PHILIPPINES MONTHLY PROJECT UPDATE FEBRUARY | 2020 Presentations, surveys and waterfalls; another busy month for CCC! On the 27th of February, Project Scientist Rachel travelled to Maasin to attend a Round Table Discussion regarding the protection of Panaon Island’s marine resources. The event was hosted by OCEANA, a marine conservation organisation that advocates for science based policy to protects the ocean. Also in attendance were representatives from each municipality of Panaon Island, and LAMAVE, an organisation that researches large marine vertebrates in the Philippines, and specifically whale sharks in Pintuyan. The day consisted of a series of presentations from each municipality and organisation, describing the marine conservation efforts that they had been involved within the region. Many speakers highlighted historic and current collaborations with CCC, describing the implementation of various MPAs following What's in surveying and recommendation reports. OCEANA had travelled around the Philippines looking for potential sites for their Coral Reef this issue? Protection project, and after reading CCC's historical reports and data describing extremely high hard coral coverage of up to CCC & OCEANA 50%, they visited the island, and later selected it as their special site that they wanted to work LATEST NEWS to protect. We look forward to collaborating with OCEANA in the future and workings towards the same goal of preserving the SURVEYS diverse marine life that we have on our doorstep in Napantao and throughout SCHOLARSHIP Panaon's coastal waters. PROGRAMME CREATURE OF THE MONTH happy birthday to Pedang! It was our wonderful chef Pedang’s birthday on the 22nd of February! So we celebrated in true style with some vegan chocolate coconut cake. Probably the one thing that all volunteers and staff can agree on, is that Pedang makes the most delicious variety of food, thank you for keeping all our bellies full and happy with lumpia, pancit and pancakes! Everyone loves food and the building blocks to a succesful project is to keep everyone full with the incredible food and who better to give us a taste of the Philippines! After an arduous and rewarding day of saving the Oceans, there is nothing better for our teams than returning to base to some of Pedang's culinary masterclasses! a trip to Uwan-Uwanan Gorge From Monday to Saturday, CCC particpants work towards acheiving scientific goals and undertaking scientific dive training so on Sunday 'de-gas' days, the team utilise the time to recuperate from the pressures of diving by relaxing and adventuring! This month was no difference as our volunteers and staff embarked on a trip to the Uwan- uwanan Gorge! A short journey from our project base and great opportunity to discover what Southern Leyte has to offer, away from usual tourist spots! The name, meaning "resembling a rainfall", was given as the track includes a captivating encounter of a waterfall. The team were greeted by incredible scenery from waterfalls to cascading walls of lush green rewarded by refreshing freshwater pools and running streams. The gorge is in Barangay Kawayan, Libagon, and with the help of 2 local guides and some bits of rope, they traversed many rock faces. The trek starts by crossing many small rivers, surrounded by lots of coconut trees, then eventually you get to the deep gorge, which is framed by dense jungle. It is always a fun activity that builds team strength ready for another week of protecting the coral reefs of the Philippines! SURVEYS the return to Punta, Pintuyan At the start of this month we surveyed Barangay Punta, in the municipality of Pintuyan, an MPA that was established in 2009. We last surveyed this site in 2015, and this year returned to conduct a full biophysical assessment of the MPA. In total we completed 4 transects inside and 4 outside the MPA, half at 6m and half at 12m. These were the first surveys ever done from our new boat, Reef Ranger! Our efficient team of volunteers and staff surveyed in a range of weather conditions, from topping up on (reef safe) sunscreen in the mid-day sun, to hugging warm cups of coffee under the roof in the pouring down rain. Everyone was happy to put their newly acquired surveying skills to use and these data will soon be analysed to produce a report describing the performance of the Punta MPA. When ready, we will deliver the report to the Barangay Captain and Council alongside our Project Partners, PENRMO and PGSL. We'll be sure to shout about it on our various social media channels so keep a look out or you will be able to read it, along with our other reports, on our website at www.coralcay.org/our-work/publications SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME we welcomed a new scholar, Helbert, in February This month we welcomed Helbert Garay as our monthly scholar, who has been learning to dive, completing his PADI Open Water and Advanced Open Water courses, and then our Skills Development Programme. Helbert came from Palawan, where he currently works for a Dugong conservation organisation. Helbert has been a delight to have on base, for his great personality and also his amazing Filipino cooking - we wish him the best of luck in the future! “During my time with CCC I learned a lot including scuba diving, identifying different species composition of invertebrates, fish, corals, and other substrates, the various ways that these marine forms of life affect each other, and how to apply this knowledge through Reef Check methodology to conduct ecological surveys. I joined the Scholarship Programme for two main reasons, first, to learn more about conservation efforts in marine ecosystems to gain a wider perspective of marine conservation, secondly, to be able to share and apply this newly gained experience with others. I can utilise these skills as a Community Organiser working with stakeholders to assess potential sites of MPAs and to give recommendations to establish efficient and effective reserves. I believe that learning new knowledge can give new beginnings, and everything that was taught in the training is what I want to go on to do. I aim to utilise my new knowledge back in my workplace by sharing the applicable information. I also gained friendships from the staff and other volunteers, even though we were diverse in terms of culture, language, and perspectives, it did not matter as long as our minds and hearts were willing to learn and communicate with the same shared objectives.” Helbert Garay February | 2020 CREATURE OF THE MONTH Anchor Coral Euphyllia ancora This month we are showing some appreciation for the beautiful coral species Euphyllia ancora! Easily mistaken for a soft coral or possibly an anemone, this large polyp stony coral species is easily identifiable by its long tentacles with rounded hammer or anchor like tips, depending on your interpretation of the shape. These tentacles are extended night and day, and colonies can form continuous cover over the substrate. Colonies are found in the northern Indian Ocean, the central Indo-Pacific, Australia, Southeast Asia, and as far east as Papua New Guinea. Its skeleton forms a curving wall like shape, known as flabello-meandroid. Animals that may call E. ancora home include clownfish, especially if there is no suitable anemone available, and some species of shrimp. Sometimes demonstrating carnivorous behaviours, this coral can devour small bits of fish or squid, using its long tentacles to move the food towards the polyp mouth. Additionally, colonies can also happily live off the supply of energy that their internal symbiotic algae, or zooxanthellae provide them with. Colonies are either male or female, releasing sperm and eggs into the water column in synchrony. If another coral is growing too close to E. ancora, it will attack neighbouring colonies, using its long tentacles and dispatching additional “sweeper” tentacles covered in nematocysts, or specialised stinging cells. Interestingly, this coral does not attack other species within the same Euphyllia genus. This species is popular in coral aquariums, and one small colony can be sold for up to £100. Due to anthropogenic stressors facing most hard coral species, E. ancora is categorised as vulnerable IUCN red list. A close up of a cluster of tentacles from a large fluorescent green colony of Euphyllia ancora spotted inside the Punta MPA this month. Photo - Rachel Knowles.