11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

18.595
Reefs at Risk in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia - Status and Outlook
Abigail MOORE* 1 , Samliok NDOBE 2
1 Marine, Yayasan Palu Hijau, Palu, Indonesia, 2 Marine and Fisheries, Sekolah Tinggi
Perikanan dan Kelautan (STPL-Palu), Palu, Indonesia
Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia in the heart of the Coral Triangle has over 4,500km
of coastline and over 700 islands including the Banggai and Togean Archipelagos, with
almost continuous fringing reefs, extensive barrier reefs, patch reefs and several atolls.
The Togean National Park was declared in 2004 and there are several smaller national
and regional MPAs. Since the Reefs at Risk study in 2000/2001 predicted high threat
levels for most reefs in the Province, several survey and monitoring programmes have
been undertaken with support from international, national and local sources.
This paper summarises coral reef condition and socio-economic data collected over the
period 2001-2007 in 7 out of the 10 District/City areas, key conclusions drawn and some
local initiatives.
Based on the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) scale, the overall
average condition is Poor, with reefs in Very Poor, Poor, Average and Good condition in
all 7 areas but extremely limited areas of reef in Very Good condition. The main causes
of coral reef degradation vary between sites but include coral mining, sedimentation and
eutrophication, destructive fishing (including the collection of invertebrates especially
Tridacnidae and Haliotis sp.), and predation by Acanthaster plancii. Overfishing is
increasingly severe and take of protected species is rife. Awareness is relatively high
regarding bomb and cyanide fishing, but is low regarding many other illegal and/or
destructive practices.
Initiatives include the introduction of coastal ecosystem/coral reef ecology, survey and
conservation in three fisheries and marine Higher Education institutes, village-level
MPAs, COTs clean-up, habitat restoration, and developing integrated aquaculture and
conservation concepts. However the extent and scope of activities need to be greatly
increased to reverse the destructive trends and ensure "Reefs for the Future" in Central
Sulawesi.
18.596
Survival / Destruction of coral reefs under anthropogenic stress in Arabian Gulf and
Red Sea regions
Joseph Sebastian PAIMPILLIL* 1 , Joseph Sebastian PAIMPILLIL 1
1 Envirosolutions, Center for Earth Research & Environment Management, Cochin 17,
India
The excessive excavation, land reclamation, landfill, illegal dumping and pollution -
among other things are contributing for the destruction of coral reefs in the Middle East
waters. The Fasht Al Adhm reef located between Bahrain and Qatar, thrived and showed
strength during 1985 - turned out as "bed of rubble" due to the enormously sloppy
engineering. Today, less than one per cent of what was Fasht Al Adhm survives. Up to
40pc of the reef has been turned into rubble and 60pc into bare rock. Bahrain risks losing
the coral reefs due to coastal development and the resulting sedimentation are stressing
the coral reefs. Fasht Abul Thama may be the only remaining intact reef of Bahrain, but
the question is for how long? There are many young corals there and very much alive.
The fish traps had already encouraged the formation of big patches of algae and seaweed.
All Bahrain needs is a little bit of management. Looking at the developments in the
Yanbu coral region (Red Sea), where the Royal commission of Yanbu and Jubail had
successfully built up the port facilities in 1985, but the health of the Port barrier reefs
were restored by the strict monitoring of the industrial discharges into the vicinity of the
coral reef environment. The highest number of coral recruits was 127 at 10m depth. The
percentage of live coral cover at vicinity of waste discharge point had not differed much
(20.1 - 20.4) since 1985, but a distant location on the barrier reef had (28.9-32.7) and (23-
34.5) for a Control station. Reasonable levels of coral recruitment were observed, but the
competition for space with filamentous algae had restricted the coral development. The
dominant coral forms had changed from the branching to the massive forms. Several
years after the construction of the port facilities, there are good signs that the coral reef is
recovering under strict monitoring of the waste discharges, although it is still in an
unstable stage.
Poster Mini-Symposium 18: Reef Status and Trends
18.597
Long-Term Changes In Stony Coral Assemblages In Jakarta Bay And The Thousand
Islands Archipelago (1920 – 2005)
Sancia E.T. VAN DER MEIJ 1 , Bert W. HOEKSEMA* 1
1 Zoology, National Museum of Natural History Naturalis, Leiden, Netherlands
Coral reefs are essential in terms of productivity and diversity of tropical coastal ecosystems.
Current social and economic developments in tropical regions include accelerated urbanization
in coastal areas, increasing pressure on these species-rich ecosystems. Coral reefs are becoming
increasingly degraded, if not destroyed, as a result of high sedimentation rates, nutrient loading
and chemical contamination, as well as physical destruction associated with human
exploitation, such as destructive fisheries and sand mining.
For the recognition of global change signals and human impact on marine ecosystems, a solid
historical baseline is needed. Data on the biodiversity of Jakarta Bay and the Thousand Islands
archipelago (Kepulauan Seribu) has been collected in an 85-year time span. The reefs off
Jakarta have been extensively studied by some Dutch scientists in the 1900s, facilitated by the
long-term presence of research infrastructure in the area. Their historical collections (mostly
stony corals and molluscs) are accessible in two museums in The Netherlands.
This research gives insight in the changes in coral reef diversity since the first half of the 20 th
century in Jakarta Bay and adjacent Thousand Islands archipelago. The coastal resources of
Java have since long been subjected to considerable human pressure, and heavy bleaching
occurred in the area in 1983. The availability of data, from 1920 (collection material, historical
documents, nautical maps; LIPI-UNESCO workshops) to recent fieldwork in 2005, offers the
opportunity to detect long-term changes in the composition of Jakarta’s marine biodiversity.
Depauperation of Jakarta Bay’s reefs ranges from 80% loss in species for the islands closest to
shore, to shifts in species composition for offshore coral assemblages.
18.598
Coral community structure at Pearl and Hermes Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands: unique conservation challenges in the Hawaiian Archipelago
Jean KENYON* 1 , Matthew DUNLAP 1 , Casey WILKINSON 1 , Kimberly PAGE 1 , Peter
VROOM 1 , Greta AEBY 2 , Oliver DAMERON 1
1 Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu,
HI, 2 Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Kaneohe, HI
Pearl and Hermes is the third northernmost atoll in the Hawaiian Archipelago and is included
within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The distribution and abundance of
scleractinian corals at Pearl and Hermes Atoll were determined from georeferenced towed-diver
surveys covering more than 85,000 m2of benthic habitat and site-specific surveys at 34 sites
during 2000 – 2002. Three complementary methods (towed-diver surveys, videotransects, and
photoquadrats) were used to quantify percent cover of corals by genus or species in the forereef,
backreef, and lagoon habitats. Three genera – Porites, Montipora, and Pocillopora – account
for 97% of the coral cover throughout the atoll, although their relative abundances vary
considerably according to habitat and geographic sector. Forereef communities are dominated
by massive and encrusting Porites, while the backreef is dominated by Montipora, and the
lagoon by Porites compressa. All taxa also show habitat-specific differences in colony density
and size-class distributions, as assessed through colony counts within belt transects at fixed
sites. These demographic data, which provide the most thorough quantitative description of the
coral communities at Pearl and Hermes Atoll produced to date, are used to focus a discussion
on risks of reef degradation from salient contemporary hazards including bleaching, disease,
marine debris, and Acanthaster predation. Coral communities at Pearl and Hermes Atoll may be
the most vulnerable in the Hawaiian Archipelago to bleaching and accumulation of marine
debris and thus may warrant special management attention.
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