2013 coral reef symposium book

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

2013 Coral Reef Symposium

June 26 - 28, 2013 - Hyatt Regency Guam

Sym

posiu

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verv

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8:30 a.m.

1:30 p.m.

Noon

4:30 p.m.

9:00 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

10:00 a.m.

3:30 p.m.

Agenda Overview

Welcome and Introduction

Fisheries Management

• UnrecognizedAlgalDiversityintheWesternPacific:ACaseStudyoftheGenusActino-trichia

• NegativeassociationbetweenacorallivoroussnailandasymbioticcrabonPocilloporadamicorniscoloniesonGuam

• ManagingWesternPacificFisheriesUnderCatchLimits:ProcessandChallenges• FirstStewards:CoastalPeoplesAddressClimateChange• VillageofMerizo:DevelopmentofaCommunity-BasedManagementPlanforCoastalandMarineResources

Land Based Sources of Pollution

Human Dimension

Climate Change and Reef Resilience

Emerging Research

Lunch and Poster Session

Closing Discussion

Eric Palacios Administrator, Guam EPA Joseph CameronPresident, Department of Chamorro Affairs and Governor of Guam’s POC for Coral Reef Conservation Programs Fisheries & Oceans MattersVal Brown Fishery Biologist, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office Habitat Conservation Division

• WatershedManagementinWestMaui…a20YearPerspective• StreamDynamics:WatershedManagement’sCriticalLinkin Guam’sTerrestrialandCoastalEcology

• Linkbetweensewage-derivednitrogenpollutionandcoraldisease

• WhereareGuam’sCanariesintheCoalMine?MappingGuam’sStaghornCoralThickets• Biodiversityofeukaryotesoncoralreefs:diatomsinfarmerfishterritories• AllCoralGrowthAnomaliesAreNotCreatedEqual• CoralRecruitmentonGuam• CoralreefresiliencetoclimatechangeinSaipan,CNMI:fieldbased-assessmentsandimplicationsforvulnerabilityandfuturemanagement.

• Context-dependentrolesoflocalizedstressorinfluencetheresiliencyofCNMIandAmeri-canSamoacoral-reefecosystems

• HistoryandRecentAdvancesofResearchonCrown-of-ThornsSeastar,Acanthasterplanci,inPacificCoralReefs

• Identifying&MappingReefFishSpawningAggregationSitesinGuam• StockAssessmentofSeaCucumbersonGuam• ImprovingMarineEnforcementinMicronesia• SustainableFisheriesandCoralReefManagementontheOuterIslands:UlithiAtoll,FSM

• WhatAreAllThosePeopleDoingintheEcosystem?• UncertaintyinScience:ImportancetoPublicPerception,EnvironmentalEducation,Poli-

cymaking,andValuingTraditionalKnowledgeinCoralReefManagement.• CommunityBasedFisheryManagementonGuam• GuamCommunityCoralReefMonitoringProgram

• PacIOOS‘Voyager’ToolImprovesDecision-MakingforCoralReefManagersinthePacificIslands

• SECORE-coralrestorationprojectforGuam• TheEffectofTaxonomicInflationonReefManagementandConservation

Watershed Management in West Maui...a 20 Year PerspectiveWendy Wiltse

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9

CommunitybasedwatershedmanagementeffortsinWestMauifocusesonnuisancealgalbloomsin1990’sandrecentlyoncoralreefdeclines.WestMaui’sHonokowai-WahikuliwatershedsarecurrentlyaprioritysitefortheUSCoralReefTaskForce’sWatershedPartnerInitiative(alongwithGuanica,PuertoRicoandFaga’alu,AmericanSamoa).Manypracticallessonscanbelearnedfromreviewingthestakeholderefforts,leadershipstructure,fundingmechanisms,andimplemen-tationeffortsover20years.

Thisreviewfocuseson4enduringmanagementprograms:(1)Improvedwastewatertreatmentandeffluentreuse;(2)Constructionofsedimentretentionbasins;(3)Restorationoffloodstoragecapacity;and(4)Restrictionsonherbivorefish-eries.Improvedwastewatertreatmentandreusereducednitrogenandphosphorusloadsby>50%,butarecentdye-tracerstudyshowedeffluentfrominjectionwellsenterstheoceaninshallowwaterinfrontofapopularresort.Afterheavyrainthecoastalwatersbecameturbidandredbutplantationswerenotwillingtodirectrunoffintoagriculturalfieldstopreventsedimentrunoff.Sedimentretentionbasinsinstreambedsremovedsomeofthesuspendedsedimentsandalsohelpedreducefloodingofcoastaldevelopments.Abeachslatedfordevelopmentwasdownzonedfrom9to6resortswithpro-scriptiverequirementsforopenspaceandrestorationoffloodstoragecapacityOverfishingcontributedtonuisancealgalbloomsbuta“notake”preservewasnotacceptabletothepublic.Anextensiveeducationalprogramresultedinadoptionofabanonfishingforherbivorousfishonly.

Stream Dynamics: Watershed Management’s Critical Link in Guam’s Terrestrial and Coastal Ecology

Daniel M. Savercool1, Jim Morris2, and Jaquay Soriano1 EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc. 1Guam, 2Hunt Valley, MD

Inordertointerpretthediversefactorsthatimpactthecoastalmarineenvironment,understandingoflandscapeecologyprinciplesintheonshorecontributingdrainagebasinandtheirrelationtothereceivingwaters(coastalmarineenvironment)ishelpful.Applyinglandscapeecologyprinciplestomanagementofwatershedsreceiv-ingwatersallowsthelandmanagertobetterunderstandthedynamicsofthewatershedanditsinfluenceuponthehealthandfunctionalvalueofthehabitatsinthereceivingwaters.Landscapeecologyrelatestocausesandconsequencesofthespatialcompositionandconfigurationoflandscapemosaicswithinthecomponentsofalandscape;plantcommunities,landuse(humanuses),andhydrologicpatterns(rivers,streams,andchannels).Theseprinciplesandcomponentshaveadirectcorrelationupontheamountandtypesofpollutantswhichaffectthecoralcommunitiesinthenear-shorereceivingwaters.Conditionofthewatershedisimportantbecauseitinfluencesthequality,abundance,andstabilityofdownstreamresourcesandhabitatsbycontrollingproductionofsedimentsandnutrients,influencingstreamflow,andmodifyingthedistributionofnutrientsintothereceiv-ingwaters.Thispresentationwillfocusontheroleofhydrologicpatternsinwatershedmanagement,includ-inghowknowledgeofstreamshape,pattern,andprofileinboththeinstableandstablecondition,willhelptoincreasewaterqualityasitentersthecoastalenvironment.

