Gillian Smith Houston, a student from Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Florida in the United States arrived in Palau this week to begin her month long internship with Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC).  Ms. Houston started her internship on the 19th of July and will be with PICRC until the 19th of August.  In her time at PICRC Ms. Houston will work in the Research and Aquarium Department under the supervision of PICRC Communications and Outreach Officer, Anna Parker. Over the next month, Ms. Houston will work with the Communications and Outreach staff, assist the aquarium with tank renovations and conduct fieldwork with PICRC researchers. read more

Friday July 14th marked the final day of the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) Summer Internship Program. The students selected for this summer’s program were Maikani Osisemereng Andres and Onglibl Diana-Rae Lakobong, Environmental and Marine Science majors from Palau Community College; Itungelbai Bells and Kelutel Darrin Yoshiwo, Marine Biology majors from University of Guam; Kaylee Giramur, an Environmental Studies major from Chaminade University of Honolulu; and Yubee K. Isaac, an Environmental Studies major from the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Throughout the program these interns worked on individual projects with mentors from PICRC. To complete the internship program each intern presented on their project and what they have learned over the past month and a half. read more

This month, the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) was visited by Dr. Rodney V. Salm, the Senior Adviser of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Pacific Division. During his time at PICRC, Dr. Salm worked with PICRC staff and interns to assess the resilience of the reefs around Palau.

Dr. Salm has worked in conservation for his entire professional life, but it wasn’t until 1990, that he first witnessed coral bleaching and understood the enormous pressures coral reefs are faced with worldwide. It was during one of his earlier trips to Palau that Dr. Salm understood some corals, such as those found in Nikko Bay, have a higher resilience to these global threats.  “I had observed that coral bleaching linked to warming seas was patchy. But it wasn’t until I came to Palau in 1999 and saw great survival by corals in certain areas that I recognized the factors that helped corals survive,” Dr. Salm recalls. “Where strong currents mix the heated surface water with cooler deeper water, corals were protected from heat stress; where corals were deeply shaded, such as in parts of the Rock Islands, they were protected from the harmful effects of intense sun light that usually accompanies a bleaching event.” read more

On Friday, July 7th, Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) staff, board members and partners held a meeting with members of the Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) to highlight the success of the large investment they made in PICRC nearly twenty years ago.

“We are fortunate to be able to sit in this meeting and see the fruits of our labor being laid in front of us,” Senate Floor Leader Mariur shared during the meeting.” Palau International Coral Reef Act was introduced by the House of Delegates in the year 1998 and now we are able to see the works, the changes, and the impacts this Center has brought upon our country and the works of conservation that it continuously does.” read more

Mikki Dochez from The United States, has been hired by the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) as the PNMS Researcher. In this position Ms. Dochez will work with the PNMS Executive Director, the PNMS Executive Committee, PICRC researchers, other researchers and stakeholders within Palau and internationally, to develop and implement the Science Plan for the PNMS. Ms. Dochez will also be involved in all aspect of research work including fieldwork, data analysis and publication in peer-reviewed journals. read more