2020 Science Workbook

Science Workbook 2020

This document is intended to provide a brief scientific introduction to the volunteers who have booked onto Coral Cay Conservation’s Philippines project; The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project. This document was updated in 2019.

Coral Cay Conservation The Kiln Grange Road Tongham Surrey UK GU10 1DJ [email protected]

+44 (0) 0207 620 1411

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If you have queries regarding the contents of this document, or the expedition package you have booked onto, you are advised to contact Coral Cay Conservation prior to your departure.

All images within this document are copyrighted and credited, where due. Images within this document must not be used without written permission from Coral Cay Conservation or the owner of the image.

Coral Cay Conservation is a division of the Lifesigns Group

CONTENTS

Welcome to the Philippines ...... 1 The Philippines ...... 2 Southern Leyte’s Reefs ...... 2 Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) ...... 3 The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (LRCP) ...... 4 The Science ...... 6 Fishes, Belt Transects & SDP ...... 8 Invertebrates & Impacts ...... 12 Substrates & PITs ...... 14

The need to conserve our Ocean, its inhabitants At the centre of all our efforts are our committed and the services that are provided to staff and enthusiastic volunteers. During your communities has never been so critical and I am time with us you will undertake our Skills thrilled that you have decided to join us on our Development Programme, an exciting and mission. You are setting out on a life-changing fascinating course designed to provide you with endeavour and I hope that during your time the essential skills to become an effective with us your affinity to the marine will grow and scientific diver. When you join one of our survey you will leave Coral Cay Conservation, not only teams, the data that you collect will be utilised as a member of our extensive global family, but to provide local communities with marine spatial also as a pro-active environmental steward; management plans to protect, restore and driving conservation actions for the amelioration promote marine resources; a truly pivotal role in of the natural world. the building of ecosystem resilience to current and projected environmental stressors. The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project is our flagship project and has been I hope you enjoy your time with us, and continually undertaking essential work in the welcome to the family. Philippines for the past 17 years. Since its inception in 2002, we have undertaken numerous phases that have entailed ecological mapping, providing recommendations for marine spatial management plans and Tom Dallison providing educational opportunities to local Head of Science Filipinos.

Welcome to the Philippines

Welcome to the to Welcome Philippines © Tom Dallison Coral Cay Conservation 2020

e are excited for you to join us at Leyte is an island found in the Visayas. Leyte Coral Cay Conservation (CCC), is mostly heavily forested and mountainous, in the Philippines, to help us conserve and but the Leyte Valley in the northeast has protect fragile reef environments. It’s a much agriculture. Politically, the island is great pleasure for us to have you on board divided into two provinces: Leyte and and contributing to this critical project. It’s Southern Leyte, where our expedition site is solely because of volunteers like yourself currently located. Much of the province is that we are able to do the work that we do, centred around Sogod Bay within which so welcome to the Southern Leyte Coral CCC is focusing its conservation efforts. The Reef Conservation Project (LRCP)! Bay’s coastline is characterised by narrow fringing coral reefs, intertidal flats and CCC has been working at different project beaches. Depths in the bay reach a sites throughout the Philippines since 1995. maximum of approximately 1,400 metres in This massive team effort has made a the centre. It is home to a stunning array of significant impact towards raising coral, invertebrate and fish species and awareness and increasing the science frequently visited by macrofauna such as capacity needed to implement effective pilot whales and whale sharks. You only conservation measures for the reefs of the have to dip you head under the waves to Philippines. be wowed by what Sogod Bay has to offer! As a volunteer, you will be making your own contribution to this project by helping to Southern Leyte’s Reefs gather ecological data about the health of the reefs as well as having the opportunity Coral reefs are one of the richest and most to get involved in our community diverse ecosystems on the planet, educational programmes. You’ll be supporting over 4000 species of fish in the expected to put in the groundwork, Indo-Pacific region, of which 2500 are learning all about the reef species and the found in the 25,000km2 of coastline fringed methods we use to survey in the water. with coral reefs in the archipelago of the You’ll be getting to grips with our Philippines. Coral reefs provide livelihoods approach, which coral reef organisms to for coastal communities through fishing, identify and the theory behind coral reefs aquaculture and tourism. However, they and efforts to conserve, whilst diving in the are under huge threat from impacts such most biologically rich region of the Indo- as solid and liquid pollution, overfishing, pacific; the Coral Triangle. habitat degradation, climate change and elevated sedimentation levels. Fortunately, The Philippines the coral reefs of Southern Leyte remain some of the least disturbed habitats in the The Philippines is located in Southeast Asia Philippines. Sogod bay is characterised by in the western Pacific Ocean. It forms part a rich diversity of marine habitats including of the Coral Triangle, an area known to mangrove forests, narrow fringing coral contain the highest marine biodiversity in reefs and seagrass beds. As well as being the world! The country is therefore an important area for fish and coral larval endowed with an incredible array of flows, Sogod Bay has been targeted by natural resources and a diverse range of Department of Agriculture as one of the habitats. country’s ten largest bays in need of assessment and management; which is An archipelago comprising 7,641 islands, where CCC and its volunteers come into the Philippines is categorised broadly into play. With projects worldwide, CCC use three main geographical regions: Luzon, volunteers like yourself to map and assess the Visayas, and Mindanao. Its population coral reefs, in order to work towards the is estimated to be around 105 million of sustainability of natural resources and the whom approximately 80% depend on the conservation of these fragile environments. country’s coastal resources.

