The Reef Stewardship Foundation is happy to announce that the Dallas Fort Worth Marine Aquarium Society (http://www.dfwmas.org/) is graciously hosting the RSF 2011 Annual Meeting. The meeting will be held on Tuesday night, May 24th, 2011.

The annual meeting will feature presentations from two members of the RSF’s Board of Directors. The first presentation will be from Dr. Brian Plankis and is tentatively titled “The RSF Past and Present: What We’ve Done and Where We are Going”. The second presentation will be from Dr. Ronald L. Shimek and is titled “Providing Adequate Nutrition For Animals In A Reef Aquarium: The Most Difficult Problem That Aquarists Face.”

The meeting will also feature a fund raising raffle of captive bred animals, RSF branded items and breeding equipment. Additional details will be provided as the meeting date approaches.

The RSF will also be holding small focus group meetings of aquaculturists, hobbyists, and hobby leaders for a project that will be announced at the annual meeting. If you currently breed species for the industry or are interested in sustainability of the hobby, please contact us regarding participating in these focus groups on either May 24th or May 25th.

We look forward to discussing the state of the RSF and the hobby at our annual meeting, we hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Brian Plankis

KickOff2

The Reef Stewardship Foundation is happy to announce the start of a new partnership with Clear Lake High School in Houston, TX. Two weeks ago the classroom portion of our first project began with Aquatic Science teacher Ashley Poloha (pictured at left with RSF Executive Director Brian Plankis). Over 75 students are working together in small groups to investigate the environmental issues of overfishing and bycatch. The students will be working to survey members of their community on their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to their issues. Students will be utilizing RSF supplied digital cameras and laptops to produce videos reporting on the results of their investigations and potential ways the residents of Clear Lake could help reduce the problem of overfishing and bycatch.

We will report back on the progress of the students and share their final videos with our membership on our website and at our annual meeting scheduled for May.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Columbus Zoo Foundation and donations from supporters of the Reef Stewardship Foundation. Your support is greatly appreciated.

 

 

The Reef Stewardship Foundation is announcing a new opportunity for taking a leadership role on our Board of Directors (BOD). Following a recent change to our bylaws (see details here) the RSF BOD has been reorganized and a new position, Research Director, is now open to interested applicants. The position announcement follows:

Title: Research Director

Voting status: BOD member with full BOD and membership voting rights

Minimum Requirements:

1. Terminal degree required (Ph.D) in marine biology, invertebrate biology, vertebrate biology (with marine ornamental focus), zoology, or a closely related field.

2. Minimum of 10 years experience in the marine ornamental industry, preferably in a research or leadership role.

3. Minimum of 3 years previous research grant experience, preferably with raising of marine animals, zooplankton, and/or live larval foods.

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Minimum of one year of continuous membership with the Reef Stewardship Foundation. Preferably with familiarity of our past research and grant efforts.

2. Knowledge of survey methodology, data analysis, statistical research methods, and/or preparing research grant reports.

3. Previous committee experience in either academia or the marine ornamental industry.

4. Previous PI or co-PI experience on research grants. Preferably with experience in writing and submitting grant proposals.

Position Duties:

This position is initially a volunteer BOD position with a one year term, renewable for a longer term upon mutual agreement of all BOD members. Salary may be available depending on grant funding and would be a negotiated contract on a grant by grant basis.

The research director will be a full BOD position with responsibilities including, but not limited to:

A. assist the Board of Directors in recruiting new members and in arranging public speaking engagements.

B. lead and/or assist the Board of Directors with program development and an ongoing research agenda.

C. assist the Board of Directors with writing and/or editing of grant proposals, grant progress reports, and finding new sources of funding.

D. assist the Board of Directors in determining the best approaches to increase credibility of the research efforts conducted by the Foundation with the intent to increase the chances of funding for future projects and the ability to publish peer reviewed research articles or books.

E. shall perform all duties incidental to the office of Research Director and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.

Note: Anyone interested in this position must be nominated for the position by a current RSF paid member and cannot nominate themselves.

Once a nomination is made and accepted by the nominee then 1) a cover letter explaining how the nominee meets the qualifications for the position and 2) a full CV, should be submitted to info (AT) reefstewardshipfoundation.org (replace the (AT) with a @ symbol, we are doing this to avoid spam).

This position will remain open until filled.

