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current
state
of
coral
reefs
along
the
North
West
coast
of
Mah,
Seychelles
following
the
1998
mass
bleaching
event
Introduction
the
1997-1998
global
mass
bleaching
event;
The
Seychelles
was
an
area
severely
affected
by
coral
mortality
due
to
bleaching
was
as
high
as
95%
on
the
reefs
around
the
Seychelles
inner
granitic
islands
(Spencer
et
al.,
2000).
Efforts
to
monitor
the
regeneration
of
coral
reefs
in
the
Seychelles
were
initiated
as
part
of
the
Shoals
of
Capricorn
program
in
1998,
continued
on
by
the
governmental
organization
Seychelles
Centre
for
Marine
Research
&
Technology
in
2001
and
joined
recently
in
2004
by
Global
Vision
International.
Continuous,
long
term
monitoring
of
coral
reef
ecosystems
is
valuable
for
time-
scale
comparisons
and
determining
the
health
of
the
reef.
The
Seychelles
rely
heavily
on
the
oceans
and
coastal
waters.
In
2002
tourism
and
fishing
were
the
highest
source
of
the
countries
gross
earnings
and
fish
remains
the
main
source
of
protein
for
the
Seychellois
people
(Robinson
&
Shroff
2004),
therefore
management
of
this
important
socio-economic
resource
is
critical.
Samantha Courtney, Lindsay Sullivan & Sharon Drabsch P.O. Box 1240, Mah, Seychelles www.gvi.co.uk
Fish diversity and density During Jan Mar 2010, fish species diversity was found to be slightly higher at sites within Marine National Parks, with a mean number of 39.4 species seen compared to 37.7 outside the Parks. Three sites within Marine Parks had the highest diversity overall, but one site within the Marine Parks had the lowest. There was no pattern discernable for fish diversity and proximity to Marine Park. Since 2005, fish density of the most abundant feeding guilds (herbivores and planktivores) has remained fairly constant up until 2009, most recently recorded at 0.1811 and 0.150 individuals per m respectively. Overall percentage cover of coralline algae has been decreasing since 2007, while macro algae fluctuates at a low percentage cover across sampling periods, which indicates healthy herbivore populations however there is some concern over the decline in coralline algae due to their role in reef building. Invertivores have reported a sharp decline in comparison to the 2008 surveys, from 0.0864 to 0.0435 individuals per m.
Methods
Study
area
coast
of
the
largest
and
most
populated
island
in
The
study
area
is
located
on
the
north-west
the
Seychelles
archipelago;
Mah
(Figure
1).
Eighteen
sites,
varying
in
substrate,
position
and
topography
are
surveyed
quarterly
while
additional
sites
are
included
if
time
permits.
Sampling
Method
Two
underwater
visual
census
techniques
are
employed
to
estimate
reef
fish
density
and
diversity.
Eight
stationary
point
counts
of
7m
radius
area
and
four
50*5m
belt
transects
are
completed
at
every
survey
site.
Fish
biomass
can
be
calculated
using
size
estimation
techniques
of
commercially
targeted
species.
Scleractinian
recruitment
density
is
quantified
using
thirty
1m
quadrats
per
site
and
six
10m
Line
Intercept
Transects
per
site
are
used
to
quantify
hard
coral,
algal
and
epibenthic
organism
percentage
cover
on
the
reef
substrate.
Target
invertebrate
density
and
diversity,
including
species
sought
out
by
local
fishermen,
are
monitored
using
two
50*5m
belt
transects
at
every
site.
In
2009
a
total
of
14
hard
coral
families
were
identified
as
recruits,
those
of
highest
density
belonged
to
the
Faviidae
and
Poritiidae
families
at
4.24m2
and
2.80m2
respectively,
followed
by
the
families
Acroporidae
and
Pocilloporidae
at
1.76m2
and
1.07m2
respectively.
Overall,
the
greatest
density
of
coral
recruits
was
found
on
granitic
sites
(14.89m2)
and
within
the
upper
recruit
size
class
of
2.1
5.0cm
(7.16m2)
which
corresponds
with
the
high
availability
of
suitable
substrate
for
growth.
