16 July 2004

Diving for science

It seems that amateur naturalists are capable of observing virtually anything in nature. Plants, tornadoes, flowers, birds, meteors, rain, animals, minerals, and temperature are examples.

The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) is a non-profit organization of recreational divers who do much more than enjoy their sport. They also conduct professional level biodiversity studies and censuses of fish. They also count sea turtles.

REEF fish surveys can be performed any time a diver is in the water. The REEF web site provides details on how to obtain an underwater slate and identification guides. The web site also describes how to submit data and how to access data that are on the REEF web site.

REEF fish survey areas include the following:

· Tropical Western Atlantic/Northeast US & Canada (Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas, and Gulf of Mexico), southern Atlantic states (Georgia and South Carolina), and Virginia through Newfoundland

· West Coast of the United States and Canada (California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia)

· Tropical Eastern Pacific (Gulf of California to the Galapagos Islands).

· Hawaiian Islands .

For details about REEF projects, visit the REEF web site at www.reef.org/index.shtml. If you are not a diver yourself, be sure to tell your friends who dive about this terrific opportunity to do significant underwater science while enjoying the water.

Forrest M. Mims III