11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

24-41
Scleractinian Coral Relocation From A Coastal Seawall To A Nearshore
Hardbottom Habitat in The Northern Florida Keys.
Jeff ANDERSON* 1 , J. Harold HUDSON, PH.D. 2 , Bill GOODWIN 3 , John ILIFF 4 , Tom
MOORE 4
1 Contractor to Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, I.M. Systems Group, Inc., Key
Largo, FL, 2 Damage Assessment and Resource Protection, Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary (Retired), Miami, FL, 3 Damage Assessment and Resource Protection, Florida
Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Key Largo, FL, 4 NOAA Restoration Center, St.
Petersburg, FL
During a permitted seawall reconstruction project, Scleractinian corals were found
growing on the vertical face. For a coastal location, the seawall housed a large quantity,
size, and distribution of healthy reef coral species generally found further offshore.
Based on the seawall construction date, the corals had been growing in that environment
for a maximum of 35 years. A total of 136 whole colonies and live coral fragments, with
diameters ranging from 10 cm to 100 cm, representing 13 Scleractinian species, were
harvested. Collected corals were temporarily housed in wire-mesh baskets in situ. To
accommodate the lateral accretion typical for Scleractinians growing on vertical surfaces,
the corals were attached to 30 flat-faced cement and fiberglass modules at the removal
site, transported to an offshore site approximately one nautical mile east of the original
seawall, and cemented on the seafloor. Two of the largest colonies, along with a number
of fragments, were cemented directly to the substrate. The relocation site lies in 4 m of
water, is comprised of hardground of Pleistocene Key Largo limestone bedrock overlain
by a thin veneer of carbonate sediment, and is populated by numerous Octocorals,
sponges, and occasional Scleractinian species. State of Florida biologists conducted an
inspection and declared the modules were securely cemented to the bedrock and that all
relocated corals appeared healthy as evidenced by their normal coloration and overall
appearance. Ongoing monitoring of the site has demonstrated the relocated corals have
grown new tissue and continue to survive three years after relocation. The project
demonstrates that Scleractinian corals can be successfully collected from coastal
construction sites and relocated in order that they can continue to contribute to the marine
ecosystem.
24-42
Coral Restoration Is Not Merely About Corals: Reef Fish Habitat Use Measures
Coral Reef Restoration Success At The Fortuna Reefer Grounding Site, Mona
Island, Puerto Rico
Ron HILL* 1 , Michelle SCHÄRER 2 , Michael NEMETH 2 , Andy BRUCKNER 3
1 SEFSC, NOAA/NMFS, Galveston, TX, 2 Dept. of Marine Sciences, Univ. of Puerto
Rico-Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico,
NOAA/NMFS, Sand Spring, MD
Oral Mini-Symposium 24: Reef Restoration
3 OHC Coral Reef Ecosystem Div,
A multi-agency emergency restoration reattached over 1800 Acropora palmata
fragments, following the grounding of the M/V Fortuna Reefer on Mona Island in 1997.
Shortly after the grounding, we began monitoring the restoration using coral
reattachment, survival, and growth and the recovery of fish assemblages as measures of
success. Although no surveys were conducted before the grounding, we have neighboring
undisturbed areas for comparison and we can analyze temporal changes within the site. In
early surveys reef fish assemblages were significantly different from adjacent control
sites. With almost a decade of monitoring complete, we are starting to see increases in
species diversity, expansions of size distributions, and increases in abundances and
diversity of juvenile haemulids, species known to be habitat selective. Additional
monitoring will determine when the conditions can be considered “normative” however
experimental approaches might be required to improve restoration of fish habitat and
encourage the coral-fish interactions that can contribute to the effectiveness of coral reef
restoration.
24-43
Multivariate Responses Of The Coral Reef Fish Community To Artificial Structures And
Coral Transplants
Sebastian FERSE* 1
1 ZMT Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Reef rehabilitation efforts frequently employ the use of artificial structures or coral
transplantation. Although several studies have addressed relationships between artificial
structures or the natural habitat and associated fish communities, no attempt has been made to
contrast the effects on the fish community of structures used alone and in combination with
coral transplantation. In this study, repeated fish census over plots containing rubble [C],
artificial structures [S], and structures together with coral transplants [S+C], was conducted
over a time of up to two years at three sites in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The results show an
increase in fish abundance and number of species in the [S] plots, and a further increase in the
presence of corals at two sites. Principal component analysis (PCA) emphasized differences
between the three treatments in terms of fish abundance, number of species, and diversity (H'
and H' max). Abundance, number of species and H' in the [S+C] plots was higher than that
observed in the surrounding natural reef at one location, but lower at the other two sites. Cluster
analysis revealed distinct communities at the three treatments and a low similarity to the natural
reef at all three locations. Similarity to natural reefs was lowest in the rubble plots. Spearmanrank
correlation of the similarity matrices for each treatment with model similarity matrices
revealed increasing similarity among census replicates in the [S] and [S+C] treatments over
time at all sites. Crossed three-way ANOVA of the average similarities among census replicates
showed significant effects of treatment and the interaction terms location*treatment and
location*time. The results underline the role that structures and transplants play in re-shaping
and stabilizing the associated fish community, but also demonstrate that the effects differ
markedly depending on the ambient reef.
24-44
Effects Of Coral Transplantation And Giant Clam Restocking On The Functional Groups
Of Fish On Degraded Patch Reefs
Patrick CABAITAN* 1 , Edgardo GOMEZ 1 , Porfirio ALIÑO 1
1 Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines
This study examined the effects of restoration treatments on different functional groups of reef
fish that are important to the stability of a community. Fish on 25 degraded patch reefs were
monitored monthly for 3 months before and every 1-2 months for 11 months after the
application of the restoration treatments. The treatments were: 1) transplantation of Acropora
spp. and Pocillopora spp. corals, 2) restocking of the giant clam Tridacna gigas, 3) restocking
of T. gigas with coral transplantation, 4) deployment of T. gigas shells, and 5) control. The fish
were categorized into 10 functional groups, defined by feeding habit and the relative size of
their territory. For fish with large territory, the coral treatment increased the abundance of
Omnivore, Zoobenthivore, and Carnivore, while the clam+coral treatment increased the
abundance of Omnivore, Zoobenthivore, and Herbivore relative to the control. The clam
treatment increased the abundance of Omnivore and Zoobenthivore. For fish with small
territory, the coral treatment increased the abundance of Omnivore, Herbivore, and Carnivore,
while the clam+coral treatment increased the abundance of Omnivore and Herbivore relative to
the control. The Clam treatment increased the abundance of Carnivore, while the shell
treatment increased the abundance of Herbivore. Only Zooplanktivore with small and large
territories and Zoobenthivore with small territory did not achieve any significant increase in any
of the treatments. This study shows the feasibility to restore reefs, although with different
responses from the fish functional groups, which can be summarized into: 1) habitat-linked, 2)
trophically-linked, and 3) cascading effects on the increase of certain functional groups.
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