The Transect Line – November/December 2019
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2019 Year in Review

Thanks to your help, Reef Check has achieved its goals in education, research and conservation in 2019. We could not have done this work without you!

Our education and citizen science programs have grown worldwide and hundreds of volunteers have worked tirelessly for the protection of reefs from the devastating effects of overfishing, pollution and climate change. While we have seen many negative impacts on our reef ecosystems, we also have some good news to report. Twenty years of Reef Check data showed that corals can now withstand higher temperatures than they could a decade ago, suggesting they are becoming resistant to the effects of rising water temperatures. In California, despite large stretches of the coast still being devastated by the loss of kelp forest, we have also seen local recoveries of kelp forest habitats.

We are very grateful to you for contributing to our successes. Click here for a few highlights of what your support made possible in 2019.
Video Spotlight: : Urchin Barren to Kelp Oasis: Hope for California’s Kelp Forest

Reef Check volunteer Bill Briscoe filmed this movie to raise awareness of the plight of California’s kelp forests and what can be done to preserve and protect these iconic ecosystems. Featuring interviews with leading biologists in the field, this movie provides an in-depth look at the causes and consequences of the recent dramatic shift of these lush ocean forests to barrens full of urchins and little else.
Backside of Catalina Trip Offers Up Epic Conditions and Important Data

This year’s Reef Check California trip to the Backside of Catalina Island was a tremendous success! Thirteen volunteer divers completed surveys at all five sites located inside and outside of Marine Protected Areas and we were also able to exchange temperature loggers for our Climate Change Monitoring Program. Check out the full story for some amazing photos!
Reef Check California Presents Findings at the Western Society of Naturalists Conference

very year, the Western Society of Naturalists holds an important conference largely focused on west coast nearshore marine ecosystems. This year Reef Check attended in force! Reef Check staff from from north, central and southern California traveled to Ensenada, Mexico to present data collected by citizen science divers to the larger scientific community.
Italian EcoDiver Dives with Purpose in Indonesia

For Italian Giulia Zini, the Reef Check EcoExpedition to Bangka, Sulawesi, Indonesia was an eye-opening experience. She recounts her journey here, and how “diving with new awareness is like seeing with different eyes.”
Reef Check in the News

7 Crucial Organizations That Study & Protect The Ocean – Ezvid Wiki

Reef Check 2019 finds corals in healthy and stable condition – Hong Kong Buzz

Northern California’s undersea kelp forests decimated by purple sea urchins – NBC News

First Annual Ocean Life Symposium Held at Matheson Theatre in Mendocino – KZYX (California, USA)

These Purple Creatures Are Eating All Our Kelp. It’s Time to Eat Them – NationSwell

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