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Coral Cay Conservation • advancement of environmental knowledge amongst local

communities, resource stakeholders Founded in 1986, CCC is a non- and system actors as well as governmental international conservation amongst resource managers and organisation that helps protect threatened governing agencies; coral reefs and associated ecosystems as • generation of environmental well as terrestrial environments. stewards; inspiring the next We work in collaboration with government generation to undertake and NGOs within a host country and do not conservation actions charge for the services we provide. We • and working with natural operate under a citizen-science custodians of the reefs, by framework, and inject funds raised from increasing local capacity and financial contributions back into the understanding of the ecological project. We also leverage funding from threats to their natural systems, various other organisations, governments through educational activities, and charities to support our efforts. scholarships and alternative livelihood programmes. The principal aims of CCC’s work in-country are the: CCC have been successfully running • Provision of scientific data for the volunteer-based conservation projects in generation of marine spatial developing countries since 1986 with management plans for the notable conservation successes: marine protection, restoration and enhancement of marine resources; ecological information gathered by CCC and building scientific capacity;

Providing resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection of

coral reefs and associated ecosystems3

Coral Cay Conservation 2020 volunteers was used in the successful bid to identifying key areas of conservation value, have the Belize Barrier Reef designated as including our House Reef, Napantao, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996; in alongside the presence of Whale Sharks, the Philippines, similar work led to the turtles and cetaceans in the bay, CCC designation of the Danjugan Island Marine were able to construct a strong, ecological Reserve in 2000; and CCC, alongside foundation for the development of environmental management plans. Fauna and Flora International (FFI), facilitated in the establishment of Phase II Cambodia’s first large scale Marine 2012-2017 Protected Area (MPA). After the successful mapping of high levels More recently, CCC has been instrumental of marine biodiversity and the highlighting in the implementation of several new of spatial impacts to resources, CCC community-based Marine Protected Areas transferred into Phase II; collecting within Sogod Bay. CCC continues to be at biophysical data to support the establishment of small-scale MPAs. By the forefront of volunteer-based undertaking surveys within the coastal conservation science and has provided waters of local communities, CCC were thousands of volunteers with the able to provide high-resolution ecological opportunity to be part of this continuing data directly to local stakeholders to legacy. facilitate local conservation efforts. Over the course of 5 years, CCC have provided

