*[Enwl-eng] Feature: Seeding Dying Coral Reefs May Help Drive AComeback
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Mar 8, 2013, 4:25:43 PM3/8/13
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*Coral comeback: Reef 'seeding' in the Caribbean*
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By DAVID McFADDEN, Associated Press
Updated 2:20 pm, Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Illustration Omitted:
In this April 13, 2012 photo released by The Nature Conservancy,
coral grows in a coral reef nursery as part of a Caribbean coral reef
restoration program off Cane Bay, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Across
the globe, reefs that have proven resilient for thousands of years are
in serious decline, degraded by over fishing, pollution, coastal
development and warming ocean waters. And threats to coral are only
expected to intensify as a result of climate change and ocean
acidification due to greenhouse gases. Photo: The Nature Conservancy,
Kemit-Amon Lewis
Illustration Omitted:
In this March 16, 2012 photo released by the Puntacana Ecological
Foundation, coral grows in a coral reef nursery as part of reef
restoration work in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Advocates say the
reef restoration work, focused on the region's fast-growing but
threatened staghorn and elkhorn coral species, can boost rates of
recovery and improve the outlook for coral. The efforts will never
resurrect the vibrant reefs of 50 years ago, they acknowledge, but they
believe they can help preserve some of a reef's functionality and
beauty. Photo: Puntacana Ecological Foundation, Victor Manuel Galvan
Illustration Omitted:
In this May 30, 2012 photo released by the Puntacana Ecological
Foundation, a diver works on a coral reef restoration program in Punta
Cana, Dominican Republic. According to the International Union for
Conservation of Nature, live coral coverage in the Caribbean is down to
an average of just 8 percent, from 50 percent in the 1970s. Caribbean
islands ranging from Bonaire to the U.S. Virgin Islands,
conservationists are rearing and planting fast-growing coral species to
try and turn things around by "seeding" reefs. Photo: Puntacana
Ecological Foundation, Victor Manuel Galvan
Illustration Omitted:
In this Oct. 18, 2011 released by the Puntacana Ecological
Foundation, a healthy coral grows in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The
tropical islands' reefs protect fragile coastlines by absorbing energy
from waves during hurricanes and normal conditions. In the face of
decline of coral reefs, some coral specialists and conservationists say
passive inaction would be a grave mistake. Photo: Puntacana Ecological
Foundation, Victor Manuel Galvan
ORACABESSA BAY, Jamaica (AP) --- Mats of algae and seaweed have shrouded
the once thick coral in shallow reefs off Jamaica's north coast. Warm
ocean waters have bleached out the coral, and in a cascade of ecological
decline, the sea urchins and plant-eating reef fish have mostly
vanished, replaced by snails and worms that bore through coral skeletons.
Now, off the shores of Jamaica, as well as in Caribbean islands from
Bonaire to St. Croix, conservationists are planting fast-growing coral
species to try and turn things around by "seeding" reefs. The strategy
has doubters, with one expert joking that prayer might be as effective,
but conservationists say the problem is so catastrophic that inaction is
not an option. According to the International Union for Conservation of
Nature, live coral coverage on Caribbean reefs is down to an average of
just 8 percent, from 50 percent in the 1970s.
Lenford Dacosta grew up in the north Jamaican fishing village of
Oracabessa Bay and spear-fished the waters for most of his 46 years. Now
he is part of a crew that tends to a small coral nursery in a fish
sanctuary, hoping to revitalize the reef that sustained his village,
whose shoreline is now dominated by ritzy resorts.
"I used to think that children would only hear about coral reefs and
fish in books," said Dacosta, expressing hope that his work will yield
fruit.
Seascape Caribbean, the fledgling company that employs Dacosta and touts
itself as the region's first and only private coral restoration
business, uses low-tech coral nurseries consisting of buoys and weights
with small fragments of staghorn coral suspended from them on strings.
The fragments grow on the strings until bits of tannish coral with the
beginnings of antler-like branches are ready to be planted onto reefs.
