Science and management of coral reefs: problems and prospects

Conclusion It should be recognised that many principles of reef management do not need further research, as they involve changing human behaviour and activities in order to remove or reduce impacts on reefs. Much of the time of a reef manager is taken up with social, economic and political issues: the integration of reef management into broad coastal zone management objectives; the development of community participation and co-management; and the organisation of training and education pro-grammes so that people in countries where reefs are located are able to take responsibility for their sustainable management.Perhaps the main obstacle to be overcome is poor communication (Harmon 1994). Many reef scientists are already strongly convinced of the need to communicate their results and the implications of these for management and conservation policy (Hatcher et al. 1989), but they may however need to understand that reef managers are not always able or willing to act on their advice because of political, economic or social factors.Pure research is increasingly being conducted within a framework of goals identified as important to society. Funding is invariably easier to obtain if it can be demonstrated that the research will have some ultimate benefit in management terms, and much research is being commissioned because of the need for practical solutions. As the complexity of management becomes more apparent and managers themselves call for more scientific support and advice, the role that science has to play in perceiving and defining problems, understanding the mechanisms involved and strategically assessing potential solutions, becomes more central. Often, only a slight adjustment to a project is required in order for data to be collected that is of direct value to a reef manager.Partnerships built between scientists and managers engaged in adaptive management efforts may lead to more rapid progress in managing reefs and may banish the science and management dichotomy once and for all.     

Science priorities for seamounts: research links to conservation and management

Seamounts shape the topography of all ocean basins and can be hotspots of biological activity in the deep sea. The Census of Marine Life on Seamounts (CenSeam) was a field program that examined seamounts as part of the global Census of Marine Life (CoML) initiative from 2005 to 2010. CenSeam progressed seamount science by collating historical data, collecting new data, undertaking regional and global analyses of seamount biodiversity, mapping species and habitat distributions, challenging established paradigms of seamount ecology, developing new hypotheses, and documenting the impacts of human activities on seamounts. However, because of the large number of seamounts globally, much about the structure, function and connectivity of seamount ecosystems remains unexplored and unknown. Continual, and potentially increasing, threats to seamount resources from fishing and seabed mining are creating a pressing demand for research to inform conservation and management strategies. To meet this need, intensive science effort in the following areas will be needed: 1) Improved physical and biological data; of particular importance is information on seamount location, physical characteristics (e.g. habitat heterogeneity and complexity), more complete and intensive biodiversity inventories, and increased understanding of seamount connectivity and faunal dispersal; 2) New human impact data; these shall encompass better studies on the effects of human activities on seamount ecosystems, as well as monitoring long-term changes in seamount assemblages following impacts (e.g. recovery); 3) Global data repositories; there is a pressing need for more comprehensive fisheries catch and effort data, especially on the high seas, and compilation or maintenance of geological and biodiversity databases that underpin regional and global analyses; 4) Application of support tools in a data-poor environment; conservation and management will have to increasingly rely on predictive modelling techniques, critical evaluation of environmental surrogates as faunal "proxies", and ecological risk assessment.     

