Times of the Islands Summer 2024

green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources
KORT ALEXANDER
The Reef Institute and School for Field Studies staff stand in the newly built coral lab at SFS, where corals will be grown for future outplanting
onto reefs around South Caicos. From left to right: John Caleb Fix, Heidi Hertler, Leneita Fix, Miranda Williams, and Mike Tavares.
has the most herbivores such as parrotfish. These fish
play a crucial role on coral reefs by eating algae, which
compete with coral for space on the reef. However, relative
to other sites, Shark Alley also had more sand and
rubble, which are unstable and hard for coral to grow
on, making it less suitable for outplanting. This example
demonstrates the many often-contradictory factors that
go into selecting sites for outplanting.
In addition to the coral nurseries, other initiatives are
also underway. With the support of The Reef Institute,
SFS has designed and constructed a land-based coral laboratory,
which was finished in late fall 2023. During the
spring of 2024, the lab was populated with 54 colonies
representing 13 species of coral, including mustard hill,
finger, rose, and flower corals collected from local dive
and snorkel sites. The collected colonies were chosen
because they were damaged or already detached from the
reef. The lab environment helps mitigate external stressors
and gives the corals better conditions in which to
grow. Lab corals are also being fragmented into smaller
pieces, which has been shown to dramatically increase
growth rates. Once healthy, these lab-grown corals will
be moved to the underwater nurseries and eventually outplanted,
bolstering local reefs for years to come.
Back on the reef, we swim through the blue water
towards one of our nurseries. There, coral fragments
hang from trees of PVC and lengths of fishing line strung
between thicker ropes. Many are partially or fully bleached
after suffering a brutally hot summer, but against all odds
some still have a vibrant apricot color. In these tiny fragments,
swinging gently with the ocean swell, lies the hope
of a reef restored to its full potential, bursting with life
and able to support a robust economy centered around
fisheries and tourism. All it takes to make this vision a
reality is some PVC pipe, a scrub pad, and a little elbow
grease. a
The School for Field Studies (SFS) is a US-based, academic
institution that provides multidisciplinary, field-based
environmental study abroad opportunities to undergraduate
university students. Long term data collection by
staff and students is a crucial element of observing and
understanding climate impacts, beneficial to stakeholders
and essential to policy makers.
To learn more about the SFS TCI program, visit www.
fieldstudies.org/tci. For detailed article references, contact
Director Heidi Hertler on South Caicos at hhertler@
fieldstudies.org.
36 www.timespub.tc