Times of the Islands Summer 2024

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green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources HEIDI HERTLER ecosystems on the planet. Coral reefs, including those in the Turks & Caicos, provide economic value through coastal protection, fisheries, and tourism. Reefs absorb some of the impact of ocean waves, protecting the coastline from being damaged and eroded, especially during intense storms and hurricanes. Coral reefs form protective barriers that enclose lagoons, providing nursery habitats and feeding grounds for fish and other organisms that serve as a primary source of protein in many tropical countries. Many of these countries also have tour- From top: School for Field Studies research assistant Miranda Williams checks on coral fragments, with bleached Orbicella annularis coral nearby. Ocean temperatures reached record heights in 2023, causing widespread coral bleaching. School for Field Studies students Adriana Yeo and Claudia Buckenmeyer maintain coral nursery structures and promote coral growth by removing algae. ism-based economies, which rely on coral reefs to draw visitors. Estimates of the total economic value of coral reefs worldwide vary but are in the range of tens of billions of dollars every year. Corals in crisis Sadly, coral reefs are now facing several threats to their existence. As global temperatures rise, marine heat waves have become more frequent and severe. In the summer of 2023, the Caribbean experienced record ocean temperatures, with a buoy off the Florida coast reading a stunning temperature of 101.1°F (38.39°C) in July. As a result, reefs across the region, including here in the Turks & Caicos, experienced a mass bleaching event. Bleaching occurs when corals become heat-stressed and expel the zooxanthellae that live inside their tissues. Without their zooxanthellae, corals lose their vibrant coloring and main source of energy. Bleached corals are likely to die unless water temperatures drop immediately. The threat of bleaching is coinciding with existing coral stressors like overfishing, disease, and pollution. In 2008, elkhorn and staghorn corals around South Caicos were ravaged by white band disease, and in 2019 stony corals in TCI were devastated by stony coral tissue loss disease (SCLTD), resulting in a 62% loss of coral coverage on reefs around South Caicos. While these diseases are no longer prevalent in TCI, they have exacerbated the threat now posed by bleaching. Unless these challenges are addressed, many corals could soon be driven to extinction, spelling disaster for the communities that depend on them. 34 www.timespub.tc
green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources Reef revival Luckily, there are steps we can take to help the corals. To restore and build more resilient reefs, coral nurseries have been established in recent years on reefs around the world. Small pieces of coral colonies are taken from a healthy reef and attached to underwater nursery structures, which provide more ideal conditions for corals to grow. Once these coral fragments reach a certain size, they can be returned to the reef in a process called outplanting. Outplanted fragments then grow into full-size colonies themselves, providing more habitat for fish and improving the overall health of the reef. In 2023, the South Caicos Coral Reef Consortium (SCCRC) was established as a collaboration among stakeholders—the School for Field Studies (SFS), Salterra Resort and Spa, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund, and The Reef Institute—with the common goal of supporting South Caicos reef recovery. To accomplish this goal, SFS has led the construction and implementation of several coral nurseries. In the spring of 2023, coral nursery structures were installed at four sites (at two different depth categories) around South Caicos, which were selected based on accessibility and location, bottom type, and available data. Five different structure types were tested to determine which was the most cost-effective. A total of 300 fragments of two coral species—elkhorn and staghorn— were attached to the structures. The five types of nursery structures include a rope and fishing longline, a PVC tree, a PVC rope square, a PVC line square, and cement blocks with PVC pipes. Beginning in the fall of 2023, SFS students and staff have regularly conducted maintenance dives to remove algae from the nursery structures and monitor coral health. Each coral fragment is photographed to determine its growth rate and health. SFS students have found that nursery structure type doesn’t seem to impact growth rate, but that corals grow faster at the shallow nursery sites (10 m), possibly because shallower corals have greater access to sunlight for photosynthesis. Once the coral fragments have grown to a viable size, they will be outplanted onto a nearby reef. During the fall, SFS students investigated five potential outplanting sites, each of which was assessed to determine the size and number of resident fish and the diversity of substrate for coral to grow on. Shark Alley, one of the five sites, From top: A partially bleached fragment of staghorn coral hangs from a nursery structure. School for Field Studies student Kara Rumage maintains coral fragments on a PVC tree structure. KORT ALEXANDER HEIDI HERTLER Times of the Islands Summer 2024 35
Page 1 and 2: TIMES SAMPLING THE SOUL OF THE TURK
Page 3 and 4: Building Your Vision, Delivering Ex
Page 5 and 6: Crafted for the fl ow of life. Form
Page 7: Arc By Piero Lissoni Elevated Beach
Page 10 and 11: The sky is the limit. The world’s
Page 12: Exclusively available within The Tu
Page 18 and 19: UNDERSTATED LUXURY AT THE WATER’S
Page 20 and 21: TIMES OF THE ISLANDS CLEAR | MOVE |
Page 22 and 23: When Hurricane Donna hit in Septemb
Page 24 and 25: PHOTO COURTESY TANYA LIGHTBOURNE Gu
Page 26 and 27: JOHN A. ANDERSON—SHUTTERSTOCK
Page 28 and 29: Though not as plump or as tradition
Page 30 and 31: KELLY CURRINGTON This male Peacock
Page 32 and 33: green pages Newsletter of the Depar
Page 36: green pages newsletter of the depar
Page 39 and 40: feature These “scenes from South
Page 41 and 42: sitting in the business licensing o
Page 43 and 44: Stephen, I remained uncertain about
Page 45 and 46: feature Above: Artist Richard McGhi
Page 47 and 48: Bahamas that diverted two US Coast
Page 49 and 50: sticking up into the air. From his
Page 51 and 52: 2:30 PM Out of the blue, a US Coast
Page 53 and 54: dent visa. She contacted US Immigra
Page 55 and 56: feature Opposite page: This is the
Page 57 and 58: The St. Louis was a packet ship of
Page 59 and 60: in with the brig Sarah Williams, wh
Page 61: TMW2022.qxp_Layout 1 3/2/22 3:41 PM
Page 64 and 65: The discovery will reveal a resort
Page 66 and 67: ladies’ movie night and special h
Page 68 and 69: astrolabe newsletter of the Turks &
Page 78 and 79: Time zone Eastern Standard Time (ES
Page 80 and 81: Government/Legal system TCI is a Br
Page 82: classified ads D&Bswift_Layout 1 5/

Times of the Islands Summer 2024

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