The Reef Stewardship Foundation an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Members of protected classes and individuals with the ability to contribute in meaningful ways to the RSF’s continuing commitment to cultural diversity, pluralism, and individual differences are encouraged to find an RSF member to nominate them and submit an application.

Please contact info (AT) reefstewardshipfoundation.org with any inquiries regarding the position.

RSS Feed Button - royalty free image

The RSF is happy to announce that its new website is live. Bookmarks to www.reefstewardshipfoundation.org and www2.reefstewardshipfoundation.org should redirect to the new website (www.reefstewardshipfoundation.org/rsfhome/) automatically, but if you have bookmarked other portions of the website or your bookmark does not automatically forward, please update your bookmarks to the new website.

While the new website has some similarities in look and feel  to our old one, the software running it has been replaced. This will allow for many  features to be built into the website and we are in the process of developing them.

The first new feature, the RSF RSS (Real Simple Syndication) News feed, is now available. For those of you with RSS readers you can subscribe to the feed by using the URL:

http://www.reefstewardshipfoundation.org/rsfhome/feed/

By subscribing to our RSS feed you will be automatically sent new RSF News items. The news feed can also be used to supply content to website and discussion forums. If you would like more information on how RSF news can be incorporated into your website, please leave a comment or use our contact us page.

IEJEE-GreenCoverThumbVol1Iss1

Dr. Brian Plankis, Executive Director of the Reef Stewardship Foundation, and Dr. Meghan Marrero, Director of Curriculum at the U.S. Satellite Laboratory in Rye, NY, have published a peer-reviewed article summarizing recent ocean literacy research in the United States. The focus of the article was on two research studies conducted in the K-12 environment, their results, and their implications for the future of ocean literacy in the United States. The RSF portion of the article reports on the success of Project CORALS that was sponsored by the Ocean Foundation.

Following the RSF’s goal of public dissemination of all of our publications, the article “Recent Ocean Literacy Research in United States Public Schools: Results and Implications” was published in the open access journal International Electronic Journal of Environmental Education – Green. The first issue can be found here:

http://www.iejeegreen.com/index.php/…n/issue/view/1

A direct link to the PDF can be found here:

http://www.iejeegreen.com/index.php/…icle/view/27/8

The abstract:

Recent research conducted on adults in the United States indicates low ocean literacy (Ocean Project, 2009b, 1999), but there is a dearth of peer-reviewed research on K-12 students’ ocean literacy. This paper presents two research studies that examined the ocean and environmental literacy of 464 K-12 students in five states. Like the majority of American adults, most of the student participants in these studies had low initial levels of ocean literacy. Both of these studies, while conducted with different populations of students, suggest that engagement in an ocean literacy-focused program may lead to higher ocean literacy and increased responsible environmental behaviors that help the ocean. The encouraging results of these studies, and their implications, are discussed in relation to the ocean literacy and environmental education communities and the critical need for further large scale and longitudinal empirical studies to support increased significance of ocean literacy in the United States.

Podcasts

Reef Addicts Podcast Episode 1

Reef Addicts Podcast episode 1

Borneman, E. & Plankis, B. J. (2010). Reef Stewardship Foundation Introduction. Released 01-01-2010

Plankis, B. J. (2007). Talkingreef Podcast – Episode 90 – Project DIBS – Released 02-01-2007

Plankis, B. J. (2010). Setting up and Maintaining an Economical and Sustainable Reef in a Declining World? Invited speaker for the Raleigh Aquarium Society’s 26th Annual Carolina Aquarium Workshop, Raleigh, NC.

Borneman, E. & Plankis, B. (2009). Guiding a sustainable trade: Aquarists and the RSF working together, RSF annual meeting keynote. A Presentation for the Dallas/Fort Worth Marine Aquarium Society, Dallas, TX, November 7th, 2009.

Plankis, B. (2008). Hobbyists Advancing the Hobby: What can hobbyists do to protect and conserve marine invertebrates? Invited speaker for the Raleigh Aquarium Society’s 24th Annual Carolina Aquarium Workshop, Raleigh, NC.

Plankis, B. (2007). Project DIBS: An Introduction. A Presentation for the Dallas/Fort Worth Marine Aquarium Society, Dallas, TX July 11, 2007.

Plankis, B. (2007). The Desirable Invertebrates Breeding Society: Working Together as a Community. Invited speaker for the International Marine Aquarium Conference, Chicago, IL, June 3, 2007.