Science and rock

An innovative partnership between a research institute and a music festival is helping to connect scientists and young people in Portugal. It is also bringing in money to fund research.Science, more than ever, ought to be seen as a socio-cultural activity. It is a collective enterprise involving scientists and the public, aimed at understanding the world and contributing to a better standard of living, either by having an impact on technological developments or health-related issues. Yet, the perception of science and scientists among the public is not always positive. New scientific and technological developments can sometimes be greeted with disinterest, scepticism or even fear, due largely to misinformation, political agendas and a lack of understanding of science in the public sphere. As such, there is a clear need to improve scientific education at all levels, both in schools and universities, as well as among the general public.Informal environments can be important in promoting public engagement with science-related issues. Schools cannot act alone, and evidence shows that non-school settings, which are often overlooked, can strongly stimulate and contribute to science learning [1,2]. Informal environments have two main benefits: the first is the awareness, motivation and excitement that learners experience when discovering science in an informal setting; the second is that people are more comfortable and able to interact more easily with science without feeling overwhelmed.Although tacit and not always as scientifically accurate as more formal education, science learning within informal environments can still have a positive influence on the academic success of students, as well as on the likelihood that they will ultimately consider a science-related career. Such experiences can also promote informed engagement in civic science-related issues such us environmental concerns, policies and fundraising.Importantly, learning science within these environments should be developed through partnerships between scientific institutions, local communities, funding bodies, government agencies and volunteers, all of which need to understand the overall value of science to society to engage with the project [3].Music festivals offer important advantages as informal venues for learning about science because they are interactive. This makes it possible for participants to engage emotionally and cognitively, and encourages them to extend their science learning over time. Importantly, festivals offer access to members of the public who would be unlikely to attend events such as science fairs or science cafés. The UK group Guerilla Science (http://guerillascience.co.uk), for example, has demonstrated the positive impact that these kinds of unexpected encounter with science and art can have on the public perception of science.…non-school settings, which are often overlooked, can strongly stimulate and contribute to science learningIn recent years, commercial brands have begun to see the potential of music festivals as a valuable channel to reach young people. However, rather than using traditional advertising, brands allow consumers to engage with them through different experiences in what is called ‘experimental marketing'' [4,5]. What is not so common, however, is that event organizers give scientists the opportunity to engage young people in the same way.To address this deficit and raise the profile of science at music festivals, António Coutinho, the Director of the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), and Álvaro Covões, the Director of Everything is New, which organizes the popular Optimus Alive Oeiras music and art festival in Portugal, announced a new partnership between the two organizations in May 2008. In a press conference, the Directors explained the impact that they hoped bringing science to music festivals might have on the public understanding of science, while music journalists were surprised to find themselves interviewing scientists about their daily lives and research. Importantly, the Directors announced that the partnership would include a financial component, such that revenue from the festival would be used to fund fellowships at the IGC.Four years later and the partnership is still going strong. In 2011, the Coldplay concert at Optimus Alive Oeiras was sold out and fans were treated to all their favourite songs. What they were not expecting was that they would also interact with scientists from the IGC. Despite the proximity of the IGC to the festival venue, this was probably the first time that many of them had even thought about the institute, what it does and who works there.At the IGC stand, close to the main stage, science and music mix in unexpected ways. Different science-related activities are used to engage visitors. Revellersqueue to speak with scientists (Fig 1), extract DNA from strawberries by using everyday reagents, make flavoured ice-cream frozen in liquid nitrogen and find out how our genes determine eye colour, the alignment of little fingers, ear shape and the ability to roll your tongue. Visitors can take home a microcentrifuge tube containing strawberry DNA and, hopefully, a desire to know more about science and scientists. There are also ‘sci-arts'' installations and photo exhibitions about the research projects and young scientists sponsored through the partnership.Open in a separate windowFigure 1The Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência booth at Optimus Alive Oieras in 2009. Festival-goers queue to meet scientists and conduct miniature science experiments, introducing them to science in an informal and enjoyable learning environment. Photo courtesy of Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência.The highlight of the activities at the festival, however, is probably the ‘speed-dating'' with scientists (Fig 2). This event takes the form of a five-minute conversation between a festival-goer and a scientist in a relaxed and entertaining space. The conversations serve to break down stereotypes of scientists, encourage interest in careers in science and involve the public in scientific research. The questions asked are often insightful, surprising and thoughtful: “will we have a vaccine against cancer?”; “what degree should I take to be a scientist?”; “does a scientist also listen to music?” or even “is it safe to eat genetically modified food?” The IGC researchers who take part range from PhD students and postdocs to group leaders. They all have different backgrounds including biology, physics, bioinformatics, medicine and chemistry. The topics of conversation range from the latest work on genetics or cancer to more general questions about what motivates scientists, the