Other specialists grow coral fragments on concrete pedestals placed on
the seabed.
Advocates say the reef restoration work, focused on the region's
fast-growing but threatened staghorn and elkhorn coral species, can
boost rates of recovery and improve the outlook for coral. The efforts
will never resurrect the vibrant reefs of 50 years ago, they
acknowledge, but they believe they can help preserve some of a reef's
functionality and beauty.
"Coral cover is getting a little better here and I believe it will keep
improving in the gardened areas," said Andrew Ross, a Canadian marine
biologist and entrepreneur who founded Seascape Caribbean.
Reef-building coral is a tiny polyp-like animal that builds a
calcium-carbonate shell around itself and survives in a symbiotic
relationship with certain types of algae. Its reefs serve as vital
spawning and feeding grounds for numerous marine creatures. It comes in
some 1,500 known species, ranging from soft, undulating fans to those
with hard skeletons that form reef bases.
But across the globe, reefs that have proven resilient for thousands of
years are in serious decline, degraded by overfishing, pollution,
coastal development and warming ocean waters. And threats to coral are
only expected to intensify as a result of climate change and ocean
acidification due to greenhouse gases.
The stakes couldn't be higher along the Caribbean Sea, which has nearly
8,000 square miles (20,720 sq. kilometers) of coral reefs.
The tropical islands' iconic reefs protect fragile coastlines by
absorbing energy from waves during hurricanes and normal conditions.
Financially, the Caribbean has a multibillion-dollar beach tourism and
commercial fishing economy. In Jamaica alone, reef fisheries support up
to 20,000 fishermen.
Caribbean coral has deteriorated so badly in recent decades that a new
report from a team of international scientists says that the rocky
structures of the reefs are on the threshold of gradual erosion.
"The Caribbean, as a whole region, seems to be in a very poor state,"
said Chris Perry, a geography professor at the University of Exeter who
led the regional coral research.
In the face of this decline, some coral specialists and conservationists
say passive inaction would be a grave mistake. They argue that the
results of the nascent coral restoration work will be seen in coming years.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, scientists with The Nature Conservancy have
reared some 2,500 coral colonies and transplanted over 1,000 fragments
to local reefs with the aid of U.S. stimulus money. In the Dominican
Republic, the Puntacana Ecological Foundation in the thriving tourist
town of Punta Cana has planted some 1,200 fragments of Acropora coral, a
genus that includes staghorn and elkhorn.
"What started as an experiment to protect the endangered Acropora
species has become one of the largest nurseries in the Caribbean and a
laboratory for other resorts and researchers to conduct restoration
work," said Jake Kheel, the foundation's environmental director.
The Key Largo, Florida-based Coral Restoration Foundation, a pioneer in
efforts to revitalize stressed reefs, has helped the Dutch Caribbean
island of Bonaire set up coral nurseries. Meanwhile, in southern
Jamaica, researchers are feeding low-voltage electricity to young coral
to try and spur growth, a method that has been used in places like
Indonesia and Malaysia.
Some coral experts say the labor-intensive reef restoration projects may
be increasingly popular but they have yet to see any significant
successes out of them. These critics believe the scope of the problem is
simply too vast and restoration efforts don't address the underlying,
accelerating forces collapsing reefs.
"It responds more to the very human need to 'do something' in the face
of calamity, even if what you do is really a waste of time. Prayer would
be just as useful," said Roger Bradbury, an ecologist and adjunct
professor of resource management at Australian National University in
Canberra.
Bradbury argues that coral restoration actually diverts scarce resources
away from what should be researchers' main focus, which is what to do
with reef regions after the reefs are gone. "The reefs just won't be
there, but something will --- a new sort of ecosystem," he said.
Phil Kramer, a marine geologist who is director of The Nature
Conservancy's Caribbean program, acknowledges that the long term outlook
for coral reefs is poor in the face of current threats and projected
increases in temperature and ocean acidification. But he says that can't
justify the "abandonment" of reefs.
