scholarly journals Ecological solutions to reef degradation: optimizing coral reef restoration in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Lirman ◽  
Stephanie Schopmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Reef Restoration ◽  
Reef Structure ◽  
Reef Degradation ◽  
Complex Engineering ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Direct And Indirect Benefits

Reef restoration activities have proliferated in response to the need to mitigate coral declines and recover lost reef structure, function, and ecosystem services. Here, we describe the recent shift from costly and complex engineering solutions to recover degraded reef structure to more economical and efficient ecological approaches that focus on recovering the living components of reef communities. We review the adoption and expansion of the coral gardening framework in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic where practitioners now grow and outplant 10,000’s of corals onto degraded reefs each year. We detail the steps for establishing a gardening program as well as long-term goals and direct and indirect benefits of this approach in our region. With a strong scientific basis, coral gardening activities now contribute significantly to reef and species recovery, provide important scientific, education, and outreach opportunities, and offer alternate livelihoods to local stakeholders. While challenges still remain, the transition from engineering to ecological solutions for reef degradation has opened the field of coral reef restoration to a wider audience poised to contribute to reef conservation and recovery in regions where coral losses and recruitment bottlenecks hinder natural recovery.

The effects of Biorock-associated electric fields on the Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) and the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 191-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella P. Uchoa ◽  
Craig P. O’Connell ◽  
Thomas J. Goreau
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Reef Shark ◽  
Reef Restoration ◽  
Caribbean Reef ◽  
Carcharhinus Leucas ◽  
Treatment Type ◽  
Bull Shark ◽  
The Caribbean

Healthy coral reefs are biologically diverse and provide vital ecosystem services. However, decreasing water quality and global warming are key contributors to coral reef decline, which poses substantial environmental threats. In response to this degradation, an innovative coral reef restoration technology, called Biorock, utilizes weak direct current electric fields to cause limestone deposition on conductive materials, inevitably inducing prolific coral reef growth. Although expediting coral growth, research on how the associated electric fields may impact the behavioural patterns of teleosts and/or organisms (i.e. elasmobranchs) possessing electroreception capabilities is lacking. Therefore, we studied the behavioural responses of two shark species, the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) and the Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) and multiple teleost species towards weak direct current electric fields in Bimini, Bahamas. Generalized linear mixed model analyses based on 90 trials illustrate that both the feeding and avoidance behaviors of C. leucas and C. perezi were significantly associated with treatment type, with the weak experimental electrode treatments resulting in the greatest quantity of avoidances and fewest feedings for both species. However, data analyses illustrate that teleost feeding behavior was not observably impacted by experimental treatments. Although the Biorock technology exhibits promise in coral reef restoration, the findings from this study illustrate a need for future large-scale studies assessing shark behavioral patterns around these devices, since the deterrence of apex predators may impact ecosystem balance.

scholarly journals Rapidly increasing macroalgal cover not related to herbivorous fishes on Mesoamerican reefs

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Suchley ◽  
Melanie D. McField ◽  
Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Herbivorous Fish ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Macroalgal Cover ◽  
Control Paradigm ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Impact

Long-term phase shifts from coral to macroalgal dominated reef systems are well documented in the Caribbean. Although the impact of coral diseases, climate change and other factors is acknowledged, major herbivore loss through disease and overfishing is often assigned a primary role. However, direct evidence for the link between herbivore abundance, macroalgal and coral cover is sparse, particularly over broad spatial scales. In this study we use a database of coral reef surveys performed at 85 sites along the Mesoamerican Reef of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, to examine potential ecological links by tracking site trajectories over the period 2005–2014. Despite the long-term reduction of herbivory capacity reported across the Caribbean, the Mesoamerican Reef region displayed relatively low macroalgal cover at the onset of the study. Subsequently, increasing fleshy macroalgal cover was pervasive. Herbivorous fish populations were not responsible for this trend as fleshy macroalgal cover change was not correlated with initial herbivorous fish biomass or change, and the majority of sites experienced increases in macroalgae browser biomass. This contrasts the coral reef top-down herbivore control paradigm and suggests the role of external factors in making environmental conditions more favourable for algae. Increasing macroalgal cover typically suppresses ecosystem services and leads to degraded reef systems. Consequently, policy makers and local coral reef managers should reassess the focus on herbivorous fish protection and consider complementary measures such as watershed management in order to arrest this trend.

