Bonaire coral reef research expedition

This video is called Bonaire Reef – 10 minutes of non-looped footage.

From Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands:

Deep Reef Bonaire Expedition I

29 May 2013

From 30 May until June 3 2013 the deep reef of Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands, will be explored for the very first time. Erik Meesters and Lisa Becking from IMARES Wageningen UR will board the ‘Curasub’ submarine, based at the Curaçao Sea Aquarium, to go down to depths of 300 m. The shallow reefs of the Caribbean are considered a ‘biodiversity-hotspot’, an area with exceptional diversity of plants, animals and ecosystems. Yet surprisingly little is known about the flora and fauna of the deep reefs. It is expected that many new species to science will be found at these practically unexplored depths. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ) has commissioned research institute IMARES to study the deeper reef as part of the exclusive Economic Zone management plan for the Dutch Caribbean.

The exploration will go beyond the zone that is exposed to sunlight and permits photosynthesis, the photic zone (+/- 200 m). Beyond that zone creatures have found a solution to life in the dark as well as to great pressure from a bulk of water. Using cameras and collecting biological specimens they will document this fascinating ecosystem and its unique biodiversity.

The collected species will be identified by taxonomists of the Zeeteam at Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the state of the art molecular lab of Naturalis will generate “DNA-barcodes” to facilitate the identification. Detmer Sipkema, microbiologist at Wageningen University, will assess the microscopic diversity of microbes that are key to a variety of ecological processes.

The aim of the expedition is to gain a first assessment of the biodiversity of the deep reef of Bonaire. This information is essential to adequately protect the ecosystem and construct sustainable management plans. In order to protect biodiversity, we need to know what is down there and to gain an understanding what processes keep it in place. This expedition is the first dive into the unknown world of the deep reefs of Bonaire.

See also here. And here.

What are apicomplexans? Our coral expert shares some of his research on these micro-critters that live in reefs: here.

More coral reef research: here.

Related articles

• Reef Biodiversity Affected by Tectonic Plate Movements (coralreefconservancy.wordpress.com)
• So: what’s the big deal? (savebonairemarinepark.org)
• Scientists Urge Preservation of Deep Ocean Coral Reefs (scientificamerican.com)
• Coral charm: Western Australia’s Ningaloo reef (eatdrinkandbemaryg.wordpress.com)
• Coral reef spread ‘ruled’ by volcanoes (abc.net.au)
• Submarine Expedition to Explore Uncharted Caribbean Reef (livescience.com)
• Creatures of the Reef (cadensaponari5.wordpress.com)
• Great Barrier Reef Bird’s Eye View (cadensaponari5.wordpress.com)
• Great Barrier Reef (cadensaponari5.wordpress.com)

US Navy fined for Filipino coral reef damage

This video, recorded in the Philippines, is called Tubbataha – A World Heritage Site.

From Wildlife Extra:

US Navy to be fined $1.4m million for damage to UNESCO World Heritage Reef

USS Guardian ran aground on World Heritage Reef

April 2013. Top reef experts from the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI), National Institute of Physics (NIP), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), De Lasalle University (DLSU-SHIELDS), United States Navy (USN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), have just finished assessing the damage wrought by the USS Guardian – a US Navy Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship which ran aground on the world-famous Tubbataha Reefs in January 2013.

According to the assessment team, results indicate the damaged area spans 2345.67 square metres – a smaller area than the 4000 square metres originally estimated by an American team.

Fine

In the Philippines a fine of roughly $600 per square meter of damaged reef is mandatory. Further park rule violations boosted the final total to slightly less than $1.4 million.

Salvage operation cost $45 million

Tubbataha Reefs Park Superintendent Angelique Songco, “$1.4 million is but a slap on the wrist, as the salvage operation has been estimated to cost close to $45 million. However, we respect the Rule of Law and these are the fines stipulated. The Tubbataha Management Office will not ask for anything more.”

Fantastic marine wealth

A multi-awarded UNESCO World Heritage site, which celebrates its Silver Anniversary in 2013, Tubbataha boasts of unparalleled biodiversity levels. Whereas a typical square kilometre of healthy coral reef annually contains up to 30 metric tons of fish biomass per square kilometre, Tubbataha boasts from 200 to 300 metric tons. Though fishing within the park is not allowed, the larval dispersal effects, fuelled by currents, continually seed the Sulu Sea with fish and invertebrate spawn.

