We need your help to spread our message of awareness
We have been super busy this year already with both the nurseries, and some exciting new projects coming soon. We are still small and growing fast and we need your help to keep this momentum going. We are looking for two interns. One to help us with content creation for our media channels, and one for managing the social media channels that we have. Both positions are for 3-6 months depending on the person, possibly longer. Our hope is that we can then find some enthusiastic eco warriors to help spread awareness and our message to our expanding network of supporters. And find some new ones in the process. Outlines for the two positions are found below. We look forward to hearing from you!
You get to work with us and help spread awareness for the plight of the oceans!
Not just that, obviously! We are offering either a full marine conservation internship in exchange or if you are a looking to become a professional diver we can discuss the ECO Divemaster option with you as well. We have options for housing and homestays available as well.
If you are not a diver then we can work with that as well. We can make that happen as it is important to us that you have a good understanding of what we do. In order to do that, you are better off underwater!
Social Media Intern
We are looking for an enthusiastic social media intern to join us. You will be responsible for creating social media campaigns and the day-to-day management of MCCRs social media social media posts and channels. You need a passion for social media and marine conservation.
The successful intern will be an excellent communicator, a versatile creative writer, and a team player. You will be able to manage our channels through scheduling software, analyze posts and campaigns, and interact with our network of enthusiastic eco warriors.
Requisites
We ask that you have experience in the management of social media channels and scheduling software. Also, that you understand branding and production of effective and engaging social media posts.
You can work closely with our content creator
Knowledge of Spanish is a bonus.
Scuba diving experience is desirable.
To apply
Please submit a current Resume (CV) with references
Please submit an example of how you would plan and manage a campaign on a new artifical reef project.
Note: Can be offered as part of a university degree work experience/Thesis project if desired. Please outline in your application.
Content Creator Intern
suAs Content Creator at Marine Conservation Costa Rica, you’ll be in charge of creating online content like blog posts, newsletters, social media posts both visual and written. This content will help us reach our eco warriors. It’s up to you to provide them with valuable information about our projects and more.
You will need to be able to create both written and visual content so you will need to be able to take photos, videos around the dive center and on our projects. Access to a Gopro is perfect as this can also be used underwater. If you do not have any experience underwater, we have Divemasters and instructors around who very often can provide underwater footage which you can then utilize.
We hope that you will be able to assist us with creating more education materials for our programs and projects.
Requisites
You have the ability to write for multiple channels You have excellent writing and editing skills. You have a sense of branding and know how to keep a consistent tone of voice in your writing and media You have experience working with a CMS like WordPress. You can create basic visuals and videos You know how to optimize your writing for SEO. You have a passion for the underwater environment.
You can work closely with our social media intern.
Knowledge of Spanish is a bonus
Scuba diving experience is desireable
To apply
Please submit a current Resume (CV) with references
Please submit some examples of your writing and photo/video content
Note: Can be offered as part of a university degree work experience/Thesis project if desired. Please outline in your application.
In the current fracturing state of our natural world, the three different approaches to defending Earth’s ecosystems include preservation, conservation, and restoration. While they all have the common goal of sustaining Earth’s diverse and natural beauty, their methodologies differ. For instance, preservation defends what is left of the wild world, conservation prevents future damage to what currently exists, and restoration rebuilds what has been broken. All of these are incredibly necessary, but the one that is the most heart-wrenching is restoration.
Restoration projects all over the globe are proof that we are living amidst damaged ecosystems. As a result, this type of work is not for the weary or the doubtful. Restorators are Mother Nature’s warriors, not afraid to salvage what is crumbling before their eyes. Instead of weeping at what the fire has burned, restorators are the ones running into the flames of human-induced destruction with a bucket of water. While much has been burned and lost, restorators choose to look at what is left and what has survived against the odds. The same holds true with coral restoration work. Since the 1950s, studies have found that 50% of global coral reef coverage has been lost. Yet hundreds of coral restoration campaigns dispersed throughout the oceans worldwide show the persistence of the human spirit to defend and rebuild what we hold dear.
This optimism that restorators cling to is the foundation of the work itself, understanding that “every drop in the ocean counts”- Yoko Ono. While this work is oftentimes slow and tedious, the successes deserve recognition, for they are the drops filling up the ocean. Diving in Manuel Antonio with Marine Conservation Costa Rica’s coral restoration internship one gets to witness the coral rehabilitation process from the ground up. Corals are harvested and propagated on plugs where they are given time and space to grow in the nurseries. Here they undergo nurturing care, weekly cleanings with toothbrushes, and continuous assessment of their health. After they have proven themselves to be hearty and healthy sprouts, the corals are ready to be planted in the wild. This aspect is arguably the most fulfilling part of coral restoration work– having the opportunity to cultivate young and hopeful corals back into the environments that desperately rely on them.