Land Based Sources of Pollution

Coral Reef Symposium

Link between sewage-derived nitrogen pollution and coral disease

Raymundo, LJ1; Kim, K2; Redding, JE2; Myers-Miller3, RL; Baker, DM4; Fogel, M4

1University of Guam Marine Lab; 2American University, Washington DC; 3NOAA, Guam Coral Reef Monitoring Program; 4Carnegie Institution, Washington DC;

Thegoalsofthisstudyweretoevaluatethecontributionofsewage-derivedNitrogen(N)toreefflatcommuni-tiesinGuamandtoassesstheimpactofNinputsoncoraldisease.Weusedstableisotope(δ15N)analysisofmacroalgae(HalimedamicronesicaandCaulerpaserrulata)andasoftcoral(Sinulariapolydactyla)asaproxyforNdynamics,andsurveyedPoritesspp.,adominantcoraltaxononGuam’sreefs,forwhitesyndromedis-easeseverity.MonitoringwasconductedatsevensitesalongGuam’snorthwesterncoast:anorthernreference“clean”site,Haputo;nearshore to thesewageoutfallsatTanguissonandWestAgana; theMarinePreservesTumonandPiti;Adelup;andLuminao.Resultsshowedastronginfluenceofsewage-derivedNinallmoni-toredsites,withδ15Nvaluesvaryingasafunctionofspeciessampled,site,andsamplingdate.Susceptibilitytowhitesyndrome,themostdominantdiseaseofGuamcorals,variedbetweengenera,withPoritesbeingthemostaffectedgenus. Increasesinsewage-derivedNcorrelatedsignificantlywithincreasesintheseverityofdiseaseamongPoritesspp.,withδ15Nvaluesaccountingformorethan48%ofthevariationinchangesindis-easeseverity.Laboratorydosingassayssupportedfieldobservations,showingapositiveinfluenceofelevatedNondiseaseprogression.TheseresultsstronglysuggestthattheanticipatedmilitaryrealignmentandrelatedpopulationincreaseinGuamwillleadtoincreasedwhitesyndromeinfectionsandothercoraldiseases,shouldwaterqualitycontinuetodecline.

Wendy Wiltse, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9WendyWiltseisaSr.EnvironmentalScientistwithEPARegion9WetlandsRegula-toryProgram.She’sworkedforEPAinBoston,SanFrancisco,andhasbeenbasedinHonolulufor20yearsworkingonwatersheds,waterquality,wetlands,andcoralreefprotection.WendyhasaPh.D.inmarinebiologyfromUniversityofMassachussetts.

Daniel Savercool, Biological Oceanographer DanielSavercoolisabiologicaloceanographer,whoforover30yearshasworkedinhabitatsrangingfromtheopenoceantoxericuplands.Areasofspecialtyincludemarineandestuarinebenthicinvertebratesandfish,wetlandvegetation(estuarinetofreshwater),andhabitatlevelecology.Mr.Savercoolpossessesuniqueexpertiseintheecology,restorationandcreationoffreshwaterandestuarinemarshes,mangroveforests,seagrassmeadows,coralandwormrockreefs,streams,rivers,andadjacentuplandhabitatsthroughoutthePacificRim,fromtheHawai’ianIslandstotheEasternCarolineIslands,CNMI,andGuam.InMarch2004,Mr.SavercoolwasrecognizedbyILiheslaturanGuahanfor“hisworkinprotectingGuam’sEnvironmentandEcology”

Laurie Raymundo, Director of the UOG Marine LabLaurieRaymundoisthecurrentDirectoroftheUOGMarineLab,havingjoinedthefacultyin2004.Sheisacoralbiologist,andherworkfocusesonmanagementissuespertainingtocoralhealthanddisease,cultureandrehabilitation.PrevioustohermovetoGuam,shespent16yearsinthePhilippinesworkingincoralreefmanage-ment,havingbegunherinterestinmarinebiologyasanundergrad,studyingearlylifehistoryofseaturtles.



Where are Guam’s canaries in the coal mine? Mapping Guam’s staghorn coral thickets and creating a baseline

inventory in support of targeted monitoring and researchDavid Burdick, Bureau of Statistics and Plans, Guam Coastal Management Program, Hagatna, Guam

ArborescentAcroporaspecies,knowncommonlyasstaghorncorals,provideimportanthabitatforfishesandinvertebratesontropicalcoralreefs.Staghorncoralsalsohappentobeamongthecoralspeciesconsideredmostvulnerabletotheeffectsofclimatechange,particularlytothermalstressevents,whichareexpectedtoincreaseinfrequencyandseverityasseasurfacetemperaturescontinuetorise. PromptedbytheapparentdeclineinGuam’sstaghorncoralcommunities inrecentdecadesandtheincreasingthreatofclimatechange,membersofGuam’sLong-termCoralReefMonitoringProgram,incollaborationwithUniversityofGuamMarineLab(UOGML)researchersandtheNationalParkService(NPS),havemappedthemajorityofGuam’sstaghorncoralthicketsandcreatedaspatialdatabaseinsupportoftargetedmonitoringandresearchprojects.ShallowreefareasaroundGuamwherestaghorncoralthicketswereknownorexpectedtooccurwereinvestigatedbymoni-toringteammembersandanNPSintern,whoswamacrossthereefflatsandrecordedthelocationsofthicketsusingmapping-gradeGPSreceivers,obtainedimagesofthethicketsusingdigitalcameras,and,insomecases,recordedobservationsofcoralcondition.InacloselyrelatedcollaborationbetweentheBureauofStatisticsandPlansandUOGMLresearchers,anobserverwastowedbehindasmallboattomoreefficientlycoverlargeex-pansesofCocosLagoonandApraHarbor.TheGPSdata,incombinationwithhigh-resolutionsatelliteimagery,wereusedwithinaGeographicinformationSystemtocreatepolygonfeaturesdelineatingtheestimatedextentofstaghornthickets.ThisbaselineinventoryofGuam’sstaghornthicketsiscriticalforunderstandingthecon-tributionoftheseuniquecoralcommunitiestoGuam’scoralreefecosystemandinassessingchangesintheirextentandconditionovertime.