day-to-day life of researchers and how research fits in with a private life. Conversations frequently last more than the allotted five minutes and the visitors have the opportunity to speak with at least three scientists from the IGC.Open in a separate windowFigure 2Speed-dating with scientists. Members of the public get five minutes to sit and talk with an Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência scientist about life as a researcher, science and the latest research. Conversations often go on for more than five minutes and the interactions are rewarding for all participants. Photo courtesy of Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência.The feedback from festival-goers is excellent. The opinions offered in the surveys of visitors are overwhelmingly positive: “I loved the enthusiasm of the scientists. Keep going like that. I also want to be a scientist,” wrote one respondent. “Very interesting initiative. I''m not from the natural sciences area but it was great to meet with scientists that open the doors of their research to us. Knowledge is never too much,” commented another. “This initiative was a success and we hope it happens again.” The surveys also reveal that visitors to the IGC space in the last four years—around 600 people each year—are mostly teenagers and young adults: 29% are between 13 and 19 years old, and 51% are between 20 and 29 years old. Only 15% of the visitors are between 30 and 39 years old, 4.5% are over 40 years old, and only 0.5% are under 13 years old.Web-based platforms have also been used successfully to disseminate the activities and results of the initiative. On the music festival website and its Facebook page, which are visited by thousands of people each day, a section on science is highlighted describing the partnership and the activities at the IGC space. Additionally, a Facebook page was created by the IGC, which allows the winners of the fellowships to interact with the general public (www.facebook.com/BolsasOptimusAliveOeirasIGC). On YouTube, three videos of the IGC presence at the festival, prepared by the IGC, are also available (http://www.youtube.com/user/IGCiencia).This feedback and interaction is particularly pleasing, as teenagers are a notoriously difficult audience for science engagement. If we aim to increase the number of people pursuing scientific careers, we must find new ways to attract this age group to science-related issues. According to the European Commission, Europe will need one million more researchers by 2020 than it has at present, and it is urgent that we find new ways to attract young people to careers in science [6]. A study of American teenagers shows that a lack of contact with scientists in their daily lives, and a lack of understanding of what scientists do, discourages young people from pursuing careers in scientific areas. As such, contact with motivated scientists could change these attitudes toward science and scientific careers [7].Having scientists present alongside pop stars is also a good way of showing that scientists spend their free time similarly to other people, by attending social and entertaining activities. Hopefully, this juxtaposition breaks down barriers and engages teenagers from multiple backgrounds with a broad range of interests and musical tastes. Young adults, another age group present at music festivals, are also an extremely important audience for science communication. Although they might have finished their formal education, their interest and engagement in scientific issues is still extremely important to society.Scientists gain important experiences and skills from working at the festival. For the last four years, around 70 scientists per year, mainly from the IGC, have volunteered for the IGC space at the festival (Fig 3). Science communication skills are fundamental to scientific career progress and personal fulfilment. A survey carried out by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO; Heidelberg, Germany) found that senior life scientists believe that PhD and other postgraduate training programmes should give more attention to scientific communication, both public and peer-to-peer, and that these transferrable skills should be developed early and regularly updated [8,9]. Another survey by People Science & Policy (PSP), commissioned by the Royal Society, Research Councils UK and the Wellcome Trust, showed that although lack of time is a constraint, scientists want to engage more with the public, especially with policy-makers, students and industry, and that it is important that scientific institutions and other organizations find ways to facilitate public engagement by scientists [10]. As one volunteer expressed: “I have to acknowledge Everything is New and the IGC for this prestigious opportunity, as this is a new challenge for me and is a way of bringing science closer to the general public.”Open in a separate windowFigure 3The Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência volunteers at Optimus Alive Oieras in 2009. Photo courtesy of Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência.In addition to the value of engaging the public with science, the partnership has important financial benefits for the IGC. Fundraising is a key aspect of the partnership, which highlights the importance of private funding for biomedical research in Portugal. Everything is New, the festival promoter, supports two research fellowships per year for graduates in areas such as biodiversity, genetics and evolution. Since 2009, Optimus Alive Oeiras–IGC Research Fellowships have given young science graduates the opportunity to pursue research in areas that interest them (Sidebar A). Each fellowship is for a 12-month period and is carried out partly at the IGC and partly at a foreign institute (

Science and nonsense

This article is a review of literature in developmental psychology concerned with children's thinking about their own bodies. There is an emphasis on ways in which children explain things that they know about their bodies. Very young children (younger than about 7 years of age) may have intuitive understanding of the distinction between the biological nature of the body and ways in which the mind controls and influences the body, but they sometimes explain processes that adults think of as biological in psychological ways. Older children acquire knowledge of internal organs and processes in the body, particularly ones concerned with the transformation of substances. However, they may understand these processes in ways different from that of a basic biological framework. The possibility that children have ideas about vital energies or forces is considered. Some implications for biology education are discussed.