Concludes WWF-Philippines Vice-chair and CEO Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, “The swift resolution of this matter will allow TMO to build a significant endowment fund to sustain its operations through the years. The basic issue here is not tourism. It is food security. This fresh infusion of funds will allow TMO to concentrate on putting the money to good use – from building a better Ranger Station to upgrading their capacity to manage the country’s most productive coral reef. Let us settle what must be settled, learn what must be learned, and move forward.”

Related articles

• Higher fines pushed for damage to Tubbataha (globalnation.inquirer.net)
• US Navy ship removed from Tubbataha Reef (globalnation.inquirer.net)
• Philippines asking $1.4 M from US for Tubbataha Reef damage (globalnation.inquirer.net)
• USS Guardian removed from Philippines’ Tubbataha Reef (pinoychizmiz.wordpress.com)

New sea slug, feather star species discoveries in Papua New Guinea

This video is called Tab Island, Madang, Papua New Guinea, 18 August 2009.

From Wildlife Extra:

New species of sea slugs, feather stars and amphipods discovered in Papua New Guinea lagoon

Expedition led by Nova Southeastern University‘s National Coral Reef Institute discovers wealth of wildlife

March 2013. When Jim Thomas and his global team of researchers returned to the Madang Lagoon in Papua New Guinea, they discovered a treasure trove of new species unknown to science. This is especially relevant as the research team consisted of scientists who had conducted a previous survey in the 1990s.

“In the Madang Lagoon, we went a half mile out off the leading edge of the active Australian Plate and were in 6,000 metres of water,” said Thomas, Ph.D., a researcher at Nova Southeastern University’s National Coral Reef Institute in Hollywood, Fla. “It was once believed there were no reefs on the north coast of Papua New Guinea since there were no shallow bays and lagoons typical of most coral reef environments. But there was lots of biodiversity to be found.”

New species

Thomas and his team discovered new species of sea slugs (nudibranchs), feather stars (crinoids) and amphipods (genus Leucothoe). There was more variety of these indicator species found than there is in the entire length of Australia’s 1,600-mile Great Barrier Reef.

“This was an astonishing discovery,” Thomas said. “We returned to our labs and began to formally assess our collections. We had no idea this lagoon’s bounty was so profound.”

The international team Thomas led included researchers from and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, the California Academy of Sciences and the National Botanical Gardens of Ireland. Their 3-week expedition ended late last year. While in Madang, they joined a large French contingent of scientists from the Paris Museum of Natural History. The NSU-led research team’s findings will be shared with the local villagers, as well as regional and federal governments. It will also be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Environmental threats

The Madang Lagoon faces many environmental threats by land-based pollution from a recently opened tuna cannery whose outfall is very close to the lagoon’s reefs. “Hopefully, our discoveries will strongly encourage governing bodies to recognize the environmental importance of the lagoon and work to stop the pollution,” Thomas said.

Related articles

• Mine waste and canneries threaten Madang Lagoon “treasure trove” (radioaustralia.net.au)
• New species found in threatened New Guinea lagoon (summitcountyvoice.com)
• World’s most diverse coral reef provides many newfound species (mnn.com)
• New Marine Species Discovered in Papua New Guinea (natureworldnews.com)
• New Pacific Species Include Shrimp in a Sponge (livescience.com)
• Diverse coral reef yields many new species (science.nbcnews.com)
• PNG lagoon diversity faces development threat (abc.net.au)

East Timor conservation

This video is about conservation in East Timor (Timor Leste).

From the Conservation International Blog:

Biodiversity Survey Supports New No-take Zones in Timor-Leste

Dr. Lyndon DeVantier

Today, the government of Timor-Leste announced the establishment of seven no-take zones in the country’s coastal waters. This development follows the Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) survey carried out by CI and partner scientists last year, which confirmed the community-identified zones as being biologically significant. Coral scientist and guest blogger Dr. Lyndon DeVantier shares his experience.