A sponge of the Cliona viridis complex invades and excavates corals of the Gulf of Mannar, south-eastern India

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arathy Mol Ashok ◽  
Christine Hanna Lydia Schönberg ◽  
Kasper Diraviya Raj ◽  
Mahalakshmi Bhoopathi ◽  
M. Selva Bharath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Gulf Of Mannar ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Excavating Sponges ◽  
Reef Degradation ◽  
Coral Reef Degradation ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Excavating Sponge

Sponges play an important role in biogenic coral-reef degradation, and it is acknowledged that elevated levels of sponge erosion commonly indicate poor health of coral-reef environments. An increase in the abundance of coral-excavating sponge has been reported from several locations, a development that may move coral-reef carbonate budgets increasingly towards net erosion. The role of coral-excavating sponges on Indian reefs has not been studied in as much detail as elsewhere. The present paper describes the observation of a coral-excavating sponge from the family Clionaidae. This brown, endolithic sponge formed a coherent thin layer over the surface of the substratum and had a spicule complement of tylostyles and spirasters. Therefore it belongs to the Cliona viridis species complex, which, as a group, is widely distributed and commonly displays high bioerosion rates. Accurate identification will require molecular studies and is presently deferred. The sponge was found excavating only Turbinaria mesenterina colonies of Gulf of Mannar. Within the surveyed area of 60m2, 38.58% of T. mesenterina colonies were found to be invaded by the sponge. Targeted long-term studies across a larger spatial scale are warranted to assess the role of this sponge in more detail, and whether its abundance changes over time.

scholarly journals Nesting ecology and population trend of leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea at Pacuare Nature Reserve, Costa Rica

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marga L. Rivas ◽  
Carlos Fernández ◽  
Adolfo Marco
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Population Trends ◽  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Leatherback Turtles ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
The Caribbean

AbstractThe leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea, the only extant species in its family, is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The protection of nesting beaches and the associated conservation efforts along the Western Atlantic coast of Central America have improved the population trends of some of the most important rookeries. Here we report the life history, ecology and population trends of leatherback turtles over 18 years (1994–2012, excluding 1998) of effective protection in the Pacuare Nature Reserve, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. A mean density of 142 nests per km, probably the highest in Central America, indicates the importance of this rookery within the Caribbean region. Long-term conservation efforts at the Reserve have significantly reduced poaching and contributed to maintaining a high level of hatchling production. Long-term monitoring has also facilitated estimation of relevant demographic parameters of the population, such as nesting success (mean 69.8 ± SD 7.3%), clutch size (which is positively correlated with female size), hatching success (mean 55.2 ± SD 6.0%), remigration interval (2.5 years), and growth rate of remigrant females (mean 0.3 ± SD 1.0 cm per year), which is slightly faster than growth rates reported for Pacific leatherback turtles. Overall, efforts at Pacuare have been successful in protecting leatherback turtles and understanding their life history, highlighting the importance of long-term conservation projects for maintaining threatened leatherback populations.

scholarly journals Coral Reef Restoration Toolkit: A Field-Oriented Guide Developed in the Seychelles Islands

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Frias-Torres ◽  
Phanor Montoya-Maya ◽  
Nirmal Shah
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Restoration Ecology ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Ecological Integrity ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Reef Restoration ◽  
The Past

Coral reef restoration is a subfield within the larger scientific discipline of ecological restoration (also known as restoration ecology). Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed (SER, 2018).Coral reef restoration must follow the four basic principles of planning and implementation of ecological restoration in order to increase sustainable and valuable outcomes (Suding et al. 2015):1. Restoration increases ecological integrity. Restoration initiates or accelerates recovery of degraded areas by prioritizing the complexity of biological assemblages, including species composition and representation of all functional groups, as well as the features and processes needed to sustain these biota and to support ecosystem function;2. Restoration is sustainable in the long term. Restoration aims to establish systems that are self-sustaining and resilient; thus, they must be consistent with their environmental context and landscape setting. Once a restoration project is complete, the goal should be to minimize human intervention over the long term. When intervention is required, it should be to simulate natural processes that the landscape no longer provides or to support traditional practices of local communities;3. Restoration is informed by the past and future. Historical knowledge, in its many forms, can indicate how ecosystems functioned in the past and can provide references for identifying potential future trajectories and measuring functional and compositional success of projects. However, the unprecedented pace and spatial extent of anthropogenic changes in the present era can create conditions that depart strongly from historical trends. Often,then, history serves less as a template and more as a guide for determining appropriate restoration goals;4. Restoration benefits and engages society. Restoration focuses on recovering biodiversity and supporting the intrinsic value of nature. It also provides a suite of ecosystem services (e.g., improved water quality, fertile and stable soils, drought and flood buffering, genetic diversity, and carbon sequestration) that enhance human quality of life(e.g., clean water, food security, enhanced health, and effective governance). Restoration engages people through direct participation and, thus, increases understanding of ecosystems and their benefits and strengthens human communities.We followed the four basic principles of ecological restoration when implementing our coral reef restoration project.These principles are summarized in a practical decision tool in the next section (Figure 1).We encourage readers of our Coral Reef Restoration Toolkit to follow the basic principles of ecological restoration in their own projects. As coral reef restoration scientists and practitioners, we were rewarded with the experience of bringing back life to a dead coral reef. We hope newcomers to the field of coral reef restoration and those already with some experience will benefit from reading and implementing our Toolkit, so they are also rewarded withsuccessful outcomes.

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