The work of a coral gardener is this constant dualism– swimming through ecosystems ofchalky, gray corals while planting new plugs full of life, color, and promise.
This optimism that restorators cling to is the foundation of the work itself, understanding that “every drop in the ocean counts”- Yoko Ono. While this work is oftentimes slow and tedious, the successes deserve recognition, for they are the drops filling up the ocean. Diving in Manuel Antonio with Marine Conservation Costa Rica’s coral restoration internship one gets to witness the coral rehabilitation process from the ground up. Corals are harvested and propagated on plugs where they are given time and space to grow in the nurseries. Here they undergo nurturing care, weekly cleanings with toothbrushes, and continuous assessment of their health. After they have proven themselves to be hearty and healthy sprouts, the corals are ready to be planted in the wild. This aspect is arguably the most fulfilling part of coral restoration work– having the opportunity to cultivate young and hopeful corals back into the environments that desperately rely on them.
The work of a coral gardener is this constant dualism– swimming through ecosystems ofchalky, gray corals while planting new plugs full of life, color, and promise.
Although restoring what is broken can be disheartening at times, the hope of a future filled with vibrant, flourishing corals for succeeding generations to relish in outweighs the gloom. Herein lies what it takes to be a restoration warrior, in a world that desperately needs restoring.
Because restoration efforts are consistently bombarded with threats and casualties to what they attempting to protect, it is important to maintain a hopeful mindset. As restoration workers, one must understand and balance the duality of our dying yet adaptive world. In the world of scuba diving, the health of the coral reef ecosystems is noticeable with every dive. On one hand, there is abundant life and miraculous creatures thriving under the sea, while on the other hand there are countless signs warning of irreversible destruction and sickly coral reefs.
The more one learns about coral reefs, what threatens them, and what a diseased coral looks like the harder it is to disregard these truths– hence exposing the burden of knowledge. It is impossible not to notice the pink pimples and white scarring revealing the stress the reefs are enduring. As a diver you also witness firsthand the bleached, decaying corals, and grasping the full weight of these hard truths only adds to the pressure already felt underwater. In order to sustain the hope that keeps restorators moving, making space for the realities of resilience and fatality is a practice that all of us can learn as we cope with the current warming state of our one and only planet.
Help Marine Conservation and win a dive computer March is a wonderful month here. Beautiful waters and amazing life. We want to share the love here at Oceans Unlimited and Marine Conservtion Costa Rica so we are running a raffle to raise funds for our partner...
Help Marine Conservation and win a dive computer March is a wonderful month here. Beautiful waters and amazing life. We want to share the love here at Oceans Unlimited and Marine Conservtion Costa Rica so we are running a raffle to raise funds for our partner...
Help Marine Conservation and win a dive computer March is a wonderful month here. Beautiful waters and amazing life. We want to share the love here at Oceans Unlimited and Marine Conservtion Costa Rica so we are running a raffle to raise funds for our partner...
We are back with our spotlight on coral. Pocillopra damicornis is the third principal hard coral that we work with in Costa Rica. Our coral intern Sebastian has created this great article all about it.
Here are some cool coral facts about Pocillopora damicornis!
What is Pocillopora damicornis?
Pocillopora damicornis is a species of branching stony coral, commonly known as Cauliflower coral. The species is distinguished from other species by having thinner branches and less regular verrucae. While small, regular verrucae exist, most of the protuberances are irregular and are often not true verrucae at all but are more like incipient branches. As a result, Pocillopora damicornis exhibits greater branching than does P. verrucosa. Colonies are usually less than 30 cm tall. Reported growth rates of Pocillopora damicornis vary substantially between locations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, from 1.27 cm per year in Colombia to 3.96 cm per year in Panama.
Pocillopora damicornis occurs at all depths between the surface and 40 m deep or more, and is particularly abundant between 5 to 20 m. It is equally abundant in lagoonal areas and clear water reef slopes. Commonly forms monospecific, densely packed stands many tens of metres across in water 5 -10 m deep.
Restoration Success with Pocillopora damicornis
We started our coral restoration project with Pocillopora damicornis and Pavona gigantea. Pocillopora is a great candidate for reef restoration, as a branching coral it is easy to harvest from wild coral colonies and it is also relatively easy to micro fragment. Pocillopora has responded well in our coral nurseries with good growth rates in both table nurseries and line nurseries. This coral species has a faster growth rate than the two massive coral species, which means shorter time in the nurseries, and therefore less maintenance and costs.