This beautiful wrasse (Cirrhilabrus tonozukai) was previously known from Palau and Indonesian localities, including Raja Ampat, eastern Sulawesi, and Halmahera. A single male individual was photographed at Timor-Leste’s Atauro Island, which represents a significant southerly extension of the geographic range.(© Gerald Allen)

In August of last year, I joined Mark Erdmann, Gerry Allen, Emre Turak and local scientists in Timor-Leste to participate in a CI RAP marine survey. At the request of the government, we set out to record the marine biodiversity of corals and fishes and assess the overall health of the reefs to help identify areas of importance for conservation and marine tourism.

To their great credit, the Timor-Leste government has already established a large national park on the eastern tip of the country, covering both land and sea. The park was established in 2007 — after the country had spent only five years as an independent nation — and named in honour of Nino Konis Santana, a Timorese freedom fighter in the 1990s.

We surveyed 22 reef locations both inside and outside of the national park and on Atauro Island off the northeastern coast. Having done similar work in many other parts of the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans over the past 20 years, we had a good basis for comparing Timor-Leste’s reefs with other places.

Left to right, international taxonomists Lyndon Devantier, Gerald Allen and Emre Turak were part of the RAP team surveying Timor-Leste’s waters. (© CI/photo by Mark Erdmann)

I was glad to discover that the reefs, particularly those inside the national park, were in moderate to good condition, with three times more living than dead coral covering the reefs overall.

The dead coral was caused mainly by population outbreaks of the coral-feeding crown-of-thorns starfish, a species that has wreaked havoc on other Pacific reefs. There was also some legacy damage from blast fishing, but most reefs — especially within the park — appeared to be in an active state of recovery.

Along with neighbouring countries, Timor-Leste forms part of the renowned Coral Triangle, Earth’s most diverse tropical marine realm. Hence we expected to find highly diverse coral reefs. We were not disappointed.

This small nation, with only a limited area of coral reef habitat, hosts a number of reef-building coral species comparable to Australia’s enormous Great Barrier Reef — some 400 species in all. Three of these coral species we documented may be new to science.

The fish fauna was also highly diverse; Gerry and Mark recorded some 740 species (including six possibly new species!) With inclusion of additional records from previous researchers, the Timor-Leste fish species tally has been raised to 800 species; for the greater Timor region, the tally is likely to be well over 1,200 species. Local levels of species richness on individual reefs were also high, although targeted fish species — including sharks — were rarely seen, an indication of intense fishing pressure.

Importantly, there was no evidence of recent or past coral bleaching caused by high sea temperatures. This likely reflects the presence of relatively cool waters, which were 25–28 degrees Celsius at the time of our survey — three to four degrees cooler than many nearby locations in the Coral Triangle.

Why are Timor-Leste’s waters cooler? It’s mostly because the major ocean current system known as the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) passes to the north and south, transporting massive quantities of water from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean each day. Before passing Timor-Leste, waters of the ITF are cooled by mixing in the Banda Sea. If this cooling effect remains consistent into the future, as appears likely, then Timor-Leste’s unique oceanographic setting may provide a cool water buffer and refuge against the increasing sea temperatures predicted from climate change over coming decades.

Timor-Leste has already shown great initiative in declaring Nino Konis Santana National Park, which, with effective management, can play a very important role in conservation, and contribute to the replenishment of populations of fishes and other harvested species.

And with the high-quality reefs and miles of sandy beach, Timor-Leste has excellent potential for marine and coastal tourism. However, it will be important to set clear regulations from the outset to ensure that tourism development is environmentally sustainable and provides clear benefits to local communities.

It is promising to see that the government is going a step further to protect these resources: officially recognising seven community-established no-take zones within the national park. The first in the country, these zones will help preserve this wealth of marine life for the food and economic well-being of the country’s people.

Dr. Lyndon DeVantier is a coral ecologist with more than 30 years of experience in international coral survey work. The survey was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of a collaborative project between the Coral Triangle Support Partnership and the Timor-Leste national government. Learn more about  CI’s work in the country.

Coral-destroying starfish research

This video from Oman says about itself:

The crown of thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci ) [is] one of the oceans’ most efficient coral predators. They can grow to more than 1 m in diameter; have 16 to 18 arms, the entire upper surface of its body covered in long venomous spines. This species was recorded in our … survey at Musandam peninsula.