Biodiversity of eukaryotes on coral reefs: diatoms in farmerfish territories.

Christopher S. Lobban, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Guam

Althoughthediversityoflargercoralreeforganisms,includingseaweeds,isrelativelywelldocumented,taxaofmostsmallandmicroscopicspecieshavescrcelybeendocumented.Whereasfreshwaterdiatomsarewidelyusedforassessmentofpresentandpastenvironments,thisisnotyettruefortropicalbenthicmarinediatoms.Diatomflorasoftropicalhabitats,includingcoralreefs,aresopoorlyknownatpresentthatonecanscarcelysaywhatbenthicdiatomsoccuroncoralreefsanywhere,letaloneusethemasindicators.However,diatomsareimportanttofarmerfish(territorialpomacentridsthatcultivatealgae),whicharethemselvesimportanttocoralreefs.Farmerfisharekeystonereefspecieswhoseterritoriescanoccupyover50%ofthesubstrataacrossareefandupto87%ofthesubstratawithinindividualreefhabitats,andtheysignificantlyalterreefstructure.Theirstomachcontentscanbe30–80%diatoms,yetlittleisknownaboutwhichdiatomspeciesaregrazed.Farmerfishterritories(FFTs)areeasilyrecognizedinvarioussitesrangingfromurbantopristine,andarerichindiatomtaxa,althoughtheyhavenotbeenspecificallymentionedindiatomstudiesotherthanourown.Wehaveidenti-fiednearly200taxathatapparentlyliveepiphyticallyonseaweedsinFFTs,andbecausethereareknowntobedifferentseaweedcompositionsintheterritoriesofdifferentfarmerfishspecies,welookedfordifferencesinthediatomassemblages.Preliminaryresultssupportedthishypothesisandweplantoextendtheworktolookforanthropogenicsignaturesinthediatomcommunitycompositions.Wearealsonowinapositiontoaddresstheopposinghypothesesofwhetherfarmerfishbiteofftheseaweedsforfood,ormouthoffthe“detritus”(i.e.,liv-ingdiatoms),leavingtheseaweedsubstrataintact.Regardingthebiodiversity,wehavepublishedrecordsof239diatomtaxaidentifiedtodateforGuam,includingfournovelgenera(i.e.,taxanotseenbefore,asopposedtonewgenusnamesforknowntaxa)and17newspecies,withmorenewgeneraandspeciesinmanuscript.There-cordsarealsopostedontheprojectwebsite,http://www.protistcentral.org/index.php/Project/get/project_id/17.Oneconcernhasbeentoavoidforce-fittingthelocalspecimensintotaxadescribedfromEuropeorfromfossildeposits.InthispresentationIwillshowexamplesofthehiddendiversitywehavediscovered,includinganew

Climate Change and Reef Resilience

genus,Perideraion, in thenecklace-chain-formingclade,andseveralnewspecies in the formerlymonotypicgenusCyclophora.Iwillalsogiveexamplesofsimulacrumspecies,i.e.,taxathatfitthepublisheddiagnosesofknowntaxabutdifferindetailsthataresometimesevidentonlyinSEM;theyincludelook-alikestoPleurosigmaintermedium,Licmophoraehrenbergii,andDiploneisweissflogii.ChiefcollaboratorsinthisworkareRichardJordan,EdwardTheriot,MattAshworth,ChiaraPennesi,NelsonNavarro,andMaríaSchefter.

All Coral Growth Anomalies Are Not Created EqualRoxanna Miller, Guam NOAA Coral Fellow,

Bureau of Statistics and Plans - Guam Coastal Management ProgramCoraldisease,likeanyotherdisease,canhaveawiderangeofimpactstoitshost,andtheseimpactsarecrucialtounderstandingtheimpactstothewholepopulation.Coralgrowthanomalies(GAs)areasuiteofdiseaseswhichaffecta rangeof coral species throughout theworld,yet information regarding their etiology is incomplete.GAstakeonavarietyofmorphologiesandmoststudieshaveassumedequaleffectstothehostofallmorpho-logicaltypes.Todate,afewstudieshavepartiallydescribedGAsonindividualspecies,whilethemajorityofstudieshaveanalyzedandpooledeffectsacrossgenera.ThisstudyaimedtopartiallycharacterizehowgrowthanomaliesaffectedPoritesluteaonGuam.ThreetypesofGAshavebeenvisuallyidentified,andsinceetiolo-giesareunknown,theyarelabeledTypeI,TypeII,andTypeIII.ItwasimportanttonotonlylookathowGAswereaffectingtheirhostcoral,butwhetherornotthethreeGAtypeswereaffectingthehostcoraldifferently,suggestingthatthesethreetypesweredistinctGAs.TodetermineGAeffectsonthehostcolony,physiologicaldatawereassessedbylookingatzooxanthellaedensity,Chla&cabsorbance,tissuethickness,andasuiteofskeletalmorphometriccharacteristics(corallitedensity,maximumcorallitediameter,distancefromwalltoclos-estneighboringcalice,distancefromwalltofurthestneighboringcalice,corallitesurfacearea,numberofpallipercorallite,andnumberofseptapercorallite).Theseparameterswereassessedfromsmall,29mmcoreswhichwereextractedfromGAandhealthyareasoffourcoloniesofeachGAtypeandfromfourremotehealthycolo-

Dave Burdick, Biologist, Bureau of Statistics and Plans - GCMPDaveBurdickisabiologistwiththeBureauofStatisticsandPlans-GuamCoastalMan-agementProgramandcoordinatorofGuam’sComprehensiveLong-termCoralReefMonitoringProgram.HeobtainedaB.A.inBiologyfromHiramCollegein1999andM.Sc.inEnvironmentalStudiesfromtheCollegeofCharlestonin2006.HemovedtoGuamin2004toserveastheNOAAPacificIslandsTechnicalAssistant,andsince2007hasworkedasaGovernmentofGuambiologistinvolvedinvariousaspectsofcoralreefmanagementontheisland.

Chris Lobban, Professor, University of GuamChrisLobbanhasbeenteachingbotany,environmentalbiologyandsciencecommunica-tionatU.Guamfor25years,andhaseditedthejournalMicronesicaformostofthattime.HistextbookTropicalPacificIslandEnvironments(coauthoredwithMariaSchefter)wasfirstpublishedin1997andthe2nded.shouldbeoutlatethisyear.OtherbooksincludeSuccessfulLabReportsandSeaweedEcology&Physiology.Dr.Lobbanlikestocombinemicroscopyandfieldbiology,andcurrentlythisistakinghimonanexplorationofthebio-diversityofdiatomsofcoralreefs.Pastworkincludesstudiesofalargeciliatewithsymbi-oticalgaeinside,seaweeddiversity,andpelagophytealgae.