"It is true that Caribbean reefs are generally in bad shape at the
moment and that if more interventions are not taken we will continue to
lose what remains. But I remain cautiously optimistic about the future,"
Kramer said.
Helping the various restoration efforts, some regional governments are
taking action to protect key species on the reefs. Belize, which boasts
the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, has established bans
on harvesting parrotfish, a colorful herbivore that grazes on the algae
and seaweed that smothers coral.
By contrast, parrotfish are now the most popular catch in
heavily-overfished Jamaica, sold at the side of the road and in
supermarkets and restaurants.
Increasing sea surface temperatures have led to a dramatic rise in coral
bleaching incidents in which the stressed organisms expel the colorful
algae living in their tissues, leaving a whitish color. Up to 90 percent
of corals in parts of the eastern Caribbean suffered bleaching in 2005,
and more than half died.
But on Jamaica's north coast, Dacosta says he is gradually seeing some
balance restored to the Oracabessa Bay fish sanctuary where he works to
transplant coral fragments and scoop up snails and worms from reefs. He
says bigger fish and algae-grazing black sea urchins are seen more
frequently.
"I tell you," Dacosta said. "We should have started this a long time ago,"
___
David McFadden on Twitter: http://twitter/com/dmcfadd
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Coral-comeback-Reef-seeding-in-the-Caribbean-4310214.php
*** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational
purposes only. ***
From: "Yahoo Newsgroups" <vasi...@ramapo.edu>
Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2013 7:22 PM
Subject: Feature: Seeding Dying Coral Reefs May Help Drive A Comeback
------------- * ENWL * ------------
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-------------------------------------
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Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By DAVID McFADDEN, Associated Press
Updated 2:20 pm, Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Illustration Omitted:
In this April 13, 2012 photo released by The Nature Conservancy,
coral grows in a coral reef nursery as part of a Caribbean coral reef
restoration program off Cane Bay, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Across
the globe, reefs that have proven resilient for thousands of years are
in serious decline, degraded by over fishing, pollution, coastal
development and warming ocean waters. And threats to coral are only
expected to intensify as a result of climate change and ocean
acidification due to greenhouse gases. Photo: The Nature Conservancy,
Kemit-Amon Lewis
Illustration Omitted:
In this March 16, 2012 photo released by the Puntacana Ecological
Foundation, coral grows in a coral reef nursery as part of reef
restoration work in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Advocates say the
reef restoration work, focused on the region's fast-growing but
threatened staghorn and elkhorn coral species, can boost rates of
recovery and improve the outlook for coral. The efforts will never
resurrect the vibrant reefs of 50 years ago, they acknowledge, but they
believe they can help preserve some of a reef's functionality and
beauty. Photo: Puntacana Ecological Foundation, Victor Manuel Galvan
Illustration Omitted:
In this May 30, 2012 photo released by the Puntacana Ecological
Foundation, a diver works on a coral reef restoration program in Punta
Cana, Dominican Republic. According to the International Union for
Conservation of Nature, live coral coverage in the Caribbean is down to
an average of just 8 percent, from 50 percent in the 1970s. Caribbean
islands ranging from Bonaire to the U.S. Virgin Islands,
conservationists are rearing and planting fast-growing coral species to
try and turn things around by "seeding" reefs. Photo: Puntacana
Ecological Foundation, Victor Manuel Galvan
Illustration Omitted:
In this Oct. 18, 2011 released by the Puntacana Ecological
Foundation, a healthy coral grows in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The
tropical islands' reefs protect fragile coastlines by absorbing energy
from waves during hurricanes and normal conditions. In the face of
decline of coral reefs, some coral specialists and conservationists say
passive inaction would be a grave mistake. Photo: Puntacana Ecological
Foundation, Victor Manuel Galvan
ORACABESSA BAY, Jamaica (AP) --- Mats of algae and seaweed have shrouded
the once thick coral in shallow reefs off Jamaica's north coast. Warm
ocean waters have bleached out the coral, and in a cascade of ecological
decline, the sea urchins and plant-eating reef fish have mostly
vanished, replaced by snails and worms that bore through coral skeletons.