From Wildlife Extra:

Reef devastation caused [by] Crown-of-thorns outbreaks still a mystery to researchers

Researchers tackle the coral-killing starfish

February 2013. Crown-of-thorns Acanthaster planci is the principle natural enemy of reef-building corals. Outbreaks of this coral-feeding starfish occur periodically, due to reasons that remain unclear. It decimates entire reefs in the space of just a few years, as has been the case in French Polynesia since 2004. A new study conducted by IRD researchers and their partners describes this population explosion around Moorea, the “sister island of Tahiti“. The rate of living coral cover in ocean depths and lagoons alike dropped from 50% (healthy reef) to under 5% in 2009. The ecosystem will need at least a decade to be restored to its original state.

The starfish has spread from island to island

The archipelago has been suffering from a new population explosion of the predatory starfish since 2004. It is one of the most intense and devastating outbreaks ever recorded. The outbreak of Acanthaster began in a very specific location in the Austral and Leeward Islands, then in 2006, the starfish colony spread to Tahiti and Moorea. Thanks to a dozen stations around the island of Moorea, scientists were able to make spatio-temporal observations of the dynamics of the infestation of coral populations. Thus, in a new study published in PLoS One, they described the spread of the coral reef invasion.

Ocean depths and lagoons alike

The starfish first settled in the deeper areas along the outer slopes of the reef, around 20 to 30 metres below the ocean surface. It then rose to a depth of approximately 6 metres, and even colonised certain parts of the lagoon. The damage was gradually observed: from 47% of living coral cover at one of the stations in 2006, for example, this rate dropped to 21% in 2007, 6% in 2008 and 2% in 2009: a disastrous state of affairs that disrupts the structure and functioning of all reef communities (including other coral-feeding species, such as butterflyfish, etc.).

The causes remain unclear – High rainfall is an indicator

What are the reasons behind outbreaks of Acanthaster planci? In Australia, where the pest is also rife, invasions occur after years with high rainfall. Rainfall leads to the excess release of nutrients from human activities and the proliferation of algae on which echinoderm larvae feed. In Polynesia, however, anthropic pressure seems too low and localised to explain such an outbreak of the starfish. The current lack of data on the subject means the phenomenon remains a mystery.

Since the causes of outbreaks remain unclear, there is limited ability to fight against Acanthaster planci in order to protect economic activities around the coral barrier, such as tourism and diving. Researchers are currently studying processes to “recruit” new corals, in other words to repopulate the reef and make it more resilient. Without a new widespread disturbance, a coral ecosystem would need 10 to 30 years to be restored to its original state.

One of the greatest mysteries of modern coral reefs is how they evolved from ancient corals. A critical knowledge gap has long existed in the record of coral evolution. This evolutionary gap occurs during a period of dramatic fluctuations in sea level and changes in the Earth’s climate between 1 and 2 million years ago. During this period many “old” corals went extinct, and the modern reef corals emerged. To fill this key temporal gap and understand the evolutionary and ecological transition to modern Caribbean reefs, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded a University of Miami (UM) project to study corals along the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. It is one of the few areas that contain a record of coral reefs from this period of climatic change: here.

Study finds starfish shed arms to protect against overheating: here.

Related articles

• Bed of Thorns (ecology.com)
• Crown of thorns Starfish (alamea) (pacificislandparks.com)
• Alamea Outbreak Threatens American Samoa’s Coral Reefs (pacificislandparks.com)
• The Crown-of-Thorns sea star (Acanthaster planci): The principle natural enemy of reef-building corals and the most significant threat to coral reef ecosystems today (greenfishbluefish.wordpress.com)
• Furry crabs may be healing Great Barrier Reef (dailystar.com.lb)
• How do corals survive in the hottest reefs on the planet? (terradaily.com)
• Australian government pledges to protect Great Barrier Reef (guardian.co.uk)
• Without calcium, coral reefs may stop growing (futurity.org)
• Verde Island Passage threatened by crown-of-thorns starfish (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
• Protecting The Great Barrier Reef (greenerideal.com)

United States navy damages Philippines coral reef

This video is called Tubbataha Reef Philippines: Whale Shark, Tiger Shark, Whitetip Shark, Eagle Ray, Turtle!

