Coral Current Summer 2018 1

CORAL CURRENT l SUMMER 2018

C O R A L R E E FA L L I A N C E

2 Coral Current Summer 2018 CORAL CURRENT l SUMMER 2018 3

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kristine Billeter, Board Chair Dan Dunn, Treasurer Elizabeth Wagner, Esq., Secretary Michael BennettJeffreyChanin Philippe Hartl, Ph.D.MattHumphreys Vani Keil William Kerr, Ph.D. Aileen Lee Jim Lussier Robert Richmond, Ph.D. James Tolonen

CORAL STAFF

Senior Leadership Michael Webster, Ph.D., Executive DirectorMadhaviColton,Ph.D.,Program DirectorDoryGannes,Development DirectorRustyKelly,Marketing Director Danielle Knight, Finance and Administration Director

Programs Team Diana Sokolove, Deputy Program Director Jos Hill, Associate Program Director, Hawaiʻi JenniferMyton,Associate Program Director, Mesoamerican RegionBeckyTwohey,Ph.D.,Associate Program Director, Science Alicia Srinivas, Associate Program Manager

FijiAlisiRabukawaqaNacewa,Program Manager Luke Tuibua, Program Coordinator

Hawaiʻi,U.S.A. Erica Perez, Program Manager Jennifer Vander Veur, Program ManagerDanielleSwenson,Engagement Manager Annalea Fink, Program Coordinator

Honduras Pamela Ortega, Program Manager Tessa Ebanks, Program ManagerJulioSanMartínChicas,Program Coordinator Ana Rosario Velásquez Acosta, Program Coordinator Antonella Rivera, Ph.D., Principal Scientific Advisor

IndonesiaChrisRosado,Program ManagerVeronicaNikenDewi,Program CoordinatorIMadeJayaRatha,Program Coordinator

Development TeamNatalieScarlata, Grants ManagerKelseyDrivinski,Development Operations Manager Daron Willison, Associate Development Manager

Marketing and Communications TeamYasmeenSmalley-Norman, Communications Manager

Finance and Administration TeamEstherGonzalez,Office and Human Resources CoordinatorAnneShelley,Accountant

CORAL International Council TonyBirdsey,ChrissieBowen,LindaCain,SteveCohen,SarahFreiermuth,CindyGlancy,AlexKreston,JillKreston,BradleyMart,DonnaMiller,JulianOsinski,TomSchroeder,RuthShapiro,JeffYonover

CORAL MAIN OFFICECoralReefAlliance 1330Broadway,Suite600 Oakland,CA94612 1.888.CORAL.REEF

info@coral.orgwww.coral.org

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AllphotosbyMichaelWebsterunlesscreditedotherwise

ThisyearmarksthethirdglobalInternational Year of the Reef (IYOR), and2018hasalreadyshownusbothchallenges and successes in coral conservation that give us hope for the future.PastIYORyearshavefocusedon local conservation goals to get ahead oftheclimatechangethreatsthatwerelooming in the future. Since then, coral reefshaveexperiencedasteadystream

ofglobaldisturbancescausedbyawarmingplanet,includingcyclonesandcoralbleaching.ButthesuccessesofourcoralconservationworkwithlocalcommunitiesandtheprovenabilityofcoralreefstoadapttowarmingoceantemperatureswithourAdaptive Reefscapes has given me reason to hope during this pivotal International Year of the Reef.

Myhopeforcoralreefsisn’tjustwishfulthinking;it’sbasedfirmlyinscienceanddirectobservation.Wenowknowthatmanycoral reefs are adapting to the changes in their environments, andtheactionsthatpeoplearetakingaremakingadifference.Forexample,withCORAL’ssupport,localcommunitiesandgovernmentsinHondurasarepartneringtoprotectcoralreefsbymanagingfisheriesandpreventingcoastalpollution.Asaresult,

ifyouvisitthesereefs,you’llexperiencecleanerwaterandsee alotmorefish,bothofwhichareimportantfactorsinpromotingcoral reef health.

Latelastsummer,thesesamereefsinHonduraswerehitbyverywarmwaterthattriggeredahugebleachingevent.Ivisitedthereefduringthebleachingevent,andtheexperiencewassurrealastheonce-healthycoralswereaghostly,glowingwhite.Butunlikemanybleachingevents,themajorityofthecoralssurvived,andtheystartedtorecoverasthewatertemperaturewentdown.AndwhenIvisitedthesereefssixmonthsaftertheevent,mostofthebleachedcoralshadregainedtheircolorandevenshowedsignsofgrowth.ThegoodmanagementofmanyHonduranreefsishelpingthisprocess,allowingcoralreefstorecoverandcontinuetoflourishastheenvironmentchanges.TheInternationalYearoftheReefgivesusallachancetocelebratecoralreefsandtheirabilitytoadapttoachangingworldwithourhelp.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael Webster