Mean
coral
recruit
density
has
steadily
increased
since
surveying
began
in
2005
and
initial
surveys
by
Engelhardt
in
2002
(Figure
2),
however
mean
density
slightly
decreased
in
the
most
recent
survey
period
in
Oct-Dec
09
(12.8
per
m2)
from
the
previous
period
of
Jan
Mar
09
(13.4
per
m2).
Mean Coral Recruit Density (m-2 SE)
0.14 0.12 0.10 Density (m-2) 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.02 0.00
14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
Figure 3. Fish density (SE) comparison within Marine Parks and outside Marine Parks
Fish family/group
Figure 2. Mean hard coral recruit density (SE) from 2002 - 2009
Aim To monitor reef ecosystem components including fish density, diversity and size estimation, hard coral cover and recruitment as well as density of commercially important invertebrates to contribute to long term reef recovery data.
Hard coral cover From 2004 to 2010 hard coral percentage cover has gradually increased at both granitic and carbonate sites to 37.5% and 31.7% respectively (Figure 3), while cover within shallow and deep depths have converged to a similar value of around 34%. In 2002 Engelhardt et al. (2003) found carbonate reefs within the Seychelles exhibit significantly lower percent live hard coral cover as compared to granitic reefs, which corresponds to the results obtained here. In 2008 mean coral diversity around north- west Mah peaked at around 30 genera and although has declined slightly in the most recent surveys during 2010 still remains high and appears to be stabilizing at this value.
Interestingly,
the
families
Chaetodontidae
(Butterflyfish)
and
Serranidae
(Groupers)
were
the
only
fish
groups
with
higher
densities
inside
the
Marine
Park
compared
to
outside
the
boundaries
(Figure
3).
Up
until
recently,
bamboo
fish
traps
have
been
operating
within
the
Marine
Parks
which
generally
catch
Scaridae
(Parrotfish)
and
Siganidae
(Rabbitfish)
which
may
account
for
the
lowered
densities
found
in
these
areas.
Additionally,
some
sites
surveyed
are
located
off
the
main
island
which
may
deter
local
fishermen
from
fishing
there
due
to
logistical
and
monetary
constraints.
45
Mean
percentage
coral
cover
(SE)
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Carbonate Grani5c
Figure
1.
Aerial
view
of
Baie
Ternay
Marine
Park,
Mah,
Seychelles
Invertebrates Densities of Diadema spp. and Echinothrix spp. in particular should be Figure 4. Hard coral cover (SE) across two substrate types from 2004 - 2010 closely monitored; in high densities these algal grazers can cause Summary inadvertent harm to new coral colonies, impeding recruitment rate and In summary although no baseline data is available for with prolonged high density indicate algal dominated environments comparison prior to the 1998 mass bleaching event hard (Engelhardt 2001). Granitic reef sites have been found to exhibit higher coral percentage cover, coral recruitment and fish density densities of these species than carbonate sites, however due to high have been increasing since surveying begun in 2005 which scleractinian recruitment at granitic sites populations appear not to be indicates recovery is occurring even with external factors affecting recruitment rate and may be in fact aiding the process. The sea such as population growth, coastal development and fishing pressure increasing across the island. cucumber trade in the Seychelles is expanding as demand in Asia is References Engelhardt U., 2001, Report on scientific field studies and training activities conducted in June/July 2001. increasing. In the most recent surveys, of the seven sites with over 10 Seychelles Marine Ecosystem Management Project, Interim Report No.1, Reefcare International/World cucumber individuals recorded only 2 were located within marine parks. Wildlife Fund, Victoria. Engelhardt, U., Russell, M. and Wendling, B. (2003), Coral communities around the Seychelles Islands 1998 2002, Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean Status Report 2002, CORDIO, Schroff, The sector in Seychelles: overview, The five commercially targeted species are either recorded as the Sweden epp/ 212 - o231. Robinson, J. and eychelles J. (2004), nd Dfishing ournal, 7:1. Spencer, Tan eleki, K.A., with an mphasis n artisanal fisheries. S Medical a ental J . T Bradshaw, C., Spalding, M.D. (2000), Coral bleaching in the southern Seychelles during the 1998 1997 lowest abundance on belt transects or not recorded at all. Indian Ocean warm event, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 40(7): 569 - 586