Hi All

Registration is now open for the 2010 Annual Australian Coral Reef Society
Conference to be held in Coffs Harbour, Australia and hosted by National
Marine <http://www.nmsc.edu.au/>  Science Centre, Southern Cross University,
and the Novotel Pacific Bay Resort <http://www.pacificbayresort.com.au/>  on
the 10-12th September.  A number of excursions and  workshops (such as dive
trips, whale watching, and coral identification workshops) have been planned
on the 10th and 13th September, and very competitive rates have been
negotiated for our delegates at two nearby resorts. We also have a range of
fantastic keynotes speakers, including:

*       Prof Peter Mumby, The University of Queensland
*       Dr Mark Meekan, Australian Institute of Marine Science, WA
*       Dr Alan Jordan, NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and
Water
*       Dr Maoz Fine, Israel
*       Prof Maria Byrne, University of Sydney
*       Dr David Wachenfeld, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

For further information on the conference and details of how to register,
please visit the our website:

..         http://www.australiancoralreefsociety.org

We have extended our abstract deadline until the 23 July, and we look
forward to receiving your registration shortly and seeing you in Coffs
Harbour in September!

Kind regards

The Conference Organising Committee

Anna Scott, PhD
Associate Lecturer
Treasurer, Australian Coral Reef Society
Southern Cross University
National Marine Science Centre
PO Box J321
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
Australia

Ph: +61 2 6648 3923
Mob: 0421 181 484
Fax: +61 2 6651 6580
Email:  <mailto:ascott@nmsc.edu.au> ascott@nmsc.edu.au

Website:  <http://works.bepress.com/anna_scott/>
http://works.bepress.com/anna_scott/

The latest issue of Seagrass-Watch news (the official magazine of the global
seagrass and assessment program) is now available online at
http://www.seagrasswatch.org/magazine.html.

Special thanks to:  Len McKenzie
Principal Scientist
Seagrass-Watch Program Leader
Seagrass-Watch HQ
Email: hq@seagrasswatch.org

http://www.iisd.ca/download/pdf/sd/ymbvol68num5e.pdf

A summary report of the Fifth Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands  

Published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in collaboration with the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UNESCO, and the Government of France

I am writing to let you know that Forest Rohwer’s new book “Coral Reefs in
the Microbial Seas” is now out!
The book is written so anyone can understand the evidence linking coral reef
health and microbes. There are humorous stories at the beginning of each
chapter to convey the main points and the art work is wonderful (done in pen
and ink by a famous tattoo artist, Derek Vosten).  The science is very
current and will give you a good overview of marine microbiology,
metagenomics, and coral reef sciences.
Here’s the publisher’s descriptions:

   For millennia, coral reefs have flourished as not only one of the
planet’s most magnificent ecosystems, but also as its most biodiverse.
However, since the 1980s the corals have been struggling. Both coral
bleaching and disease have spread globally. During recent research
expeditions to the remote Line Islands, microbial ecologist Forest Rohwer
and his colleagues found that the large-scale changes to the reefs in recent
decades are the work of the microbes as they respond to various human
impacts. Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas is the first book to recount this
story, complete with introductions to the coral reef ecosystem, 21st century
metagenomic research tools, and the coral’s microbial and viral partners. An
engaging book, its science is liberally spiced with artistic illustrations
and playful stories from the research expeditions.

 If you want to browse an excerpt, please look at coralreefsystems.org  and
click on “Our Book”.
 -Becky

—
Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber

Florida International University
Department of Biological Sciences
Office MSB-355
Lab MSB-330
3000 NE 151 Street
North Miami, FL 33181
(305) 919-4009
(305) 919-4030 FAX
rvegathurber@gmail.com
_______________________________________________
Coral-List mailing list
Coral-List@coral.aoml.noaa.gov
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

Learn more at:  http://www.savejapandolphins.org/   DV

Tokyo, Tuesday, June 8:
I’ve just arrived in Tokyo, tired and hungry, and afraid I might be turned away by immigration.

But surprisingly, they escorted me through a single lane away from everyone else and, after passing me through the biometric fingerprint and retinal scan, I was met by a horde of 30 police and a Japanese media blitz that surrounded me in a frenzy of TV and still cameras, lit up by scores of portable lights.

Onlookers must have thought I was some kind of film celebrity, although in the past the Japanese media always ignored me. When asked about The Cove movie, I mentioned that Japan’s constitutional article 21 prohibits the censorship of an issue where the people have the right to know. After that I was quickly rescued by officials of Unplugged Inc, distributors of the Oscar-winning Cove documentary, who whisked me to their car bound for my hotel in Tokyo.

Yesterday a total of 55 Japanese people, including journalists and filmmakers, harshly criticized theatre owners in Tokyo and Osaka for giving in to the demands of the Nationalist activists to cancel screenings of the award-winning Cove documentary. The outraged group said the cancellations threaten freedom of expression.
Read the article here:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-08-dolphin-killing_N.htm?csp=34

The Cove is still scheduled to be opened in more than 20 theatres later this month.

We are off to a very good start in getting the truth out to the people of Japan about the dolphin slaughter. This will be the first chance the general public in Japan have the opportunity to view The Cove.

Thanks for all your help in supporting our efforts here. It is making a huge difference.

RIC O’BARRY;
Campaign Director, Save Japan Dolphins, Earth Island Institute