Now, off the shores of Jamaica, as well as in Caribbean islands from
Bonaire to St. Croix, conservationists are planting fast-growing coral
species to try and turn things around by "seeding" reefs. The strategy
has doubters, with one expert joking that prayer might be as effective,
but conservationists say the problem is so catastrophic that inaction is
not an option. According to the International Union for Conservation of
Nature, live coral coverage on Caribbean reefs is down to an average of
just 8 percent, from 50 percent in the 1970s.
Lenford Dacosta grew up in the north Jamaican fishing village of
Oracabessa Bay and spear-fished the waters for most of his 46 years. Now
he is part of a crew that tends to a small coral nursery in a fish
sanctuary, hoping to revitalize the reef that sustained his village,
whose shoreline is now dominated by ritzy resorts.
"I used to think that children would only hear about coral reefs and
fish in books," said Dacosta, expressing hope that his work will yield
fruit.
Seascape Caribbean, the fledgling company that employs Dacosta and touts
itself as the region's first and only private coral restoration
business, uses low-tech coral nurseries consisting of buoys and weights
with small fragments of staghorn coral suspended from them on strings.
The fragments grow on the strings until bits of tannish coral with the
beginnings of antler-like branches are ready to be planted onto reefs.
Other specialists grow coral fragments on concrete pedestals placed on
the seabed.
Advocates say the reef restoration work, focused on the region's
fast-growing but threatened staghorn and elkhorn coral species, can
boost rates of recovery and improve the outlook for coral. The efforts
will never resurrect the vibrant reefs of 50 years ago, they
acknowledge, but they believe they can help preserve some of a reef's
functionality and beauty.
"Coral cover is getting a little better here and I believe it will keep
improving in the gardened areas," said Andrew Ross, a Canadian marine
biologist and entrepreneur who founded Seascape Caribbean.
Reef-building coral is a tiny polyp-like animal that builds a
calcium-carbonate shell around itself and survives in a symbiotic
relationship with certain types of algae. Its reefs serve as vital
spawning and feeding grounds for numerous marine creatures. It comes in
some 1,500 known species, ranging from soft, undulating fans to those
with hard skeletons that form reef bases.
But across the globe, reefs that have proven resilient for thousands of
years are in serious decline, degraded by overfishing, pollution,
coastal development and warming ocean waters. And threats to coral are
only expected to intensify as a result of climate change and ocean
acidification due to greenhouse gases.
The stakes couldn't be higher along the Caribbean Sea, which has nearly
8,000 square miles (20,720 sq. kilometers) of coral reefs.
The tropical islands' iconic reefs protect fragile coastlines by
absorbing energy from waves during hurricanes and normal conditions.
Financially, the Caribbean has a multibillion-dollar beach tourism and
commercial fishing economy. In Jamaica alone, reef fisheries support up
to 20,000 fishermen.
Caribbean coral has deteriorated so badly in recent decades that a new
report from a team of international scientists says that the rocky
structures of the reefs are on the threshold of gradual erosion.
"The Caribbean, as a whole region, seems to be in a very poor state,"
said Chris Perry, a geography professor at the University of Exeter who
led the regional coral research.
In the face of this decline, some coral specialists and conservationists
say passive inaction would be a grave mistake. They argue that the
results of the nascent coral restoration work will be seen in coming years.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, scientists with The Nature Conservancy have
reared some 2,500 coral colonies and transplanted over 1,000 fragments
to local reefs with the aid of U.S. stimulus money. In the Dominican
Republic, the Puntacana Ecological Foundation in the thriving tourist
town of Punta Cana has planted some 1,200 fragments of Acropora coral, a
genus that includes staghorn and elkhorn.
