Keywords
coral restoration
reproduction
Jamaica
Caribbean
arrecifes de coral
restauración de corales
reproducción
Jamaica
Caribe
How to Cite
Abstract
Shallow water Acropora species have become uncommon on north coast Jamaican coral reefs owing to a number of factors. On many reefs, algae have taken their place. The result is loss of habitat for many species of fish and invertebrates and less attractive reefs with fewer fish. These reefs appear to be prime candidates for coral restoration. However, the potential for coral to naturally recover should be examined before efforts to restore reefs are undertaken. Reef restoration is unnecessary if the population has the capacity to recovery through natural means. We observed that the rate of settlement of Acropora spat in the Caribbean is much lower than the spat settlement rate of several other Caribbean coral families and much lower than Acropora spat settlement rates in the South Pacific. A very low percentage of apparently healthy colonies of A. cervicornis possessed developing gametes in July 2005, a month before spawning. It appears that the long-term survival of remnant A. cervicornis populations is threatened unless successful sexual reproduction is restored. Several techniques were used to test transplant methods for restoring A. cervicornis populations. The mean survivorship and growth rate of one technique was >75% and nearly 250% per annum, respectively. Working with hotel operators, environmental groups, and local fishers, we are attempting to reintroduce A. cervicornis to sites where it previously existed and increase coral biomass and complexity at these sites. Reefs with greater A. cervicornis biomass have larger edible fish populations. With localized protection of these restored reefs we anticipate an increase of larger edible fish not only on reefs within the restored protected areas but also on adjacent reefs. Furthermore, increased coral and fish biodiversity improves the attractiveness of the reef community for divers and snorkelers. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (Suppl. 3): 105-116. Epub 2007 Jan. 15.References
Bak, R.P.M. & M.S. Engle. 1979. Distribution, abundance, and survival of juvenile hermatypic corals (Scleractinia) and the importance of life history strategies in the parent coral community. Mar. Biol. 54: 341-352.
Bowden-Kerby, W.A. 2001. Coral transplantation modeled after natural fragmentation processes: low-tech tools for coral reef restoration and management. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. 195 p.
Bruckner, A.W., R.J. Bruckner & E.H. Williams Jr. 1997. Spread of black-band disease epizootic through the coral reef system in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Bull. Mar. Sci. 61: 919-928.
Bruckner, A.W. 2002. Proceedings of the Caribbean Acropora workshop: Potential application of the U.S. Endangered Species Act as a conservation strategy. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-24, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. 199 p.
Crawford, J.A. 1995. The effects of Hurricane Allen at Discovery Bay, Jamaica, and a post-hurricane survey of the living hermatypic corals. Carib. J. Sci. 31: 237-242.
Edmunds, P.J. & R.C. Carpenter. 2001. Recovery of Diadema reduces macro algal cover and increases abundance of juvenile corals on a Caribbean reef. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98: 5067-5071.
Edwards, A.J. & S. Clark. 1992. Rehabilitation of coral reef flats using pre-cast concrete. Concrete 26: 16-19.
Franklin, H., C.A. Muhando & U. Lindahl. 1998. Coral culturing and temporal recruitment patterns in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Ambio 27: 651-655.
Goreau, T.F. & J.W. Wells. 1967. The shallow–water Scleractinia of Jamaica: revised list of species and their vertical distribution range. Bull. Mar. Sci. 17: 442-453.
Idjadi, J.A., S.C. Lee, J.F. Bruno, W.F. Precht, L. Allen- Requa & P.J. Edmunds. 2006. Rapid phase shift reversal on a Jamaican coral reef. Coral Reefs 25: 65-75.
Knowlton, N., J.C. Lang & B.D. Keller. 1990. Case study of natural population collapse: post hurricane predation of Jamaican staghorn corals. Smithsonian Contrib. Mar. Sci. 31: 1-25.
Kojis, B.L. & N.J. Quinn. 1993. Biological limits to Caribbean reef recovery. A comparison with western South Pacific reefs, p. 35-41. In R.N. Ginsburg (Compiler). Global Aspects of Coral Reefs, Health, Hazards, and History, Miami, Florida, USA.
