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I’ve been interested in coral reef ecology since December 2005, and I’ve written about both positive and depressing new studies here before. I was also very excited about the creation of Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument (NHIMNM). NHIMNM is one of the most pristine reefs in the world–so it initially surprised many researchers to find that many reef sites in the preserve are dominated by algae, not coral. The traditional view has held that healthy reefs have a substrate or base of coral, while unhealthy reefs are more often dominated by algae.
Branching coralline algae. Distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License, photographer unknown.
Peter S. Vroom, a researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Ecosystems Division, has led a several-year study on the reef composition of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. At two major study sites, French Frigate Shoals and Pearl and Hermes Atoll, at least 80% of the substrate surface was covered by various types of algae. Hard coralline algae, which cements loose rubble, was responsible for at least half of the hard surface of the reef at French Frigate Shoals.
The researchers also found that coral-dominated reefs tended to grow in protected patch reefs and lagoons, while algae-dominated reefs thrived in rougher waters, exposed to winter storms.
The research here isn’t exactly new, but it is underreported. Reefs, coral and otherwise, are certainly still in danger–but it’s important to be sure we’re using the right criteria to assess whether a reef really is unhealthy.
Further Reading:
Vroom, P.S., Page, K.N., Kenyon, J.C., and Brainard, R.E. Sept.-Oct. 2006. Algae-Dominated Reefs in American Scientist. [subscription required, $]
Suthers, D. 2004. Healthy Algal-Dominated Reefs. Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program 2004.
2005. The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the Northwestern Hawai’ian Islands (4.86 MB) in The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2005 (55.2 MB). NOAA. [PDFs, report website]
September, as any government employee can tell you, is the most stressful month of the year, as everyone scrambles to use up the last bit of the budget (or account for overspending said budget) and complete the mounds of annual paperwork. Tech support for the various paperwork-completing programs is flooded. Today was my last official day of work at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, although I will be volunteering occasionally and may be back as a summer student appointment when I’m in graduate school.
But September is my favorite month of the year in the Rocky Mountains, even though I’ve rarely been able to appreciate it due to college or work. It’s still sunny and relatively snow-free, but the heat of summer has passed and of course there are aspens turning gold and elk bugling and snow on Pikes Peak.
Aspens turning gold, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Photo © September 2006 Melissa Barton
Pikes Peak holds an interesting place in the Colorado psyche. It’s not a volcano, or even attractively craggy–its rounded granite dome was formed by a giant intrusive batholith (body of magma) that cooled underground 1.05 billion years ago. A somewhat murky and controversial uplift history later[1], there’s Pikes Peak, looming protectively over Colorado Springs. Yes, it’s a fourteener, and yes, it’s also a National Historic Landmark, but that doesn’t entirely explain its hold on the average Coloradan.
When I took the nature photography seminar in July, there was some discussion of putting together a small temporary exhibit of the class’s photographs. Some frenzied work after I returned to Iceland and here it is: “Focusing on the Florissant Fossil Beds: A Workshop View of the Park.”
Photo © 2006 Melissa Barton
It consists of photographs from the instructor, Kevin Snyder, and three of the students, since those were what we could obtain. We expect to leave it up until new paleontology exhibits go in or the weather takes its toll on the photographs (the entryway is not sealed off and budget constraints mean the mounting methods are rather primitive). This is the first exhibit I’ve actually put together myself, and it was an interesting learning experience–there are definitely things I would do differently next time, given a larger budget and some more time.
You can see my photos from the exhibit at my Flickr account:
There are a couple interesting outdoor photography contests currently accepting entries.
Incredible Journeys Photo Contest
Deadline: January 12, 2007
Sponsored by India Tourism and Outdoor Photographer magazine, this is a contest for photos “in keeping with the general theme of landscape, wildlife, travel and outdoor sports.”
Digital and color negative photos are accepted (submit as 8×10″ prints), as are slides (submit a duplicate slide or transparency). Entrants may submit up to 3 photos. The grand prize package includes a trip to India, a Nikon D80 D-SLR camera, and a variety of other photography equipment and goodies.
For complete rules and entry forms, visit the website.