recommendations for over 20 MPAs, with 7 The Southern Leyte Coral Reef being officially declared by 2017. During this phase, great effort was placed into Conservation Project (LRCP) community education and outreach, working directly with local schools, resource managers and village officials to raise CCC has worked in partnership with local awareness of the importance of governments and communities to survey sustainable practices. and safeguard reefs and rainforest areas Phase III since 1995. Project locations have included 2018 - 2020 Palawan, Danjugan Island, Luzon and Negros. The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Phase III was developed to assess the Conservation Project (LRCP) was initiated in efficacy of established MPAs and September 2002 and the project has been understand the potential barriers to success extended on three occasions due to its for future application. CCC’s two-year success. Throughout this time, the project approach was designed under a Before- has completed three phases and CCC are After-Control-Impact (BACI) framework now undertaking the fourth-phase; where data collected prior to MPA establishment were compared to data Phase I collected after establishment to analysis 2002-2012 the MPAs respective influence on reef community assemblages and benthic During this phase, a total of 2,065 individual composition. baseline surveys were conducted aiming to map and understand the rich marine Our teams also conducted MPA biodiversity in Southern Leyte. The Phase I Effectiveness Assessment Tool (MEAT) team identified over 250 species of assessments. These assessments provide Scleractinian coral in the bay, with each MPA with an associated quantitative assistance from renowned Coral Biologist score that highlights threshold indicators and Taxonomist, Douglas Fenner, whilst and processes to promote and achieve highlighting the high numbers of reef fish species, complex reef structures and highly MPA management effectiveness. diverse invertebrate communities. By

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The data collected in this phase will provide 2002 - now critical temporal indicators on assessed MPAs, enabling CCC to provide CCC has assisted with the implementation recommendations for future establishment of over 15 small-scale MPAs (locally known with measures that aim to increase success. as fish sanctuaries). These MPAs help protect local reefs and promote increased The scientific communication produced fish catches adjacent to the sanctuary. from these results is expected to be Some of them have become popular dive released in 2020. sites where divers pay a small fee to the local community. This scheme gets used to Phase IV help manage the area and has 2020 - Present encouraged effective coral reef conservation within Sogod Bay. Working alongside PGSL and the Provincial Environment & Natural Resources Since the project’s inception, conservation Management Office (PENRMO), CCC will education for the fisherfolk, schools, continue to drive the establishment of colleges, and local government small-scale MPAs in the province whilst representatives of the Province has introducing technology into our successfully taken place. More than 2500 approaches through the use of BRUVS and students from the schools and colleges of Photogrammetry. Southern Leyte have had the opportunity to learn about their reef resources. CCC will also introduce a fisheries programme that aims to contextualise the Our Scholarship Programme is an excellent complex social and economic landscapes example of the opportunities we offer to of nearshore fisheries in the bay. Data national stakeholders and how we are collected through Catch Assessment building capacity throughout the region Surveys and Semi-Structured Interviews will and the Philippines. National Filipinos can supplement the regular bio-physical data apply to join us for a 4-week period for free collected from our House Reef. to receive training in coral reef ecology, data collection and ecological monitoring We all also be collaborating further techniques. Scholars are an essential PENRMO to provide ecological component of the project. To date, we assessments on current coral reef have successfully supported over 180 restoration efforts in Southern Leyte. individual scholars.

The Science

The Science The © Roisin Maddison Coral Cay Conservation 2020

CC collect data on the status of In a standard MPA assessment four Southern Leyte’s reefs both inside transects are conducted inside the MPA and outside of MPAs using an enhanced and four outside; split evenly between the ‘Reef Check’ technique. This technique two depth contours. One complete was developed by an American NGO for transect is comprised of four 20m the assessment of global reef health by replicates. Each consecutive replicate’s trained volunteer divers. The CCC survey start and end point is separated by a technique provides snapshots of the minimum gap of 5m. These gaps are biological communities (benthic and reef necessary to ensure independence fish) found inside and outside areas between the samples which is important for declared as MPAs. These data are reliable statistical testing. Therefore, the complimented together with basic physical distance between the start point of the information and an overview of transects first replicate and the end point of anthropogenic impacts. the last replicate is 95 metres.

Surveys are conducted at sites inside MPAs Detailed data are recorded for different at the request of MPA managers, local elements and there are a number of communities and local government specific roles in the survey: agents. For comparison, surveys are also • Physical: Records environmental conducted in nearby areas which have no factors, determines the start point legal protection. CCC survey data are used and direction of survey and controls primarily to provide local stakeholders with the activities of the ‘fish’ surveyors. an overview of the health of their MPA, as • Fishes: Records target fish along a well as assess the effectiveness of belt transect including estimating management measures. size for some species. Volunteer surveyors work in four-man • Invertebrates and Impacts: Records teams, surveying transects parallel to the target invertebrates and shore along 100-metre-long transect lines. anthropogenic impacts along a Depending on the topography of the site, belt transect. surveys may be carried out at two different • Substrate: Records substrates depth contours: 2-6m (preferably 6) and 6- (including hard coral species) along 12m (preferably 12). a point intercept transect • Line: Lays the survey line for the other surveyors.