Geographic Range of Pocillopora damicornis
Pocillopora damicornis has a broad range which extends from the pacific coast of the americas america all the way to East Africa and the Red Sea. in the tropical pacific and through to oceania and southeast asia. The range of this coral in panama is it even considered as one of the major reef building species.
Feeding methods of Pocillopora damicornis
Cauliflower corals are a filter feeding species that catch plankton and other small organisms from the water column using their hair-like tentacles.
Sexual Reproduction of Pocillopora damicornis
Pocillopora damicornis is a broadcast spawner with the capacity to function as a simultaneous hermaphrodite. Pocillopora damicornis, like other Pocilloporid species in the eastern Pacific, has low rates of recruitment.
Histological evidence indicates that spawning is likely to occur during a few days around the new moon. The reproductive activity in the eastern Pacific is related to local thermal regimes. This then results in a generally higher incidence of coral recruits at sites with stable, warm water conditions. Also during warming periods in areas that experience significant seasonal variation. Pocillopora damicornis is also able to spread asexual due to natural fragmentation, making this coral a good candidate for restoration efforts.
Specific Living Conditions for Pocillopora damicornis
temperature: 20 °C -30 °C (optimal is 26 °C )
salinity: 34- 38 ‰
Depth: 0-40 meter
Ph: 8,1- 8,4
DKH: 8-12
Habitat: occurs in all shallow water habitats from exposed reef fronts to mangrove swamps and wharf piles
sedimentation, Pocillopora is relatively tolerant as long as there is adequate water motion
We hope you enjoyed the article, thank you to our intern Sebastian Moesbergen for writing it.
If you are interested in joining our team at Marine Conservation Costa Rica you can contact us. We run internships, volunteer programs and research opportunities, please contact us here.
Sebastiaan Moesbergen joins us from the Netherlands. He is currently studying applied Biology at University and has been enrolled in our internship program since the beginning of March. As part of his internship he is assisting us with research and investigation and has been spearheading our spotlight on coral articles. Thank you Sebastian!
We are continuing our Spotlight on Coral Series of Blog. This week we look at another or our 3 types of hard coral that we are fragmenting in our coral restoration project at Marine Conservation Costa Rica. So here’s an indepth look at Pavona gigantea…..
What is Pavona gigantea?
Pavona gigantea is known as plate coral or leaf coral. It is a common coral that grows in relatively shallow and protected areas. Pavona has a naturally occurring growth rate of between 9 and 12 mm each year and also grows large plate colonies. They have visible coralites with a width of between 3 and 6 mm. The colonies tend to have a furry appearance due to the extension of their tentacles during the day.
Restoration Success with Pavona gigantea
Pavona gigantea can be relatively easy to harvest and fragment, as it often grows in plate formation. The younger growth to the edge of a plate is often thin and can be easily harvested. The older growth is thicker and extremely dense. The Pavona has responded well to micro fragmentation in our restoration project. Pavona gigantea seems to be reasonably resilient to stress and we have had a low mortality rate.
Geographic Range of Pavona gigantea
Pavona gigantea is found in the pacific ocean, growing along the coast of middle america from Mexico to Ecuador and in the Galapagos and Cocos Islands. In the Mid- Western Pacific, it is found in reefs located in the middle of the ocean. This is around the body of water between Japan and Papua New Guinea.
Feeding methods of Pavona Gigantea
Corals consume particulate organic matter and absorb dissolved organic matter. However, their consumption of plankton is limited to zooplankton that is in the 200- 400 μm size range. They use their tentacles to obtain this food. The same as other hard corals, Pavona gigantea depends on receiving most of its energy from it’s symbiotic relationship with the Zooxanthellae. These use photosynthesis to harness energy..
Sexual Reproduction of Pavona Gigantea
Typically Pavona gigantea colonies are gonochoristic, broadcast spawners. This is that there are both male and female colonies releasing eggs into the water column. Spawning takes place at the beginning of the rainy season, normally between May and July. Interestingly, in a few studies of Pavona gigantea, hermaphroditic colonies have also been discovered! This is likely to be an example of sequential cosexuality. It is when corals can begin their reproductive life as males and then become hermaphroditic. It has been suggested that sequential cosexuality is an adaption to guarantee sexual reproduction and increase connectivity among populations.
Specific Living Conditions for Pavona gigantea
Temperature: 18 °C -29 °C Salinity: 34- 37 parts per thousand Depth: abundant between:0,5 -20 meters Ph: 8,1 Dissolved oxygen concentration: 4.55 mL/L
We hope you learnt something. Thank you Sebastian for the great info and help with this. If you want to learn more about our project you can contact us here or apply to become a volunteer or intern here in Costa rica.
