11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

23-69
Restore Or Not To Restore?
Vladimir KOSMYNIN* 1 , Alison MOULDING 2 , Richard DODGE 2 , David GILLIAM 2
1 Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems, Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, Tallahassee, FL, 2 National Coral Reef Institute, NOVA Southeastern
University, Dania, FL
Most coral reef scientists and managers would agree that coral reefs are degrading at ever
increasing rates from a multitude of natural and anthropogenic stressors occurring at
global, regional, and local scales. However, there is less agreement on the circumstances
that warrant restoration and if costs outweigh benefits. In many cases observed recovery
rates are slow, and new communities often have compositions differing from the original.
Requirements for restoration of human-induced local damages often differ widely among
countries. Efforts may involve reattachment of corals or their propagation (enhancement
of recruitment) using various methodologies. The success of such local restoration is
variable and depends on many natural and human induced factors. Nevertheless,
published data and experimental results of projects in Southeast Florida demonstrate a
high probability of success. Some would argue that restoration is insufficient to address
large-scale degradation issues and, consequently, that limited funds should instead be
directed at reducing impacts. While it is true that regional damages resulting from
hurricanes, tsunamis, disease outbreaks, and bleaching events may involve areas too large
for full-scale restoration, smaller scale restoration is an important management tool that
could potentially benefit local and regional coral populations and speed recovery.
Locally restored areas may serve as sources of coral propagation and stepping stones in
connectivity between reefs. Restoration projects are also important in generating public
awareness and support of conservation efforts. Additional research efforts directed at
finding and testing new coral reef restoration methodologies should be continued.
Unaided recovery of injured coral reefs now represents a much less likely scenario given
the considerable local, regional, and global stressors.
23-70
The Management Of Coral Reefs – Where We've Gone Wrong; How We Can Fix It
Peter F SALE* 1
1 International Network on Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University,
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Ecologists studying coral reefs long ago shifted from an assumption that these were
ecosystems essentially untouched by humans, to a recognition that human impacts have
become pervasive and severe, but they have meanwhile been party to a disastrous
separation of science from management – a separation that keeps their growing
understanding from being integrated into management action. Managers, when they have
moved beyond the wishful thinking of paper parks and public awareness campaigns, have
put undue faith in the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas while ignoring both the
lack of scientific underpinning of many management practices and the elephant which is
rampant and growing over-exploitation of reef resources. The result is a sad history of
progressive decline. Reefs suffer a diversity of often synergistic stresses. There is a way
forward if we first decide that we really want to have sustainable coral reef systems in our
future. This path requires that we firmly embrace the precautionary principle, that we
recognize and reduce over-exploitation, and that we vigorously apply the science we have
in hand to improve management now. Along the way we need to develop new science to
provide a basis for more sophisticated management than is now possible. There is hope
for a future for coral reefs, but only if scientists and managers act now to reduce
controllable stresses, freeing these ecosystems to better cope with less manageable
pressures of climate change. Achieving this future will require far more effective
demonstration than yet achieved of the value of coral reefs to coastal populations.
Oral Mini-Symposium 23: Reef Management
23-71
Are There "Ten Commandments"for Coral Reef Management?
Barbara BEST* 1
1 Office of Natural Resources Management, U.S. Agency for International Development,
Washington, DC
In an effort to capture the essential management actions required for Ecosystem-Based Fisheries
Management, several fisheries scientist have proposed 10 guiding principles or
“commandments”. Could coral reef management benefit from a similar effort to capture
critical management guidelines? To initiative a discussion within the coral reef community, an
initial draft set of guidelines are presented. These commandments are based largely upon
experience in less-consuming countries with weak governance and institutions but are widely
applicable.
The first cluster of guidelines involves spatial attributes: 1. look upstream – take a watershed
approach. 2. look down -- establish depth refugia. 3. look near then far -- include associated
habitats then other functionally-connected reefs.
The second cluster focuses on the management process: 4. Understand the cultural, social,
economic and governance context and work accordingly. 5. Focus on the consultative process
early -- the science process should not outpace the stakeholder process. 6. Build management
resilience – provide redundancy in leadership and capacity, strengthen management entities and
organizations, and ensure revenue streams. 7. Address sea tenure and access rights – create
incentives for environmental stewardship through clearly defined access and use privileges. 8.
Focus on the decision-making process so that sound information and science is incorporated
into decisions. 9. Create local economic incentives for conserving biodiversity and ecosystem
services. 10. Address the drivers of international trade that threaten reefs, from fishing to
tourism to other extractive industries.
23-72
Ecological Criteria For Prioritizing Wider Caribbean Reefs in Need Of Protection
Judith LANG* 1,2 , Robert GINSBURG 3,4 , Kenneth MARKS 4,5
1 Independent, Ophelia, VA, 2 Marine Geology & Geophysics, RSMAS, University of Miami,
Miami, 3 Marine Geology & Geophysics, RSMAS, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 4 Ocean
Research and Education Foundation, Coral Gables, 5 Independent, Boca Raton, FL
Reefs with an abundance of healthy corals (including some that are large), ample crustose
coralline algae and little macroalgae, are obvious candidates for protection and conservation.
(Large corals provide habitat space for other organisms as well as larvae for future generations
of framework builders or possible remediation efforts; abundant crustose corallines and sparse
macroalgae signify the probable availability of larval recruitment sites.) To determine whether
or not reefs with these characteristics are actually being protected, an easily calculated benthic
condition index (BCI) based on the AGRRA project’s coral and algal indicators has been
developed. BCI values have been calculated for the over 700 surveys conducted between 1998
and 2004 on reefs in the wider Caribbean that had been stratified by zone (as bank, crest, fore,
patch). This information will be posted online at www.agrra.org to help guide difficult decisions
regarding where to focus local protection and management efforts. For example, sites rated
overall as “well above average” (WAB) occurred in 15 of the 22 nations or territories and on 29
of the 50 insular or continental shelf units that were surveyed. Nearly half of these WAB sites
are presently located in a marine protected area (MPA) of some designation. High priority
should be given to protecting the remaining WAB sites, particularly those in areas with few or
no established MPAs. Sites with high values for the macroalgal indicator signify overfishing of
herbivorous fishes or nutrification, and could be further examined for potential causes and
remediation strategies, the efficacy of which could be assessed during future surveys. In the
absence of recent hurricanes or other mechanical damage, a paucity of large corals indicates
poor environments for net reef growth, although other reasons may exist for their conservation.
213