora, or Caribbean elkhorn.

It would be a shame if these corals went extinct, and if we can all take on a frag or two, maybe the reef hobby can give back to the world by keeping these fragile species alive and thriving in captivity.

Just a thought.

 

[Allmost]

we should all trow our skimmers into the water lol

lets skimm the ocean lol


but what do you mean by adopting ? where can I apply ? lol

 

[thebanker]

Adopting, meaning if there are any frags with Caribbean lineage, we can make a more conscious effort to acquire them. If there are any online frag retailers out there who have these corals, speak up!

 

[GreshamH]

Adopting, meaning if there are any frags with Caribbean lineage, we can make a more conscious effort to acquire them. If there are any online frag retailers out there who have these corals, speak up!

A. palmata is illegal to own, frag, give away, etc etc. It also doesn't do so hot in captivity.

 

[ackee]

"Put 'em in a tree museum"

"Put 'em in a tree museum"

Unless the oil leak becomes enormously worse, the effects on the Caribbean will hopefully be modest. The Gulf states, the Keys, the north coast of Cuba, and the SE Florida coast are at great risk, but the Gulf Stream should carry most of the oil that has not come ashore through the Straits of Florida, up the US east coast, and into the mid and north Atlantic.

Caribbean corals are being greatly affected by other problems. I've been told, in this forum, that overfishing is the main cause of coral death because it reduces the numbers of herbivorous fishes, leaving all the algae eating work to the long spined urchins. When things like hurricanes cause a drop in urchin numbers, the reefs become covered in algae. This seems to be the current theory.

There are, I think, other things at work that might be having a greater impact, whatever may have happened at one site in one Caribbean nation.

What I have seen personally, and what a number of researchers are examining, is the effect of massive dust clouds from Africa depositing huge amounts of fine sandy material in the Caribbean basin. This material, laden with toxic chemicals used in agriculture and pest control, is blown off the drought plagued plains of Africa, carried across the Atlantic on wind currents, and dropped in the calmer atmosphere of the islands. This is becoming so common and so much a problem, that local Caribbean weather forecasts sometimes mention the amount of dust expected to arrive at any given time. I have seen this stuff cloud the upper parts of the sea and create a dusty coatings on land. You know dust is coming when you see the horizon suddenly become hazy.

The natural world is dieing. Human activity has dealt the mortal blows. There are simply too many people for natural systems to support, with billions more due to arrive during the next couple of decades. Save whatever fragments you like, but don't expect there to be many places left to which they might someday be returned.

 

[thebanker]

A. palmata is illegal to own, frag, give away, etc etc. It also doesn't do so hot in captivity.

Crap. So that explains why I can't find any of that. How about the legality of acropora florida or acropora cervicornis?

And lets not leave out caribbean gorgs & sponges. Also I remember seeing giant heads of some sort of maze brain coral in the bahamas... now that I know more, they may be a species of favia?

 

[thebanker]

This is becoming so common and so much a problem, that local Caribbean weather forecasts sometimes mention the amount of dust expected to arrive at any given time. I have seen this stuff cloud the upper parts of the sea and create a dusty coatings on land. You know dust is coming when you see the horizon suddenly become hazy.

I've seen this before, it's exactly as you describe. Sad. Hey where in jersey do you live?

 

[GreshamH]

Crap. So that explains why I can't find any of that. How about the legality of acropora florida or acropora cervicornis?

And lets not leave out caribbean gorgs & sponges. Also I remember seeing giant heads of some sort of maze brain coral in the bahamas... now that I know more, they may be a species of favia?

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/docs/Coral Release.pdf

Both A. palmata and A. cervicornis are off limits. If it's a reef builder and found in US waters you can hedge your bets on it being off limits.

Acropora florida is not found in the Caribbean believe it or not :lol:

 

[Allmost]

Unless the oil leak becomes enormously worse, the effects on the Caribbean will hopefully be modest. The Gulf states, the Keys, the north coast of Cuba, and the SE Florida coast are at great risk, but the Gulf Stream should carry most of the oil that has not come ashore through the Straits of Florida, up the US east coast, and into the mid and north Atlantic.

Caribbean corals are being greatly affected by other problems. I've been told, in this forum, that overfishing is the main cause of coral death because it reduces the numbers of herbivorous fishes, leaving all the algae eating work to the long spined urchins. When things like hurricanes cause a drop in urchin numbers, the reefs become covered in algae. This seems to be the current theory.

There are, I think, other things at work that might be having a greater impact, whatever may have happened at one site in one Caribbean nation.

What I have seen personally, and what a number of researchers are examining, is the effect of massive dust clouds from Africa depositing huge amounts of fine sandy material in the Caribbean basin. This material, laden with toxic chemicals used in agriculture and pest control, is blown off the drought plagued plains of Africa, carried across the Atlantic on wind currents, and dropped in the calmer atmosphere of the islands. This is becoming so common and so much a problem, that local Caribbean weather forecasts sometimes mention the amount of dust expected to arrive at any given time. I have seen this stuff cloud the upper parts of the sea and create a dusty coatings on land. You know dust is coming when you see the horizon suddenly become hazy.

The natural world is dieing. Human activity has dealt the mortal blows. There are simply too many people for natural systems to support, with billions more due to arrive during the next couple of decades. Save whatever fragments you like, but don't expect there to be many places left to which they might someday be returned.

"
The natural world is dieing. Human activity has dealt the mortal blows. There are simply too many people for natural systems to support, with billions more due to arrive during the next couple of decades. Save whatever fragments you like, but don't expect there to be many places left to which they might someday be returned.
"

or maybe its just changing ?

who are we to predict the future, or think of ourselves as the cause of this change we are nothing compared to the whole universe.


the dust, I heard it before too !

 

[thebanker]

who are we to predict the future, or think of ourselves as the cause of this change we are nothing compared to the whole universe.

While true, we've done quite a bit to mess with things here on planet Earth.

I just finished watching a 3 part series by Stephen Hawking, called The Universe or something like that. He touches on the phenomena that occur in the cosmos which are cause for change here on Earth. Absolutely fascinating and a great watch. I'm a big fan of his life's work & theories.

 

[thebanker]

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/docs/Coral Release.pdf

Both A. palmata and A. cervicornis are off limits. If it's a reef builder and found in US waters you can hedge your bets on it being off limits.

Acropora florida is not found in the Caribbean believe it or not :lol:

Thanks for the link. :reading: Well crap, that puts a damper on things for all us Americans here.

 

[ackee]

Banker, I noticed that on the map you posted there are a few large islands not identified. St Vincent, Barbados, and Dominica are among the more significant. All have significant Elkhorn and Staghorn corals, especially St. Vincent and its Grenadines.

I'll be in Dominica (between Martinique and Guadeloupe) in a couple of weeks, for a brief visit before moving further south. I live in northeast New Jersey, about 20 miles west of Newark Airport, not too far from NYC, and a hour or two away from some of the best marine tropical fish collecting areas in the mid-Atlantic. In late summer, these areas have surprisingly large populations of juvenile Caribbean specimens carried here on the Gulf Stream. I'm hoping the oil will not get this far.