Conservation Diver

Our CORAL REEF ECOLOGY & MONITORING course is the first step for you to start your #career in the #field 🌏 Not having enough time ❓ Or just want to check out what #scientific #diving would look like ❓ The Coral Reef Ecology & Monitoring course is a partial fulfillment of the full Ecological Monitoring Program (EMP), for students who do not have time to complete all 5 lectures and 4 dives of the EMP. It is designed to give you an #introduction to #coral #reef #ecology and how to view the reef scientifically by assessing key biotic and abiotic reef components. The course #teaches you how to use real world scientific sampling and reef #survey #techniques and certifies them to conduct their own surveys and report #data back to the online database. Students receiving this #certification are welcome to return at a later date and complete the full EMP course. https://lnkd.in/g-vGpTiK #marineconservation #marinebiology #marinescience #scientificdiving #scubadiving #coralreef #ecology

We'd love to introduce our Restoration Program Director Spencer Arnold, a core member of the Conservation Diver team since 2014, blends art and #science to make #artificial #reefs that have been shared around the world. Specializing in the #design and #construction of #underwater #sculptures, his works can be found from the reefs of Thailand all the way to Madagascar, and include inspiring pieces such as "Hope and Despair," "The Colony", and "Fight for the Last Life." Both an established #artist and a knowledgeable #marine biologist with a unique passion for sea slugs, Spencer's expertise enriches the #organization in multiple ways. At Conservation Diver, he not only builds artificial reefs and sculptures but also plays a vital role in #developing learning materials and #training new instructors. Spencer's blend of #creativity and #scientific acumen brings a distinctive and valuable perspective to marine #conservation efforts. #marineconservation #marinebiology #marinescience #coralreef #coralrestoration #teammember

We are pleased to share another #testimonial 🔔 Mr. Bob Sevenster, MA In 2015 I started the Coral-AID #initiative, aiming to use #technology for the benefit of #coralreefs and sharing fundamental #knowledge with anyone interested in achieving the same goal. In that same year I managed to #design and build the first Coral-AID #mineral #accretion #device. It work perfectly. For three months. This first success and set back led me on a path to further #developing mineral accretion technology. In the following 5 years I managed to perfect the design and helped to #electrify many different #projects all over the world. How has your training with us assisted you on your academic/career development? I decided to participate in marine conservation #training without too much prior knowledge or experience. I liked #diving and I was keen to learn some more of all you encounter when doing so. I never suspected it would inspire me to do what I do today. Apart from the many things you learn to recognize and understand, it was this inspiration that made me realize what I wanted to do and what I wanted to #contribute to the cause of saving and #supporting this fragile #reef #environment. What is your advice to those considering taking our courses? Haha, I can only say I am really glad I decided to do it. I learned a lot, met some great people I still see today and it got me started doing something pretty #rewarding. Find more and click: https://lnkd.in/g6zsMHN6 #marineconservation #marinebiology #marinescience #coralrestoration #artificialreef

Coral reefs are among the planet’s oldest, most productive, and most diverse #ecosystems. But, they are also one of the most threatened. Reefs around the globe are #declining at an alarming rate, and although the #problems have been well documented for over 50 years, not enough has been done to #protect and #conserve our planet’s oceans. Our #aim is to not rely solely on #governments to solve these problems, but to increase the capacity and #skill-sets of local #managers and divers around the globe to #empower a new generation of action oriented conservationists. Through #training courses we are giving people from many different backgrounds the #knowledge to initiate action, and through our #networks helping those who want to make a difference join up and realize their #goals. Find out more about our non-profit organization and click 😍 https://lnkd.in/gV-7z_vr For #donations click 💙 https://lnkd.in/gmEfJrKS #marineconservation #marinebiology #marinescience #research #foundation #ngo #preserve #savetheocean

