institutions, (2) most researchers cannot spend large blocks of time away from 

 home, and (3) travel costs are becoming prohibitive, few current studies have 

 followed long-term variations in reef systems. Moreover, current policy dictates 

 that most research grants are limited to durations of several years at most. 

 The net result is that most ecological studies are relatively static "snapshots" 

 of intrinsically dynamic systems. Thus, our ability to understand the long- 

 range consequences of various ecological interactions, and especially major 

 environmental events (such as the urchin die-off discussed above), becomes 

 severely limited. Likens (1983) recently has characterized the establishment 

 and funding of long-term ecological studies in general to be a major priority 

 for the future. Perhaps reef systems will one day be included in the National 

 Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research Program. In any event, the 

 establishment and funding of facilities for detailed studies in prescribed local 

 areas (such as NOAA's HYDR0LA8 in Salt River Canyon, St. Croix) or in local 

 regions (such as NOAA's MAKALI'I submersible program in Hawaii and Johnston 

 Island, the JOHNSON SEA-LINK submersible program in Florida and the Bahamas, 

 and the submersible now available at the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, 

 Jamaica) represent important first steps toward obtaining long-term data on 

 deep reef systems. 



The third need is for future studies to include several study areas in 

 order to determine the ubiquity of observed patterns. Most present studies 

 occur at single sites, making widespread generalizations about coral reefs 

 based on a single study tenuous at best (although this fact rarely stops us). 

 This problem can be rectified by a single project being conducted at a number 

 of locations, either sequentially by a single research team or simultaneously 

 by several teams using standardized methods. Present controversies, such as 

 the importance of urchins as grazers discussed above, could be resolved by such 

 an approach. NOAA's proposal to establish a saturation facility which can be 

 moved among different geographical locations for comparative surveys of reef 

 biota and processes should facilitate standardized studies. 



Unfortunately, enacting these last two proposals may require changes in 

 the current policies of granting agencies. The present system seems geared 

 toward a fast-turnover "results-now" policy. While programs such as HYDROLAB 

 provide the potential for long-term studies of reef systems, few such facilities 

 exist presently, precluding detailed comparative studies among a number of 

 study sites. In any case, should the majority of reef ecologists concur that 

 these needs are important, long-term observational and experimental studies 

 over wide areas will be realized eventually. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Many thanks to the U.C. Irvine Committee on Faculty Travel (especially 

 Peter Dixon) for funding my participation in the workshop; to the discussion 

 participants for providing written summaries of their contributions (my sincere 

 apologies for any misquotes); to Marjorie Reaka and John Ebersole for constructive 

 comments on my manuscripts; and, especially, to Marjorie Reaka for bringing us 

 all together. 



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