From Wildlife Extra:

US Navy in deep water after ship hits World Heritage reef in Philippines

USS Guardian runs aground on Tubbataha Reef

January 2013. The Philippines authorities will fine the US Navy heavily after a minesweeper, USS Guardian, ran aground on a reef in a World Heritage site, Tubbatha Reef, which is rated in the top 10 dive sites in the world.

The Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB) has announced that it will fine the US navy for several violations of its rules, including damaging the reef. Their statement reads:

“TPAMB has a mandate to protect, preserve and promote the resources of Tubbataha Reef. In order to fulfill that mandate and uphold the rule of law, it is the TPAMB’s intention to serve the US Navy with a formal notice listing violations of the above law in the grounding incident of January 17 involving the USS Guardian.

We will ask them to take responsibility, and immediately pay the fines that can be estimated at this time.

The violations that are evident at this time, include the following:

Section 19- UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY
Section 21 – NON-PAYMENT OF CONSERVATION FEE
Section 30 – OBSTRUCTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
Section 20 – DAMAGES TO THE REEF
Section 26G – DESTROYING RESOURCES

Subsequent to ship retrieval / and the assessment of Park damage, the TPAMB intends to serve a second formal notice of violation to the US Navy, that will quantify the estimate of destruction and the fines that must be paid.”

From INQUIRER.net in the Philippines:

With around 1,000 square meters of corals already severely damaged by the stranded United States (US) Navy Ship in Tubbataha Reef, authorities are planning to use a crane to lift the ship instead of dragging it so as to avoid further damages.

Researchers discover how new corals species form in the ocean: here.

Scientists Use Antacid To Help Measure The Rate Of Reef Growth: here.

Related articles

• You: U.S. ship stuck in reef off Philippines (edition.cnn.com)
• Philippine senator seeks probe of coral destruction (gulfnews.com)
• USS Guardian still stuck near Tubbataha Reef (photoblog.nbcnews.com)
• US Navy ship stuck in Tubbataha: Why there? (globalnation.inquirer.net)
• US Navy fined for ‘illegal entry’ at Philippines coral reef (sachemspeaks.wordpress.com)
• US Navy faces fines for ship stranded in Tubbataha (rappler.com)
• Cuts on hull of grounded U.S. warship expected soon (edition.cnn.com)
• Grounded warship to be chopped up (cnn.com)
• Big parts coming off U.S. ship on reef (cnn.com)

Hawaii coral reef infection

This video is called Hawaii Reef Etiquette.

From the Los Angeles Times in the USA:

In Hawaii, a coral reef infection has biologists alarmed

A mysterious growth has been spreading under the waters of Hanalei Bay and elsewhere on Kauai’s north shore. It’s killing all the coral it strikes, and scientists can’t stop it.

By Kim Murphy

November 27, 2012, 5:00 a.m.

HANALEI, Hawaii — When compiling a list of places that may be described as paradise, Hanalei Bay on the rugged north shore of the island of Kauai surely qualifies.

The perfect crescent bay, rimmed by palm trees, emerald cliffs and stretches of white sand, has always had a dreamy kind of appeal. It was on these shores that sailors in the movie “South Pacific” sang of the exotic but unattainable “Bali Ha’i.”

The problem is what lies below the surface of the area’s shimmering blue waters.

Since June, a mysterious milky growth has been spreading rapidly across the coral reefs in Hanalei and the surrounding bays of the north shore — so rapidly that biologist Terry Lilley, who has been documenting the phenomenon, says it now affects 5% of all the coral in Hanalei Bay and up to 40% of the coral in nearby Anini Bay. Other areas are “just as bad, if not worse,” he said.

The growth, identified by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey as both a cyanobacterial pathogen — a bacteria that grows through photosynthesis — and a fungus, is killing all the coral it strikes, and spreading at the rate of 1 to 3 inches a week on every coral it infects.

“There is nowhere we know of in the entire world where an entire reef system for 60 miles has been compromised in one fell swoop. This bacteria has been killing some of these 50- to 100-year-old corals in less than eight weeks,” Lilley said. “Something is causing the entire reef system here in Kauai to lose its immune system.”

The discovery of the new coral disease is only one of a number of ailments afflicting nearly all the world’s coral reefs, which are threatened by poisonous runoff, rising oceans, increasingly acidic waters and overfishing.