Roxanna Miller, NOAA Coral Reef Fellow for GuamRoxannaMillergraduatedwithherMaster’sinBiologyin2011fromtheUniversityofGuam.SheiscurrentlytheNOAACoralFellowforGuamandworkswiththeBureauofStatisticsofPlansGuamCoastalManagementPrograminimplementingtheGuamLong-termCoralReefMonitoringProgram.

Travis Reynolds,Graduate Student, UOG Marine LabTravisReynoldsisaUniversityofGuamMarineLaboratorygraduatestudent.Forhisthesis,heisstudyingcoralrecruitmentandearlycorallifehistoryaroundGuam.


niesfromthereefflatareainIpan.Chlorophyllaandcandzooxanthellaedensitiesdisplayedalargeamountofvariability,withmostvariationseenbetweencolonieswithinahealthstate.AfewcoloniesinGAIandIIIdisplayedsignificantlygreatertissuethicknessinhealthythandiseasedareas.Skeletalmorphometriccharacteris-ticsdisplayedlargeamountsofvariabilitybetweencolonies,withGAeffectsmostvisibleatacolonylevel.TypeIGAshadtheleastoveralleffectonitscoralhostwithmoderatebetween-colonyvariationformostcharacters.TypeII,however,displayedreducedzooxanthellaedensitiesinbothhealthyandGAtissuescomparedtoTypesI&III,largerandfewercorallitesindiseasedareas,lesspalli,andthickertissueindiseasedareasthanotherGAs.TypeIIIhadmoderateeffectsonthehostwithlargerandfewercorallitesindiseasedareas,corallitesbeingfurtherawayfromeachotherinGAsthaninhealthyareas,andgreaternumbersofseptaeandpalliindiseasedareasthaninhealthyareas.TheseresultssuggestthatnotonlydotheseGAshavedetrimentaleffectsonthehostcoloniesnor-malfunction,butthatthethreemorphologicallydifferentGAsaffecttheirhostspeciesdifferentiallyandthatthesethreeGAtypesmaybedifferenttypesandnotjustthreemorphologicaltypesofonedisease.Astudywithlargersamplesizesneedstobeconductedtoelucidatethesefindings.

Spatial variation in coral recruitment on Guam reefsTravis Reynolds, University of Guam Marine Laboratory, UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923

Spatialvariationinrecruitmentiscommonformarineorganismsandiswell-studiedintropicalcoralreefs.Inthisstudy,thespatialvariationandtaxonomicabundanceofjuvenilescleractiniancoralswasquantifiedbetweenAprilandMay2013.Usingvisualcensusandadepth-stratifiedapproach(1mreefflatand8mforereef),juvenilecorals<4cmwererecordedat13sitesalongGuam’swesterncoast.Ofthe567coralsrecorded,thefourmostabundanttaxawereasfollows:Pocilloporidae:37.4%,Faviidae:14.5%,Agaricidae:11.4%,andAcroporidae:7.5%.Meangenericdiversityoftherecruitingpopulationobservedonforereefsiteswastwicethatofreefflats.Furthermore,juvenileAcroporaspp.wereobservedonlyalongnorthernwave-exposedreefs.Thisstudysupportsotherobservationsofthevariablenatureofrecruitmentacrosslargespatialscales.Italsodemonstratesrecruitmentisoccurringatdiffer-entratesalongGuam’swesterncoast,contrarytorecentreportsoflowrecruitment.

Coral reef resilience to climate change in Saipan, CNMI: field based-assessments and implications for vulnerability

and future management.Jeffrey Maynard1, 2, Steve McKagan3, Steven Johnson4, Peter Houk5, Gabriella Ahmadia6, Ruben van Hooidonk7,

Lindsey Harriman2 and Elizabeth Mcleod81Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-

Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes Papetoai, Moorea, Polynesie Francaise; 2Oceans Applied Research, Wilmington, NC; 3NOAA – Fisheries, Pacific Island Region Office, Saipan, MP;

4Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Division of Environmental Quality, Saipan, MP; 5Pacific Marine Resources Institute, Saipan, MP;

6Conservation Science Program, World Wildlife Fund – USA, Washington, DC; 7NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami; 8The Nature Conservancy, Texas;

Thisstudypresentstheresultsofthefirstfield-basedimplementationofareefresilienceframeworkfrom35sitesaroundSaipan.TheframeworkisbasedonMcClanahan’s2012workthatsuggeststhatthefollowingvariablesbeevaluatedtocomparetheresiliencepotentialofcoralreefsites:coraldiversity,bleachingresistance,recruitment,herbivorebiomass,macroalgaecover,temperaturevariability,nutrientinput,sedimentation,fishingaccess,coraldiseaseandanthropogenicphysicalimpacts.

Someofthesuggestionsformanagerscomingoutoftheassessmentinclude:• consideringadditionalmanagementandenforcementatfourofthetoptenhighresilience

sitesthatarenotcurrentlyinprotectedareas• givingthesiteswithhighresilienceandhighcoralcoverspecialattentiontofacilitatetourism

opportunities,and• monitoringandmaintainingherbivoryatsitesespeciallyvulnerabletocoralbleaching.


Steven Johnson, Marine Biologist, CNMI DEQStevenJohnsonisamarinebiologistfortheCNMIsMarineMonitoringTeamandworksfortheCNMIsDivisionofEnvironmentalQuality.HewasbornontheislandofSaipanandenjoysspendinghisfreetimetakingunderwaterphotos,SCUBAdivingandsurfing.