Kojis, B.L. & N.J. Quinn. 2001. The importance of regional differences in hard coral recruitment rates for determining the need for coral restoration. Bull. Mar. Sci. 69: 967-974.
Laydoo, R.S. 1996. Coral transplantation in reef management at Bucco Reef, south-west Tobago. Carib. Mar. Stud. 5: 67-77.
Lindahl, U. 2003. Coral reef rehabilitation through transplantation of staghorn corals: effects of artificial stabilization and mechanical damages. Coral Reefs 22: 217-223.
McClanahan, T.R. 1994. Kenyan coral reef lagoon fish: effects of fishing, substrate complexity and sea urchins. Coral Reefs 13: 231-241.
Precht, W.F. & R.B. Aronson. 2006. Death and resurrection of Caribbean coral reefs: A paleoecological perspective, p 40-77. In I. Côté & J. Reynolds (eds.). Coral Reef Conservation. Cambridge Univ., Cambridge, England.
Rylaarsdam, K.W. 1983. Life histories and abundance patterns of colonial corals on Jamaican reefs. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 16: 249 - 263.
Quinn, N.J. & B.L. Kojis. 2003. Variation in subsurface seawater temperature off Discovery Bay, Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Rev. Biol. Trop. 51 (Suppl. 4): 181-187.
Quinn, N.J. & B.L. Kojis. 2005. Patterns of sexual recruitment of acroporid coral populations on the West Fore Reef at Discovery Bay, Jamaica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 53 (Suppl. 1): 83-90.
Quinn, N.J. & B.L. Kojis. 2006. Natural variability in the recovery of reef ecosystems, p. 83-97. In W.F. Precht (ed.). Reef Restoration Handbook - The Rehabilitation of an Ecosystem Under Siege. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
Quinn, N.J. & B.L. Kojis. 2007. Evaluating artificial means to increase Acropora coral populations and increase associated fish communities in Jamaica. Proc. 58th Meet. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst., San Andres Island, Columbia, 7-11 November 58; in press.
Quinn, N.J. & B.L. Kojis. (in press) Assessing the potential for natural recovery and restoration of Scleractina coral after the 2005 coral bleaching event on Jamaica’s reefs. World Resources Review.
Sammarco, P.W. 1980. Diadema and its relationship to coral spat mortality: grazing, competition, and biological disturbance. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 45: 245-272.
Sammarco, P.W. 1985. The Great Barrier Reef vs. the Caribbean: comparisons of grazers, coral recruitment patterns and reef recovery. Proc. 5th Int. Coral Reef Congress, Tahiti 4: 391-397.
Talge, H. 1992. Impact of recreational divers on scleractinian corals at Looe Key, Florida. Proc. 7th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Guam 2: 1077-1182.
Tunnicliffe, V. 1981. Breakage and propagation of the stony Acropora cervicornis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78: 2427-2431.
Wapnick, C., W.F. Precht & R.B. Aronson. 2004. Millennialscale dynamics of staghorn coral in Discovery Bay, Jamaica. Ecol. Lett. 7: 354-361.
Woodley, J.D., E.A. Chornesky, P.A. Clifford, J.B.C. Pearson, J.W. Porter, M.C. Rooney, K.W. Rylaarsdam, V.J. Tunnicliffe, C.M. Wahle, J.L. Wulff, A.S.C. Curtis, M.D. Dallmeyer, B.P. Jupp, M.A.R. Koehle, J. Niegel & E.M. Sides. 1981. Hurricane Allen’s impact on Jamaican coral reefs. Science 241: 749-755.
Woodley, J.D. 1991.The effects of Hurricane Gilbert on coral reefs At Discovery Bay. Appendix 9, In UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies, No. 110. Pp. 135.
Yap, H.T., AR.M. Alvarez, H.M. Custodio & R.M. Dizon. 1998. Physiological and ecological aspects of coral transplantation. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 229: 69-84.
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2006 Revista de Biología Tropical