But this one could jeopardize a multibillion-dollar tourist industry in Hawaii, which depends on the stunning displays of color and wildlife for divers and snorkelers. That is especially true along the beaches of Kauai, where the north shore with a few exceptions remains a place of pristine natural beauty.

Nearly every coral reef could be dying by 2100 if current carbon dioxide emission trends continue, according to a new review of major climate models from around the world: here.

Related articles

• USGS: Coral disease outbreak an ‘epidemic’ (thegardenisland.com)
• Hanalei land developers met by full crowd (thegardenisland.com)
• Scientists continue coral disease study (thegardenisland.com)
• Feds: Rapidly-spreading disease in Hawaii coral – New strain of cyanobacteria blamed – Fish with lesions, turtles having problems – Big concern whether infectious to humans – “Truly an unusual event” (PHOTOS) (enenews.com)
• The Coral-Seaweed Battleground (cen.acs.org)
• A new cave-dwelling reef coral discovered in the Indo-Pacific (phys.org)

Great Barrier Reef threatened by Queensland government

This video is called Great Barrier Reef.

From Wildlife Extra:

Great Barrier Reef in danger from new mega-ports

Queensland Government ignores UNESCO on Great Barrier Reef

November 2012. Australia’s snubfin dolphin and other marine life face new threats to survival after the Queensland Government revealed draft plans for massive industrial development along the Great Barrier Reef coast.

WWF-Australia have expressed alarm over the Queensland Government’s draft plans to open up sites up and down the Queensland coast to huge new port developments and said the strategy pushed the Great Barrier Reef one step closer to being listed on UNESCO’s ‘World Heritage in Danger‘ list.

“Earlier this year, UNESCO delivered a ‘show cause’ notice to the Australian and Queensland Governments and requested that no new port development or associated infrastructure outside of the existing and long-established major port areas be permitted,” said WWF spokesperson Richard Leck.

Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy

“The Queensland Government’s Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy puts them on a collision course with UNESCO, by flagging new ports in areas that are currently undeveloped or at a very small scale. The Queensland Government agreed that any port expansion will be concentrated in areas where long established ports already exist, such as Gladstone Harbour. But this announcement that new ports are set to be green-lighted around 60 kilometres north of Gladstone flies in the face of the Government’s earlier commitment to UNESCO.

“The Newman Government’s plan confirms Port Alma and Balaclava Island within the World Heritage Area are earmarked for future development, effectively creating a Gladstone to Rockhampton mega-port. The proposed development sites are located within Keppel Bay and the Fitzroy River Delta which is home to the recently discovered Australian Snubfin dolphin and four species of turtles. An independent scientific report confirms that the Balaclava Island development would have a disastrous impact on these threatened species.

“The last thing Queenslanders want to see for the Great Barrier Reef is the type of massive, unfettered development that occurred in Gladstone Harbour being repeated along the coast. WWF is keen to work with the Queensland Government to ensure that a plan is developed that avoids this fate and keeps the Great Barrier Reef from being listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’.”

Robots find Barrier Reef coral at extreme depths, amazing ocean scientists. Living coral found at 125 metres, four times deeper than scuba limit: here.

June 2013. The Australian Marine Conservation Society and WWF-Australia have said that Australia’s governments are putting the Great Barrier Reef at risk by failing to implement the World Heritage Committee recommendations around rapid industrialisation of the Great Barrier Reef: here.

Related articles

• Could Coal Port Plans Threaten what remains of the Great Barrier Reef: It’s about Water Quality (oceansnrg.com)
• Great Barrier Reef’s losing coral cover (news.theage.com.au)
• The Great Barrier Reef at risk (abc.net.au)
• Queensland uranium could be exported through reef (smh.com.au)
• Humans caused historic Great Barrier Reef collapse: study (uwtreasures.wordpress.com)

Fishes saving coral

This video says about itself:

BBC ‘Blue Planet – Deep Trouble’ team explain the environmental dangers facing the world’s shallow waters. With high demands for rare species of fish, coral reefs are in danger of being fished out and deserted.