Eco Koh Tao and Black Turtle Dive are very proud to have received an award from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) for their exceptional contributions to ocean conservation, a significant acknowledgement of their ongoing dedication to marine conservation. 🌎 This award recognises not only the continuous dedication to safeguarding marine ecosystems, but also the innovative approach of incorporating environmental responsibility into their dive instruction and community projects.🙏 Our marine conservation program at Black Turtle Dive evolved out of Eco Koh Tao, one of the longest running environmental organisations on the island, operating on many projects since 2006 to monitor and restore coral reefs around our island paradise.🌴 Black Turtle Dive partner with PADI & Conservation Diver and offer an extensive marine science curriculum of marine conservation courses and extendable marine conservation internships on Koh Tao💥💥 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gU28zCc

We’ve just come back from our first ATMEC field course in Rayong since we left the island! Using the chance to collect some data for our ongoing projects, we were able to include some of our students for a nerdy field trip! Combining various lectures every morning with additional learning they’ve been doing with us online or elsewhere, we explored some of the different ways people interact with the coral reef and marine environment in general. We learned about embracing the complexity of human interactions and ecology, some areas where science and conservation clash, how policy makers rely on real world data to guide management and much more. Of course, we also got rained on plenty (thanks Poseidon). Finally, we had a bittersweet experience as we were able to assess the impact of the 2024 coral bleaching event on the local reefs, and our years of coral restoration work at the archipelago. We found signs of severe mortality (stay tuned for our article on this topic soon!), reduced coral-spawning, and reduced population of coral associated fauna, but also encouraging signs of high-survival of many of the baby corals on the artificial reefs. Thank you to everybody who joined us for this amazing (and wet) week of nerdiness! And thank you to Toy Tours for providing a fantastic boat for us to use for our work! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ พวกเราเพิ่งกลับมาจากหลักสูตรภาคสนาม ATMEC ครั้งแรกหลังจากเราออกจากเกาะที่ระยอง! เราใช้โอกาสนี้ในการรวบรวมข้อมูลสำหรับโครงการวิจัยที่กำลังดำเนินการอยู่ และนำนักเรียนบางส่วนของเราเข้าร่วมทัศนศึกษาแบบเนิร์ดๆ! พวกเรามีการจัดบรรยายในตอนเช้ารวมกับการเรียนรู้เพิ่มเติมในช่องทางออนไลน์ และอื่นๆ ในครั้งนี้เราได้เรียนรู้วิธีการต่างๆ ที่ผู้คนมีปฏิสัมพันธ์กับแนวปะการังและสิ่งแวดล้อมทางทะเลโดยทั่วไป เราเรียนรู้เกี่ยวกับการยอมรับความซับซ้อนของการโต้ตอบระหว่างมนุษย์และระบบนิเวศ เช่น พื้นที่บางส่วนที่วิทยาศาสตร์และการอนุรักษ์ขัดแย้งกัน ผู้กำหนดนโยบายพึ่งพาข้อมูลจากโลกแห่งความเป็นจริงอย่างไรเพื่อใช้เป็นแนวทางการจัดการ และอื่นๆ อีกมากมาย แน่นอนว่าเรายังต้องเจอกับฝนที่ตกหนักด้วย (ขอบคุณโพไซดอนที่คิดถึงกัน) และในที่สุดเราก็ได้ประสบการณ์ที่ทั้งสุขและเศร้าเมื่อเราสามารถประเมินผลกระทบของเหตุการณ์ปะการังฟอกขาวในปี 2024 ต่อแนวปะการังในพื้นที่ และงานฟื้นฟูปะการังหลายปีของเราในหมู่เกาะ เราพบสัญญาณของการตายอย่างรุนแรง (ติดตามอ่านบทความของเราเกี่ยวกับหัวข้อนี้เร็วๆ นี้!) การปล่อยไข่ของปะการังลดลง และจำนวนสัตว์ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับปะการังลดลง แต่ยังมีสัญญาณที่น่ายินดีว่าปะการังรุ่นใหม่จำนวนมากบนแนวปะการังเทียมมีอัตราการรอดชีวิตสูง ขอบคุณทุกคนที่เข้าร่วมกับเราในสัปดาห์แห่งความสนุกสนาน (และเปียกชื้น) นี้! และขอบคุณ The Toy Tour -บ้านพักริมทะเล ทริปดำน้ำ ระยอง ที่จัดเตรียมเรือที่ยอดเยี่ยมให้เราใช้ในการทำงาน! #DMCR #ATMEC #Lovewildlifefoundation #research #MARsCI #artificialreef #coralrestoration #citizenscience

