11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

24.1088
Promoting Eco-Friendly Port Construction Way in Japan
Norikazu MAEKOUCHI 1 , Shunpei IWAMURA* 2 , Takashi ANO 1 , Megumi OOGI 1 ,
Syuichi TSUDA 1 , Kazuki KURITA 3 , Yasuo SHIMAKURA 4
1 Okinawa General Bureau, Cabinet office, Naha City, Japan, 2 ECOH Corporation, Taitoku,
Japan, 3 Okinawa General Bureau, Cabinet office, Miyakojima City, Japan, 4 Okinawa
General Bureau, Cabinet office, Ishigaki Sity, Japan
We have performed various projects since 1977 to promote eco-friendly port
construction. Those carried out up to and including 2004 were reported by Akakura et al.
(2006); Proc. 10th Int. Coral Reef Symposium, Naha.
In addition to the past undertakings, this report deals with a summary of the Coral
Investigation Guidelines at Ports in Okinawa (hereinafter, referred to as the guideline), a
unified guide for coral investigation, and the outline of some coral monitoring projects
based on the guideline.
The contents of the guideline consist of the gist of two investigations: coral assemblage
distribution around the ports, and research and development of coral restoration
technology. The former is intended to explore the relationships between an increase or
decline in coral distribution around the ports and environmental changes. The latter is
intended to develop and promote reef restoration technology. Investigations conducted at
Naha Port, Hirara Port and Ishigaki Port in Okinawa Prefecture are also shown as
examples, where coral distribution around the ports was surveyed. The guideline suggests
that wide-area surveys on corals be conducted every five years, so that the accumulation
of data from the continued monitoring can afford a year-based analysis of coral
distribution. Reef restoration projects performed include coral transplant at Hirara Port.
Coral assemblages growing in an area of a planned breakwater extension are being
transplanted. In Ishigaki Port, a transplant project is also underway in conjunction with
the removal of existing breakwaters. We transplant corals naturally colonizing on the
breakwaters onto the mounds of nearby existing port facilities. At Naha Port, we are
striving for continuous development of reef restoration technology. All these endeavours
were planned and carried out based on the guideline.
24.1089
Determining Thermal Stress To Hindcast Coral Bleaching Risk At A Restored Reef.
Zaidy KHAN* 1,2
1 Communites and Coast, Foundation of the People of the South Pacific International,
Suva, Fiji, 2 Institute of Marine Resoucres, Univeristy of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
Simple, low- cost techniques were used to restore a portion of the reef which was
subsequently degraded by possible bleaching events, at Moturiki, Fiji Islands. Staghorn
(Acropora spp) coral transplants suffered 100% mortality by August 2006 after 12
months post transplantation. Two thirds of the transplants were dead in May, 9 months
after transplantation. Natural coral communities on neighboring patch reefs suffered
minor bleaching and were able to recover 3 months after prior bleaching. The possibility
of thermal stress was determined by using three indices: sea surface temperature
anomalies, degree heating days, and heating rate, to hindcast coral bleaching risk at the
restored reef.
The temperature data showed that SST anomalies over the summer period were 1 0 C
above long term averages throughout the 2005-6 summer period and 2.5 0 C and 3.0 0 C
above average in the following April and May, respectively. These above average
anomalies correlate with a bleaching event that most likely caused the high mortality in
transplant corals. The temperature logger data indicate that out of 120 days over summer
and autumn, 56 days had temperatures 2 0 C above the long term average temperature
giving a total of 176 DHD over this period. Cumulative thermal stress after degree
heating days persisted for three more weeks before it started to cool in June.
The death of the coral transplants during the abnormally high SST period suggests that
coral reefs that have experienced previous bleaching events are likely to experience
further bleaching events.
Poster Mini-Symposium 24: Reef Restoration
24.1090
Benefits Of Reef Rehabilitation – Experiences From The Gulf Of Mannar, Southeastern
India
Edward JK PATTERSON* 1 , G. MATHEWS 1 , Jamila PATTERSON 1 , Dan
WILHELMSSON 2 , Jerker TAMELANDER 3 , Olof LINDEN 4
1 Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, Tuticorin, India, 2 Stockholm University,
Stockholm, Sweden, 3 IUCN Global Marine Programme, Dar es salaam, Tanzania, 4 International
Maritime Organization, World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden
Over 1 sq.km of coral reefs has been rehabilitated through coral transplantation in the Gulf of
Mannar (GoM) since 2002. The overall survival of the rehabilitated corals is 85-90% and the
annual growth varied between 9.0 – 13.5 cm for branching corals (Acropora intermedia, A.
cytherea, A. nobilis, A. formosa, Montipora foliosa) and 1.5-2.0 cm for non-branching corals
(Favia sp., Turbinaria sp. Porites sp.). The precision in techniques (fragmentation and fixing),
fragment size, substrate and species selection, and regular monitoring are key factors for the
success. The successfully rehabilitated coral areas in GoM serve as donor sites for further
rehabilitation and a source of new recruits through asexual and sexual reproduction, which
expands the live coral cover in the area. To some extent this could also help in conserving /
enhancing the endangered and threatened coral species. The abundance of fauna and flora
associated with the artificial substrates enhance the biomass and stability in the rehabilitated
sites. However, reef rehabilitation should only be considered as a management tool in repairing
limited damaged reef areas and as a mean to enhance / assist natural recovery in the heavily
degraded reef areas.
24.1091
The Role Of Resorts On Coral Reef Restoration And Monitoring in The Maldives
Robert J. TOMASETTI* 1 , Abdul Azeez A. HAKEEM 1
1 Banyan Tree Marine Lab, Vabbinfaru Island, Maldives
The Maldives is a tropical nation of low-lying coral atolls in the Indian Ocean and has the most
to lose from global warming. Changing weather patterns over the last 15 years have increased
beach erosion on many Maldivian islands. The 1998 global El Niño killed 70-90% of all corals
in the central Maldives. The Maldives rely on coral reefs for island formation, barriers to waves
and beach erosion, for fishing, and for tourism. The Maldivian model of coral reef management
includes using resorts, as long-term leaseholders of islands, as stewards of coral reef resources
surrounding resort islands. There are nearly 100 resort islands in the Maldives, with 50 more
being built during the next three years. The resort at the forefront of coral reef management in
the Maldives is the Banyan Tree, winning the President of Maldives Green Resort Award twice
for its conservation efforts and one of the only resorts employing resident marine biologists for
long-term conservation and research. The Banyan Tree Marine Lab focuses its efforts on coral
reef research, education and capacity building in marine conservation, and global warming and
sea level rise. The lab employs five full-time staff for coral reef monitoring, restoration, and
research on two adjacent islands in North Malé Atoll. Humanitarian projects include
environmental education and community outreach. Conservation projects performed by the lab
include engaging guests and school children for reef monitoring and restoration, sea turtle
conservation, coral transplantation, artificial electric reefs, monitoring bleaching events, and
beach erosion monitoring and mitigation. The lab hosts international scientists, with past
research conducted on electric reef structures, sea turtle satellite tracking, monitoring of reef
sharks and dolphins, coral heat shock proteins, coral spawning and recruitment, Acropora spp.
systematics, mass fish mortality and harmful algal blooms, bryozoans, beach movement,
physical oceanography of atolls, and invertebrate assessments.
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