To all AGRRA Workshop Participants:
To help prepare for the upcoming workshop(June 2-5), we have outlined information on the Objectives of the Workshop, Presentation Schedule, Presentation Guidelines, Abstract information and deadlines. If you have not received a registration form and need one, please e-mail us. We will be updating the AGRRA web site periodically with Workshop information - the web address is http://www.agrra.org.
The following is requested from all potential AGRRA Workshop participants:
Primary
Review Proposed Protocol. The success of the Workshop depends largely on advance preparation by participants. All those who have access to reefs are urged to field test the Proposed Protocol (see website http://www.agrra.org or we can send you a copy) and bring results and questions to workshop. Those who cannot field test are urged to review the Protocol in detail and bring questions or concerns to the Workshop.
Participants should have experience in:
SESSION I. Corals, fish and algae as indicators of reef health.
Session I will include Oral Advertisements and Informal Displays of presentations that meet the proposed goals of AGRRA-RAP (see below). These presentations will focus on using corals (e.g., species diversity, abundance, coral size, partial mortality), fish (abundance and size), and algae (e.g., abundance) as indicators of coral reef condition.
SESSION II. Open Session.
Session II will be an open session that will include presentations on other aspects of assessing reef and fish communities.
Proposed Goals of AGRRA (1998-2001)
Identify reefs in serious decline and those so luxurious they must be preserved as parks, preserves, or marine protected areas. Indications of serious decline include high coral mortality and/or extensive fleshy algae and/or severely reduced populations of fish, especially exploited species.
Compare the condition of reefs near centers of human populations with those remote from direct human-impacts.
Provide a current assessment of reef condition to compare with a reef-assessment in 2010.
Provide a new generation of maps of reef types in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
To encourage maximum interaction and discussion among participants, there will be two types of presentations. Presentations in Session I will be a combination of brief 10-minute Oral "Advertisements" followed by "Informal Displays". Presentations in Session II will be either 15-minute oral presentations or posters.
SESSION I - Oral "Advertisements" and Informal Displays
The purpose of the oral advertisements is to introduce yourself and briefly advertise your project so other participants know who to talk to during the Informal Display. These presentations should only be 10 minutes long incorporating a few slides, overheads, or handouts to summarize methods, results, and problems. The follow-up Informal Display Session will be an informal interactive session where each presenter displays his/her project and has the opportunity to interact with the other participants. Informal Displays should consist of a collection of 4-8 diagrams, maps, photographs on 8 1/2 x 11 or 11 x 17 paper that explain your methods and findings. Note - The Informal Displays are not intended to be high quality graphic displays common at many conferences. Materials will be provided to post your display in an area 1-m high and 2-m wide. These displays can be posted beginning Monday, June 1 at 1 PM.
SESSION II - Open Session Presentations
These will either be 15-minute presentations or full poster displays.
Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be submitted to Robert N. Ginsburg by May 8, 1998. Submission by e-mail is encouraged to rginsburg@rsmas.miami.edu. Appropriate abstracts will be selected to present an Oral Advertisement and Informal Display in Session I. All other abstracts will be selected to present an oral presentation or poster in Session II. Participants will be notified by May 12 of which session they are in and the type of presentation they will be doing.
That's all for now.
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