Context-dependent roles of localized stressor influence the resiliency of CNMI and American Samoa coral-reef ecosystems

1Dr. Peter Houk, 2Dr. Ryan Okano, 2David Benavente, 2Steven Johnson, 2John Iguel, and 3Christianera Tuitele1University of Guam Marine Laboratory 2Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Coral Reef Monitoring Program;

3American Samoa Environmental Protection AgencyAcrossthetropicalPacific,coral-reefecosystemsareinherentlylinkedwithsociallivelihoodsandeconomicpros-perity.However,localizedstressorsactingaloneorsynergistically,bothinconjunctionwithdisturbancecycles,representkeythreatstocoral-reefresiliencythroughtime. TwolocalizedstressorsofgreatestconcerntomanyPacific islands are increases in land-basedpollution and reductions in grazer (urchin and/orherbivorousfish)abundances.Despitethisgeneralknowledge,theproportionalcontributionofeachstressorremainsthesubjectofmuchdebate,ascontext-dependentsituationslikelyexisttosupportvaryingideologies.Here,abodyofevidenceissynthesizedfromtwocoral-reefmonitoringprogramsthathavebeencollectingstandardizeddatasetsacrosstheCommonwealthoftheNorthernMarianaIslandsandAmericanSamoaoverthepastdecade.Inbothinstances,majordisturbanceeventswereevidentduringthemonitoringtimeframe,anddifferentialrecoveryrateshavebeenobserved.Thispresentationsummarizesdisturbanceandrecoverydynamicsandattributescause,bothpropor-tionallyandstatistically,toproxiesofland-basedpollutionandgrazerabundances.TheevidencesuggeststhattheindividualcontributionofeachstressortothereefslopeassemblagesassociatedwithCNMIandAmericanSamoaisindeedcontext-dependent,andthus,predictivefuturesaregeneralizedwithrespecttophysicalsettings.

History and Recent Advances of Research on Crown-of-Thorns Seastar, Acanthaster planci, in Pacific Coral Reefs

Ciemon Frank Caballes, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

CoralcoveronIndo-Pacificreefsareindeclineduetoincreasingfrequencyandintensityofnaturalandanthro-pogenicdisturbances.Globaldegradationofreefsandthethreatofclimatechangeimpactsproviderenewedincentivetomanageallsourcesofcoralmortality,particularlyA.plancioutbreaks,whichaccountforalargeproportionofcoralcoverdecline.IntheGreatBarrierReef(GBR),forexample,predationbyA.planciaccountedfor42%ofsubstantialdeclinesincoralcoverinthepast27years.GuamwasalsosubjecttolargeanddestructiveA.plancioutbreaksinthelate1960’sthatkilledupto90%ofhardcoralalongthenorthwestcoast.MorerecentoutbreaksintheGreatBarrierReef,Guam,Philippines,Indonesia,PapuaNewGuinea,andFrenchPolynesiahavecausedsimilardevastation.Increasingfrequencyandintensityofoutbreakepisodeshaveresultedinpro-gressivelyslowerrecovery,whichconsequentlydegradestheintegrityofreefecosystems.IwillpresentareviewofthehistoryandcurrentstatusofA.plancioutbreaksinIndo-Pacificcoralreefs,withemphasisonGuam.IwillalsodiscussrecentresearchonA.plancithatIhavebeeninvolvedin,particularlyonthedevelopmentofnewcontrolmethods,feedingecologyofA.planci,theroleofpredationinregulatingA.plancipopulations,andon-goingstudiesonthereproductivebiologyandtheeffectsofclimatechangeontheearlylifehistorystagesofA.planci.

Ciemon Caballes, Ph.D. Candidate, James Cook University CiemonCaballesiscurrentlystudyingthereproductivebiologyofcrown-of-thornsstar-fish(COTS)aspartofhisPhDinMarineBiologythesisattheAustralianResearchCouncilCentreofExcellenceforCoralReefStudies-JamesCookUniversityinTownsville,Austra-lia.HereceivedhisMasterofScienceinBiologydegreefromUniversityofGuamin2009,wherehestudiedthedistributionandfeedingecologyofCOTSaroundGuam.

Dr. Peter Houk, Professor, UOG Marine LabDr.PeterHoukrecentlystartedworkingattheUOGMarineLabandfocuseshisresearchuponcoral-reefecosystemsacrossMicronesiainresponsetodisturbancecycles,localizedstressors,andmanagementregimessuchasMPA’s.PriortocomingtoUOGMLheco-foundedanon-profitorganizationbasedinSaipan,CNMI,thatisdedicatedtogeneratingandtranslatingcoral-reefsciencetoawidearrayofaudiences.Todatehehaspublishedresearchonmanyaspectsofcoral-reefecosystems,rangingfromseagrassbedsandwatersheddischargetofisherylandinginthecommercialmarketsacrossMicronesia.Onecommonthemeishisdesiretounderstandthecausesbehindthebiologicaltrendsweseetodayinthesediversesystems.


Negative Association between a Corallivorous Snail and a Symbiotic Crab on Pocillopora damicornis Colonies on Guam

Tricia M. Caraig1, Frank Camacho2, Laurie Raymundo2 Biology Program, University of Guam ,Mangilao, GU 96923

ThescleractiniancoralPocilloporadamicornisservesasahosttoavarietyofinvertebratesymbionts.Inpar-ticular,thecoralliophilidgastropodQuoyulamonodontahasbeencharacterizedasaparasiteofP.damicorniswherethesnailsoccupythebasesofcoralbranchesandcreateaprominenthomescar.Incontrast,thebrachy-urancrabTrapeziasppisbelievedtobeamutualisticsymbiontofPocilloporaspeciesandiscommonlyfoundonP.damicorniscoloniesonGuam.WhileQuoyulaandTrapeziaspp.canpotentiallyco-occupyPocilloporacolonies,thenatureoftheirassociationonthiscoralisunclear.WehavestartedtoinvestigatethedistributionsofTrapeziaandQuoyulaonP.damicorniscoloniesinfieldsurveysfromtwositesonGuam.WerecordedthenumberofTrapeziaandQuoyulaonindividualPocilloporacolonies.Wealsoestimatedthepercentageofundamagedanddamagedcoraltissueaswellasthesizeofeachcolony.OurresultsindicateastrongnegativecorrelationbetweenTrapeziaandQuoyulaontheircoralhosts.However,thepresenceofTrapeziawasnotsignificantlyassociatedwithanindexofcoralhealth.WhetherTrapeziaareactivelyexcludingQuoyulafromP.damicorniscoloniesisunclear.Theseresultsarebeingextendedtoexaminethemechanisticnatureofthesepatternsofassociation.