PrintedintheUSAbyaCertifiedGreenBusinesson55%Recycled/30%PCW/FSCCertified/AcidFreepaper

Hope for ReefsCoral Reef Alliance Team

Table of Contents3 Hope for Reefs: A Letter from our Executive Director

4 Long-term Conservation and Collaboration in Honduras Pays Off for Coral Reefs

6 Looking to the Future with Virtual Reality

8 Meet Aileen Lee

9 If It’s Your Passion, Why Not Make It Your Legacy?

10 Spotlight on Nudibranchs

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Long-term Conservation in Honduras Pays Off for Coral ReefsBy Jennifer Myton and Alicia Srinivas

InJanuary2018,wesharedtheresultsofHealthyReefsInitiative(HRI)’sreportonthestatusandtrendsofreefhealthintheMesoamericanReef(MAR).OneofthekeyfindingsoftheHRIReportCardisthatthelong-termdedicationandcollaborationofgroupslikeCORALintheMARhaspaidoff,leadingtodirectandmeasurableimprovements in reef health.

Despitethefactthatcoralsworldwidewerehard-hitbymassbleachingoverthelastfewyears,10yearsofreefmonitoringbyHRItellsusthatthingsarelookingupinthe MAR. The positive trend is attributed tostrongerfisheriesmanagement and asignificantincreaseinMarineProtectedAreas(MPAs),whichnowcover57%oftheMAR.Legalprotectionandlocalmanagementactionslikeno-fishingzonescanleadtoameasurableandpositiveshiftinthenumberandsizeoffish.Andwhenherbivorousfishes(likeparrotfishandsurgeonfish)thrive,coralreefsbenefitbecausethesefishesintensivelyfeedonharmfulseaweedsthatcanovertakecorals.

TheresultsoftheHRIReportCardareencouragingfortworeasons:First,ittellsusthatthereareindeedstraightforwardandconcreteactionswecantaketohelpcorals adapt to the immediate challenges in their environment. Second, it tells us that thestrategiesthatCORALhasbeenemployinginourtwelveyearsofengagementintheMARareexactlytherightthingstobedoing.WewereproudtoseeintheHRIReportCardthatreefsinWestEndontheislandofRoatánareamongthehealthiestreefsintheentireMAR.Forover15years,wehavebeenworkinginWestEnd,supportingandbuildingthecapacityofRoatánMarinePark(RMP),ourlong-timepartnersandco-managersoftheBayIslandsNationalMarinePark.

NowhereisthesuccessofourapproachmoreevidentthanintherecentdeclarationoftheTelaBayMarineWildlifeRefuge.

ThankstothehardworkofCORALandpartners,inearly2018,theHondurannationalgovernmentapprovedthedeclarationofthisnewmarineprotectedarea,whichcovers86,259hectaresofreefsandcoastalocean.HidinginTelaBay’sunassumingmurkywatersaresomeofthehealthiestcoralreefsinalloftheCaribbean.ScientificsurveyshaveshownthatTelaBaysupportsastaggeringsixty-ninepercentoflivecoralcover,whichismorethanthreetimestheaveragecoralcoverintheCaribbean.Thebaysupportsforty-sixcoralspecies,eighty-threefishspeciesandhealthypopulationsofcritically-endangeredelkhornandstaghorncoral.Therefugewillnotonlyensurethefutureofthisstunningecosystem,itwillalsoenable the coral reefs to continue to provide food and economic opportunities to the thirteen coastal communities that live on its shores.

AspartofoureffortstoprotecttheuniquereefsofTelaBay,CORALalsoplayedakeyroleinthedeclarationofHonduras’firstcoastalmanaged-accessfisheryin Laguna de los Micos–alagoonnearTelaBaywherejuvenilereeffishesgrowup.Amidtheoftengloomymessagesaboutthefateofcoralreefs,wefeelit’simportanttoacknowledgeandcelebratethehard-earnedconservationsuccessesbydedicatedcommunitiesofpeoplewhocaredeeplyaboutthefutureofreefs–fromnon-profitsandthedivecommunitytogovernmentsandlocalfishingcommunities.Welookforwardtoseeingwhatmorewecanaccomplishtogether!

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Looking to the Future with Virtual RealityIn2016,CORALbegananexcitingnewpartnershipwiththeVirtualHumanInteractionLab(VHIL)atStanfordUniversity.Threekeyplayersmettokickstartthiscollaboration:Dr.MichaelWebster,CORAL’sExecutiveDirector,Dr.JeremyBailenson,VHIL’sDirectorandDr.RobertRichmond,DirectoroftheUniversityofHawaiʻi’sKewaloMarineLaboratory.Althoughtheydidn’tknowitatthetime,theirmeetingwouldleadtooneofthemostpopularvirtualrealityfilmspresentedatTribeca.

