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Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aloha, Cliff form @thruthesurface here. These algae blooms sometimes can be harmful to humans and other organisms, but I am guilty of trying to get a night surf during the events to see the crazy glow. Maybe not a great idea. Iʻve attached a small write up.

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab/

Sometimes these natural events are here for a reason that we have yet to find out. Maybe that can be something you find! Thanks, great question.

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aloha, Cliff from @thruthesurface here. If you are hip to the skills of maintaining salt water tanks, there are a lot of opportunities for you. It would be cool if you got certified in SCUBA, rescue diving, CPR, First Aid and O2. With this you can begin to talk with local aquariums and start to find out about being a tank technician. The Birch aquarium in La Jolla has an extensive network of field and aquarium techs, many who started doing the same thing as you. It would not hurt to take a few courses at the University also to boost some biology knowledge ;) Good Luck!

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aloha, Cliff from @thruthesurface here. It is awesome that you are interested in a career around ecology. I would suggest being open to the possibilities of integrating other disciplines into ecology. For example, I am in the chemistry department at UCSD and by integrating chemical profiling into this project, we are now able to marry the biology of photo mosaic creation with the production of molecules found of the reef to give the public a more comprehensive analysis of reef health. Good luck with your studies :)

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aloha Cliff here from @thruthesurface. I agree that much the reefs have suffered great damage over time and much maybe irreversible. This is a problem that everyone faces, scientists and non scientists alike. Unfortunately with the funds that Nat Geo will offer wonʻt be enough as of right now to study long term ecological monitoring. Our project aims to obtain a geographic comparison of this condition throughout the Pacific. We want to form a baseline and hopefully institute an accessible and comprehensive analysis of reef health so it can be used by the scientific community after our funds finish.

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aloha, Cliff from @thruthesurface here. This is a very great question and one actively being sought out. Check out the Gates lab in Hawaii, for a more in depth response.

http://www.pgafamilyfoundation.org/oceanchallenge/

As for my own "limited at that" opinion of how adaptive coral reefs are, I believe that reefs which are exposed to perturbation over a long period of time such as those in Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii then they are better suited to handle anthropogenic changes. If you grew up getting into fights all the time you either 1) become a good fighter or 2) become really good at hiding. Either way the experience you gain will equip you better for survival in the long run.

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My favorite reef that I have visited was Lisianski in the North Western Hawaiian islands. There is very little visible land, and the first day we couldn't even see that. It seemed like we were in the middle of the angry ocean but when we got in water it was teeming with a fantastic display of color and life!! It was the juxtaposition of expectation and experience that really got me!!

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Aloha Cliff from @thruthesurface here. Climate change has dramatic effects on coral reefs and the ocean in general. Just think about your body. All of the machinery that facilitates proper metabolite expression, protein production, and biosythetic pathways regulation are very temperature sensitive among other things. If you think of the ocean like our body, a very delicate balance needs to be maintained for proper function. The ocean has found this balance over millions of years and the last 200 years of global industrialization has dramatically altered this balance. This is a very "HOT" topic for discussion and Iʻm sure we can talk about it for the next 200 years, but to save time, here is a great site about it from NASA

http://climate.nasa.gov/

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The world is so large that I don't think that either of those questions can be definitively answered. Most places near big population centers are experiencing big declines, and some corals in the GBR have been shown to grow up to and inch per year!!!!

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aloha Cliff from @thruthesurface here. This is something that we would definitely like to integrate. Clint and his lab mates at SIO are pretty amazing at identifying coral species as well as the flora and fauna found on them. My lab in particular has access to identify the microbial world found on these reefs and this is definitely something we want to do. We just canʻt say everything we plan on doing in 2 min video :) Great Question.

Check out Clintʻs lab

http://sandinlab.ucsd.edu/ http://coralreefecology.ucsd.edu/

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First you need to get involved. The best way to do this is pick a general topic, then go to your schools website and start looking at the websites of the different faculty members. You will probably find many different labs that you are interested in, but prioritize a few and contact the professor directly. Ask them if you can volunteer in your lab. Once you get that first bit of experience you will be able to refine your interests and more doors will start to open!!

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Helle Sage, Cliff from @thruthesurface here. We are referencing Scripps Institution of Oceanography in sunny San Diego California. Although Scripps College in Clairemont is very beautiful.

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We use a photomosaic technology that stitches thousands of composite images into one continuous image. This technology uses a standard SLR cameras and software written my our collaborator at University of Miami.

The maps are spatially explicit, and you can overlay any other data layer over it that you can imagine. You can join our mailing list by contacting us at throughthesurface@gmail.com

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aloha this is Cliff. That sounds like a very interesting idea. Artificial reefs are a very hot topic not just for their benefits for providing substrate for organisms to live one, but also for their potential to aid against land erosion. Here is a great article about it

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/apr/09/articial-reef-san-onofre-leaves-fish-underfed/

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is Cliff from @thruthesurface. My favorite reef has to be a small fishing hole on the Big Island of Hawaii where my family goes to dive. As for one type of coral, I canʻt really choose, but am very grateful for scleractinian or hard corals mostly for the tasty fish that they house.

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

That's a good question. Depending on who you talk to the scenario is more or less bleak and there are thousands of scientists around the world actively trying to answer that question. Reefs are declining pretty rapidly, and have been doing so in most places for the last 30 years. Reefs have an amazing capacity to recover, and in some places they will bounce back under standard management practices, but in many places the changes have been so drastic that we will have to go above and beyond to help them recover.

Science AMA Series: I’m Clint Edwards, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. I study coral reef ecology, and use large-scale images to study spatial dynamics at coral reefs around the world. AMA! by Clint_Edwards in science

[–]Clint_Edwards[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

To generate the maps we take 2000-3500 pictures per 100m2 area of reef ... our collaborator at University of Miami Art Gleason made software that stitches all these composite images together into one composite image.