Here are some
MACNA shots. The opening address was given by Dr. Hugo Freudenthal.
Dr Hugo discovered the lifecycle of
zooxanthellae 50 years ago. His talk gave me a better understanding
zooxanthellae, photoinhibition and the phenomenon of
bleaching.
His wife Dr. Anita is an expert in human diseases caused by marine organisms and I was able to ask her about the toxicity of zooanthids. She believes that there are people who are very sensitive to palyotoxin, have been stung multiple times and developed a sensitivity or have palyotoxin driven deeply into the body who can have a serious reaction. These serious reactions are not common but it behooves you to use reasonable caution. She advises wearing gloves and eye protection when handling zoas.
Next I heard a talk by James Fatherree on
T5 and LED lighting.
One of the things he talked about was how much light corals need and I was surprised to see how little! James also mentioned photoinhibition due to overlighting. He also introduced us to his new ezine
Liquid Medium where you can read some of the research (with more to come) that he used in his talk.
I heard Bruce Carlson's talk about coral reefs. I was amazed when he showed photos of reefs that had been destroyed by storms, crown of thorns or other problems that had nearly recovered 10 years later. I walked out of his talk think that if we get our act together that maybe the reefs aren't doomed.
