11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

18.603
Sea Urchin Abundance, Distribution And Erosion Along Kuwait’s Coral Island
Reef
Shaker ALHAZEEM 1 , Adel ALSAFFAR 2 , Shaker ALHAZEEM* 2
1 Mariculture and Fisheries Dept. (MFD), Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR),
Kuwait City, Kuwait, 2 MFD, KISR, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Changes in sea urchin abundance and distribution around three of Kuwait’s coral islands,
Kubbar, Qaru and Umm AlMaradim, in the northern Arabian Gulf, were studied between
2003 and 2004 with particular emphasis on the role and impact of sea urchins in
structuring the coral reef communities. Diver surveys of sea urchin Echinometra mathaei
and Diadema setosum, densities along transects taken at different depths around the reefs
demonstrated no significant differences in density (19.35-33.44 m-2) between 2003 and
2004 or between transect depth, coral reef island, or reef exposure. The highest densities
of E. mathaei (35 mβ) were observed at Umm AlMaradim Island. The distribution and
abundance of E. mathaei and D. setosum around the coral islands suggests they are a
bioindicator of reef health and of environmental stress. The contribution of sea urchins to
bioerosion of the reefs was investigated using cage exclusion and gut evacuation
experiments. Using a gut evacuation experiment grazing rates of E. mathaei were
calculated at 3.84g of coral.sea urchin-1.day-1. The cage exclusion experiment
highlighted the extent of the damage caused by boat anchor and fishing practices around
the 3 reefs.
18.604
Disturbance And Rehabilitation Of Tsunami Impact On Mangrove Forests And
Macrobenthic Communities in Andaman Sea, Thailand
Yoshimi FUJIOKA* 1 , Ryuichi TABUCHI 2 , Yasumasa HIRATA 2 , Reiji YONEDA 2 ,
Pipat PATANAPONPAIBOON 3 , Takuro SHIBUNO* 4 , Hideo OHBA 5
1 National Research Institute of Aquaculture, Minami-ise, Japan, 2 Forestry and Forest
Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan, 3 Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,
Thailand, 4 Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Okinawa, Japan, 5 Tokyo
University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
On December 26th, 2004, the impact of tsunami waves caused by an undersea earthquake
off Sumatra Island generated severe damage to artificial constructions and natural
ecosystems especially coral reefs and mangroves on the coastal area of Andaman Sea.
One year before the tsunami disaster, we established permanent survey plots for some
characteristic mangrove forests on the coast of Ranong, Thailand. Since that time, we
have continued to survey mangrove stands and macrobenthic assemblages. Therefore,
this survey became not only to monitor the usual dynamics of mangrove ecosystems but
also to demonstrate the tsunami impact and rehabilitation process after the tsunami.
Damage of mangrove stands were occurred by (1) direct physical destruction by wave
impact and (2) sand settlement on the substratum of mangrove swamp. Three dominant
macrobenthic communities, polychaetes, mollusks and arthropods, on the mangrove
swamps were changed by tsunami; endobenthic organisms such as polychaetes and
bivalves decreased due to be buried in sand, while epibenthic organisms such as
gastropods and crustaceans decreased at once but recovered immediately, and terrestrial
organisms such as insecta increased on dried sandy substratum. On damaged areas,
biomass and diversity of macrobenthos decreased significantly after tsunami.
Poster Mini-Symposium 18: Reef Status and Trends
18.605
Coral Reef Conservation Status In The East Coast Of Peninsular Malaysia
Asami NAKAYAMA* 1 , Ryota NAKAJIMA 1 , LaiPeng FOONG 2 , Rajuddin KUSHARI 3 ,
Victor KUWAHARA 1 , Hideo MIYAGUCHI 1 , Ross OTHMAN 2 , Tatuki TODA 1
1 Soka university, Tokyo, Japan, 2 Universiti Kebangssan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia,
3 Universiti Industri Selangor, Selangor, Malaysia
The conservation status of coral reefs was investigated along the east coast of Peninsular
Malaysia in years 2001 and 2007. In 2001, a total of 7 sites from 3 islands were selected for this
investigation; Dalam Bay and Ruang Bay at Perhentian Island; Tulai Reef, Manggo Reef and
Renggis Reef at Tioman Island; Pasir Bay and Rimba Reef at Sibu Island. In 2007, the same
sampling sites were revisited and investigated with additional sites in Batu Tengara and Coral
Garden of Kapas Island, totaling to 9 sites. Estimated coverage of coral communities was
examined by applying quantitative digital image analysis to the line transect method. In 2001,
three coral community types were characterized by dominant genera and lifeforms: Montipora-
Acropora community, Acropora branching community and Heliopora community. Among
them, the most dominant coral community in the east coast was Montipora-Acropora
community. Dalam Bay in Perhentian Island showed the highest community diversity at 19
coral genera, while Renggis Reef in Tioman Island had the lowest at 9 genera. Live coral
coverage in study sites ranged from 21% to 69%. Most reefs were in ″good″ or ″fair″ condition
while some reefs were shown to be in ″poor″ condition following the criterion of Gomez et al.
(1994). The coral conservation status of year 2001 and 2007 in the east coast of Peninsular
Malaysia is compared, and changes in the reef community and effect of human activity on the
coral community between 2001 and 2007 are discussed.
18.606
The Distribution Of Coral, Reefs And Coastal Habitats in North Central Cuba
Aisling BRADY* 1 , Sharon COWLING 1
1 Geography, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
A coastal causeway connecting Cayo Coco to Cayo Guillermo in Ciego d’Avila, Cuba, has not
only transformed the tourism industry in this region, but has also produced new reef habitats.
Scleractinian coral communities have begun to form under small inlet-style bridges along the
causeway, surrounded by seagrass beds, mangroves and natural reefs. To identify the role of
these bridge reefs in the ecological functioning of the Cayo Coco-Guillermo reef tract, we need
to understand how these bridge reefs formed and characterize their attributes relative to
surrounding communities. A combination of ecological observations and δ13 carbon isotopes
were collected from the bridges and surrounding reef communities, mangrove channels and
Thalassia patches. Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Canonical Correspondence
Analysis were carried out to group which physical attributes contributed to the coral
communities in the bridge reefs and also which habitats the bridge reefs were most similar to,
with respect to coral and benthos composition. δ 13 C was used as a tracer in the bridges,
marking where organic sediment originated from, and how their origins changed in surrounding
habitats. Coral assemblages at bridge reefs resembled communities in surrounding patch reefs
and mangrove channels, while benthic coverage at bridge sites was most similar to mangrove
channels, suggesting the inflow of water through mangroves during high tides played a role in
shaping the substrate of the bridge reefs. Of the physical attributes measured, depth, current
speed and turbidity gradients were considered the most important environmental factors
influencing coral communities. By understanding how these bridge reefs formed,
recommendations can be made for recreating ecologically similar conditions during future
development of surrounding cays, while results also contribute to growing inventories of
benthic communities in North Central Cuba.
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