Unrecognized Algal Diversity in the Western Pacific: A Case Study of the Genus Actinotrichia

Simeon AE, Schils T, University of Guam, Marine Laboratory, UOG Station, Mangilao 96923, Guam

Theintroductionofnon-nativealgaeisofgreatconcerntomarineresourcemanagersbecauseoftheirpotentialtobecomeinvasive.Toassesstheriskofintroducingnon-indigenousmarinemacroalgaeandtodetectthoseal-readypresent,athoroughunderstandingofthespeciesrichnessofislandflorasandspeciesdistributionrangesisrequired.Traditional(morphological)identificationcanbeexpensiveandcumbersome,butmoderngenetictechniques–likeDNAbarcoding–providefastandcost-effectivemethodsforalgalidentificationandcrypticspeciesrecognition.

Inthisstudy,weusetheredalgalgenusActinotrichiaDecaisnetoexaminealgalspeciesdiversityinMicrone-siaandthewesternPacific,anddemonstratehowDNAbarcodingcanbeusedtocharacterizemarineflorasintheregion.Priortothisstudy,onlythetypespeciesofActinotrichiahadbeenrecordedforMicronesia.SequenceanalysisusingthemitochondrialmarkerCOI-5PrevealsahighdegreeofcrypticdiversityinActino-trichia,withasmanyassixundescribedspeciesoccurringintheregion.TheseresultssuggestthemarinefloraofMicronesiaissubstantiallymorediversethancurrentlyrecognizedandfurtherstudyofthisdiversitywillaidresourcemanagersindetectingpotentiallyharmfulinvasivespecies.

Mananing Western Pacific Fisheries Under Catch Limits: Process and Challenges

Marlowe Sabater1, Judy Amesbury2 3, and Frank Camacho2 4

1Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council 2Scientific and Statistical Committee of the Western Pacific Re-gional Fishery Management Council 3Micronesian Archeological Research Services 4University of Guam

TheReauthorizationoftheMagnuson-StevensActin2007hassignificantlychangedthewayRegionalFish-eryManagementCouncilsdealwithmanagingUSfisheriesthroughimplementationofAnnualCatchLimits(ACLs).Stockandoutputcontrol-basedapproacheslikeACLsposeproblemsforfisheriesthataremulti-gear,multi-species,andspatiallydiversebynature.NationalMarineFisheriesServiceAdvisoryGuidelinesonNationalStandard1describetherequirementforACLs.TheintentoftheACListosetthecatchatalevelsuchthatoverfishingdoesnotoccuraboveaspecifiedreferencepoint.EachFisheryEcosystemPlan(FEP)mustspecifycriteriatodeterminewhetheroverfishingisoccurring.MaximumSustainableYield(MSY)correspondstotheoverfishinglimitandisarequirementforeveryFEP.However,theWesternPacificregiondoesnothave

Poster Session



MSYforeachstockinitsFEPs.MSYisgeneratedbystockassessments,e.g.MainHawaiianIslandsbottomfishfishery(amultispeciescomplexofdeepwatersnappersandgroupers).TheACLprocessthencallsforquanti-ficationofscientificandmanagementuncertaintiestodeterminetheAcceptableBiologicalCatches(ABCs)andACLs,respectively.

However,theguidelinesarelessapplicableforreeffishesandotherdatapoorstocksthathavefewornostockassessmentsfromwhichthebiologicalreferencepointsincludingtheoverfishinglimitaredetermined.Manag-ingstocksthataredata-deficienthasproventobeabigchallenge.ThisposteroutlinestheapproachthattheWesternPacificRegionalFisheryManagementCounciltookinspecifyingACLsforreeffishesintheUSPacificstateandterritoriesandchallengesfacedwhendealingwithdata-poorsituations.

First Stewards: Coastal Peoples Address Climate ChangeSylvia Spalding, John Calvo,

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management CouncilClimatechangeisoccurringrapidly,creatinganurgentneedfortheworldtomakeuseofindigenouswaysofadaptingandmaintainingtheresiliencythathasservedancientcoastalculturesforthousandsofyears.ThatwasthemessagedeliveredbytheindigenouscoastalpeopleoftheUnitedStatesandtheUSPacificIslandswhentheygatheredonJuly17-20,2012fortheFirstStewardsSymposium:CoastalPeoplesAddressClimateChangewhichbroughttogetherindigenouspeoplesandtheiralliestotheSmithsonian’sNationalMuseumoftheAmericanIndian,inWashington,D.C.,wheretheirunifiedvoicescalledforactiononclimatechange.Dis-cussionsincludedclimatechangeimpactsonindigenouscommunities,traditionalecologicalknowledgeandadaptivemethodologies,andresearchgapsandinitiatives.

TheFirstStewardsSymposium:CoastalPeoplesAddressClimateChangewasconvenedtocreateamechanismfortheindigenouspeopletoengagewithgovernments,non-governmentalagenciesandotherstohelpmiti-gateandadapttoclimatechange.Theveryfabricofindigenoussocietiesisthreatenedbyover-developmentofcoastlines;alterationoffreshwaterstreamsandlakes;destructionoflife-givingwatershedsandreefs;andthedeclineofmarineandterrestrialspecies.Thesehavebeenexacerbatedbyclimatechange,creatingastonishingchangesincoastalnaturalsystemsthatindigenousculturesarewitnessing.AresolutiondraftedbythenewlyincorporatedFirstStewardsandsenttoPresidentObamarequestsformalrecognitionofthecoastalindigenouspeopleandtheirexpertiseinunderstandingandadaptingtochangesintheirnaturalsystems.Theresolutionasksforthefederalgovernmentto“consultwithourtribalgovernmentsandindigenouscommunitiesforguidanceinallpoliciesthataffectourwayoflifeandtosupportourmanage-mentefforts,whichwillstrengthenAmerica’sresiliencyandabilitytoadapttoclimatechange.”Becausenativecommunitiescontinuetosubsistoffofthelandsandlivebythenaturalseasonalityoffish,seamammals,birds,animals,andplants,theydependupontheintegrityandcontinuedexistenceofhealthyecosystemsandarevulnerabletoclimatechange.Relyingupontheirtraditionalecologicalknowledgeandancestralwisdomofadaptabilityandresiliencearekeystotheirsurvivalandidentity.Thesemethodologiesincludereturningtoandpromotingtraditionalpracticestoensurefoodstocksandnaturalresourcescontinuetobeavailable.Non-indigenouscommunitiesandclimatechangeinitiativescanbenefitfromtheknowledgeandmethodologiesofindigenouscommunities,whichcanserveasatooltohelpthenationadapttoclimatechange.

