Federal Funding for Coral Reef Research Presented to Nova Southeastern University

From left: Dr. Rich Appeldorn, executive director of the Climate Change Research Initiative; George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., NSU executive vice president and chief operating officer; Richard Dodge, Ph.D., chairperson of the 11th ICRS Local Organizing Committee, executive director of the National Coral Reef Institute and dean of the NSU Oceanographic Center; U.S. Representative Ron Klein (D-Fl, Dist. 22).

Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Fla. – On July 7, U.S. Congressman Ron Klein (D-FL) presented Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Oceanographic Center Dean Richard Dodge, Ph.D., and NSU Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer George Hanbury, Ph.D., with a check representing 2008 federal funding for the National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI), located at NSU’s Oceanographic Center.

Congressman Klein spoke at the opening ceremonies of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) held at the Broward County Convention Center July 7-11. The symposium, sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Interior and the State of Florida, marks the first time in more than 30 years that the conference is taking place on the United States mainland. ICRS is held every four years. With over 3,000 attendees, this year’s event is the largest gathering of coral reef scientists and resource managers in the world.

Following his remarks, Congressman Klein held a press conference to present a check representing 2008 funding from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration for the National Coral Reef Institute at NSU’s Oceanographic Center. The check in the amount of $1,110,000 represents NOAA’s 2008 funding for NCRI of $760,000 and $350,000 for the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute. The two institutes collaborate on research examining the stress on coral reef ecosystems and improving mitigation and management activities.

“This allocation of funding from Congress via NOAA allows important scientific research to continue on coral reefs,” said Dodge, chairman of the 11th ICRS Local Organizing Committee and Executive Director of NCRI. “The content of the research is assessment, monitoring, and restoration and the objective to better understand reef biology and ecology in order to develop scientific information that can help towards solutions to stem growing coral reef degradation and to find best management solutions.”

Congressman Klein also discussed the importance of coral reefs to South Florida’s ocean ecosystems, beaches and economy, noting that Florida is home to 84 percent of the coral reef habitat in U.S. waters and that Florida reefs support $5.7 billion in direct annual economic activity and 74,000 jobs in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.

Dr. Hanbury also addressed the convention during opening ceremonies, highlighting the importance of ocean conservation and NSU’s role as a leader in science education in South Florida.

Congressman Klein worked together with U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and U.S. Representatives from Puerto Rico to secure the NOAA funding, which will support coral reef research and management efforts at the National Coral Reef Institute and the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. Dr. Richard Appeldorn, Executive Director of the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute, was present to accept funding on behalf of the University of Puerto Rico and to stress the importance of collaborative efforts to address alarming rates of recent coral die offs in the Caribbean and Florida.

Media Contact:
Felecia Henderson, NSU Office of Public Affairs
(954) 262-5315 Office, (954) 383-4695 Cell, fhenders@nova.edu