Cook Islands Marine Park Rapid Assesment

Teina Rongo Office of the Prime Minister Disturbances that influence 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

40

35

30

25

20

15

Percent cover 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

Atiu

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 Mitiaro 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