Village of Merizo: Development of a Community-Based Management Plan for Coastal and Marine Resources

Mark Mitsuyasu & Charles Ka ai ai, Carl Dela Cruz, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

TheWesternPacificRegionalFisheryManagementCouncil(Council)supportscommunity-basedmanagementofmarineresourcesasanessentialpartoftheirarchipelago-basedFisheryEcosystemPlans(FEP).TheCouncilismandatedtoengagecommunitiesintheUSWesternPacificinthedevelopmentoffisherymanagementpoli-ciesforthebenefitofcommunitiesitserves.

Aspartofthiseffort,theCouncilregularlyinformstheMayor’sCouncilofGuam(MCOG)oncurrentnational,regionalandlocalfisheryresourceandmanagementissues.TheVillageofMerizowasengagedpreviouslyonaprojectthatresultedintheprogramthatallowsanexemption,throughtheDepartmentofAgriculture,forthetraditionalharvestofseasonalrunsofmañahak,tiaoandi’e’inareasnormallyclosedtotraditionalfishing.TheprogramisavailablethroughthevillageMayor’sofficeandtheDepartmentofAgriculture.In2010,theMayorsfromtheVillagesofMerizoandSantaRitawereidentifiedbytheMCOGasthepointofcontactstoengagetheCouncilonvillage-basedecosystemmonitoringworkshopsandthepotentialforestab-lishingapilotprojectonthedevelopmentofcommunity-basedmanagementofmarineresources.In2012,theCouncilheldaseriesofcommunitymonitoringmeetingsinpartnershipwithotheragenciesandorganiza-tionstofeaturebio-sampling,tagging,waterqualitydatacollectionandtheCouncil’sonlinedatacollectionprograms.TheCouncilissupportingthedevelopmentofcommunity-basedmanagementplansbyfacilitatingcommunityengagementthroughaseriesofworkshopsandmeetingstoidentifyanddeterminethecommuni-ty’sneedsandobjectivesinmanagingandconservingtheirfisheryresources.TheCouncilwouldalsosupportthiseffortthroughfacilitateddocumentation,factfinding,vettingofscientificinformationandanalysisanddraftingofreportstoproducethecommunity-basedmarineresourcemanagementplantobeforwardedandconsideredbytheMerizoCommunity,MCOGandtheGuamDepartmentofAgriculture.

Anna Simeon, Masters Candidate, UOG Marine Lab AnnaSimeonearnedherBSinbiologyattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiegoandmovedtoGuamtopursuehermastersattheUniversityofGuamMarineLaboratory.HercurrentworkfocusesonthebiogeographyanddiversityofmarineplantsinthewesternPacific.

Tricia Mae Z. Caraig, Biology Student, UOGTriciaMaeZ.CaraigisaseniorBiologymajorattheUniversityofGuamwithaninterestinmarinescience.SheisalsocurrentlyaresearchinternintheLSAMPprogramatUOG.

Judith R. Amesbury, Archaeologist, Micronesian Archaeological Research Services JudithR.AmesburyisanarchaeologistwithMicronesianArchaeologicalResearchServices,Guam.ShehasbeendoingarchaeologyonGuam,Saipan,TinianandRotafor25years.Herareaofexpertiseistheanalysisofshellartifactsandfaunalremains,particularlyfishbonesandinvertebrateremains.Sheistheauthorofnumerouspapersandreportsonma-rineresourceusefromtheprehistoricperiodtothepresentintheMarianaIslands.

John Calvo, Onsite Coordinator, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Man-agement Council JohnCalvohasbeenwiththeWesternPacificRegionalFisheryManagementCouncilforalmost11yearsastheOnsiteCoordinatorforGuamandhasbeenastudentofChamorrocultureandtraditionsforover50years.

Frank Camacho, Assistant Professor of Biology, UOG FrankCamachoisanAssistantProfessorofBiologyattheUniversityofGuam.



Fisheries ManagementIdentifying & Mapping Reef Fish Spawning

Aggregation Sites in GuamMarylou K. Staman,

University of Guam Marine Laboratory UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923 USAManyspeciesofreeffishaggregateinlargenumberstospawnatspecifictimesandsites.Thesespawningaggregationsitesareoftennotprotectedfromexploitationandthereforethosefishpresentatthesitearevul-nerabletooverfishing.MarineProtectedAreas(MPAs),ifdesignedandpositionedappropriately,canhelpconservereefbiodiversityandfisheryresources.Guam,thesouthernmostislandintheMarianasArchipelago,hassixMPAs.TheseMPAswereestablishedwithoutmuchpriorknowledgeofreeffishspawningaggregationsites,andthereforemaynotbeprotectingspawningfishes.ToobtainanaccuratedepictionofhowGuam’sMPAshavebeenaffectinglocalreeffishpopulations,IhavebeencollectingdataviaGPS-trackedvisualsur-veys,usingmantatowsand“longswims”atfixeddepths,inordertoidentifyspawningaggregationsitesandestimatedensitiesofreeffishes,especiallyparrotfishes(Pisces:Labridae:Scarinae)andsurgeonfishes(Pisces:Acanthuridae),thatformspawningaggregationsatthosesites,andtodetermineifthelocationsofthesesitesareinsideoroutsideofexistingMPAboundaries.Inadditiontothesesurveys,IhavebeenusingaGPS-linkedside-scan/down-scansonartomapthebenthichabitatsofpreviouslyidentifiedspawningaggregationsites.Habitatstructureandgeomorphologyhavebeenimplicatedasfactorsinfluencingthedistributionofreeffishspawningaggregations.Thegoalofmyresearchistoidentifyandmaphabitatsthatareimportantasspawn-ingaggregationsitesinGuam’swatersandtocomparethedistributionsofthesesiteswiththecorrespondingdistributionsofexistingMPAs.Thisresearchisimportantfordevelopingandimplementingplansfortheconservationandmanagementofreeffishspeciesthatarevulnerabletoover-exploitationwhenonspawningaggregationsites.ThisisespeciallyrelevantbecausealthoughspawningaggregationsiteswerenotincludedintentionallyintheoriginaldesignofGuam’sMarineProtectedAreas,atleastoneprotectedareahas,bycoin-cidence,amulti-speciesspawningaggregationsitelocatedwithinitsboundaries.

