[Coral-List] Toward a New Era of Coral Reef Monitoring

Sat Apr 22 01:45:00 UTC 2023

A Pacific perspective to the discussion:
I agree that monitoring is a vital aspect of coral reef management to
quantify change, however, it is not a solution in itself for coral reef
decline.  Like a patient in the ICU, no matter how well hooked up to
monitors the sick patient is, if no remedies are applied, if no IV support
is given, and no medications delivered, then the monitoring might only
record in great detail the death of the individual.  The entire premise
with monitoring is that we intervene to save the patient!

The Florida reef tract has over 3.5 million visitors per year to a very
limited area.  That, plus proximity to a large urban area, must have
horrific consequences.  I would venture to guess that the extent of
monitoring on the Florida reef tract is at least a thousand times what we
have here in the entire South Pacific region.  The reefs of the tropical
Pacific cover something like a third of the planet, and the region contains
vast areas of coral reefs, however our entire population is under 3 million
people.  And while there are indeed polluted harbor areas, and yes there is
overfishing around population centers, in recent years much progress has
been made to address especially overfishing.   Our major threat is climate
change and warming seas.  This is a very real problem, impacting most
reefs.  The coral reefs of the most pristine uninhabited reefs of the
Phoenix and Line Islands, un-fished and with amazingly clean waters, have
now mostly died due to bleaching, or at best have lost most of their coral
diversity, being stuck in a low diversity phase shift dominated by one or
two species.

For areas like Florida, of course we need to monitor interventions, to see
what might be working.  We need vastly more monitoring in the independent
Pacific - the non US and French territories, where resources are much more
abundant.  If all the interventions are pollution control and MPA focused,
and if we do not address bleaching, we have missed the primary threat,
which will wipe away all progress within a decade or two.

As per Andrew''s contribution, we too find the greatest resilience to both
disease and heat in the more polluted and silty nearshore waters.
 Evolutionary pressures appear to be resulting in adaptation and thus
resilience.  But like Andrew, by no means are we encouraging a "'don't
worry be happy" attitude, we just take a bad situation and look for any
silver lining we might find.  These stressed corals, whatever has survived
over time, make good candidates for bleaching and disease resistance.  So
we have focused our coral reef adaptation work on collecting samples from
highly stressed waters, putting them into moderately stressed
quarantine nurseries for a full year, removing any that develop disease or
grow suspiciously slowly during the year.  After that, we graduate the
corals to our gene bank nurseries located on cooler, cleaner water reefs.

With a present mass bleaching ongoing in Fiji, Acropora corals are now 99%
bleached, with 30% mortality in our Eastern Fiji sites.  We are busy
collecting the very few corals which are bleaching resistant, and bringing
those into the gene bank as proven bleaching resilient corals to >33C.
Anyone on the list who is working on coral-focused climate change
adaptation should read my paper, or view the presentation- links below.

Regards to all,

Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
Corals for Conservation
P.O. Box 4649 Samabula, Fiji Islands

https://www.corals4conservation.org
Publication on C4C's coral-focused climate change adaptation strategies:
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/4/1/2/pdf
22 minute summary of climate change adaptation strategies
https://youtu.be/arkeSGXfKMk
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
<https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/>