From Discover Magazine:

Coral Call for Help and Fish Swim to the Rescue

When coral are threatened by encroaching toxic algae, they do not have the luxury of running from their enemy. That is not to say these stationary creatures are defenseless, though. Acropora coral has evolved to emit a chemical call for help, and within minutes, a goby fish will show up on the scene, ready to nibble off the algae. Researchers recently discovered this underwater partnership in the waters near Fiji. They say this symbiotic relationship is the first known example of a species chemically signaling another in order to remove a competitor species.

The fish’s response time is short because the goby fish are never far away from the coral. Nestled in the crevices of the reef, protected from predators, goby fish feast on a smörgåsbord of local fares: coral mucus, algae and zooplankton. In return, the goby is available for minor coral maintenance issues like mowing the toxic algae lawn. This task is pretty simple for the fish—one species of goby observed in this study ate the stuff and another just trimmed it off—and important for the coral.

For a tenant-landlord-style relationship, this one’s pretty amicable.

See also here.

Related articles

• Corals Threatened by Seaweed Signal Fish for Help (theepochtimes.com)
• Corals under attack summon friendly fish (nature.com)
• Seaweed-threatened corals send chemical SOS to fish (sciencenews.org)
• Threatened coral calls in the goby cavalry (newscientist.com)
• When Attacked, Corals Send Out Chemical Signals to Recruit Bodyguard Fish (blogs.smithsonianmag.com)
• Chemical warfare on the reef (arstechnica.com)
• Coral Reefs Release Chemical Signal To Fish Bodyguards When They Are Under Attack By Toxic Seaweed (planetsave.com)
• Fish ‘Bodyguards’ Protect Coral from Seaweed Attack (livescience.com)

Africa’s largest coastal marine reserve in Mozambique

This video is about marine life in Mozambique.

From Wildlife Extra:

Mozambique creates Africa’s largest coastal marine reserve

Ten islands and surrounding coralcover more than 1 million hectares

November 2012. The Primeiras and Segundas have been approved as a marine protected area in Mozambique making this diverse ten-island archipelago Africa’s largest coastal marine reserve.

Comprising ten islands off the coast of northern Mozambique, the protected area will cover more than 1.040.926 hectares and contains abundant coral and turtle species. WWF has worked for eight years to secure this marine reserve, threatened by overfishing and unauthorised tourism.

Florêncio Marerua, WWF Mozambique´s Country Director, said “This is a great response to the appeal by local communities to help them protect their resources. This is a very important step in our effort to achieve the conservation and sustainable management of Mozambique’s marine and coastal resources, as this adds a globally significant area to the network of marine protected areas along the country’s coast. It is particularly exciting that both the government authorities and local communities recognise the benefits of conserving these resources.”

Located in the northern region of the country, between Nampula and Zambezia Provinces, the declaration of the Primeiras and Segundas environment protection area is the second major conservation area to be declared within the last two years.

Rich in coral and mangroves

The Archipelago includes the most robust and diverse coral community in Mozambique. It is rich in mangroves, marine life, deep underwater canyons and large seagrass beds. Due to cold nutrient-rich upwellings, the Archipelago is spared coral bleaching, a common problem in other coral-rich areas, making these some of the most globally productive and important reefs on the planet.

“This declaration by the Government shows they understand and care about the need for conservation of marine resources to support sustainable use by their communities, “said John Tanzer, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Program.

“Protecting the rich natural resources of this magnificent area will make a major contribution to the long term food security and livelihoods of the people of the region. It is also a significant contribution by Mozambique to safeguarding the future of the world’s marine environment more generally and deserves recognition and congratulations to all concerned who worked together to make it possible.”

The area is also of great economical importance. Artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial fishermen have been carrying out their fishery activities in the same area. Thus, all fishing activity within the archipelago area shows signs of overexploitation, with some species on the brink of collapse.

Related articles

• Mozambique Approves Africa’s Largest Coastal Marine Sanctuary (treehugger.com)
• Comparative Phylogeography in Fijian Coral Reef Fishes: A Multi-Taxa Approach towards Marine Reserve Design (plosone.org)
• In Nevis, fishers are essential to the success of marine protected areas (greenantilles.com)
• Helping North America’s marine protected areas adapt to a changing climate (eurekalert.org)
• Mozambique: A hide away in the Quirimbas Archipelago (telegraph.co.uk)
• Scottish seabird decline (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Chagos Islands, illegal fishing and war (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Marine Protected Areas skyrocket (bbc.co.uk)