Sebastiaan Moesbergen joins us from the Netherlands. He is currently studying applied Biology at University and has been enrolled in our internship program since the beginning of March. As part of his internship he is assisting us with research and investigation and has been spearheading our spotlight on coral articles. Thank you Sebastian!
With the business of the holiday season behind us now, we here at Marine Conservation Costa Rica have hit the ground running as we dive into 2020 with plenty of plans to continue our coral restoration work. One of the biggest shifts that we have seen as we enter this new year is our overall increase in both intern and volunteer activity. Especially with the addition of our newest staff member, JD.
This “crazy coral kid” will be working with us through September and has already brought a bunch of new ideas and positive changes to our organization. We decided to sit down with JD the other day to catch up with him and learn a bit more about his background with marine science/coral conservation.
Hi JD!
“Growing up I was always obsessed with the ocean. The running joke with the family is that if a trip wasn’t close to the beach or didn’t have an aquarium that I could visit, I didn’t want to go and would make it extremely well-known. I always thought corals were cool but never really took the time to appreciate them.
In fact, it wasn’t until a travel course to Belize that focused on coral biology during my junior year of college where I actually realized how truly fascinating these tiny animals are and the numerous roles they place for both us as human beings as well as the countless marine animals we all love so much. Everyone was excited to swim with sharks, rays, and turtles while I was too busy focusing on getting up close and personal with every single polyp that called the waters of Ambergris Caye their home.
As tacky as it sounds, every time I dive and get to see healthy coral in its natural habitat I get this feeling of pure happiness, almost like I’m a kid again walking into an aquarium and falling in love with the ocean for the very first time. I really want to make sure everyone has the chance to experience that too.’’
– JD Reinbott
Q: What is your background with marine science/coral biology?
I studied Marine Science as well as Aquaculture/Aquarium Science at the University of New England in Biddeford, ME and to be totally honest bounced around within the field itself. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to focus on post graduation and was scared to make the wrong choice. It wasn’t until I randomly enrolled in a coral biology course with a field work trip to Belize where I quickly fell head over heels for coral and realized this is where I belong.
Shortly after the trip I became a certified diver and found myself traveling down to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve where I lived on a remote dive base for two months. During that time I collected metrics on things like coral population abundance, disease, bleaching, predation and overall reef composition.
This only furthered my passion for reef systems and made me want to learn more. Fast forward a year and I was now an intern at the Coral Restoration Foundation, the world’s largest coral restoration non-profit organization.
During my time I learned the various methods used to cultivate acroporid corals via in-situ nurseries and worked alongside the heads of both the restoration and science departments. It’s pretty cool to be able to say that I returned over 1,500 coral fragments back to the Florida Reef Tract during my time with CRF. Soon after I heard about the chance to move to Costa Rica and just like that I’m here!
Q: What is your role with MCCR?
I would say that my primary role is to help Kat and Geo continue all the work that we are currently doing (growing coral, nursery maintenance, public outreach, underwater cleanups, etc). Also playing around with a bunch of new ideas to further expand our programs. With MCCR being so new, there is a lot of wiggle room within the organization itself. This subsequently means that no day is the same. Sometimes I’m on land figuring out new ways to compile all of our data and microfragging corals. Other days I’m building new nursery structures and creating new educational presentations.
When I throw on a BCD and a pair of fins it’s a bit of a different story. Water days can consist of anything from harvesting coral to installing new structures to scoping out new nursery locations. It could also be performing benthic reef surveys. If there is ever a day someone finds me without a coral frag in my hand, it’s probably a day where I’m working as an instructor with Oceans Unlimited Scuba Diving & Go Pro Costa Rica. The Pura Vida lifestyle has been a bit of an adjustment with just a few things to do but I love every moment of it.
Q: What are you most excited about?
Honestly just to get the chance to watch this new organization develop further and to also bring all of my previous coral restoration knowledge and experience to help with such expansion. Getting to look back at everything that we have accomplished a year from now is going to be such an amazing experience and I cannot wait to see what is to come. Also getting to dive in a new ocean and work with new species of coral sounds pretty cool too.
Q: What is your favorite marine animal?
For anyone who knows me, this answer is a given. 110% an octopus. They are literally the strangest creatures that I have ever seen underwater and yet also the most unique and eye-catching (that is if you are lucky enough to spot them). Every single time I see one underwater, I audibly scream out of pure joy. I will only continue to swim when my dive buddy comes over and begrudgingly drags me away (literally ask anyone who has ever gone diving with me if you don’t believe me).
I would honestly just love to see what happens on a day to day basis within their lives, but also the one thing that always gets me is the fact that they HAVE EIGHT ARMS. LIKE COME ON HOW COOL IS THAT YOU COULD EAT AN ENTIRE PIZZA AT ONCE.
