- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
In the midst of the pre-swap, frag ogling frenzy, it often gets over-looked that the Swap is an opportunity to do much more than trade and buy corals. We make every effort to make your experience an educational one by presenting demos or workshops throughout the day. We also bring in world-class speakers to help you hone your reef keeping skills. This time around we offer two outstanding presentations that should prove of interest to everyone.
Ret Talbot--- Is Your ?Right? to Keep an Aquarium at Risk? The Endangered Species Act, Climate Change & Not Being ?That Guy?
Twenty species of coral were recently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and two of the most popular aquarium fishes--the Banggai cardinalfish and the orange (percula) clownfish--are under status review for listing. What does this mean for the marine aquarium hobby and trade? Are these listings little more than environmental activists pushing their own agenda on climate change with no science to back up their claims, or do the data show that these listings are warranted and will afford necessary protections for embattled marine life? Amidst lots of misinformation, hyperbole and rhetoric, aquarists are having a hard time understanding what an ESA listing means and how those listings might be implemented. If aquarists bury their heads in the sand and ignore "the problem," they allow the future of the hobby to be determined by somebody else. If aquarists categorically accept much of the the pro-hobby media's opposition to the ESA listings, they risk appearing to non-aquarists as anti-conservation and anti-science. Is the marine aquarium hobby about an "egocentric disregard for other species," or is it about an appreciation for the remarkable complexity of reefs that extends beyond the aquarium to the wild reef life aquarists claim to love? This talk will discuss the basics of the ESA listings and proposed listings, the science behind some of those listings and the possible outcomes of listings of aquarium animals.
Ret Talbot is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer who frequently covers fisheries at the intersection of science and sustainability. He is best known for his data-centered, investigative pieces in publications like Discover Magazine and CORAL Magazine. His multi-part series on the sustainability of the aquarium trade in CORAL, as well as his book Banggai Cardinalfish (Reef to Rainforest Media 2013), has brought attention to the socio-economic and environmental benefits of a sustainable aquarium trade, as well as the need for comprehensive aquarium trade reform. He lives in coastal Maine, where he blogs regularly at his own Good Catch Blog (www.GoodCatchBlog.com)
Paul Whitby --- The Aesthetics of Aquascaping: theory and Practice
When setting up a new tank we all have a very similar desire to create a living image of a reef, or other biotope that is best suited to the inhabitants we wish to keep. An image forms in our head of how we want this to look and then we begin to add sand, stack rock, create structure and inevitably step back and shake our heads. Welcome to the world of aquascaping. While at first glance the process of building an appealing structure seems easy, it is often the case that the more we work at it the further from our original idea it becomes. In this presentation, we will discuss several aesthetic concepts that will assist your overall design including composition, structure, color theory and much more. These concepts are applicable from the smallest nano to the mammoth sized tanks and will help anyone setting up a new system or wanting to improve the look of an existing set up.
Paul Whitby is originally from the UK, but now resides in Oklahoma USA. While in the UK, he received his Doctorate in the microbiology of fish diseases, specifically diseases of fish with high economic importance and has published several articles in this field as well as medical microbiology. Currently he is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma where he specializes in the microbiology of pediatric infectious diseases. Paul is the current President of the Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society (COMAS) and has had several articles published in Reef Keeping online magazine and ReefBuilders. He has published several articles on COMAS, the development of a captive propagation program to conserve coral species, pests and parasites in marine aquaria as well as numerous reviews. In October 2007 his SPS dominated display tank was selected as Reef Keeping Magazine's Tank of the Month. Paul has presented several marine aquarium related seminars at local clubs and conferences including Oklahoma's CRASE, Reef Fest, ReefStock, NERAC, IMAC west and others. He has been keeping saltwater aquariums for over 22 years and has owned a variety of tanks ranging from under 30 to in excess of 600 gallons. His current system, including filtration, is over 1,000 gallons.
Ret Talbot--- Is Your ?Right? to Keep an Aquarium at Risk? The Endangered Species Act, Climate Change & Not Being ?That Guy?
Twenty species of coral were recently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and two of the most popular aquarium fishes--the Banggai cardinalfish and the orange (percula) clownfish--are under status review for listing. What does this mean for the marine aquarium hobby and trade? Are these listings little more than environmental activists pushing their own agenda on climate change with no science to back up their claims, or do the data show that these listings are warranted and will afford necessary protections for embattled marine life? Amidst lots of misinformation, hyperbole and rhetoric, aquarists are having a hard time understanding what an ESA listing means and how those listings might be implemented. If aquarists bury their heads in the sand and ignore "the problem," they allow the future of the hobby to be determined by somebody else. If aquarists categorically accept much of the the pro-hobby media's opposition to the ESA listings, they risk appearing to non-aquarists as anti-conservation and anti-science. Is the marine aquarium hobby about an "egocentric disregard for other species," or is it about an appreciation for the remarkable complexity of reefs that extends beyond the aquarium to the wild reef life aquarists claim to love? This talk will discuss the basics of the ESA listings and proposed listings, the science behind some of those listings and the possible outcomes of listings of aquarium animals.
Ret Talbot is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer who frequently covers fisheries at the intersection of science and sustainability. He is best known for his data-centered, investigative pieces in publications like Discover Magazine and CORAL Magazine. His multi-part series on the sustainability of the aquarium trade in CORAL, as well as his book Banggai Cardinalfish (Reef to Rainforest Media 2013), has brought attention to the socio-economic and environmental benefits of a sustainable aquarium trade, as well as the need for comprehensive aquarium trade reform. He lives in coastal Maine, where he blogs regularly at his own Good Catch Blog (www.GoodCatchBlog.com)
Paul Whitby --- The Aesthetics of Aquascaping: theory and Practice
When setting up a new tank we all have a very similar desire to create a living image of a reef, or other biotope that is best suited to the inhabitants we wish to keep. An image forms in our head of how we want this to look and then we begin to add sand, stack rock, create structure and inevitably step back and shake our heads. Welcome to the world of aquascaping. While at first glance the process of building an appealing structure seems easy, it is often the case that the more we work at it the further from our original idea it becomes. In this presentation, we will discuss several aesthetic concepts that will assist your overall design including composition, structure, color theory and much more. These concepts are applicable from the smallest nano to the mammoth sized tanks and will help anyone setting up a new system or wanting to improve the look of an existing set up.
Paul Whitby is originally from the UK, but now resides in Oklahoma USA. While in the UK, he received his Doctorate in the microbiology of fish diseases, specifically diseases of fish with high economic importance and has published several articles in this field as well as medical microbiology. Currently he is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma where he specializes in the microbiology of pediatric infectious diseases. Paul is the current President of the Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society (COMAS) and has had several articles published in Reef Keeping online magazine and ReefBuilders. He has published several articles on COMAS, the development of a captive propagation program to conserve coral species, pests and parasites in marine aquaria as well as numerous reviews. In October 2007 his SPS dominated display tank was selected as Reef Keeping Magazine's Tank of the Month. Paul has presented several marine aquarium related seminars at local clubs and conferences including Oklahoma's CRASE, Reef Fest, ReefStock, NERAC, IMAC west and others. He has been keeping saltwater aquariums for over 22 years and has owned a variety of tanks ranging from under 30 to in excess of 600 gallons. His current system, including filtration, is over 1,000 gallons.
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