Veritas, Vol. 32, No. 05, February 1992

              For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
February 1992 Volume 32 Number 5
Ecology of coral reefs is studied by constructing new reefs
Some artificial reefs are like towns where everyone is a transplant from somewhere else. But a well-designed artificial reef could be a place where many residents are home-grown natives.
“Artificial reefs can be a type of mariculture,77 says Professor Alina Szmant, a marine biologist at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Szmant has just begun a two-year study of the relationship between nutrients and the development of new plant and animal life on artificial reefs. The goal of the project, funded by Florida Sea Grant, is to find out more about how artificial reefs attract fish and how they can be used to develop new populations of sea life.
“People have been using artificial reefs for a long time to attract fishes,” says Szmant, “but little systematic work has been done to find out just how the reefs work.”
For her study, Szmant designed artificial reefs, made of concrete, with specific design features. “They look a little like miniature Aztec temples. Each structure is eight-feet wide at the base and six-feet tall.
The sides are sloped so that all the
surfaces get light in order to encourage algae to grow. They have holes to allow fish to come in and out. Waste from the fish becomes fertilizer for algae growing on surfaces.”
A dozen of the pyramid-shaped artificial reefs were built by Palm Beach County and put into the water last August. Three of the structures are empty inside; nine are filled with cement rubble to simulate a coral reef.
“Coral reefs look solid,” says Szmant, “but actually fifty percent of a coral reef is void space. These holes and cavities entrap organic particles and their decomposition releases nutrients for algae.”
Of the nine rubble-filled reefs, three contain rubble enriched with a special fertilizer encased in thousands of knee-high stockings. The fertilizer and stockings were donated by the makers of Ozmacoat, a fertilizer, and No-Nonsense Pantyhose. Three other reefs contain rubble without any additions. The final three pyramids are painted with anti-fouling paint provided by the International Paint Company.
The different configurations allow Szmant to test several theories about artificial reefs.
“One hypothesis is that the organisms that grow on a reef can be an important source of food for fish,” she says. “If the foodgenerating property is eliminated—as is the case on the reefs covered with anti-fouling paint—the kind of fish who are attracted to the reef should also change.”
Szmant
compares the reef to a resort where you can get meals in addition to just a bed. “A habitat with no food
supply means fish have to leave to forage. With a food supply, a reef may have greater diversity and a different compliment of species.” Szmant, who teaches the ecology and physiology of coral reefs with Peter Glynn and invertebrate
zoology, and her students are visiting the reefs on a regular basis. They monitor changes and conduct fish surveys. So far they have found that the reef has attracted a community of more than 1,500 fishes of 34 different species.
—Rosemary
Sullivant
Alina Szmant
“People have been using artificial reefs for a long time to attract fishes, but little systematic work has been done to find out just how the reefs work. ”
Employee Assistance Program helps one cope
Modem technological advances have brought many changes to our lives, making things easier for us and broadening our options.
Yet the rapid pace of change and the magnitude of our options have given rise to new complications.
Natural limits of time and space that previously kept our work and personal lives within comfortable bounds have been all but obliterated. We can spend money before it is earned, make or break fortunes with a single phone call, choose our nation’s leader in a day.
Rapid technological progress, too,
has altered many of our concepts. Systems and institutions designed to support and guide us and future generations are themselves reeling with the rapid pace of change, struggling to survive the decade or even the year, adding to our stress rather than easing it.
The state of flux — in government, industry, finance, and education, as well as social, religious, and cultural institutions — affects us very personally. Many are finding it difficult to cope. Substance abuse and emotional disorders are on the rise.
Fortunately, the stigma once associated with such disorders is diminishing. Families now encourage troubled members to seek help. Corporations and institutions recognize that emotional difficulties are part and parcel of modem society. Rather than lose valued employees, an emphasis is now being placed on assisting employees who are facing stressful situations.
The University of Miami has been at the forefront of this movement. In April the University’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) became an in-house program with locations on both the Coral Gables and medical school campuses. It is a completely confidential, three-session service provided at no charge.
The University’s Employee. Assistance Program, offered to all employees and their dependents for
the past three years, has been very successful in limiting the severity of problems through early intervention and in reducing the incidence of mandated disciplinary action. Insurance claims and out-of-pocket health expenses also have been reduced.
The ultimate success of any employee assistance program relies on the employee’s utilization of its services.
The University of Miami EAP is here for you. If you would like more information, please call 284-6604 (Coral Gables) or 585-6606 (medical school campus).
—Carrie Mellon-Niedbala Director of the Employee Assistance Program
The state of flux — government, industry, finance, and education, as well as social, religious, and cultural institutions — affects us very personally.