GCRMN

Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba (FPNA) is proud to be hosting its first Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop this week, together with trainers – marine biologists Tadzio Bervoets from the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) and Roxanne-Liana Francisca from STINAPA Bonaire. Participants include representatives from FPNA, JADS, ScubbleBubbles, Caribbean Lionfish Alliance (CLA), Aquawindies and the Directorate of Nature and Environment (DNM).

During this four-day workshop, the participants – all certified divers – will be trained as data collectors following standard coral reef monitoring practices as described by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) and the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA). Besides being trained in monitoring criteria, techniques and protocol, participants will also be trained in fish, invertebrate, coral recruits (baby coral), algae, coral disease, and invasive species identification – which are a crucial part of monitoring the health of coral reefs.

Coral reefs are ecosystems with possibly the highest biodiversity and unlike anything else on the planet. Apart from being incredibly varied and beautiful, and hosting an array of amazingly interesting life forms, coral reefs are essential to the economy of Aruba. Coral reefs protect our coasts from storms and are a nursery and home to numerous species that are vital to our fisheries. Coral reefs and their specialized fish also provide for Aruba’s beautiful white sandy beaches that tourists worldwide come to enjoy. However, coral reefs and their inhabitants are increasingly being threatened by coastal development, marine and coastal recreation, maritime activities, extractive activities, and land, air and marine pollution, and other impacts.

FPNA’s interim Marine Park Manager Sietske van der Wal is excited to finally start with data collection. “FPNA manages four Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that are collectively known as Parke Marino Aruba. We are the only island within the Kingdom not yet structurally monitoring the health of our coral reefs and with this workshop we will now acquire the skills to do so ourselves.”

After this workshop, FPNA – together with its partners – will be conducting coral reef surveys every two years at representative locations in order to assess the state of Aruba’s reefs, compare data over time and adapt management accordingly. Data will be shared with DCNA, GCRMN and others to be able to follow trends at a national, Kingdom and regional level. The data acquired through these surveys will also be incorporated into the management of Parke Marino Aruba.

FPNA appreciates and thanks all facilitators and participants for their support in making this workshop possible and a success – be it financially, by supplying equipment and transport, or by devoting their time and effort.

Watch here the live version on 24ora: https://fb.watch/5itHHQyI9c/

Article published in BioNews 42

Abstract

Coral reefsare experiencing large scale degradation. Motivated by the need for regular data monitoring and forquantification of the state and change of benthic and pelagic organisms,the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Networkprotocolwas executed on 18 dive sites in fished and unfished areasaround the island of Saba in the Saba National Marine Park (SNMP) in the Dutch Caribbean from March to May 2019. Pictures of the benthos were taken andanalysed with the Coral Point Count Excel extension software and fish biomass was calculated through the Bayesian length-weight-relationship. Although considerablybelow the Caribbean-wide average, coral cover around the island seems to be slowlyrecoveringfrom past diseasesand hurricane events. Coral species richnesspositively correlates with reef fish density and Serranidae species richness. As in other parts of the Caribbean, macroalgae in the SNMP arerapidly spreadingand increasingly competefor space with habitat-providing gorgonians, sponges and other benthic organisms. Incontrast toexpectations, fish density and biomass continue to increase, evenin zones where fishing is allowed. This mightbe explained by the higher availability of macroalgae that serve as food for variousherbivorous fish species, which in turn are, amongst others, the prey of predatory fish and thosehigher up in the trophic cascade. However, with the exception ofthe commercially important fish family Lutjanidae all key fish species have declinedin average size in recent years. Another findingis the increase of coral diseases. The results indicate the need for further species-specific research in order to identify the factorsthat arecausing the degradation ofthe reefs in the SNMP. A better understandingofthe interactions, ecological roles and functions of benthic and fish communities is therefore essential for the protection of reefs, that are of high value to Saba. The results of this study contribute to the adaptive management of the Saba Conservation Foundation that manages the SNMP.

Keywords: GCRMN, Reef Health Index, marine protected area, fish-benthos interaction, macroalgae, herbivory, trophic cascade, fishing, coral disease, Caribbean

Brief description of the recently started (Feb 2015) coral reef monitoring program in St. Eustatius using the guidelines agreed upon by the Caribbean (Global) Coral Reef Monitoring Network (Caribbean – GCRMN). 

The GCRMN baseline scientific monitoring methods provide a basic framework for existing and developing monitoring programs to contribute data that support a regional understanding of status and trends of Caribbean coral reefs. The purpose of these methods is to collect data that will contribute to our understanding of the processes that shape coral reefs and to provide actionable advice to policy makers, stakeholders, and communities. In order to achieve these goals, the GCRMN community seeks to collect comprehensive and inter-comparable data that build from a modern scientific perspective of reef monitoring.
METHODS
The GCRMN methods have been developed to provide a systematic snapshot of the ecosystem health of coral reefs and, when repeated through time, insight into temporal trends in reef condition. Based on the conclusions of a retrospective analysis of trends in reef health over the past decades, GCRMN members have agreed that there is great value in coordinating and standardizing future monitoring efforts. To date, Caribbean regional monitoring efforts often collect non-overlapping types of data about coral reefs, or the efforts use non-comparable methods for describing similar parts of the reef ecosystem. The goal of this document is to define a set of data and data collection techniques that will be used by Caribbean GCRMN members. These methods reflect long-standing, vetted scientific protocols and provide a compromise between practical applicability and ease of comparison between existing methods and long-term datasets.
The GCRMN methods describe six elements of the coral reef ecosystem – (1) abundance and biomass of key reef fish taxa, (2) relative cover of reef-building organisms (corals, coralline algae) and their dominant competitors, (3) assessment of coral health and (4) recruitment of reef-building corals, (5) abundance of key macro-invertebrate species, and (6) water quality. These elements provide an overview of the current condition of the coral reef ecosystem as well as an indication of likely future trajectories. GCRMN recognizes that by collecting information about these elements across multiple locations, with regular re-sampling through time, it will be possible to more knowingly describe the status of coral reef health in the Caribbean and to assess the effectiveness of local and regional management efforts.
These methods are designed to provide a basic and regional summary of reef health. Importantly, the elements that are included for GCRMN monitoring are not all-inclusive, and many partner members may be interested in collecting more detailed or spatially expansive data. However, the GCRMN methods should be viewed as a minimum set of measurements to provide a reliable snapshot of reef condition – data elements should not be selected individually but instead will be collected in sum. Given the inherent complexity of reef processes, a multidimensional description of coral reef health is essential to provide a coherent ‘baseline’ of coral reef condition in a dynamic and changing world.