Reef Monitoring Training

Community Coral Reef Monitoring Training

Location: Adelup Point

Marybelle Quinata Community Monitoring Coordinator NOAA

NOAA Hafa Adai, my name is Agenda

• Marine Preserves • Coral Reefs & Their Threats • Overview of Piti-Asan watershed • Ridge-to-Reef Conservation • Survey Methods • Monitoring Exercises • In-Water Training §63116.1. Purpose of Marine Preserves

The purpose of the marine preserve is to protect, preserve, manage, and conserve aquatic life, habitat, and marine communities and ecosystems, and to ensure the health, welfare and integrity of marine resources for current and future generations by managing, regulating, restricting, or prohibiting activities to include, but not limited to, fishing, development, human uses.” History of MPAs

1986 1993 1997 Decline in 1st hearing of 3 Legislation passed on Fisheries 5 permanent preserves

1990 1995 2001 Proposal for Marine Full Enforcement 2nd hearing of 3 Preserves Begins

NOAA

Habitats • Reef Flat • Seagrass • Mixed Coral Stands • Staghorn Thickets • Soft Coral • Sand • Coral Rubble • Pavement/Algae

• Reef Margin • Coral • Channels

• Fore Reef • Coral • Pavement/Algae • Sand • Channels Burdick 2006 CORALS!

What are corals?

How do they survive and grow?

Why are coral reefs important? Individual Corals

Coral Polyp

Colonies People Can Disturb The Balance…

Fish, Recreational Invertebrates, Overfishing Impacts Turtles, etc.

Corals Algae

Lack of Public Coral Land-based Bleaching Sources of Awareness & Disease Pollution ©guamreeflife.com ©guamreeflife.com ©guamreeflife.com

Burdick et al. 2008

Burdick et al. 2008 Photo by D. Burdick

How do we deal? • Join beach clean-ups

• Participate in tree plantings

• Practice reef etiquette

Let’s continue to work on… Ridge-to-Reef Approach

• “BIG PICTURE” Approach to Conservation

• Traces land-based pollution to marine resources from the mountain ridge to our coral reefs

• Collective conservation efforts to address source of land-based pollution What is a Watershed?

• Waters journey from the top of a mountain ridge through rivers and finally to its ocean outlet Residential Areas MASSO Erosion ASAN MATGUE TAGUAGCoastal Development

Piti-Asan Watershed border Piti Bomb Holes MPA Rivers/ Tributaries GCMP

Piti-Asan Restoration Projects

Dredging out & Water Restocking Quality Monitoring

Tree Planting Stream Bank Stabilization Why monitor coral reefs?

NOAA Benthic Monitoring Benthic Cover Survey What’s on the sea bottom? Materials

• Transect tape • ½ m Quadrat Includes: • Benthic Data sheet – Sand • Clipboard & pencil – Algae • Snorkel gear – Corals – Rubble – Rock Procedure

1. Assign teams to transects (25m/team)

2. Place quadrat along side measuring tape

3. Record benthic cover under each point of quadrat (6 Benthic ID)

4. Move to next meter – Do on both sides Benthic Monitoring w/ Quadrats

2m 25m

1 2 1m 3 4 5 6 NOAA CHLOROPHYTA Cladophoropsis sp. Caulerpa racemosa Caluerpa serrulata Halimeda spp. PHAEOPHYTA Padina sp. Dictyota sp. Sargassum cristaefollum Turbinaria ornata RHODOPHYTA Acanthophyta spicifera Dichotomaria marginata Gracilaria salicornia Actinotrichia sp. Guam Community Coral Reef Monitoring CYANOBACTERIA BOTTOM COVER SEA GRASSES Enhalus acoroides Sand Schizothrix sp . Halodule uninervis Turf Algae Turf

CORALLINE ALGAE Hydrolithon reinboldii Hydrolithon Guam Community Coral Reef Monitoring GuamReefCoral Community Halophila minor Crustose coralline sp. coralline Crustose Rubble Benthic Cover CORALS

©guamreeflife.com GONIOPORA PORITES ACROPORA Porites cylindrica Porites Gonipora sp. Gonipora Gonipora sp. Gonipora Gonipora sp. Gonipora Gonipora sp. Gonipora Acropora sp. Acropora Acropora muricata Acropora Porites rus Porites Goniopora sp. Goniopora Guam CommunityCoral Reef Monitoring Acropora quelchii Acropora Gonipora fruticosa Gonipora Gonipora fruticosa Gonipora Porites lobata. Porites PAVONA LOBOPHYLIA FAVIA Lettuce Coral Big Lip Coral Golf ball coral Lobophyllia corymbosa Pavona frondifera Favia stelligera Favia pallida Favia Lobophyllia sp. Pavona sp. Guam CommunityCoral Reef Monitoring Lobophyllia corymbosa Pavona decussata Favia favus MILEPORA LEPTORIA Fire Coral POCILLOPORA Brain Coral Pocillopora Milepora Leptoria damicornis sp. phyrgia ! Pocillopora Milepora LEPTASTREA damicornis

sp. Honey Comb Coral ! Leptastrea Guam CommunityCoral Reef Monitoring

Pocillopora pupurea Milepora

platyphyllia meandrina !

Exercise 1

NOAA NOAA NOAA NOAA On to Macro Invertebrates!

What’s a macro- Animals without backbones; invertebrate? large enough to see in plain view

• Help keep the beach clean Why are they important? • Key indicators of reef health Macro Invertebrate Monitoring Macro Invertebrate Surveys Materials

• Transect tape • PVC Pipes (1m) Includes: • Field Guide – Sea Cucumbers • Data sheet& clipboard – Sea stars • Snorkel gear – Sea urchins – Mollusks Monitoring Macro-invertebrates

1. Determine transect area (25x2m)

2. One team to each transect

3. From beginning of transect tape, swim along side holding out 1m PVC pipe

4. Count macro invertebrates in transect - Within 1m on either side of transect tape

5. Record counts on data sheet SEA URCHINS SEA CUCUMBERS (BALATE’) Toxopneustes Stichopus Holothuria atra Holothuria Diadema savigni chloronotus pileolus ! Holothuria leucispulota Holothuria Bohadschia argus Echinometra mathei Echinometra Tripneustes gratilla Tripneustes Holothuria edulisHolothuria Synapta maculata Synapta Echinothrix diadema Echinothrix Guam CommunityCoral Reef Monitoring Actinopyga echinites Actinopyga MOLLUSCS SEA STARS Trochus niloticus niloticus Trochus Linckia laevigata Lambis lambis Lambis Culcita novaeguineae Charonia tritonus Octopus cyanea Octopus Guam CommunityCoral Reef Monitoring Tridacna Acanthaster planci Acanthaster Conus spp. crocea ! !

Belt Transects

25m

1m Paulay

Paulay

Paulay NOAA NOAA In-water Training Complete one benthic and one macro- invertebrate survey for each of 2 monitoring sites