Plankis, B. (2007). Project DIBS An Introduction: The Need for Captive Bred Invertebrates. A Presentation for the Rocky Mountain Reef Club, Arvada, CO, May 12, 2007.

Plankis, B. (2007). An Introduction to Project DIBS: The Need to Breed. A Presentation for the Pittsburgh Marine Aquarium Society, Pittsburgh, PA, April 21, 2007.

Plankis, B. (2007). Project DIBS: An Introduction. A Presentation for the Marine Aquarium and Reef Society of Houston, February 3, 2007.

Plankis, B. (2006). Project DIBS: An Introduction. A Presentation for the Houston Conchology Society, November 21, 2006.

Borneman, E. H. (2006). Coral reef guinea pigs: culture of research clonal lines, Proceedings of 10th International Coral Reef Symposium.

Borneman, E. H. (2006). Reproduction in aquarium corals. Proceedings of 10th International Coral Reef Symposium.

Borneman, E. H. (2000). Response to new threat to coral reefs: trade in coral reef organisms. Issues in Science and Technology, Winter issue.

Borneman, E. H. (2000). Unnecessary collections for the marine aquarium trade: Species with extremely low survival rates. Proceedings of the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali.

Borneman, E. H., & Lowrie, J. (2001). Advances in captive husbandry: An easily utilized reef replenishment means from the private sector? Bulletin of Marine Science, 69(2), 897-913.

Bruckner, A. W., & Borneman, E. H. (2006). Developing a sustainable harvest regime for Indonesia’s stony coral fishery with application to other coral exporting countries. Proceedings of 10th International Coral Reef Symposium, 1692-1697.

Bruckner, A. W., Borneman, E. H. & Field, J. D. (2003). An assessment of the Oceanographic Institute of Dominica, a coral aquaculture facility located in Portsmouth, Dominica. A report prepared for the Fisheries Department of Dominica.

Bruckner, A. W., Borneman, E. H. & Field, J. D. (2003). Coral community dynamics on coral reefs near Portsmouth, Dominica with recommendations for sustainable harvest practices and reef restoration strategies. A report prepared for the Fisheries Department of Dominica.

Greenemeier, M. & Plankis, B. J. (2007). Wanted: Hobbyist Heroes to Stop An Alien Invasion. Reefkeeping Magazine, 6(9).

Hwang, S. & Plankis, B. (2008). Using digital storytelling to review the history of situated learning and to present an authentic online community. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2008 (pp. 925-930). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

Plankis, B. J. (2007). Hobbyists Advancing the Hobby, Part III: Creating Educational Videos to Share Hobbyists’ Knowledge. Reefkeeping Magazine, 6(11).

Plankis, B. J. (2007). Hobbyists advancing the hobby, Part II: An introduction to Project DIBS. Reefkeeping Magazine, 6(1).

Plankis, B. J. (2006). Hobbyists advancing the hobby, Part I: Changing shared practices starting with live rock hitchhikers. Reefkeeping Magazine, 5(11).

Plankis, B. J. (2006). Observations on anemone predation and reproduction by hitchhiking aeolid nudibranchs. Reefkeeping Magazine, 5(4).

Borneman, E.H. & Plankis, B.J. (2008). The Desirable Invertebrates Breeding Society: Reproduction of Invertebrates for Education and Sustainability. A poster session presented at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Borneman, E.H. (2008). Corallivorous microparasites and the potential of invasion from the marine ornamental trade. A presentation for the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Plankis, B.J. (2008). Spawning Induction Method Responses of Trochidae Gastropods in Closed System Aquaculture. Poster session presented at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Plankis, B. & Weatherly, R. (2008). Engaging Students and Empowering Researchers: Embedding Assessment, Evaluation and History into Podcasting. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2008 (pp. 1267-1274). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

Plankis, B. (2007). How to retool the classroom aquarium for environmental stewardship. Paper presented at the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching, Austin, TX.

Plankis, B. (2007). How to Retool the Classroom Aquarium for Environmental Stewardship., Texas Science Teacher, 36(1), 13-15.

Plankis, B. (2007). Hobbyists Advancing the Hobby, Part III: Creating Educational Videos to Share Hobbyists’ Knowledge. Reefkeeping Magazine, 6(11).

© 2010 The Reef Stewardship Foundation Background image © Eric Borneman, Conservation image © Toby Hudson Theme named removed for increased security