None The Nature Conservancy in Florida Press Releases Search All Press Releases Jill Austin Phone: (407) 682-3664, ext. 129 E-mail: jaustin@tnc.org

Coral Reef Users Invited to Join International Conference to Help Corals Cope with Climate Change

Florida Reef Resilience Program, a public and private partnership, plans conference April 22-24.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA — April 2, 2008 — Detailed research over the last three years on Florida coral reefs and the people who use them for recreation and commerce has revealed areas of significant coral cover, a new sense of where some of the most resilient coral populations are found and the variety of ways that people relate to coral reefs. New information identifying corals and reefs that are resilient to climate change will help reef users and managers identify ways to protect coral reefs and reef-dependent human activities for the future. 

The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and other leaders of the Florida Reef Resilience Program will announce the research findings at an international conference April 22-24 in Key Largo. The outcome of the Reef Resilience Conference 2008: Coping With Climate Change will be development of strategies to improve the health of Florida's reefs while supporting commercial enterprises and recreational activities that depend on reefs. Input from people who value the reefs and care about their future is strongly encouraged, said Chris Bergh, the Conservancy’s Florida Keys director and coordinator of the Florida Reef Resilience Program.

Over the last three years, scientific divers trained and organized by The Nature Conservancy have surveyed reefs from Martin County to Key West. Data were gathered about coral condition, size and species diversity during the late summer when corals are under the greatest stress from hot water temperatures. Patterns of coral bleaching, a symptom of coral stress caused by loss of the colorful algae that live in coral tissues, were revealed along with the basic information about coral populations and where they are found. 

A companion effort led by World Wildlife Fund analyzed existing water quality data to provide environmental context for the new coral condition information. This project, Climate Change LEADS: Linking Environmental Analysis to Decision Support, also developed a computer-mapping tool for examining reef use and management alternatives with user-friendly imagery to represent the complex scientific data. 

Research on the human dimensions of coral reefs and the opinions of coral reef users will be highlighted during the conference. Social scientists from the University of Massachusetts, University of Miami and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will present results from recent studies including Floridians’ and visitors’ perceptions of reef condition, threats to reefs, and conflict among reef users.  The reef users themselves, from both the Keys and the mainland, will provide their thoughts about how  they can contribute to improving reef resilience and what they think reef managers should do.
  
 “With this knowledge and these new tools in hand, coral reef managers and reef users can work together to maximize the benefits of naturally resilient reefs while seeking to improve the condition of those that are not doing so well,” Bergh said.
 
Commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, charter captains, dive tour operators, and individual divers and snorkelers who are concerned about reef health and want to help inform protection efforts should visit the Florida Reef Resilience Program Web site: www.frrp.org  to see the agenda for the conference, which will be held at the Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort. The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and Sanctuary Friends Foundation of the Florida Keys have limited funding available to cover the $100 conference registration fee for fishermen, divers and other reef users. In addition, there is a free presentation open to the public on Wednesday night, April 23, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at which Australian coral reef managers and a dive tour operator will present “Tourism Industry Confronts Climate Change on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.” The Australian presentation is open to the public. For more information, contact Shirley Gun,  (305) 745-8402 or e-mail sgun@tnc.org.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.