Theirdiscussioncenteredaroundonekeyquestion:How can virtual reality be used to advance coral reef conservation in the face of climate change?TheanswerbecameclearwhenDr.Richmond,whoisalsoaCORALBoardmember,suggestedthatVHILstaffattendaPalauancongressionalmeetingtoshowleadershowtheircoralreefslookedinvirtualreality.Thismeetingwouldprovidedecision-makersandleaderswithanimmersiveopportunitytolearnmoreaboutcoralreefs,theirimportanceandthethreatstheyface.Andthen,hopefully,topositivelyinfluencethetrajectoryoffuturelawsandregulationsaffectingcoralreefsandcoralreefconservation.

WithCORAL’shelp,twoVHILstaffmembers-TobinAsherandEliseOgle-traveledtoPalautofilmunderwatervirtualrealityfootage.

AsherandOgle’svisitcoincidednotonlywiththecongressionalmeeting,butalsowithaStanfordUniversityOverseasSeminar,taughtbyDr.RobertDunbarandDr.StephenMonismithofStanfordUniversityandDr.Richmond.AsherandOglewereabletojoinStanfordstudentsandstafffromthePalauInternationalCoralReefCenter(PICRC)ondailyfieldexpeditionsandfilmedadiverseselectionofbothhealthyanddegradedreefs.

ThecongressionalmeetingtookplaceonJuly7,2017atPICRC;Palauandelegatesandsenatorsattendedtheevent,PICRCstaffmoderated the event and Dr. Richmond and Dr. Dunbar gave presentations on coral reef conservation and management. The goalofthemeetingwastoconnectdecisionmakersandscientistsandtofacilitateunderstandingofhowclimatechangeandlocalstressorsareaffectingcoralreefsinPalauandthepeoplewhodepend on them.

After the presentations, Asher and Ogle ran personalized demonstrationsofvirtualunderwaterfootagefromPalauanreefs.ManycongressionalmembershadneverexperiencedVRtechnologybefore,andforsomesenators,itwastheirfirsttimeseeinganunderwaterlandscapeofcoralreefs.

Experiencingcoralreefsinvirtualrealityandseeingthethreatstheyfacehelpedattendeesunderstand the importance of protecting coral reefs,especiallythepopulartourismsites.Soonaftertheexperience,Palauansenatorsintroducedinitiativesthatwouldreducethenumber of people at popular tourism sites and also made commitments to conduct further research to protect coral reefs.

ThecollaborationbetweentheVHILandCORALdidn’tendafterthelandmarkcongressionalmeeting.AsherandOgleattendedthe2017CORALPrizeeventlastSeptemberandledindividualimmersiveexperiencesforattendees.CORALstaffexperiencedbustlingPalauancoralreefsandsawthepowerofvirtualrealityforconservation.

VHILstaffalsousedthevirtualrealityfootagefromPalautocreateCoral Compass: Fighting Climate Change in Palau,anunderwaterVRfilmthatwasshowcasedattheTribecaFilmFestivalinApril2018.Thefilmwasabreakoutstaratthefestival,garneringpraise

like“thebest…virtualrealityexperienceonofferatthisyear’sTribecaFilmFestival”fromObserverMagazine.Thefilm’supbeatmessagehelpedconnectviewerstocoralreefs,anditsinteractivenaturecontributedtoitssuccess.AsunderwaterfilmmakerOglepointsout,“Whenyouputtheheadsetonandyoufeelimmersed,that’sreallywhatdrivesthisexperienceasfarascreatingattitudeandbehaviorchangesforcoralreefs.”

TheVHILteamisnowworkingtobringCoral CompasstopopularVirtualRealityplatforms,likeSteamVR,OculusandVIVEPORT.ThefilmshouldbeonVRplatformsbysummer2018andwillbeavailabletodownloadforfree.

Asherbelievesthemessageofhopewascriticaltothefilm’simpactfuldebut.“Oneofthethingsthatwasimportanttouswasthatitwasn’tadoomandgloomstory.Wewantedtoemphasizethattherearethingspeoplecandotocombatwhat’shappening,andifwetakeactionwecanseepositiveresultsforcoralreefs.”

CORAL Prize attendee Arjun Srinivas experiences a coral reef in virtual reality

PhotobyTobinAsherandEliseOgle,VirtualHumanInteractionLab

If it’s your passion……why not make it your legacy?

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Meet Aileen Lee

Creatingabetterfutureforcoralreefsandthecommunitieswhodependonthemmaybeeasier thanyouthink.IncludingCORALinyourlegacyplan:

3 Costs you nothing during your lifetime

3 Allows you to be more generous than you may have ever thought possible

3 Still gives you a chance to make changes later on down the road

3 Ensures coral reef conservation well into the future

3 Just takes a simple paragraph

Joinustodayandinthefuturebyemailingsavecoralreefs@coral.org for more details. AndstaytunedforourfirsteverCORALLegacy SocietyMagazine,availableinAugust,2018.

