Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Regional Status of Coral Reefs in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden
MONITORING CORALS IN SOCOTRA (YEMEN)
The islands of Socotra are a little known part of the coral reef world in the Arabian Sea,
north west Indian Ocean. Long renowned for their terrestrial biodiversity, the islands
also support highly diverse coral and fish communities with unique biogeographic
affinities to Arabia, east Africa, the Red Sea and greater Indo-Pacific. To assess present
status and future trends in these communities, a long-term monitoring program was
established in 11 monitoring sites scattered around the island group, as part of a GEF-
UNDP Biodiversity Project and under the auspices of the Yemen Environment
Protection Council. The GCRMN methods were modified for these sites which have
little true reef development, and transects were set at just one depth range (3 – 5m or
8 – 11m), and aligned parallel to each other about 15m apart. Some sites were
composed of large mono-specific stands of coral; others by more diverse communities
of more than 50 hard coral species; and others were dominated by macro-algae with
sparse corals. Coral cover ranged from less than 10% in algal areas exposed to seasonal
cool upwelling to greater than 50% in the rich coral patches of the more-sheltered
north coasts. These corals were affected by the 1998 global bleaching event, like other
reef areas of the Indian Ocean. Several sites experienced major coral mortality, with loss
of over half of total coral cover (approx. 25% decline in total area) and shifts in
community structure, whereas others remained in a near-pristine state. Between 1999
and 2000, changes in these communities included coral death following flood run-off
during intense rains of December 1999, and clear coral recruitment at sites badly
impacted by bleaching in 1998. The coral recruits are growing rapidly, suggesting that
here also some small juvenile corals survived the bleaching. At present, reef fishes are
both diverse and abundant, with broad size distributions. Indeed, the waters above
some of the small coral patches teem with fish – an impressive, but not high biomass.
The reef fish are now being actively targeted by local fishermen, as national and
international demand increases. The islands are also becoming an international tourism
destination, with expanding infrastructure and development proceeding apace; and the
recent Government proclamation of the Socotra Conservation and Development
Zoning Plan, incorporating large multiple-use marine and terrestrial protected areas, is
very timely. The islands should prove important as monitoring sites, being located in a
key location for assessing effects of climate change and other impacts. The work to
date has been undertaken by a joint international (Senckenberg Museum) and Yemen
team. With completion of the GEF-UNDP Project, there is an urgent need for continued
financial support for monitoring, management and protection of the area, if these
communities are not to go the way of other unique marine ecosystems now being
rapidly depleted. From: Lyndon DeVantier, Catherine Cheung, Malek AbdalAziz, Fuad
Naseeb, Uwe Zajonz and Michael Apel
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