"What started as an experiment to protect the endangered Acropora
species has become one of the largest nurseries in the Caribbean and a
laboratory for other resorts and researchers to conduct restoration
work," said Jake Kheel, the foundation's environmental director.
The Key Largo, Florida-based Coral Restoration Foundation, a pioneer in
efforts to revitalize stressed reefs, has helped the Dutch Caribbean
island of Bonaire set up coral nurseries. Meanwhile, in southern
Jamaica, researchers are feeding low-voltage electricity to young coral
to try and spur growth, a method that has been used in places like
Indonesia and Malaysia.
Some coral experts say the labor-intensive reef restoration projects may
be increasingly popular but they have yet to see any significant
successes out of them. These critics believe the scope of the problem is
simply too vast and restoration efforts don't address the underlying,
accelerating forces collapsing reefs.
"It responds more to the very human need to 'do something' in the face
of calamity, even if what you do is really a waste of time. Prayer would
be just as useful," said Roger Bradbury, an ecologist and adjunct
professor of resource management at Australian National University in
Canberra.
Bradbury argues that coral restoration actually diverts scarce resources
away from what should be researchers' main focus, which is what to do
with reef regions after the reefs are gone. "The reefs just won't be
there, but something will --- a new sort of ecosystem," he said.
Phil Kramer, a marine geologist who is director of The Nature
Conservancy's Caribbean program, acknowledges that the long term outlook
for coral reefs is poor in the face of current threats and projected
increases in temperature and ocean acidification. But he says that can't
justify the "abandonment" of reefs.
"It is true that Caribbean reefs are generally in bad shape at the
moment and that if more interventions are not taken we will continue to
lose what remains. But I remain cautiously optimistic about the future,"
Kramer said.
Helping the various restoration efforts, some regional governments are
taking action to protect key species on the reefs. Belize, which boasts
the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, has established bans
on harvesting parrotfish, a colorful herbivore that grazes on the algae
and seaweed that smothers coral.
By contrast, parrotfish are now the most popular catch in
heavily-overfished Jamaica, sold at the side of the road and in
supermarkets and restaurants.
Increasing sea surface temperatures have led to a dramatic rise in coral
bleaching incidents in which the stressed organisms expel the colorful
algae living in their tissues, leaving a whitish color. Up to 90 percent
of corals in parts of the eastern Caribbean suffered bleaching in 2005,
and more than half died.
But on Jamaica's north coast, Dacosta says he is gradually seeing some
balance restored to the Oracabessa Bay fish sanctuary where he works to
transplant coral fragments and scoop up snails and worms from reefs. He
says bigger fish and algae-grazing black sea urchins are seen more
frequently.
"I tell you," Dacosta said. "We should have started this a long time ago,"
___
David McFadden on Twitter: http://twitter/com/dmcfadd
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Coral-comeback-Reef-seeding-in-the-Caribbean-4310214.php
*** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational
purposes only. ***
From: "Yahoo Newsgroups" <vasi...@ramapo.edu>
Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2013 7:22 PM
Subject: Feature: Seeding Dying Coral Reefs May Help Drive A Comeback
------------- * ENWL * ------------
Ecological North West Line * St. Petersburg, Russia
Independent Environmental Net Service: http://www.bellona.ru/enwl/
Russian: ENWL(discussions), ENWL-inf(FSU information), ENWL-misc(any topics)
English: ENWL-eng (world information)
en...@lew.spb.org, enwl...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org
Subscription, Moderator: vf...@lew.spb.org or en...@enw.net.ru
Archive: http://enwl.bellona.ru/pipermail/
and http://groups.google.com/group/enwl/
SEE ALSO: http://www.bellona.org (English)and http://www.bellona.ru
(Russian)
RSS: http://groups.google.ru/group/enwl/feeds?hl=ru
(C) Please refer to exclusive articles of ENWL
-------------------------------------
ONLY if your address is subscribed:
Enwl-eng mailing list
Enwl...@enwl.bellona.ru
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