Southeastern Bahamas Coral Reef & Island Survey Rapid Ecological Assessment Report June 2013 Vallierre K. W. Deleveaux Philip Kramer Patricia Richards Kramer Steven Schill Southeastern Bahamas Coral Reef & Island Survey Rapid Ecological Assessment Report June 2013 Vallierre K. W. Deleveaux Philip Kramer, Chief Scientist Patricia Richards Kramer Steven Schill Contributing Scientists Ethan Freid Rob Gardiner John Knowles Lindy Knowles Alannah Vellacott Sandy Voegeli 2 Front cover: Background - Samana Cay (Photo by S. Schill); Foreground - Elkhorn coral, cushion star, golden crinoid, and queen conch (photos by S. Voegeli). Table of Contents Executive Summary……………………………………………………………… …….. 5 Chapter 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………. 13 Chapter 2. Survey Methodology……………………………………………………..... 19 Chapter 3. Survey Results……………………………………………………………… 32 Chapter 4. Discussion…………………………………………………………………… 69 Chapter 5. Recommendations………………………………………………………..... 76 Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………… 79 Scientific Team…………………………………………………………………………… 80 References………………………………………………………………………………. 81 Appendix 1. Southeastern Bahamas Photo Journal……………………………….... 84 Appendix 2. Bahamian Marine Resources and Sea level model…………………... 101 Appendix 3. Bathymetric and Benthic Habitat Mapping Daily Log…………………. 107 Appendix 4. Southern Bahamas Rapid Ecological Assessment: Terrestrial………. 119 Appendix 5. Overview of the Geology of the Southeastern Bahamas…………….. 134 Appendix 6. List of observed fish species…………………………………………….. 137 Appendix 7. Analysis of coral connectivity in SE Bahamas………………………… 141 3 List of Acronyms AGRRA Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment BREEF Bahamas Reef Environmental Educational Foundation CBF Caribbean Biodiversity Fund CCI Caribbean Challenge Initiative GPS Global Positioning System IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature MPA Marine Protected Area REA Rapid Ecological Assessment REEF Reef Environmental Education Foundation TNC The Nature Conservancy 4 Executive Summary Coral reef ecosystems in the Bahamas are valuable biological and economic resources, providing food security, a major source of marine biodiversity and high cultural and tourism attraction value. The reefs of the Southeastern Bahamas are among the least studied reefs in the country and therefore are a substantial gap in the environmental and ecological knowledge for the Bahamas. These reefs play an important role in the recruitment dynamics, serving as larval sources and sinks for the ecologically and commercially important species such as spiny lobster, conch and Nassau grouper occurring in the Exuma Land and Sea Park and areas in the central and southern Bahamas. Consequently, it is important to provide protection to this area of The Bahamas as there are relatively few anthropogenic impacts in these southern areas due to their remoteness and the small populations on the inhabited islands. Figure E1. Map of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas indicating the REA survey area Figure E2. REA survey area in the Southeastern Bahamas. 5 The purpose of the rapid ecological assessment (REA) survey was to assess the condition of the reef ecosystem as well as determine the condition of flora and fauna of the land areas. The scientists were divided into three teams in order to conduct the REA: Coral Reef Survey Mapping Team – to collect information on benthic communities, coral communities and condition and fish abundance and diversity. Benthic Habitat Mapping Team – to collect GPS-referenced bathymetric profiles and underwater video samples of benthic habitats to create detailed maps from high resolution satellite imagery indicating depth and benthic habitat coverage. Terrestrial Team – to assess the composition and condition of the flora and fauna (e.g., flamingos, hutias) on the islands surveyed. Ten scientists (see participants list) surveyed the areas on and around East Plana Cay, West Plana Cay, Samana Cay, Mayaguana, Acklins Island and Crooked Island during a period of 8 days (February 20-27, 2013). The assessment activities included: 138 individual scuba dives 23 Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) reef survey sites approximately 375 individual reef and benthic transects over 1200 fish belt transects approximately 25 REEF Fish Surveys 1,707 individual coral colonies surveyed 460 m2 coral surveyed 13,800 m2 fish transects surveyed 9200 benthic cover points assessed 18 hours underwater video captured 850 Underwater photos captured 362 Benthic habitat underwater video camera samples 272.1km(170 linear miles) of baythmetric mapping (at 3pts/second) 85 km (53 linear miles) coastal vegetation surveyed The marine surveys revealed large areas of Dendogyra cylindrus (pillar coral) which