[Coral-List] Fwd: Parrotfish

Mon Aug 4 14:02:54 EDT 2014

Not to claim any larger understanding or to express a contrary opinion...
several years back we did a study examinin post-(hurricane)Hugo recovery of
reef communities on eastern St. Croix. Specifically, we compared the
southern reef in Buck Island National Park with the Tague Bay forereef on
nearby St. Croix. The two reefs are on opposite sides of the same channel
and are separated by ca 1.5 km with the only difference being protection -
the park is a no-take area and the Tague Bay forereef is frequented by both
pot fishers and spearfishers. Both sites have been the focus of longer-term
monitoring and we have geological core data from both sites so we felt that
we had reasonable context to separate human impact from natural variability.

We were heartened by the increase in parrotfishes in the park relative to
either post Hugo or the immediate pre-storm surveys. On Tague Bay forereef,
*Diadema* populations had risen significantly. As in the FGNM, they were
not at 1970s levels, but were considerably higher than anything I had seen
elsewhere in the previous couple of decades. Also encouraging were the
lower abundances of macroalgae which we attributed to higher grazing -
especially on Tague Reef where urchins were more likely to affect algal
populations other than turfs.

While we were encouraged to see higher herbivore densities, coral cover
remained essentially at post-Hugo levels, i.e., the elevated grazer
communities appeared to have created no positive impact at either site. At
the time, we concluded (and I still tend to believe) that issues like
acidification, bleaching, disease and other things related to climate
change were discouraging recruitment and recovery. I would not publish this
conclusion without a way to positively make the link with these more
physical factors, but it does leave me skeptical about the "save the
parrotfish" campaign that seems to be one major side effect of the recent
report being referenced on the listserve. I do ascribe to the idea that
local factors may be more realistic to address than bringing the world
together to fight climate change. But this is a very different thing than
arguing that restoring the lowest rung in the top-down ladder will produce
measurable impacts.

Dennis

On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 9:25 AM, Quenton Dokken <qdokken at gulfmex.org> wrote:

> I was just on the Flower Garden Banks and was excited to see Diadema
> returning.  Still not at numbers of 20 years ago, but moving in the right
> direction.
>
> Stetson Bank, in the more temperate coastal waters, was covered with
> Diadema!  I don't recall ever seeing that density.  Interestingly, when
> Diadema died off the Flower Garden Banks, they did not die off of Stetson
> just 40 miles to the west of the West Flower Garden Bank.
>
> Quenton Dokken, Ph.D.
> President/CEO
> Gulf of Mexico Foundation, Inc.
>
> 361-882-3939 o
> 361-442-6064 c
> qdokken at gulfmex.org
>
> www.gulfmex.org
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Delbeek,
> Charles
> Sent: Sunday, August 3, 2014 5:14 PM
> To: Douglas Fenner; coral list
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Fwd: Parrotfish
>
> I think Marin Moe has stated here on more than one occasion that the real
> control on seaweeds in the Caribbean is Diadema not parrotfish, many
> species
> of which won't even touch macroalgae. More effort and resources should be
> directed towards reestablishing this keystone invertebrate herbivore to
> Caribbean reefs and less on discussing what might help. It has already been
> shown that Diadema, when in sufficient numbers, reduce algal cover and
> increase frequency of coral recruits. In my personal opinion, there is
> already a solution identified, resources just needed to implemented into
> putting it into action.
>
> If some billionaire is looking to leave a legacy, then what better way than
> supporting Diadema culture and reintroductions to save Caribbean coral
> reefs
> from becoming algal reefs?
>
> J. Charles Delbeek, M.Sc.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Douglas
> Fenner
> Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2014 3:13 AM
> To: coral list
> Subject: [Coral-List] Fwd: Parrotfish
>
> Some may find this interesting.  Any discussion?
>
> Protect parrotfish, protect the reef?
>
>
> http://m.blog.nature.org/science/2014/07/31/parrotfish-caribbean-coral-reef-
> iucn-report/
>
>
>
> --
> Douglas Fenner
> Contractor with Ocean Associates, Inc.
> PO Box 7390
> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA
>
> phone 1 684 622-7084
>
> "belief in climate change is optional, participation is not."
>
> belief in evolution is optional, use of antibiotics that bacteria have not
> evolved resistance to is recommended.
>
> website:  http://independent.academia.edu/DouglasFenner
>
> Blog:
>
> http://cctus.org/conservation-science/2014-expedition-scholar/2014-expeditio
> n-scholar-douglas-fenner-ph-d/2014-expedition-scholar-blog/
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-- 
Dennis Hubbard
Chair, Dept of Geology-Oberlin College Oberlin OH 44074
(440) 775-8346

* "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong stop"*
 Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"