A scientific slip of the tongue led a John Hopkins University professor to claim coral reef research taking place in Guam had never been undertaken before ? although it has been underway for months in Bermuda.

Associate Dean for research at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Gary Ostrander was in Guam recently with the president of the Virginia biotech firm EnVirtue Biotechnologies.

Along with a professor from the University of Guam, the three collected samples which will be run through a series of tests to determine if they have been exposed to toxins in their lifetime ? even if the toxins are long gone.

The results could go far in helping to explain why the world?s coral reefs are dying.

The Pacific Daily News ran a story on the venture on December 17, and quoted Dr. Ostrander as saying: ?Other places want us to be doing this research there, like the country of Bermuda wants us to do the same thing in Bermuda. But we?re doing it here first ... This could really set a precedent.?

But scientists from the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) told Dr. Ostrander was mistaken.

?We?re doing that already,? said BBSR scientist Dr. Hank Trapido-Rosenthal. ?With the same company.?

EnVirtue president Craig Downs was in Bermuda in September laying the groundwork for the research, he said.

?He has very interesting technology. We specifically chose to get underway here in Bermuda because the coral here is so healthy ? just like in Guam.?

The first International Coral Reef Ecotoxicology and Health workshop was held in Bermuda in September, he said.

?It was during the course of that workshop that we went into Castle Harbour and took samples from three sites to do the exact same analyses they are talking about in Guam.

?Samples from Castle Harbour and elsewhere in Bermuda, collected prior to, during, and after the workshop, have been and are being analysed by us, by EnVirtue Biotechnologies, and by other research groups who participated in the September Bermuda meeting. So, I feel fairly confident that Bermuda can claim pride of place on this particular topic!?

EnVirtue also mentions the work with the BBSR on their website.

?EnVirtue and the Bermuda Biological Research Station are collaborating on constructing a coral ecotoxicology laboratory to examine the effects of compounds on coral health,? the website states. ?One of the focal points of this laboratory is prevention ? to test compounds for toxicity before they are commercialised. This includes compounds used in anti-foulant paints on boats, compounds in waste water, and components of agricultural run-off.?

?I don?t think the reporter was mistaken,? said Dr. Rosenthal. ?I think the scientists in Guam were trying to gild their own lily.?