Cripple Creek’s Aspen Gold Photo Contest
Deadline: 4:00 p.m., November 1, 2006
Sponsored by the City of Cripple Creek and the Pikes Peak Heritage Center, this more local contest is limited to photographs taken between August 15 and October 15, 2006, in the area of Cripple Creek, Colorado. Photos must “capture the essence of the history, scenic beauty, and enjoyment of this area known as ‘The World’s Greatest Gold Camp.’”
Entries must be submitted as prints no smaller than 4×6″ and no larger than 8×10″. Both color and black and white are acceptable. Each contestant may submit up to 4 photographs. There is one grand prize of $1,500, a “Pro Division” prize of $1,200 (they seem to define “pro” as “anyone who has ever received any payment for a photograph”), as well as various cash prizes in the Youth and Amateur divisions.
For a complete list of rules, email photocontest@cripple-creek.co.us. They can probably provide entry forms as well, but the fliers are all over the Front Range area and I imagine only locals will be entering this one due to the time and location constraints. Just keep an eye out for them.
Up until about age 6, I traveled a lot with my parents. We drove across the U.S. a few times, went to British Columbia pretty regularly, and also traveled to Australia, New Zealand, and Denmark. My parents had traveled a lot for work when they were in the computer industry, and even lived for a while in Denmark while establishing an academic program, so they had friends all over the world.
After age six, I didn’t leave the country until my junior year in college, when I studied in Russia for a few weeks. My senior geology trip was to the Caribbean–I’m thinking of editing my journal entries and posting them this December–but my top two wishlist countries were Iceland and Mongolia.
So when my dad offered to send me to Iceland after graduation, I started planning. Iceland vies with Norway for the title of “Most Expensive Country In The World,” so I had to budget carefully. I kept my costs down by staying in hostels and campgrounds and by buying food at grocery stores (lunch under $20 US is rare in Iceland), and public transportation is fortunately affordable. The entire trip, plane ticket included, cost about $2,500, and would have been closer to $2,000 if I’d gambled and bought the ticket closer to leaving. Icelandair’s pricing system is utterly arcane.
Reykjavík street scene with the spire of Hallgrímskirkja cathedral in the background. Photo (c) 2006 Melissa Barton
It was my first international trip on my own, and all around an educational experience. I learned a lot about traveling with a checked external backpacking frame, such as (1) duct tape all fiddly metal bits down, (2) bring more extra pins than you think you’ll need, because you will lose them and if you lose too many, the backpack will fall apart, and (3) an internal frame is a much better idea for international travel, if you haven’t bought a frame pack yet. I also learned a lot about getting around in Iceland, timing to see puffins (I missed them by two days!), and what I really want to see next time around.
Also, contrary to popular assumption, Iceland has a lot of fossils, primarily Miocene and Pleistocene plants and Pliocene and Pleistocene molluscs.
I spent about half the trip total in the capital city of Reykjavík, which proved to be a bit too much for me, but also visited Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands) and Skaftafell National Park and did the obligatory bus tour of the “Golden Circle”–Þingvellir National Park, Gullfoss (”Golden Falls”), the geothermal area where Geysir (which doesn’t spout anymore) and Strokkur (which is the most reliable geyser in the world, spouting every 5-10 minutes) are located, the crater Kerið, and the town of Hveragerði, where tropical plants are grown in geothermally-heated greenhouses.
I also went whale-watching (cold and wet, but fun) and horse-back-riding (which confirmed my dislike of riding, but the horses are gorgeous). Overall, I hit most of the obligatory activities and managed to see a little bit of southern Iceland. On my next trip I would like to explore the north and/or the West Fjords (where most of the interesting fossil sites are), but that may be years away.
In the following posts, I’ll be covering both what I did and some tips for travel and photography in Iceland. Over at the food blog, I wrote a couple posts related to Icelandic food.
I will be using a few Icelandic characters in the following posts. The eth, ð or Ð, is a hard ‘th,’ like the ‘th’ in ‘bathe.’ The thorn, þ or Þ, is a soft ‘th,’ like the ‘th’ in ‘path.’ The eth is usually transliterated as a ‘d,’ while the thorn is usually transliterated as a ‘th,’ but I feel that this is an inaccurate way to represent Icelandic words, and I am also a language geek who really wishes we still used thorns and eths in English.
I don’t like putting my regular email address on the internet because of spam, but I decided I really ought to provide a way for readers to contact me. So you can email me at
rosettastonesblog AT gmail DOT com
Or, of course, you can always comment on my posts.
