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Ten Acre Freehold Farm for Sale FJ$250K
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My neighbor must leave Fiji to UK to care for his parents. His ten acre freehold farm with freshwater stream and mountain views is for sale. The property includes a European style home and fully…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Dharmendra Naidu Apr 26, 2011.
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Austin Bowden-Kerby replied to Scott Putnam's discussion Coral Restoration and Crown of Thorn Starfish"Bula Scott,
Thanks for this forum topic. The goal of Corals for Conservation (the NGO I helped found), www.coralsforconservation.com is to encourage individuals and the tourism industry to care for the reefs they use and rely…"
Scott Putnam left a comment for Austin Bowden-Kerby"Dear Dr. Bowden-Kerby,
Thank you very much for your response! I forwarded your comments on to Roberta Davis at Makaira/Taveuni.
I've been pondering your comments and Roberta's insights and I think I know why coral larvae only grow…"
Austin Bowden-Kerby commented on Scott Putnam's blog post What to do when a storm destroys a reef? CORAL GARDEN!"The corals will return to damaged reefs eventually, if the water is clean....but when most are wiped out it can take as long as 50 years. A little coral planting and protecting the corals from their predators can go a long way in helping reefs…"
Austin Bowden-Kerby left a comment for Scott Putnam"Bula Scott,
Thanks for the report. I have also found that the corals larvae sense where other corals are in order to settle well. So a lottle bit of planting can make a big difference to jump starting natural recovery. The COTS are bad on many reef…"
Scott Putnam left a comment for Austin Bowden-Kerby"Hello/Bula Dr. Bowden-Kerby!
I've been in communication with Roberta Davis up at Makaira (Taveuni) these past few months, keeping track of her coral gardening efforts post Cyclone Tomas. She and a few local youth have really gotten…"
Robert F. Kay replied to Austin Bowden-Kerby's discussion Ten Acre Freehold Farm for Sale FJ$250K"Thanks Austin...I think I'm going to create a "real estate" section on the site for situations just like this. In the meantime this venue will work. vinaka"
Austin Bowden-Kerby posted a discussionTen Acre Freehold Farm for Sale FJ$250K
My neighbor must leave Fiji to UK to care for his parents. His ten acre freehold farm with freshwater stream and mountain views is for sale. The property includes a European style home and fully furnished, power and water, plus 2 tonne lorry, motorbike, fruit trees, etc... all for Fijian $250K Located 20km from Sigatoka town on the valley road at Bilalevu. If interested contact me on (679) 938-6437 Austin
Austin Bowden-Kerby commented on Scott Kukral's video
Coral Gardening in Fiji
"The independent film crew working for National Geographic has come and gone... I helped them film our coral reef restoration projects at the Shangri-La's Fijian resort as well as the coral gardeners and coral conservation work and community in…"
Profile Information
- I'm interested in
- Diving, Culture, Hiking, Sight Seeing, Flora & Fauna
- I've visited/lived in/or would like to learn about
- Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Mamanuca, Rakiraki, Ovalau, Kadavu, Yasawa, Other
- Tell us a bit about yourself, your profession, reason for visiting, etc
- I am a marine scientist and our organization Corals for Conservation (C4C) runs coral reef conservation programmes that involve training resorts and communities how to care for corals and reefs. The video clip from BBC Wild Pacific was posted to your site last year.
Comment Wall (2 comments)
- At 10:50am on May 6, 2011, Scott Putnam said…
Hello/Bula Dr. Bowden-Kerby!
I've been in communication with Roberta Davis up at Makaira (Taveuni) these past few months, keeping track of her coral gardening efforts post Cyclone Tomas. She and a few local youth have really gotten into the spirit: replanting detached staghorn acropora fragments on to patches of reef scoured clean by the waves. They're achieving great success, but they've noticed the following:
(1) The parts of the reef they haven't touched are still bare. No baby coral colonies have, since the last spawn, attached themselves. However, there are baby coral colonies growing on the parts of the reef where they have coral gardened. Is this a phenomenon you too have experienced?
(2) There is a large infestation of crown of thorn starfish right now. Roberta and crew go out every other day to collect and destroy the starfish. So far their efforts have saved the reef in front of Makaira - but the reef in the next cove is overrun with the critters and is close to dead. Is this infestation localized to Taveuni (due to the nutrients released into the water by Cyclone Tomas?) or is it more widespread? Are there any establishments in Fiji (i.e. Makogai) that sell or distribute the triton trumpet?
I'm a tremendous fan of your work along the Coral Coast! It's truly amazing what you have accomplished!
Thanks,
Scott
- At 8:29am on May 11, 2011, Scott Putnam said…
Dear Dr. Bowden-Kerby,
Thank you very much for your response! I forwarded your comments on to Roberta Davis at Makaira/Taveuni.
I've been pondering your comments and Roberta's insights and I think I know why coral larvae only grow where there are other corals. In their planktonic stage, coral larvae have no way of knowing if they are in shallow or deep water or if the conditions are right for growth. There has to be a trigger that lets them know when to swim down and attach. The trigger, through your observations, is obviously the presence of other corals.
I'm hypothesizing, but maybe the signal to the coral polyp is strongest at night, when the coral colonies release their protective chemical-laden slime. Somewhere in that cocktail is the answer (or maybe the colonies release the chemical constantly?).
Thanks again; I truly appreciate it! I'll be writing a blog on this subject and COTS for FijiGuide - and would like very much for you to participate.
Cheers (for now),
Scott
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