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Inside This Issue: Overtake a Reef and Eliminate Native Corals, Dramatically Decreasing the Diversity of Ma- Rine Organisms on the Reef

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Inside This Issue: Overtake a Reef and Eliminate Native Corals, Dramatically Decreasing the Diversity of Ma- Rine Organisms on the Reef Volume 2 Issue 2 August 2009 Shipwrecks Wrecking Coral Reefs? A Case Study at Palmyra Atoll For the first time, researchers have definitively shown that shipwrecks and other man- made structures increase the potential for large invasions of unwanted species into coral reefs, even comparatively pristine ones. These unwanted species can completely Inside this issue: overtake a reef and eliminate native corals, dramatically decreasing the diversity of ma- rine organisms on the reef. Coral reefs can undergo fast changes in their dominant life forms, a phenomenon referred to as phase shift. Scientists have speculated on many possible causes of phase shift, and this CNMI Coral 2 study is the first one to clearly show that Internship a rapid change in the dominant life forms on a coral reef is associated with man- Threatened Coral 2-3 made structures. Reef Recovery ARRA Project The extensive invasion of unwanted spe- cies and subsequent loss of coral reef habitat at Palmyra highlights the impor- Coral Bleaching 4 tance of rapid removal of shipwrecks on Forecast corals reefs to help prevent reefs from being overgrown by invasive species. For more information please contact Name That Species 4 [email protected] Contest! USCRTF Members Receive Coastal America Award with Presidential Recognition The US Navy, US Coast Guard, NOAA, and the state of Florida’s Department of Envi- ronmental Protection received the Coastal America Partnership Award with Presidential Recognition for the Osborne Reef Tire Removal Project. Nearly 40 years ago, between one and two million tires were placed off the coast of Bro- ward County to create artificial fish habitats. As years passed, tires were displaced by storms and caused severe damage to adjacent coral reef habitats. In 2006, the NOAA Marine Debris Program developed a strategy to remove the tires, and one year later, Federal, state and county agencies came together to tackle the tire removal challenge. For more information, please read a press release from the Broward Country Govern- ment here. Page 2 USCRTF Newsletter CNMI Hosts 2009 Coral Reef Initiative Spotlight on the Florida and USVI Interns Threatened Coral Reef Recovery Project th The 2009 CNMI Coral On June 30 , 2009, the Threatened Coral Reef Recov- Reef Initiative Intern- ery in Florida and the USVI project was awarded 3.3 ship Program has million dollars in American Recovery and Reinvest- paired students, more ment Act funds. Through a partnership among six or- than a dozen this year, ganizations—the Coral Restoration Foundation, The with mentors experi- Nature Conservancy, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conser- enced in their respec- vation Commission, Mote Marine Laboratory, Nautical tive careers. Each Farms Inc., Nova Southeastern University, and Univer- intern will work on a sity of Miami—this effort will focus on active enhance- variety of projects, ment of Caribbean staghorn and elkhorn Acropora including a number of coral, which has experienced widespread and catastro- community events and phic declines since the late 1970’s, and was listed as a marine monitoring threatened species since 2007. Interns Francisco Palacios and activities, through Andrew Moses pose in front of August. an internship project For seven years, the program has provided oppor- tunities for CNMI students to gain valuable work experience while learning about efforts underway to protect and conserve precious natural re- sources. By bringing students into the agencies and sup- porting hands-on and in the field experiences, the program encourages students to pursue studies and careers in the conservation field. For more information on summer internship op- portunities, contact Brooke Nevitt at Coastal Re- Broward County coral nursery (1 yr. old fragments) sources Management Office, [email protected]. The short-term habitat restoration goal of this project is to enhance coral populations at 34 degraded coral reefs in 8 distinct areas of the coral reef ecosystems of Florida and the USVI by propagating acroporid corals in situ in seafloor nurseries and then transplanting nursery-grown coral fragments to depleted reef sites. The goal is an average direct restoration area of at least 100 square meters per reef site resulting in an overall direct restoration area of at least 34000 square meters. The dispersal range of coral larvae resulting from sexual reproduction of the restored corals is ap- proximately 1 kilometer, creating a potential long-term restoration area of 2500 hectares. Intern Zach Tudela interviews a fisherman Volume 2 Issue 2 Page 3 Spotlight on FL and USVI Threatened Coral Reef Recovery Project (cont…) The project will create or directly support nearly 60 jobs and will produce economic, ecological, and social benefits. Map of existing and expansion project locations This project will have significant and tangible in Florida and the U.S.V.I. ecological impacts through an increase in lo- cal biodiversity accompanied by enhanced ecosystem services for various user groups, including recreational divers and snorkelers, commercial dive tour operators, commercial fishers and recreational anglers. It will also create or directly support nearly 60 jobs and will produce economic, ecological, and social benefits. It will also involve state/territorial/ county Governments, local community groups, the National Park Service, and NOAA in the design and implementation of the restoration effort. The Threatened Coral Reef Recovery project is one of five coral-related projects to be awarded funds that total nearly 15 million dollars. For more information, please click here. Map of the Upper Keys restoration design showing location of nursery and outplanting sites within delineated cross shelf zones Coral Bleaching Likely in the Caribbean Visit us on the web! www.coralreef.gov Scientists from NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch Program say conditions are favorable for significant coral bleaching and infectious coral disease outbreaks in the Caribbean, especially in the Lesser Antilles. The forecast is based on the July NOAA Coral Reef Watch outlook, which expects continued high water temperatures through October 2009. Member Points of Contact Scientists are con- NOAA-Steven Thur cerned that bleaching DOI-Randal Bowman may reach the same USAID—Barbara Best levels or exceed USDA—Howard Hankin those recorded in DOD-Navy—Tom Egeland DOD-ACE—Joe Wilson 2005, the worst coral USCG—Steve Tucker bleaching and disease DOJ—Karen Wardzinski year in Caribbean DOS—Christine Dawson history. In parts of the eastern Caribbean, as much as 90 percent of corals bleached and DOT— n/a over half of those died during that event. EPA—Hazel Groman NASA—Paula Bontempi Coral Reef Watch’s Mark Eakin believes that “by providing local officials with advance NSF—Phil Taylor warning that a bleaching event is about to occur, some steps can be taken to protect the CNMI—Fran Castro corals...Possible responses include mobilizing monitoring resources to measure extent PR—Aida Rosario and impact of bleaching, and establishing temporary restrictions on other reef uses like FL—Chantal Collier diving, boating and recreational fishing, to keep these activities from adding to the stress HI—Bob Nishimoto of higher sea temperatures already affecting the coral reefs.” AS—Lelei Peau Guam—Vangie Lujan To view original press release, please visit here USVI—Paige Rothenberger Name that Species Contest! Can you provide the common and scien- Please email tific name for the species pictured ? If [email protected] so, please email your answer to your questions and suggestions for future [email protected] editions If you answer correctly, you will be en- tered into a drawing for a prize. The prize will be awarded at the next Editor : Sarah Bobbe USCRTF meeting in Puerto Rico. Credit: George Cathcart .
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