Delve into a repository of carefully curated #articles that encapsulate the essence of our #commitment to #preserving marine ecosystems. Helping to assess reefs around the globe The #programs and #courses offered by Conservation Diver were originally developed alongside local reef managers in an effort to increase the #effectiveness and #financial #sustainability of their valuable work. Increasingly, the #protocols and #techniques developed under the Conservation Diver syllabus have been applied to promote or improve #conservation strategies at various scales in several countries, such as to assess #reefs in areas of need. Last month, research director Rahul Mehrotra, PhD and a team of Conservation Divers published their third #study, in which #skills taught through our courses were applied to promote informed conservation decisions. This time #assessments were requested by the #government of the Escalante region of the Philippines, including a Marine Protected Area (MPA) that was established 15 years prior. This is the third such #expedition Rahul and the team have undertaken and #published, and is invaluable for the local governments to assess the #actions already taken, and direct the #policies that will decide the future fate of the areas and their #resources. Read more and click 🔎 https://lnkd.in/gAvMyxu5 #marineconservation #marinebiology #marinescience #research #coralreef #publication #coral #scubadiving

💡 From our section FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 💡 I am a dive instructor already, do I really need to participate in an internship to teach your courses? Being a #dive #professional you have equipped yourself with the #skills to control, #teach and facilitate SCUBA diving activities. For #scientific #diving, SCUBA is just the medium in which we do our #work. Although it is a minimum #requirement for our Conservation Diver Trainers to be dive #professionals in order to ensure diver safety, the methodologies, protocols and #knowledge that students are required to partake in scientific #diving needs completely new #training. As a dive instructor you will most likely have the advantage of being able to master in-water #activities quicker than others, but the course content requires much dedication and #study, especially if you don’t have any #academic background in related areas. Our #programs do not focus on building the CVs/resumes of SCUBA instructors but instead focus on adding value to existing #marine #conservation centers or facilitating dedicated individuals to start their own training centers or marine conservation programs. Find out more and click 🔎 https://lnkd.in/gMZ9YUWc #marineconservation #marinebiology #marinescience #scuabdiving #divinginstructor #divemaster

It's time to introduce our #funding #partner - GuideStar 💫 GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on #nonprofit #organizations. Providing you with the nonprofit #information you need. Candid is a nonprofit that provides the most comprehensive data and insights about the #social #sector. Every year, millions of nonprofits spend trillions of dollars around the world. We find out where that money comes from, where it goes, and why it matters. Through #research, #collaboration, and #training, Candid connects people who want to change the world to the #resources they need to do it. Find out more and check out our website and click the link provided ⬇ https://lnkd.in/gskSK793 https://www.guidestar.org/ #marineconservation #marinebiology #marinescience #fund #science #company

Adding to the pool of #scientific literature is crucial to better understanding the #ecosystems we are dealing with. Reporting new species, interactions, and ecosystem functions should be a continual #goal for any #program wishing to contribute to ocean #conservation positively. Much of our #research also documents new species, interactions, and observations. These #publications help us paint the complete picture of how ecosystems work, and the more #knowledge we have of these processes, the better we can understand and successfully preserve them. From our section scientific publications: Assessment of spatiotemporal variability of giant clam populations (Cardiidae: Tridacna) from 11 years of monitoring at Koh Tao, Thailand Giant clams (Tridacninae) are an ecologically important species in coral reef habitats across the Indo-Pacific. Numerous examples of giant clam population declines of varying degrees of severity have been documented since the 1970s. These have been attributed to several reasons, such as overexploitation in regional fisheries and ornamental trades, extreme weather events and anomalous marine warming events leading to bleaching. Read more and click the links followed 😎 https://lnkd.in/gk2WUQkT https://lnkd.in/ge7Yvq3s #marineconservation #marinebiology #marinescience #scubadiving #giantclams #research #coralreef