Posts Tagged ‘Madagascar RAP’
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Why We Need Seagrasses
[caption id="attachment_4121" align="alignleft" width="335" caption="Giuseppe Di Carlo in Madagascar. "][/caption] As the world’s nations hash out a plan for curbing the extinction crisis at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) this week, we asked some of CI’s top scientists to reflect on their careers and what biodiversity means to them. Here’s what Dr. Giuseppe Di Carlo—a seagrass expert and manager of CI's marine climate change program—had to say. Read the other blogs in this series. If I had to give someone a one-minute “elevator speech” about why seagrasses are important, what would I say? I couldn’t tell them the whole story ... -
Madagascar RAP: Land!
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists has spent the past three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about their experiences. This is the final post from the expedition - read all of the team’s previous posts from the field here. This is the end. At 5 a.m. I see the port of Diego Suarez (Antsiranana) ahead, and I know that in a couple of hours we will be walking on land again. The trip has been a great endeavour which has challenged ... -
Madagascar RAP: “Perfect Nature”
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists is spending three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about what they’ve found. Read all of the team’s posts from the field here. Two nights ago we arrived back in Ambodivahibe Bay, from where I wrote at the beginning of the expedition. We had a few more sites to visit here, some unfinished sample collection. But by now we have a good understanding of the biodiversity of this area, a part of the coastline so far ... -
Madagascar RAP: Corals + Climate Change
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists is spending three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about what they’ve found. Read all of the team’s posts from the field here. Where do the days go? Time crawls by with the routine and lack of personal space, yet suddenly we’re almost at the end of 19 days of work! Now we’ve set sail with the trade wind behind us, on our way back north to Ambodivahibe where I wrote from at the start ... -
Madagascar RAP: New Species?
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists is spending three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about what they’ve found. Read all of the team’s posts from the field here. We have 10 days left aboard the Antsiva. We know each other better now than at the start – the camaraderie has risen in direct opposition to our levels of hygiene. We have been limited to 1.5 liters of water a day for bathing since the start of the expedition, when we ... -
Madagascar RAP: Where are all the fish?
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists is spending three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about what they’ve found. Read all of the team’s posts from the field here. To be among the first to survey the coral reef fishes of Madagascar’s northeastern coast, and to do so together with my colleague Bemahafaly Randriamanantsoa, who has surveyed most other reefs in Madagascar, is a fantastic opportunity for me, and an honor. This expedition has brought me to the southernmost reefs I have ... -
Madagascar RAP: Easter in Vohemar
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists is spending three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about what they’ve found. Read all of the team’s posts from the field here. It’s Easter Sunday, and I imagine at home some people are heading to church, others are preparing meals to share during large family gatherings. But on the Antsiva, it’s a day as any other. We prepare for work at 6:30am – our schedule doesn’t allow for any days off. Last night we reached ... -
Madagascar RAP: Loky Bay
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists is spending three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about what they’ve found. Read all of the team’s posts from the field here. Today was our second day surveying Loky Bay. We arrived after an overnight voyage from Ambodivahibe, steaming against a strong wind. The bay was refreshingly calm compared to the rough open seas, and our captain – warily scanning his digital charts – crept slowly into a sandy anchorage, just 200 meters from ... -
Madagascar RAP: Village Visit in Ambodivahibe
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists is spending three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about what they’ve found. Read all of the team’s posts from the field here. It’s 5:30 am and we are getting ready to leave Ambodivahibe Bay and move south. But before we go, Monica Tombolahy and I go to pay our respects to the nearby village. As regional conservation coordinator for CI-Madagascar, Monica has spent the last two years in this area, helping CI support the national ... -
Madagascar RAP: Ambodivahibe
As part of a CI-organized Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar, an international team of marine scientists is spending three weeks exploring ecosystems, documenting species – and reporting back to us about what they’ve found. Read all of the team’s posts from the field here. It took me two weeks to learn how to say the name of the place: Ambodivahibe. A small bay down the northeastern tip of Madagascar, the site first came to our attention after the second CI RAP in 2006. In 1998 there had been a mass bleaching of corals nearby, yet this site ...
