Cook Islands Marine Park Rapid Reef Assessment

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Cook Islands Marine Park Rapid Reef Assessment

Cook Islands Marine Park Rapid Reef Assesment Teina Rongo Office of the Prime Minister Cook Islands Disturbances that influence coral reef ecosystems in the southern Cook Islands Crown-of-thorn starfish Photos from Dr. Robert van Woesik Cyclones Photos by Cook Islands Herald, pacificbusinessonline.com, & feww.wordpress.com Cyclone tracks in the Cook Islands Tracks of 104 cyclones in the Cook Islands from 1820– 2006 (de Scally, 2008) Hard coral cover for Rarotonga 40 35 30 25 20 15 Percent cover cover Percent 10 5 0 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Year Friedman test (2006 – 2011) χ2 = 63, p < 0.001 Ciguatera fish poisoning 1994 – 2006: 1,790 per 100,000 population per year Rongo et al. (2009) Lewis (1986) Marine Fisheries Review 48, p. 8. Globe: http://www.free-extras.com/images/pacific_ocean_globe-12033.htm Rapid Assessment of Coral Reefs in the southern Cook Islands Aitutaki Manuae Takutea Mitiaro Atiu Mauke Rarotonga Capacity Building Coral cover 40 Mean 35 Mean±0.95 Conf. Interval 30 25 20 15 10 Average percent coral cover (%) cover coral percent Average 5 Atiu Manuae Mitiaro Takutea Rarotonga Is land Average coral cover of the four islands surveyed in 2013; coral cover for Rarotonga was taken the 2011 survey (Rongo, 2011). Dotted line indicated the average coral cover of 22.1% in 2003 estimated from 2,667 reefs within the Indo-Pacific (Bruno & Selig, 2007) Giant Clam (Tridacna maxima) On average clam density is around 3 Individuals per m2. In some cases up 50 individuals per m2. Healthy Reefs Degradation and Recovery Aitutaki Manuae Takutea Mitiaro Atiu Mauke Rarotonga Aitutaki Aitutaki Manuae Takutea Mitiaro Atiu Mauke Rarotonga COTS Predation 2008 2013 Coralline Lethal Orange Disease Dead tissue Live tissue Eutrophic conditions and macro-algal dominated Aitutaki Manuae Takutea Mitiaro Atiu Coral disease (yellow-band) Colony Size Aitutaki Manuae 20 D Man 2 2 Mit 1 10 Tak 4 Mit 2 Ati 4 Tak 4 Man 5 ManMan 2 5 Tak 4 Ati 5 8 Ati 5 Mit 2 Ati 1 2 2 Ati 1 D Mit 2 C C 0 Mit 3E Tak 1 Takutea P Ati 5 Ati 2 Ati 3 Man 2 Mit 1 14 AtiAti 4 3 Mit 1 A Ati 3 Man 4 AtiTak 2 1C Ati 1 Mit 3 Ati 4 Mitiaro Tak 1 Man 5 -10 Man 4 20 Ati 2 20 Atiu A Mit 3 Man 2 4 B Mit 1 -20 10 Tak 4 Mit 2 Ati 4 Tak 4 Man 5 ManMan 2 5 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 Ati 5 16 PC1 Ati 5 Tak 4 Mit 2 Ati 1 2 Ati 1 D Mit 2 C C E 0 Mit 3 Tak 1 P Ati 5 Ati 2 Ati 3 Man 2 Mit 1 28 A AtiAti 4 3 Mit 1 C Man 4 Ati 3AtiTak 2 1 Ati 1 Mit 3 Ati 4 Tak 1 Man 5 -10 Ati 2 Man 4 40 Mit 3 B -20 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 PC1 Summary • Reefs are recovering • High degree of similarity • Baseline Information for some islands • Managing the island of Aitutaki may benefit the rest of the island chain .

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