is recorded as being rare in The Bahamas, as well as large stands of Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral), which were found to be in good condition and other localized areas with high coral cover. In particular, massive stands of relict Acropora were found on the north side of the islands that were oriented east-west (e.g. Samana Cay and East Plana Cay).The macroalgal cover was moderate to high and there was overall low abundance of herbivorous and commercially significant fish (e.g., grouper). Fish were more abundant near the shelf wall on all islands and cays and Crooked and Acklins had significantly more fish with higher overall biodiversity. There was a lack of seagrass areas near the smaller islands due to the limited shelf size and high exposure to strong physical forces. Overall, this assessment revealed the reefs of the Southeastern Bahamas to be in good condition, although with signs of overfishing. The overfishing was indicated by the almost complete absence of commercially important species, e.g. spiny lobster, queen conch and Nassau grouper in areas where heavy fishing pressure was suspected. The land surveys indicated that near pristine conditions existed in most areas of the survey islands with little evidence of major anthropogenic effects. There was evidence of a significant hutia population on East Plana Cay, and several adult and juvenile flamingos were observed on West Plana Cay. 6 The Southeastern Bahamas Islands are an important link between the Bahamian island chains to the north and the Inaguas to the south, as well as further south into the Turks and Caicos and Caribbean Basin. Results from this rapid ecological assessment have provided informative and insightful findings that will benefit our understanding of this unique remote area as well as help develop measures to ensure its protection for future generations. Preliminary findings include: Pristine islands provide critical ‘land to sea’ habitat for flamingos, hutia and other biota The Southeastern Bahamas support unique, extensive and healthy coral reefs These reefs are highly vulnerable to any further loss of herbivory The fish communities are threatened by overfishing and lack of nursery habitat Spawning aggregations are likely present in Southeastern Bahamas Lionfish are present even at remote reefs A new reserve in the SE Bahamas will fill a key gap in the current Bahamas network Island Biodiversity Human use Samana Pristine terrestrial habitat, no invasive plants Fishermen and cascarilla Unique east-west orientation bark harvesters camps New unique Acropora palmata ‘relict’ reef type discovered Sea turtle nesting habitat Illegal fishing by foreign Large cave inhabited by significant bat colony vessels Low fish biomass, especially commercial fish Lack of nursery habitat, but numerous land blue holes East Plana Pristine terrestrial habitat, uninhabited by people, no invasive plants Illegal fishing by foreign Stable population of hutia, only endemic Bahamian land mammal vessels Flamingos and an osprey nest observed Unusual east-west island orientation New unique Acropora palmata ‘relict’ reef type discovered Aggregations of Bermuda chub, possible spawning aggregation Lack of mangrove and seagrass nursery habitat Low fish biomass, especially commercial fish West Plana Terrestrial habitat in good condition Fishermen and cascarilla Extensive healthy coral reef wall along western side bark harvesters camps Unusual exposed rock platform extending 2 km north More than 10 lagoons with landlocked mangrove habitat Goats on island may alter Few seagrass beds, lack of nursery habitat vegetation Flamingo population (adults and juveniles) Sandy beach habitat western side of island, possible sea turtle nesting Illegal fishing by foreign vessels Mayaguana Several large bays Moderately developed island Vast nursery habitat with seagrass & mangroves High variety of healthy coral reef types Groupers displaying spawning behavior Several predicted grouper spawning aggregations Numerous conch and lobster Several predatory fish like sharks and barracudas Acklins/ Extensive tidal creek, mangrove and seagrass nursery habitat Small human population, Crooked Abundant lobster and conch subsistence fishing Islands Unusual high relief mount coral reef providing ‘oasis’ habitat Numerous sharks, large predatory fish, schooling fish Southern stingray aggregation Groupers displaying spawning behavior Several predicted spawning aggregation sites Table E1. Biodiversity features and human use of Southeastern Bahamian Islands. 7 Summary The Samana and Plana Cays are among the most isolated of the Bahamian islands. These remote cays are government-owned Crown land and have no or very low human use. Mayaguana and Acklins/Crooked Islands have small to moderate human population densities