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The Living REEF Project: Monitoring Invertebrates in a Fish Monitoring

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The Living REEF Project: Monitoring Invertebrates in a Fish Monitoring The Living REEF Project: Monitoring Invertebrates in a Fish Monitoring Project. Dana Haggarty, Living REEF Project Scientific Coordinator, Living Oceans Society The waters of British Columbia, Canada and the Pacific Northwest United States team with life. The marine life of this region is among the most diverse in the world. The Living Oceans Society, committed to the preservation of marine biodiversity, and the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) collaborated to develop a subtidal monitoring project for this region: the Living REEF Project (for further information about REEF see Underwater Naturalist 25(4):37-40). REEF started training divers and snorkelers to identify and collect data on fishes in 1993 in Florida and the Caribbean. In 1998 REEF expanded the fish watching program to the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. After an initial pilot project, the Living REEF Project was created, and with Living Ocean Society’s help, the region’s fish program was refined and officially launched. In 2001, the Living Oceans Society developed an invertebrate program to serve as a companion to the region’s fish monitoring project. By monitoring invertebrates and fishes, the Living REEF Project data will provide a valuable understanding of the local marine environment. The Project goals are to establish baseline data, track changes over time, collect fisheries independent data on key invertebrate and fish species, identify habitats of interest, and educate the public about marine biodiversity. 1 So why add invertebrates to a program that has established itself as a fish project? Invertebrates such as colorful anemones, starfish, and sponges dominate the landscape seen by divers in the Pacific Northwest. Whereas tropical divers spend most of their time looking at fish seen in front of a backdrop of invertebrates, invertebrates are predominant in cold water. Divers in the Pacific Northwest study common invertebrates and search for rare invertebrates. The Living REEF Project invertebrate monitoring program grew out of a desire by Pacific Northwest REEF members to monitor invertebrates as well as fishes and their eagerness to learn more about these fascinating spineless creatures so apparent to underwater naturalists. There are many good reasons for the interest in invertebrates in this region. Many species of invertebrates in the Pacific Northwest are the largest species of their kind in the world such as the gumboot chiton and the giant Pacific octopus. With over seventy species, British Columbia also has the highest diversity of sea stars of anywhere in the world (British Columbia: a Natural History. Greystone Books, Vancouver 1996). Many invertebrates are sedentary and have very specific habitat requirements; therefore, they are good species to use to characterize communities, habitats, and the oceanographic characteristics. Thus, the presence or absence of some species at a particular site will provide useful information. For instance, the presence of the tube- dwelling anemone indicates a mud or sand substrate while the presence of the strawberry anemone indicates high velocity currents. These are termed “composition indicators” (Aquatic Conservation 11:59-76). Sedentary or slow moving benthic invertebrates are also less likely to avoid potentially harmful conditions than more mobile species (Conservation Biology 2 13(4):805-814). Certain species are susceptible to water and sediment pollution, sedimentation, and physical alteration of the habitat due to activities like dredging and bottom dragging. Their absence or presence can therefore be a good indication of environmental health. These species are often termed “condition indicators” or “bio- indicators” (Aquatic Conservation 11:59-76). Many invertebrate populations also need to be monitored for their own health. As fish stocks collapse, fishing pressure is being shifted to invertebrates. This is called “fishing down the marine food web” (Science 279:860-863). Many of the invertebrate fisheries have developed despite a lack of knowledge about the biology and total abundance of these species. The impact of recreational harvest of many species also needs to be monitored because species in areas of high recreational use may be subject to local depletion. SCUBA divers must also take on the responsibility of monitoring their own actions. Heavily used dive sites can suffer damage by the anchoring of boats and by careless diving practices. Fragile organisms such as bryozoans may be among the first organisms to show signs of damage (Conservation Biology 12(2):302-312). In addition to the valuable information that could be provided about invertebrate species and the ecosystem as a whole by volunteer monitors, the inclusion of invertebrates in the Pacific Northwest program would most likely encourage divers to stay involved. Finding more than a few species of fish can be difficult for the beginning fishwatcher in the Pacific Northwest. Many fishes are well camouflaged, shy, and are great at hiding. It takes time and patience for the divers to learn how to find them. New volunteers, in particular, need to experience early achievements so that they will not 3 become frustrated with conducting surveys and give up. Adding invertebrates not only gives them more to observe, but because many of the invertebrates are easier to see, volunteers who are just learning how to observe are more likely to find them. Most of the invertebrates also do not swim away after a quick glimpse of them, so volunteers can take the time to notice the distinguishing characteristics. In developing the invertebrate program, the first task was to decide on the survey protocol. Because the invertebrate program was meant to be a companion to the fish program, the survey methodology needed to be compatible. The Roving Diver Technique, the method used in the fish program, was therefore applied to the invertebrate program as well. The abundance categories used in the fish program (Single, Few, Many and Abundant) were also adopted; though we added the category “Present” to monitor some colonial or aggregating species. Unlike the fish program, which includes all fish species encountered that can be positively identified, it was decided that a sub-set of invertebrate species would need to be selected. Choosing the invertebrates to monitor out of the thousands of possible candidates was a formidable task. However, species needed to be chosen with care in order to generate useful data (Conservation Biology 13(4):805- 814). We used the following criteria. 1. Identifiable/distinctive: Every species on the list had to be easily identified by amateur naturalists with minimal training. If a species could be confused with another similar species, the volunteers are either taught how to distinguish them or the similar species were lumped and monitored together. Two examples of taxa that were lumped 4 together are cloud sponges (Aphrocallistes vastus, Chonelasma calyx) and plumose anemones (Metridium senile, M. giganteum). 2. Representative: The monitoring list needed to represent the great diversity of habitats and phyla encountered in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Eight Phyla, numerous classes and families, and 44 species inhabiting a wide range of habitat types were included in the list. 3. Common and distinctive: Some species were chosen merely because they are common, distinctive and divers are likely to find them. In many cases, divers would already be familiar with their identification and eager to learn more about the species. For example, divers love nudibranchs so a few extra were added. 4. Indicators: Two types of indicators were considered: composition and condition indicators. The presence or abundance of composition indicators are used to characterize a particular habitat or community. Condition indicators are species used to monitor the condition of habitats, communities or ecosystems as they may be vulnerable to anthropogenic change. For example, pink hydrocoral was included as a composition indicator of current-swept rocky habitats. Spiny pink sea stars, predators of clams, are indicators of sandy bottoms and clams (a group of invertebrates that are usually not visible to divers). Sand dollars were included as condition indicators, shown to be sensitive to sediment pollution (Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 11(4):559-569). 5. Conservation Value: Species that are or are at risk of becoming endangered, overexploited, or damaged by human activity are another key monitoring group. Examples of species included for their conservation value include the endangered 5 Northern abalone; cloud sponges that are vulnerable to damage by divers, anchors, and dragging; and several species that are recreationally or commercially harvested. 6. Unique/Cultural or economic value: Information about species with unique qualities or that have cultural or economic value due to recreational commercial catches is valuable. In addition to being the largest chiton in the world, the gumboot chiton was an important traditional food source of coastal First Nations and Native Americans. 7. Species Interactions: Some species may play a significant role in structuring communities. These may be important predators, herbivores, or species that provide physical structure for other organisms to live in or around. These are often termed keystone species, foundation species, or focal species (Aquatic Conservation 11:59- 76). Examples of species that were included in the program that met this criteria were the sunflower star,
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