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Fishes, Belt Transects & SDP indicators to the ecological status of coral reefs in the Philippines. You will hone your

skills in underwater size estimates (which is Fishes; Plural of Fish referring trickier that you think) and how to to multiple species (more effectively, and efficiently (remember, than one species of fish) you’ve got limited air), collect scientific data. To record the abundance of fishes that reside within the systems that are surveyed Below, we’ve included a brief intro into the by CCC, you will undertake specific training lesson topics you’ll go through during the that will enable you to identify our set SDP, specifically the introductory lessons species lists and how to deploy belt- and fish, the belt-transect protocol, and transects. what we do with the data that you collect. (we’ve also included a species list if you You will be taught the key mechanisms want to brush up before you arrive). used to identify individual fish, noting their morphological features, specific behaviour SDP Segments and ecological traits that set them apart from their reef neighbours. Working Dangerous Marine Animals alongside our Science Officer, you’ll be put A good diver is a safe diver, so we’ll give through you paces, but boy, will it be you a brief introduction to the potentially rewarding. We guarantee that recreational harmful organisms in the Philippines as well diving will never be the same – and we’re as how to deal with any stings, bites and not sorry for that! scratches.

All your training will be undertaken through Introduction to SDP and Reef Check the skills development programme (SDP). We’ll introduce you to the SDP in its entirety, You will need to work your way through the as well as an expected timetable for your scientific lessons (make sure to tap into the training period. You’ll also be provided with Science Officers knowledge!), correctly the base knowledge on the Reef Check identify fishes during in-situ pointy dives and protocol, focusing on coral monitoring pass our theoretical and survey trails. We’ve techniques and Reef Check’s relationship broken up the training as much as possible, with the SDP. amalgamating classroom lessons with practical sessions so you can put your newly acquired theoretical skills into Introduction to CCC in the Philippines practice straight away. A brief introduction into CCC, the LRCP and the Philippines – you’ll understand what During the fish section of SDP, you will learn we’re doing, how we’re doing it and why. the fishes that we have chosen to act as

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Introduction to Coral Reef Ecology and Biology You’ll be introduced to the incredible world under the waves and the mesmerising communities that reside on coral reefs, their importance and the methods in which they are being protected.

Fish Biology & Indicators An insight into the biology and ecology of reef fishes. You’ll look at particular © Roisin Maddison morphological features and behavior to facilitate identification as well as becoming important (Groupers, Snappers and accustomed to CCC’s indicator fishes. Parrotfish). We do this through Length

Weight Relationships – using set parameters Once you’ve finished in the class room, for species of fish to calculate their weight, you’ll head off to our house reef to put your associated by their length and body new skills into practice. Our Science Officer shape! will guide you through the various fish taxa, slow and relaxed swimming techniques for Belt Transects close observations and observing A belt transect is a method utilized movement and behavior, which are just as throughout ecology to estimate the important as markings. distribution of organisms within a specified

area. The belt transects used by CCC to Fish Length Estimations estimate fish community assemblages on You’ve learnt which indicator organisms areas of reef are continuous and you will require sizing, and why, but can you record all indicator fishes over a 20m estimate the correct sizes underwater? As section within a 5m by 5m ‘box’. Each 20m objects, including fish, look larger section covers a volume of 500m3. underwater, it will take you a few sessions to hone your estimates, but once you record Within the survey team, each diver will the size estimates with an acceptable have a specific responsibility. Someone will margin of error, you’ll be signed off and lay the transect, others will record fishes can add your new skills to your repertoire. (fishes are recorded first to minimize We utilize the fish length estimates to disturbance), then invertebrates and calculate the present biomass (kg) of fish substrates will be recorded. You’ll rely on that we consider as commercially

