11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

23.992
The Decline Of Coral Reef Conditions Caused By Extensive Land Modification: a
Case Study Of The Shiraho Area On Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan
Hitoshi HASEGAWA* 1
1 Geography, Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan
Okinawa, which was under the U.S. administrative authority following the World War II,
was returned to Japan in 1972. Thereafter, Okinawa was incorporated in the Japanese
economy under the three Okinawa Development Plans in order to rapidly accomplish the
social transformation that was lacking in area of great significance for Japan. In Okinawa,
several land improvement projects were performed under this special development
program, followed by large-scale topographic changes accompanying large-scale
deforestation and a sudden change of the land use practices. As a result, red soil outflow,
overloaded runoffs from the farmlands, eutrophication, environmental perturbations of
shallow-water reef ecosystems and quasi-extinction of hermatypic corals occurred.
In this study, the impacts of the development process and change of land use patterns on
Ishigaki Island after 1972 were reconstituted through land use mapping. Extensive land
use maps and shallow lagoon maps were generated using the combination of a variety of
topographical maps and chronological aerial photographs.
The Shiraho coral reef has been gradually changing. The ratio of the sea grass bed
colonizing the coral reef moat in 1972 was only 1.2%. After about 30 years (2004), the
sea grass bed spread over 7.5% of the same area. The sea grass bed spread most
extensively in the place adjacent to land improvement projects where large accumulation
of nutrients took place. The combination of the impact of land improvement projects, the
excrement of artificial manure and the runoff flow to the moat from the beef cattle
breeding caused the spatial e @extension of the sea grass bed. As sea grass grows faster
spreading more extensively than hermatypic corals, corals are gradually being expelled
from the shallow lagoon.
23.993
When Do Nearshore Mitigative Reefs Reach Functional Equivalency With The
Natural Hardbottom? A Case Study For Managing Reefs Along The Central
Florida Gulf Coast
Jessica CRAFT* 1 , Nicole ELKO 2 , Craig KRUEMPEL 1
1 Marine Science & Biological Research, Coastal Planning & Engineering, Boca Raton,
FL, 2 Department of Environmental Management, Pinellas County, Clearwater, FL
To meet permit requirements for mitigation of impacts associated with beach
renourishment activities on Sand Key, Pinellas County constructed a total of 16 artificial
reefs between 1997 and 2006. Biological monitoring was conducted on three of these
reefs to determine at what age mitigative artificial reefs within the study area become
biologically equivalent with the surrounding natural hardbottom. The three installations
were compared to two natural hardbottom sites. Each of the five sampling units consisted
of six temporary transects, 10 meters in length, established at the time of data collection.
A point-intercept method of assessment was conducted every 0.5 meters.
Sand and other sediment types had the highest percent cover at all sites, both natural and
artificial, followed by turf algae. Excluding turf, the dominant functional groups across
all sites were macroalgae, sponge, tunicate, octocoral and hydroid. Dominant species
included the octocoral Leptogorgia virgulata, at both natural and artificial reef sites, and
the sponge species Cliona celata at natural hardbottom sites. Mutivariate analysis using
PRIMER ® v6 indicated that the nearshore artificial reefs within the study area become
equivalent to the surrounding natural hardbottom between two and five years after
installation, and by 10 years post-installation the artificial reefs reach a community
complexity which supersedes that of the natural hardbottom. This study provides a
timeframe for functional equivalency that can be utilized in management applications for
future nearshore artificial reef projects in the area.
Poster Mini-Symposium 23: Reef Management
23.994
NMFS Species of Concern Program and Coral Reefs
Dwayne MEADOWS* 1 , Marta NAMMACK 2
1 Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD,
2 National marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD
A “Species of Concern” is a species or vertebrate population for which there is concern or great
uncertainty about its status. The program evoloved from the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
candidate species list of NOAA and was created in 2004-2006. Species of Concern are not
listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and are not protected by the ESA. However,
NMFS believes proactive conservation efforts on behalf of these species would be valuable.
Hence the program funds conservation grants to states and management agencies, internally
funds projects by NMFS science centers and regions, and supports and develops other
partnerships and outreach to draw attention to these species in order to prevent ESA listing. I
will highlight the program and opportunities in relation to the dozen or so coral reef Species of
Concern.
23.995
Large-Scale Characterization Of Coral Habitats By Physical Environments
Hiroya YAMANO* 1 , Tsuyoshi SHIBATA 2 , Tatsuo NAKAI 3 , Shigeki YASUMURA 4
1 National Institute for Environmental Studies, Ibaraki, Japan, 2 Naigai Map Corp., Tokyo, Japan,
3 Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan, 4 WWF Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Nansei Shoto (Ryukyu Islands), a chain of sub-tropical islands located in the Southern end of
Japan and a northern margin of the 'Coral triangle', is rich in endemic and sub-endemic fauna
and flora. Nansei Shoto is recognized as one of WWF global 200 ecoregions, which is a
science-based global ranking of the Earth's most biologically outstanding terrestrial, freshwater
and marine habitats. WWF Japan initiated the project to illustrate and evaluate the biodiversity
priority areas (BPAs) of the Nansei Shoto Ecoregion.
To identify coral priority areas in Nansei Shoto ecoregion, we developed a method to
characterize coral habitats at a large spatial scale based on physical environments using GIS.
Physical environments serve as a baseline for coral distribution and diversity. Sea surface
temperatures, exposure to wave energy, and terrestrial influence were selected. The degree of
exposure to wave energy was calculated based on swells and winds. Terrestrial influences were
defined by distance from densely populated areas and river mouths. At points selected from
reefs and coastlines selected from reef and coastline polygons of the Nansei Shoto, these factors
were quantified and attributed.
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