[Coral-List] Responding to Coral Bleaching

[Austin Bowden-Kerby]

Dear Friends,

The reports of massive bleaching developing in both the Pacific and
Caribbean are quite concerning to us all.   Is there nothing we can do but
stand by and passively watch?  I propose an alternative approach.

In Fiji, the massive bleaching event of 2000 killed 90% or more of the
corals on some of our Southern Reefs. The few surviving unbleached corals
provided hope that the reefs could adapt over time, however
*Acanthaster *(COTS)
subsequently killed most of these surviving corals on many of these reefs.
The probable explanation is simple:  before the bleaching, COTS were in a
state of low relative abundance, but once most of the corals were gone,
their relative abundance with respect to the corals became extremely high
and thus deadly for the surviving bleaching resistant corals, particularly
their favored prey *Acropora* and *Pocillopora*.   In the Dominican
Republic, we saw a similar post-bleaching scenario in 2005, but with
*Coraliophila* snails and *Hermodice* fire worms as the predators.

Might this be the ideal time to mobilize community groups to conduct major
COTS removal programs in the Pacific- at least for reefs with high
recreational value?   The alternative is for concerned people to stand by
and watch in horror, as their precious reefs die of causes that (for the
most part) they are powerless to control.   If COTS removal were done in a
systematic manner, control reefs (without COTS removal) could be
established for comparative purposes to get an indication of the relative
effectiveness of COTS removal as a proactive climate change adaptation
strategy for bleaching stressed reefs.

A single COTS can kill a fist-sized coral every day, and that translates to
massive amounts of corals consumed.  Every coral that survives this
major                    bleaching event represents a genetic treasure
vital for the future survival of coral reefs on the planet.  Now is the
time to act, to ensure that these corals survive the post-bleaching
predator plagues that can be expected nearly everywhere.

I recently submitted a proposal to USAID PACCAM that was turned down, to
assist Kiribati with their bleaching emergency.  The proposed strategy
involved three components:  1. Protecting surviving (bleaching resistant)
corals through a systematic coral predator removal program carried out on
specific reef patches, 2. Collection of small fragments of surviving,
non-bleached (heat-adapted) corals and establishment within coral nurseries
secure from predation, and 3. At one year and beyond the nursery corals are
trimmed to produce second-generation, bleaching resistant corals for
out-planting into selected reef patches.

Where possible, the bleaching resistant corals are planted into no-take
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), to take advantage of the greater ecological
balance and lower abundance of coral predators there. Communities should be
very much a part of this process, and should be engaged and mobilized. The
result will be increased human resources involved in nurturing pockets of
exceptional coral reef health that are composed of bleaching resistant
corals that have a higher probability of surviving into the future.

All the best,

Austin

Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
Corals for Conservation
P.O. Box 649 Samabula
Fiji Islands
abowdenkerby at gmail.com
Facebook: Corals for Conservation

On Thu, Sep 17, 2015 at 6:14 AM, Austin Bowden-Kerby <abowdenkerby at gmail.com
> wrote:

> Sorry, Gmail won't let me change the subject heading.
>
> Responding to Coral Bleaching
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> The reports of massive bleaching developing in both the Pacific and
> Caribbean are quite concerning to us all.   Is there nothing we can do but
> stand by and passively watch?  I propose and alternative approach.
>
> In Fiji, the massive bleaching event of 2000 killed 90% or more of the
> corals on some of our Southern Reefs. The few surviving unbleached corals
> provided hope that the reefs could adapt over time, however
> *Acanthaster *(COTS) subsequently killed most of these surviving
> corals on many of these reefs.  The probable explanation is simple:  before
> the bleaching, COTS were in a state of low relative abundance, but once
> most of the corals were gone, their relative abundance became extremely
> high and thus deadly for the surviving bleaching resistant corals,
> particularly their favored prey *Acropora* and *Pocillopora*.   In the
> Dominican Republic, we saw a similar post-bleaching scenario in 2005, but
> with *Coraliophila* snails and *Hermodice* fire worms as the predators.
>
> Might this be the ideal time to mobilize community groups to conduct major
> COTS removal programs in the Pacific- at least for reefs with high
> recreational value?   The alternative is for concerned people to stand by
> and watch in horror, as their precious reefs die of causes that (for the
> most part) they are powerless to control.   If COTS removal were done in a
> systematic manner, control reefs (without COTS removal) could be
> established for comparative purposes.
>
> A single COTS can kill a fist-sized coral every day, and that translates
> to massive amounts of corals consumed.  Every coral that survives this
> massive bleaching event represents a genetic treasure vital for the future
> survival of coral reefs on the planet.  Now I the time to act, to ensure
> that these corals survive the post-bleaching predator plagues that can be
> expected nearly everywhere.
>
> I recently submitted a proposal to USAID PACCAM that was turned down, to
> assist Kiribati with their bleaching emergency.  The proposed strategy
> involves three components:  1. Protecting surviving (bleaching resistant)
> corals through a systematic coral predator removal program carried out on
> specific reef patches, 2. Collection of small fragments of surviving,
> non-bleached (heat-adapted) corals and establishment within coral nurseries
> secure from predation, and 3. At one year and beyond the nursery corals
> are trimmed to produce second-generation, bleaching resistant corals for
> out-planting into selected reef patches. Where possible, the corals are
> planted into no-take Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), to take advantage of
> the greater ecological balance and lower abundance of coral predators
> there. Communities should be very much a part of this process,
> and should be engaged and mobilized. The result will be increased human
> resources involved in nurturing pockets of exceptional coral reef health,
> composed of corals that are bleaching resistant and that have a higher
> probability of surviving into the future.
>
> All the best,
>
> Austin
>
> Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
> Corals for Conservation
> P.O. Box 649 Samabula
> Fiji Islands
> abowdenkerby at gmail.com
> Facebook: Corals for Conservation
>
>
>> Message: 3
>> Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2015 06:10:56 -0400
>> From: Shelly-Ann Cox <scox at cimh.edu.bb>
>> Subject: [Coral-List] September Issue of the Caribbean Coral Reef
>>         Watch   Bulletin Available!
>> To: coralwatch at cimh.edu.bb
>> Message-ID: <bc9ce0f518b1baf2af640c84d7756c25 at cimh.edu.bb>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>>
>> Dear Colleagues,
>>
>> We're pleased to announce the release of the latest issue of the Coral
>> Reef Watch Bulletin.
>>
>> Notable observations include:
>> - A strong El Ni?o has developed.
>> - Alert level 1 issued for Central Bahamas and Northwest Cuba. Bleaching
>> warnings issued for Belize, Turks and Caicos Islands and all the islands
>> in the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
>> - Reports of paling and disease outbreaks have begun in Florida. Partial
>> bleaching signs observed in Mona Island, Puerto Rico.
>>
>> Read the full issue: http://bit.ly/CRW_Sept_Issue4
>>
>> Best wishes,
>> Shelly-Ann
>>
>> --
>> Shelly-Ann Cox
>> Research Associate
>> The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH)
>> Address: Husbands, St. James, Barbados
>> Tel: 1(246)425-1362/3
>> Fax: 1(246)424-4733
>> Skype ID: shellyanncox
>>
>>
>>
>>


-- 
Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
Corals for Conservation
P.O. Box 4649 Samabula, Fiji Islands
https://www.facebook.com/C4Conservation
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009j6wb

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