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team work to ensure that fishes are fishes that are recorded during fish surveys. recorded accurately and with minimal You can use this list to do some background disturbance to ensure robust data. reading, getting used to their morphology and biology before you arrive on site, if you Each total transect line length is 100m, want! We also record some organisms (not which is split into 4x 20m segments. No data all are fishes) that are considered as ‘Rare’, with their appearance during surveys highly are recorded within the 5m inter-segment celebrated! gaps between each 20m segment. This allows us to record a total of 4 independent Fishes are some of the most conspicuous samples per 100m transect; important for organisms on reefs, with high levels of data analysis. diversity and abundance associated with a reef that is in a healthy state, but they are Once you’ve completed SDP, including the also one of the most threatened group of in-situ pointy dives, survey trails and reef inhabitants. Overfishing, habitat practice surveys, this will all be second destruction and the removal of live fish for nature to you and you can impress the food and curio trade are all highly prevalent pressures in the Philippines, but everyone by casually throwing around with your efforts in recording their spatial Latin species names! distribution we are able to instigate The Important Fishes management practices for their respective protection. So what fishes will you be learning about?

We’ve included a list below of the indicator

Taxonomic Taxonomic Taxonomic Common Name Nomenclature Common Name Nomenclature Common Name Nomenclature Angelfish Pomacanthidae Moorish Idol Zanclus cornutus Spinecheeks Nemiteridae Barracuda Sphyraena spp. Moral Eel Muraenidae Triggerfish Balistidae Cardinalfish Apogonidae Parrotfish Scaridae Wrasse Pufferfish Tetradontidae Crescent Thalassoma Damselfishes Wrasse lunare Anemonefish Amphiprioninae Toby Canthisgaster Red Cheilinus (sf) spp. Breasted fasciatus Wrasse Indo-pacific Abudefduf Stingray Dasytidae Sergeant vaigiensis Butterflyfish Damselfish Emperor Lethrinidae Sandperch Pinguipedidae Vagabond Chaetodon Butterflyfish vagabundas Fusilier Caesionidae Snapper Lutjanidae Klein's Butterflyfish Chaetodon kleinii Goatfish Mullidae Spade/Batfish Ephippidae Eastern Triangle Chaetodon Butterflyfish baronessa Grouper Ephinephelinae Squirrelfish/Soldierfish Holocentridae Redfin Chaetodon (sf) (excl. Bigeyes) (excl. Butterflyfish lunulatus Priacanthidae) Humpback Cromileptes Surgeonfish Acanthuridae (Big) Long-Nosed Forcipiger Grouper altivelis Butterflyfish longirostris Jacks (Trevallys) Carangidae Unicornfish Naso spp. Racoon Chaetodon Butterflyfish lunula Lionfish Scorpaenidae Sweetlips Haemulidae Humphead Heniochus varius (excl. Scorpionfish) Bannerfish Lizardfish Synodontidae Rabbitfish Siganidae Other Butterflyfish Chaetodontidae

Rare Organisms Humphead Wrasse Cheilinus Bumphead Parrotfish Bolbometopon Sharks Selachimorpha undulatus muricatum (Super10 Order) Manta Ray Mobuilidae Turtle Chelonioidea (Superfamily) Coral Cay Conservation 2020