Asmalleffort… …can make a BIG difference.

Other Giving Tips

• Gifts of appreciated assets, like stocks, can also benefit both you and CORAL

• You will receive an immediate charitable tax deduction for the value of the transferred stock and avoid capital gains tax

• CORAL can invest the gifted funds directly into our global conservation programs

Aileen Lee is the newest member of CORAL’s Board of Directors, having joined us earlier this year. You may remember her from her inspirational introduction speech at last year’s CORAL Prize event in Palo Alto. Aileen is the Chief Program Officer leading the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF)’s Environmental Conservation Program, which distributes nearly $100 million each

year to protect critical ecosystems around the world. GBMF’s conservation program includes initiatives for the Andes-Amazon, Marine Conservation and Wild Salmon Ecosystems, as well an interlinked portfolio of initiatives focused on market-based approaches to conservation. Aileen is a well-known leader in the global environmental community and the philanthropic sector with years of experience leading client engagements in strategy, operation and organizational effectiveness at McKinsey & Company. We are lucky to have her on our Board.

Why did you decide to join CORAL’s Board?From my vantage working in environmental philanthropy, I get really excited when I see an organization like CORAL– small enough to be nimble, but deep enough in their expertise to have an out-sized influence on the field. CORAL is lean and efficient, allowing them to stay laser-focused on solutions rather than being distracted by the need to tend to a large institution. At the same time, CORAL’s competencies are also distinctive enough to make them highly desirable as a partner to other conservation organizations interested in coral reef issues, allowing them to extend their reach. Indeed, working in a networked manner as a world-class partner to other organizations whose skills and assets complement their own, CORAL can have a meaningful impact on coral reef conservation at a global scale.

What’s most exciting to you about CORAL’s work?CORAL brings a wonderful combination of the capacity and skill to do deep work at the community level, with the scientific expertise and vision that amplifies the effectiveness of that local work and ties it to impact at a larger scale.

How does the Environmental Conservation Program at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation approach conservation?Whenever I’m asked to describe the Moore Foundation’s approach to conservation, I think back to something Gordon [Moore] once said to our staff. He said that his aspiration was “to win in the environmental arena instead of just losing slowly.” I think that simple but powerful statement animates much of our approach. We try to work in landscapes and seascapes where we can envision securing durable conservation gains. We seek solutions that preserve nature but are also pragmatic in how they anticipate and accommodate necessary development and other activity.

Do you feel hopeful about the future for coral reefs? CORAL’s work on Adaptive Reefscapes has given me real hope for the future of coral reefs. I used to think that the outlook for coral reefs was pretty bleak in our age of climate change. But CORAL’s science helped me understand that coral reefs have a capacity to adapt that is much greater than many people think – if we just give nature a chance. CORAL’s vision for Adaptive Reefscapes – creating networks of healthy reefs that are diverse, connected, and large – gives coral reefs a real chance to adapt at the pace and scale required to meet the challenge of climate change. And for me the really exciting part about this solution is that it doesn’t require us to place our hopes on technological breakthroughs that let us build “better” coral reefs. It’s really about implementing conservation solutions that are already within our grasp, but at a larger and more ambitious scale.

CORALBoardChairKrisBilleterscubadivesinCuba

Coral Current Summer 2018 11 10 CORAL CURRENT l SUMMER 2018Nudibranchs(classGastropoda)

Spotlight on NudibranchsNudibranchs are Incredibly Diverse There are over 3,000 species of nudibranchs, withnewspeciesbeingdiscoveredalmostdaily.All nudibranchs are sea slugs, but not all sea slugs are nudibranchs.

Eolid and DoridNudibranchsarecategorizedintotwosubgroups, Eolid and Dorid. Dorid nudibranchs haveagillplumeontheirback,whileEolidnudibranchsareidentifiedbyappendagesontheirbodycalledcerata.

Watch Out, They StingEolidnudibranchskeepawaypredatorswithnematocysts,andsomeDoridnudibranchscanmaketheirowntoxinstostingpotentialpredators.

Hungry, Hungry NudibranchsNudibranchsarecarnivoresandeatsponges,anemones, barnacles and other seas slugs. Like corals,somenudibranchsarehoststosymbioticzooxanthellaethatprovidenutrientsthroughphotosynthesis.

Hermaphroditic ReproductionNudibranchsarehermaphroditic,whichmeanstheyhaveasetofbothmaleandfemalereproductiveorgans.Theylaytheireggsinribbon-likespiralsandcanproduceoveronemillion fertilized eggs.

PhotosbyCraigHolmesandMichaelWebster

1330 Broadway, Suite 600 Oakland, California 94612

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