Message from the President

This year, like many others, has showcased the continued commitment of the ACRS to supporting student research, rewarding excellence in research and management, providing a voice for the reef through engagement, and facilitating terrific conferences that allow scientists and managers to come together and discuss solutions that may help conserve the reefs that we all love. All of this could not be achieved without a very hard-working Council. Their energy and professionalism is inspiring and deserves a big thank you!

The society is currently ~260 members strong, and this year we have introduced a perpetual membership. So for those of you that don’t like keeping track of your payments and want to support the ACRS into the future, this might be a good option. We have also had a bit of a makeover, as we have rebranded and are incredibly proud of our new website. If you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s a onestop shop for all things ACRS (membership, conference registration, merchandise, opinion pieces and submissions etc). We also have fantastic Facebook and Twitter feeds that provide numerous reef-related stories every week.

Our 2018 conference in Exmouth, Western Australia, was highly successful with 116 national and international delegates in attendance. This event showcased the high quality fundamental and applied research that is being done on reefs here in Australia and overseas, and has also provided a mechanism to ensure the exchange of ideas between researchers on both sides of the country. The Exmouth conference was also the first time that we included an adjoined the AGM. This facilitated much greater membership engagement and a fruitful discussion about ACRS activities.

While our northern reefs have fared relatively well in terms of bleaching of late, it is saddening to see patchy bleaching occurring on some of our more southern reefs. A reminder that subtropical locations are not necessarily a refuge during times of environmental change. As one of the more southern members of the ACRS, I personally would love to see more research occurring on these reefs and I hope to see a migration of researchers (even if you don’t overwinter here!) exploring key questions relating to their function and susceptibility.

Anna Scott, ACRS President