On Sat, Apr 22, 2023 at 9:11 AM Andrew Ross via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> List,
> Apologies, re-reading this it sounds a little pro-sewage or that these
> gross-good sites are normal rather than anomalies, which is not at all my
> intent. I’m simply sharing my experience as an asterisk to the big
> statement.
> Worth also noting is that we’re seeing a bit of what looks like good ol'
> rapid-onset white plague disease in Acropora palmata, possibly related to
> heavy rain events and springs/sewage. Bad water.
> Andrew
>
> > On Apr 21, 2023, at 10:07 AM, Andrew Ross via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >
> > Good morning Jianna & all,
> > That quoted statement is broadly true & better water is certainly
> better, but there’s a lot of complexity, nuance & oddity to be considered
> as Phil has noted. The word “never” gives me hives…
> > I work mostly in & around Montego Bay, Jamaica. Some of our sites are
> quite yucky, chronic ear-infection yucky, yet the corals (including
> cultured corals) are doing fine but for the usual predatory/ecological
> imbalances (overfishing), which we can mitigate with hand-picking for the
> short to medium terms. These sites also appear to be partial SCTLD refuges,
> retaining species largely extirpated from this coastline including
> arguably/relatively clean-water sites. Next-to-no Diadema mortality last
> year, either. Others also report strong coral populations in chronically
> polluted bays - Hawaii comes to mind just now, but there are plenty of
> examples.
> > Hawaii might, but we don’t tend to get funded to formally test
> water-quality beyond temperature loggers. More & better data would
> certainly be better, and maybe not for the expected reasons.
> > Best regards,
> > Andrew
> >
> >> On Apr 19, 2023, at 7:39 PM, jianna wankel via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >>
> >> "Everyone is focusing on restoration but corals will never thrive in
> >> polluted water."
> >> This stood out to me... The coral isn't the problem. It is the water. We
> >> should be working on *water* restoration. It feels very hopeless. What
> can
> >> I do as a young scientist?
> >>
> >> Jianna
> >>
> >> On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 10:23 AM Douglas Fenner via Coral-List <
> >> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Phil,
> >>>    THANK YOU!!!  You hit the nail on the head.  Scientists and agencies
> >>> want to get attention and funding, and the way to do that is with
> shinny
> >>> toys.  Preferably expensive.  In other words, technology.  But the
> things
> >>> that must be changed to save reefs require hard work with humans that
> don't
> >>> want to change the things they are doing that are destroying the reefs.
> >>> The big exception is probably global warming, where big technology, not
> >>> having to do with coral reefs is needed to make the changes.  Things
> like
> >>> renewable energy, electric cars, etc.
> >>> Cheers, Doug
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Apr 18, 2023 at 4:59 AM Phillip Dustan via Coral-List <
> >>> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Hi Amy,
> >>>> Your team is organizing an amazing array of instrumentation to dial in
> >>>> coral reef condition. The real question is what is going to be done
> >>> about a
> >>>> degrading reef when it is revealed.
> >>>> In general, when people hear that a reef is being monitored they think
> >>> some
> >>>> remedial action will be triggered to "fix the problem".
> >>>> As valuable as reefs are to humankind you'd think this might be the
> case
> >>>> but in fact, history shows it has not been.
> >>>> Take the Florida Keys for example. This reef system has been under
> attack
> >>>> by humans for at least 100 years.
> >>>> John Pennekamp's work got a small section of Key Largo "protected"
> which
> >>>> resulted in hoards of divers dissenting upon the reefs.
> >>>> In the 1970's thousands of anchors were ravaging the reefs and it took
> >>> the
> >>>> work of individuals to create serviceable moorings buoys.
> >>>> The creation of a Marine Sanctuary increased business.
> >>>> But we all knew it was the increasing sewage that was causing the
> major
> >>>> problems but
> >>>> Then the major herbivores dropped out and the weeds, fertilized by
> >>> sewage,
> >>>> began to over grow the reef.
> >>>> Individual people started monitoring in the 70's and a Keyswide
> >>> monitoring
> >>>> system was put in place in the mid 1990's
> >>>> The investigators measured a 38 percent loss of coral cover and 400%
> >>>> increase in stations with disease in 4 calendar years.
> >>>> Coral cover on reefs where monitoring had begun in the 1970's was
> >>> showing a
> >>>> 90%+ loss in coral cover.
> >>>> Business continued to BOOM and the reefs continued to die.
> >>>> Now the loss is blamed on climate change whereas, truth be told, most
> of
> >>>> the death happened before climate change began to be a factor.
> >>>> The sewer system that was installed is a failure because fresh
> wastewater
> >>>> is buoyant.
> >>>> New diseases are so virulent the corals must be placed in rescue
> aquaria
> >>>> away from the reef.
> >>>> Everyone is focusing on restoration but corals will never thrive in
> >>>> polluted water.
> >>>> A few years ago I was visiting DIscovery Bay where I had worked years
> >>>> before.
> >>>> ( see https://biospherefoundation.org/project/coral-reef-change/)
> >>>> I told Leslie I was interested in how the reef had changed and he
> said,
> >>>> "Phil, you don't have to dive to see the reef is dying, just look out
> and
> >>>> see it's dark brown when it used to be golden".
> >>>> So while we can build better gizzies to follow the dying reefs in ever
> >>>> greater detail, unless we generate the political will to act it is