Invertebrates & Impacts SDP Segments

Invertebrates & Impacts Invertebrate; An animal You’ll be given an overview of the lacking a backbone. The organisms that CCC consider to be invertebrates constitute an indicators, and why, focusing on the artificial division of the animal Genera and Families. You will delve into a kingdom, comprising 95% of new world; discovering the huge variety of animal species. invertebrates found on the reefs within the Philippines and on our house reef whilst Although the most abundant, Invertebrates studying their ecology, biology and often go unnoticed due to their cryptic behaviour. nature. But as soon as you start to look for them, it will open your eyes to a completely Through an understanding of their new world on coral reefs; from the smallest morphology and behaviour, you will be of Nudibranchs to the large Triton’s Trumpet able to identify them during practice and and the veracious Crown of Thorns Seastar. actual surveys, becoming accustomed to their nature and their cryptic behaviour. During your training and CCC surveys, you’ll Individuals are cryptic for a reason, so develop a sharp eye for recording the expect a challenge! abundance and diversity of invertebrates whilst also recording the impacts, and It is also important to record the types, and perceived severity, faced by the reef of severity of, anthropogenic impacts on the study. You will utilise the same Belt Transect reefs that we study. You’ll be trained in the deployed to record the fishes but for types of impacts to record on transects and Invertebrates you will only record their how we grade the severity. Impacts are respective abundance 2.5m either side of grouped into the following; trash, coral the transect line (equating to a total survey bleaching, direct reef damage (anchor, area of 100m2 per 20m segment). dynamite etc.) and coral disease (presence and type). We’re not considering Scleractinian or soft corals, as well as sponges, in this section – The team will take you out on various we’ll save those for the Substrates! pointy dives, survey trails and practices surveys before you demonstrate your As with the fishes, you’ll be guided through knowledge through our validations and the protocols and our target invertebrates tests. lists by our Science Officer during SDP.

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The Belt Transect Taxonomic Common Name Nomenclature You will utilise the same transect line Feather Duster Worm Sabellidae deployed to record fishes. However, the Christmas Tree Worm Spirobranchus spp. difference this time will be that you will only Flatworm Platyhelminthes be recording organisms either side of the Banded Coral Shrimp Stenopus hispidus transect, effectively surveying a unit of area, not a volume. Spiny Lobster Panulirus spp. Conch Strombus spp. There are some key skills you’ll need to Cowrie Cypraeidae master to become a pro-invertebrate surveyor! As invertebrates like to protect Triton’s Trumpet Charonia tritonis themselves in cracks, crevices and under Cone Shell Conidae over-hangs, an inverted diving position is a Drupella sp. Drupella sp. must. By getting as close to the substrate as Topshell Tectus pyramis possible, you’ll be able to scour the Nudibranchs Nudibranchia substrate, spotting the smallest of Other Gastropods Gastropoda invertebrates. But be careful not to spend too long in one spot! To increase efficiency, Cuttlefish Sepiidae you’ll follow an ‘S’ shaped path within the Squid Teuthida 2.5m x 20m area. You’ll also hone in on the Octopus Octopoda tell-tail signs that a target organism is in the Giant Clam Tridacnidae area, such as large scars on Acropora sp. Crown of Thorns Acanthaster planci corals that indicate the presence of Crown Seastar of Thorns Seastar. Blue sea star Linkia laevigata The Invertebrates Cushion Star Culcita novaegineae Granulated Sea Star Choriaster granulatus We’ve included a list of all the invertebrates you’ll identify and record during surveys. Brittle Star Ophiuroidea Feather Star Crinoidea The Impacts Long Spine Sea Diadema spp. Urchin Impacts are placed into four categories; Collector Urchin Tripneustes gratilla coral damage, coral bleaching, coral Globe Urchin Mespilia globulus disease and trash. Impacts are then ranked on a 4-point ordinal scale; 0= no incidents, Pencil Urchin Echinometridae 1= low level of impact, 2= medium level of Prickly Redfish Thelenota ananas impact, and 3= high level of impact. This Greenfish Stichopus scale enables us to quantify and chloronotus standardise the severity of impact on areas Pinkfish Holothuria edulis of study, helping to inform resource Other Sea cucumber Holothuroidea managers on management practices.

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Substrates & PITs however, you will now deploy a plumb line at set out points alongside the transect line (every 50cm) and record the substrate Substrate; Biotic and abiotic underneath. You will record from 40 points components of the benthic within each 20m section which will enable environment. us to calculate the percentage composition of each substrate category Possibly the most challenging but over the survey area. Standardisation is rewarding section of your training. You’ll be imperative! It may seem trivial but introduced to a new survey technique and deploying the plumb line at the same start to unravel the biotic and abiotic location at each point removes the components of a coral reef. Studies have introduction of bias into our data! demonstrated that, to thrive, a coral reef requires a highly complex, three- By collecting all the data from the transect dimensional architecture. A complex line, it enables the analysis of interaction network of refugia drives species diversity between fish, invertebrates and substrates on coral reefs through niche partitioning. (as well as impacts) and how the presence An area with low substrate complexity will or absence influences the other. hold a lower diversity within communities In this section, we’ve also included other than an area of high complexity. Due to the SDP segments that you will be trained in. importance of the underlying substrate, it is They may not be covered in the order they imperative that we quantify it. During CCC do here, but you’ll have a good idea of surveys you will collect data that will enable what to expect! the composition of coral, rocky substrate, sedentary organisms or silt to be SDP Segments disseminated to resource managers, guiding spatial management efforts. Introduction to Cnidarian Taxonomy

