Index, 1. Introduction, 2. Angaga Island, 3. Reef Check Sites, 4. Biological Data & Results, 5. Public Relations, 6. Suggestions, 7. Acknowledgements

 
 

5. Public Relations


Apart from collecting data, another important task of our visit on Angaga was to rise public awareness on environmental topics. This work ranged from answering questions concerning the Reef Check program, giving guidelines on how to identify marine animals to explanations on how the different species live and reproduce. Global warming and possible consequences for the coral reefs in general and the Maldives in particular were discussed with interested tourists.
 
 

Figure 5: From left to right: Claudia Roden, Thomas Stucki and Christoph Hauert after a presentation in the bar.
 
 

Every evening, between 5 pm and 6 pm, just before dinner time, we took our books and other material to the bar and tried to answer and discuss various questions of the guests. Several times and especially in the beginning we prepared different sorts of presentations (listed below) in order to introduce ourselves as well as the Reef Check survey.

Presentations:

30. June: Presentaion with slides
Distribution and formation of coral reefs, structure of the coral polyps, inhabitants of the reef and the aim and goal of the Reef Check project.
1. July: Video Session
Reproduction in the reef.
Plenary talks and discussions:
2. July:
El Niño.
3. July:
El Methods to identify the different fish species.
4. July:
Symbiosis in the reef.