> all in
> >>>> vain.
> >>>> Maybe we should spend our energies and ever decreasing budgets on
> >>> altering
> >>>> human behaviors instead of building newer, faster, better resolving
> >>>> platforms to watch the war in ever greater detail.
> >>>> Most nations do not have the resources of a Wood's Hole or Scripps
> >>>> Institute of Oceanography, or the need for nextgen monitoring
> platforms.
> >>>> They need help with food, healthcare, sewage treatment, and education.
> >>>> My friends and colleagues know I love technology and was one of the
> first
> >>>> to monitor coral reefs using lines,video, and even satellites, but
> this
> >>> is
> >>>> not going to help the reefs anymore.
> >>>> They are way past needing monitoring.
> >>>> They need simple help: clean water, reduced pollution, reduced fishing
> >>>> pressure, less tourists, and a cooler, higher pH ocean.
> >>>> So congrats on developing a nexgen monitoring system but you may be
> >>> wasting
> >>>> your energy on something that is necessarily over complex and will not
> >>>> accomplish what is needed.
> >>>> Simply put, the very adaptations that have enabled coral reefs to
> thrive
> >>> in
> >>>> the clear, nutrient poor tropical seas makes them vulnerable to human
> >>>> activities.
> >>>> They are complex processes operating at levels of ecological
> efficiency
> >>>> humans should strive to emulate- That would be true  sustainability!
> >>>> But, sadly, coral reefs will probably not thrive again until humans
> are
> >>>> gone.
> >>>> Phil
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Leslie, the retire gardener and I were sitting in the
> >>>> breezeway reliving old times
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On Sat, Apr 15, 2023 at 9:19 AM Amy Apprill via Coral-List <
> >>>> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> Hello Coral List,
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Our team is pleased to share a new open-access perspective paper
> titled
> >>>>> ‘Towards a New Era of Coral Reef Monitoring’ published in
> Environmental
> >>>>> Science & Technology (2023, 57, 5117-5124).
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.2c05369
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Abstract: Coral reefs host some of the highest concentrations of
> >>>>> biodiversity and economic value in the oceans, yet these ecosystems
> are
> >>>>> under threat due to climate change and other human impacts. Reef
> >>>> monitoring
> >>>>> is routinely used to help
> >>>>> prioritize reefs for conservation and evaluate the success of
> >>>> intervention
> >>>>> efforts. Reef status and health are most frequently characterized
> using
> >>>>> diver-based surveys, but the inherent limitations of these methods
> mean
> >>>>> there is a growing need for
> >>>>> advanced, standardized, and automated reef techniques that capture
> the
> >>>>> complex nature of the ecosystem. Here we draw on experiences from our
> >>> own
> >>>>> interdisciplinary research programs to describe advances in in situ
> >>>>> diver-based and autonomous reef monitoring. We present our vision for
> >>>>> integrating interdisciplinary measurements for select “case-study”
> >>> reefs
> >>>>> worldwide and for
> >>>>> learning patterns within the biological, physical, and chemical reef
> >>>>> components and their interactions. Ultimately, these efforts could
> >>>> support
> >>>>> the development of a scalable and standardized suite of sensors that
> >>>>> capture and relay key data to assist in categorizing reef health.
> This
> >>>>> framework has the potential to provide stakeholders with the
> >>> information
> >>>>> necessary to assess reef health during an unprecedented time of reef
> >>>> change
> >>>>> as well as restoration and intervention activities.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Best wishes,
> >>>>> Amy Apprill, Yogesh Girdhar, T. Aran Mooney, Colleen M. Hansel,
> Matthew
> >>>> H.
> >>>>> Long, Yaqin Liu, W. Gordon Zhang, Jason Kapit, Konrad Hughen, Jeff
> >>>> Coogan,
> >>>>> and Austin Green
> >>>>> Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>> Coral-List mailing list
> >>>>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >>>>> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> --
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Phillip Dustan PhD
> >>>> Charleston SC  29424
> >>>> 843-953-8086 office
> >>>> 843-224-3321 (mobile)
> >>>>
> >>>> "When we try to pick out anything by itself
> >>>> we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords
> >>>> that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. "
> >>>> *                                         John Muir 1869*
> >>>>
> >>>> *A Swim Through TIme on Carysfort Reef*
> >>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
> >>>> *Raja Ampat Sustainability Project video*
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
> >>>> *Bali Coral Bleaching 2016 video*
> >>>>
> >>>> *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
> >>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo>*
> >>>> TEDx Charleston on saving coral reefs
> >>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
> >>>> Google Scholar Citations:
> >>>> https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> Coral-List mailing list
> >>>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >>>> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Coral-List mailing list
> >>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >>> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Coral-List mailing list
> >> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
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> >
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>
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