Throughout this section of the SDP you will An introduction to the reef Cnidarians. We be introduced to Scleractinian (hard) won’t spoil all the fun, but Cnidarians corals and their growth forms, soft corals, include jellyfish, gorgonians, Scleractinian sponges, algae, different types of abiotic corals and sea anemones. You’ll be substrates and the importance, or impacts, introduced to what Taxonomy is and how it of each one. You will also start to build a is used to classify Cnidarians from Phylum to picture on the coral reef ecosystem and Genus. how each species interacts with the environment. Hard Coral Biology and Life Forms

As mentioned, you will be introduced to a In this segment you’ll learn about the new survey technique; the Point Intercept biology and ecology of Scleractinian corals Transect (PIT). The PIT protocol uses the to acquire a thorough understanding of the same transect line as previous techniques, coral reef ecosystem and its inhabitants.

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You’ll also go through the key identification understanding of the logistics required process to recognise, and record, the behind data collection dives. This includes varying lifeforms of coral. Accompanying the survey team formation, survey diver your lessons will be in-situ sessions where our roles, safe diving practices and becoming Science Officer will point out the varying accustomed to deploying and reeling in morphology of corals, highlighting key transect lines (and managing other survey features that are critical to identification. equipment in the marine world – it’s not as easy as it sounds!). Hard Coral Target List Data Entry and GPS usage Following nicely from their respective biology and ecology, you’ll be taught With effective and efficient data collection which lifeforms of Hard Coral you’ll be comes probably the most important step; recording on CCC surveys. Having a data entry. We won’t go into too much diverse coral reef on your doorstep is a detail here, but you will be taught the key major advantage and we recommend skills required to ensure accurate data entry that you head out snorkelling to practice and how to utilise various pieces of your ID skills! technological equipment (and software) to collect all necessary data. Substrates Substrates to Record To accompany Hard Corals, we can’t ignore the other biotic and abiotic The substrates recorded on surveys can be substrata! You’ll be guided through the split into three categories; General varying substrate categories, building your Substrates, Hard Coral Lifeforms, and Other. skills to allow you to accurately collate Check out the table below; substrates on survey dives. You’ll also General Hard Coral explore the importance of each substrate Substrates Lifeforms Other as well as the detrimental impacts certain substrates can cause and how we can use Hard Coral Acropora Anemone Soft Coral branching Tunicate certain substrates to indicate acute and Sponge encrusting Hydroid chronic impacts to coral reefs. Nutrient Indicator Sub-Massive Corallimorph Algae Introduction to Baseline Survey Recently Killed digitate Halimeda Techniques and Practice Surveys Coral Rock tabulate Zoanthid You will have covered the survey Rubble Gorgonian techniques throughout other sections of Sand Non-Acropora Silt Branching the SDP. However, you will receive specific Encrusting training in each technique through various Foliose in-situ sessions and validations. During these Massive sessions you’ll start to develop an Sub-Massive Mushroom Heliopora* Millepora* Tubipora*

* we know these are not Scleractinian corals but as they are calcareous, they contribute to the three-dimensional architecture of the reef so are considered as reef builders.

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We are excited to welcome you to our project in the Philippines! Whether you are joining as a dive trainee or someone with a background in conservation, we hope that we will inspire you to act against the purge of impacts currently faced by the Ocean. You will be joining a network of conservation-minded environmental advocates that hold a strong affinity for the marine world. And it is here, that we hope, you will take the first steps on what will be an incredible journey.

The16 HO Team

Coral Cay Conservation 2020

[email protected] 17 +44 (0) 2076 201 411