The Latin America and Caribbean Section (LACA) of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is proud to join the University of the West Indies to host the inaugural Latin America and Caribbean Congress for Conservation Biology (LACCCB 2018) in Trinidad and Tobago.
Programme and abstracts available here.
With a special side symposia focusing on International Year of the Reef: Caribbean Coral Conservation
Organisers: Anjani Ganase, Jahson Alemu
2018 was declared the 3rd International Year of the Reef (IYOR) by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) following the longest and most devastating global mass coral bleaching event from 2014 – 2016. Climate change has become the largest threat to Caribbean coral reefs on top of the historical impacts of overharvesting, pollution and habitat loss. In recognition of the IYOR 2018, we highlight some of the local scale and regional coral reef research and initiatives that are occurring across Latin America and the Caribbean that link coral reef physiology, ecology, ecosystem services, conservation management, socio-cultural and economic values and human wellbeing. Following the symposium, there will be a Q&A session with the presenters and a discussion on the next steps for localised and regional coral reef conservation and management in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Presentations
Jahson B Alemu I: The role of even poorly managed marine protected areas in mediating ecosystem service trade-offs on coral reefs: A Tobago case study
Michelle Taylor: High relative abundance of coral recruits on mooring blocks, coral rubble and vertical coral rock in a natural reef setting.
Franziska Elmer: Caribbean wide temporal and spatial distribution of the dermal fish parasite Scaphanocephalus expansus.
Katherine J Siegel: Marine resource management and social-ecological vulnerability to coral bleaching in the Caribbean
Anjali Ganase: The effects of wave action on patterns of coral reef structural complexity
Chasing Coral Screening
3:30pm, Wednesday 25th July
For this event, there will be a panel discussion with coral reef scientists and conservationist, including Dr. Mark Eakin from NOAA who will be phoning in over Skype.
Coral reef ecosystems are important to sustaining tropical, marine environments and the socio-cultural and economic well-being of those that depend on them. Yet, they are declining worldwide. In order to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and in celebration of 2018 being the ‘International Year of the Reef’ we propose a special screening and panel discussion of the Netflix documentary film “Chasing Coral”. Chasing Coral documents the acute reality that coral reefs worldwide are dying at an unprecedented rate because of coral bleaching, and the attempt to use underwater time-lapse photography to record this mass bleaching. Following the screening, a panel discussion will be held with local and regional coral reef ecologists and climatologists. The discussion will focus on a multi-sector and multi-objective approach to marine conservation. It will also cover regional initiatives for reef conservation, specifically in regard to connectivity for reseeding, since within Latin American and Caribbean territories some reefs are going to be more impacted by climate change than others. The outcome will be actionable ideas for the integration of marine conservation. This screening will be part of a larger programme (outside of LACCCB) to engage with the wider public on coral reef and ocean health.