11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

18.616
Coral Reefs in Costa Rican Caribbean: Enough Reason to Redesign Conservation
Areas?
Isabel CHACÓN-GÓMEZ* 1
1 Masters Degree Program on Marine Science, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica,
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Costa-Rica holds 0.28 % of the coral reefs on the whole world. In the Caribbean it is one
of the smallest countries (51.100 km²) and some of the others, that are much bigger, for
example Colombia (2.070.408 km²), hold a smaller percentage (0.20%) of the coral reefs
of the world. That means that coral reefs are significant ecosystems in Costa-Rica in
proportion with the rest of the country area. Although it is known to be a country full of
biodiversity and it has such important marine ecosystems, there are still ecosystems
which are not part of conservation plans, such as Marine Protected Areas-MPA.
Therefore, agriculture, tourism, fishing and extraction of organisms are becoming threats
for some coral reefs along the Costa-Rican Caribbean. With the aim of knowing the
conservation status of those coral reefs in the Caribbean of the country, three reef points
are going to be surveyed and ecologically compared by studying specially octocoral
communities as indicators of the development capacity of those ecosystems under
anthropogenic pressures. The reefs that are going to be surveyed are located in three
zones with different management categories: Cahuita, a National Natural Park, where no
agriculture is developed, fishing is forbidden and some of the tourism and sport activities
are regulated. The second one is part of a Wild Life Reserve (Manzanillo), where just
some fishing activities and tourism are allowed and the third one is close to Isla Uvita,
which is near Limon, one of the most important seaports of Costa-Rica; there is no
regulation on the anthropogenic activities. It is expected to find relevant differences
between the conservation status of the reefs along the south portion of the Costa-Rican
Caribbean, so that a new design of the MPA might be proposed based on the need of
protect some important fragile ecosystems.
18.617
Large Daily Seawater Temperature Fluctuation in A Tropical Coral Reef
I-Huan LEE* 1 , Yu-Huai WANG 2 , Fung-Chi KO 1 , Tung-Yung FAN 1 , Wei-Hsien
WANG 1
1 Institute of Marine Biodiversity and Evolution, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan,
National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium,Taiwan, Pingtung, Taiwan, 2 Institute
of Applied Marine Physics and Undersea Technology, National Sun Yat-Sen University,
Taiwan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Seawater temperature plays an important role in coral physiology and coral reef ecology.
To understand the temperature variation from the sea surface to 30 m below sea level,
where the deep reef exists in a tropical coral reef in Nanwan Bay, Southern Taiwan,
temperature sensors were deployed at depths of 5, 10, 20, and 30 m to monitor
temperature change. Seawater temperature measurements showed daily drops up to 8℃
and coherent fluctuations of temperature occurred at different depths. The intrusion of
cold water lasted for 6 hours in a diurnal cycle. The daily source of cold water is likely
the internal tidal flow propagating from the bay mouth where located at the northern tip
of Luzon Strait. Seawater mixing due to bottom friction and tidal currents entrained the
movement of the lower layer water upward and landward. Seawater temperature changes
due to atmospheric force were less than 4℃. The effect of large daily temperature
fluctuation on biology of corals and coral reefs is still under current study.
Poster Mini-Symposium 18: Reef Status and Trends
18.618
Assessment Of Reef Area Loss And Implications On Scleractinian Sp. Diversity On Coral
Reefs Affected By Terrace-Uplift; Aftermath Of The December 26th 2004 Earthquake, in
Andaman Islands, India.
Rajkumar RAJAN* 1 , Satyanarayana CHOWDULA 2 , Rajan PONAMKULAM 1
1 Zoological Survey of India, National Coral Reef Institute, Port Blair, Andaman Nicobar
Islands, Port Blair, India, 2 Zoological Survey of India, General Non-Chordata Section, F. P. S
Building, Indian Museum Complex, Kolkata, Kolkata, India
Eleven fringing reefs in North Andaman Islands, devastated due to landmass uplift (~ 1 m)
following the Earthquake on 26 December 2004 – off southern Sumatra coast, were surveyed
for: (i) estimate of reef area loss (ii) Scleractinian sp. mortality, and (iii) diversity and percent
cover on the existing reef slope and within the depth of 10 m. The uplift caused the reef crest
and part of reef slope in these reefs to be totally exposed, with the estimated loss of 30% of reef
area. Loss of reef area was found to be varied between reefs, arbitrated by the uplift and
characteristic of reef morphology, and not in proportion to the total reef area (pre-earthquake) in
each reef. LIT surveys revealed that exposed reef areas possessed high coral cover i.e., 89.8 ±
2.62%, (killed Scleractinians only), as against the 37.92 ± 21.83% in the unexposed/existing
reef zones. The high variation in percent cover in the existing zones attributes to the variation in
percentage of loss of area in each reef: reefs heavily impacted exhibited lower percent cover in
the existing reef zones. Exposed areas showed higher diversity (Simpson 1/D = 2.33), in the
heavily impacted reefs only; other exposed areas showed only species dominance. Existing reef
zones obtained slightly lower indices (1/D = 1.75 ± 0.19), however with relatively high
evenness (E = 0.53 ± 0.13). These analyses point out that, the reef cover lost - in proportion to
the percentage of loss - manipulated overall species diversity and dominance in these reefs.
Loss of dominant species cover (via the exposed areas) will be discernible in the restoration
processes as existing reef zones do not exhibit similar species structure. Monitoring studies
may, in this case, indicate the influence of other external stressors consequent to the uplift.
18.619
Present Condition Of Coral Reefs And Associated Ecosystems in The Nw Region Of Cuba
Gaspar GONZALEZ* 1 , Fernando BRETOS 2 , Consuelo AGUILAR 1 , David GUGGENHEIM 3 ,
Ivet HERNÁNDEZ 1 , Yureidy CABRERA 1 , Noelis SUAREZ-MONTES 4
1 Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba, 2 Harte Research
Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Miami Beach, FL, 3 Harte Research Institute for Gulf of
Mexico Studies, Washington, DC, 4 Establecimiento Pesquero de Los Arroyos, Pinar del Rio,
Cuba
The main goal of this research was to obtain updated information, which we combined with
existent knowledge to prepare a sound ecological baseline for the region. Three sampling
cruises were conducted in 2004 and 2006. We sampled a network of 68 fixed stations along a
total shelf area of 4050 km 2 . At each station we measured main abiotic factors (temperature,
salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH) using a Hydrolab 4 probe. We made a qualitative and
quantitative sampling of substrate type, seaweeds, seagrasses, invertebrates and fishes using
visual census techniques. This information allowed us to obtain an estimation of the spatial
distribution of biotopes and species assemblages at different scales, with emphasis on coral
reefs and seagrass beds. We built a conceptual model for the spatial organization and
connectivity of coastal ecosystems, with emphasis on coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves.
The geographical position of the region suggests it plays an important role in regional
ecological connectivity, an aspect we also include in our model. We conclude that coral reefs
and associated ecosystems in the NW region of Cuba are well preserved in general terms,
although overfishing is a generalized problem and coastal pollution is present in some places
near highly populated areas. Tourism development in coastal areas is low and its present impact
is negligible relative to the entire region. Oil and gas exploration in the adjacent oceanic
Exclusive Economic Zone creates a potential threat to marine biodiversity in this region.
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