Stock assessment of sea cucumbers on Guam, Micronesia.Catherine Brunson and Allison Miller, University of Guam Marine Laboratory

Seacucumbers(Holothuroidea)arecommerciallyvaluableechinodermsfoundinabundanceonmanytropicalreefs.Holothuroidsusedforfoodareknownastrepangorbeche-de-meranddemandforithasledtocollapseofsea-cucumberpopulationsinseveralislandecosystems.TopreventoverharvestingonGuam,intheMari-anaIslands,Micronesia,wehavebegunacomprehensivestockassessmentofthepopulationstructureofcom-merciallyimportantspecies.Wearealsoexploringtheroleofmarineprotectedareasinthemanagementofholothuroids,andcomparingeasilyaccessibleversusinaccessiblereefflatareasonholothuroidabundances.Stocksurveysaredoneusingtransects,timedswimsandlengthmeasurementsdoneinsitu.Preliminaryfind-ingsincludethepossibilityofasmallsustainablefisheryforseveralspeciesandevidenceoftheoverharvestingofsomespeciesbysubsistencefishermen.Ourgoalistoestablishthecircum-islanddistributionofspeciesandprovidethegovernmentofGuamwithamanagementplanforthesustainableharvestofseacucumbers.

Improving Marine Enforcement in MicronesiaMark JD Aguon, Guam Department of Agriculture – Law Enforcement Division

Enforcementisanimportantpartofeffectivenaturalresourcemanagement,yetconservationlawenforce-mentagenciesthroughoutMicronesiaareoftenunderstaffed,underfunded,andofficersoftendonotreceivesufficienttrainingtodotheirjobsafely.AspartofGuam’seffortstosupporttheMicronesiaChallenge,GuamDepartmentofAgricultureandGuamSuperiorCourtofficershaveprovidedtrainingtogovernmentandcommunitylawenforcementorganizationsacrossMicronesia.Thetrainingshaveincludedofficersafety,tacticalvesselboarding,reportwriting,andeducationandoutreachamongothertopics.ThetrainingswillmakeconservationlawenforcementofficersacrossMicronesiasaferandmoreeffectiveandalsoallowsofficerstoshareexperiencesandknowledge.Asapartofthiseffort,theofficersincoordinationwithGuamCommu-nityCollegewillbeofferingaConservationOfficerAcademynextsummertotrainconservationofficersfromGuam,Palau,FSM,andRMI.


Catherine Brunson, Masters Student, UOG CatherineBrunsonhasworkedinpublicschools,microbiologylabs,andinbiotechnol-ogylabs.CatherineiscurrentlyastudentattheUniversityofGuamMarineLaboratorystudyingcoconutcrab(Birguslatro)abundances.

Allison Miller, Masters Student, UOG AllisonMillerstudiedbiologyandmarinebiologyattheUniversityofCaliforniaSanDiegoandlaterworkedasacoralmicrobiologistattheMOTEMarineLaboratory.SheiscurrentlyastudentattheUniversityofGuamresearchingthehigher-levelphyloge-neticrelationshipsoftheclassHolothuroidea(seacucumbers,balate).

Sustainable Fisheries and Coral Reef Management on the Outer Islands: Ulithi Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia

Crane, N.L.1,2*, Paddack, M.J.1,6, Nelson, P.3, Bernardi, G.4, Abelson, A.5, Kristin Precoda1, John Jr Rulmal7, Sara Cannon4

1Oceanic Society, 2Cabrillo College, 3CFR-West, 4University of California Santa Cruz, 5Tel Aviv University, 6Santa Barbara City College, 7Ulithi Marine Conservation Project, Falalop, Ulithi

Coralreefsaroundtheworldaresufferingfrommultiplestressors,affectingtheecologicalintegrityofcoralsystems,andthelivelihoodsofpeoplewhorelyonthem.Thisprojectaddressestheneedtoworkwithsmallautonomouslygovernedouterislandcommunitiestostrengthentheircapacitytomanagetheirreefsandma-rineresourcesduringatimeofrapidecologicalchange.WeareworkingwiththeouterislandcommunitiesofUlithiAtoll,YapState,FSMicronesia,usingamultifacetedapproachincorporatingsocialscience(interviews,communitymeetings)andquantitativeecologicalassessments(reefsurveys,catchanalysis)toidentifytrendsandconcerns,andtodevelopasetofmanagementrecommendationswiththecommunity.Weworkwiththecommunity,fishers,leadersandreefownerstoidentifytargetfish,documentfishingmethods,andmapkeyfishingareas.Weworkwiththem(andtrainthem)tocollectdatathroughouttheyear(habitatsurveys),andanalyzetheircatchforsexandreproductivestatus.Ourgoalsincludemappinginvasivespecies(includ-inggeneticanalyses),andlookingatreefconnectivitytoinformMarineManagedArea(MMA)placement.Despitetheirremotenessandlimiteddevelopment,mostsiteshad<20%livecoralcoverdominatedbysmallcolonies.Afewhad>60%cover,butwithunprecedentedovergrowthsofasinglecoralspecies(Montiporasp.),andsomesiteshavinglargecoloniesofacorallimorph(Rhodactissp.)(followinggeneticidentifications).Initialfindingssuggestthattheseoutbreaksmaylimithabitatandfoodforkeyreeforganisms.Clusteranalysisshoweddistinctreeftypescharacterizedbycoralandalgalcoverpatterns.Additionally,wefound2ordersofmagnitudedifferenceinfishbiomassamongsomereefs,drivenbyhighvariationinherbivorousandpredato-ryfishes.Interviewresultssuggestthatfishingpracticesmaybestrongdriversofchangesinbothbenthicandfishcommunities.ThecommunityofFalalophasincorporatedthesefindingsintoaninitialreefmanagementplan,includinganMMAandanareawithgearrestrictions.Acriticalpartofourapproachistoempowerandengagethecommunityinmanagingtheirresources.Wehavebeeninvitedbacktoexpandtheworkthrough-outtheAtollandtootherouterislands.ThisworkfillsanimportantneedintheregionandrepresentsanopportunitytoadvancemarineconservationacrossthetropicalPacificwhileaddressingcriticalissuesinfoodsecurityandtheeffectsofclimatechange.

Marylou Staman, Masters Student, UOG MarylouStamanwithaB.S.fromU.C.SanDiegoin2009andmovedtotheCaribbeantobecomeinvolvedwithconservationeffortsrelatingtoseaturtlesandtheinvasivelion-fish.SheiscurrentlystudyingfisheriesconservationasamastersstudentattheUniver-sityofGuamMarineLaboratory.

What Are All Those People Doing in the Ecosystem?Judith R. Amesbury, Micronesian Archaeological Research Services;

Scientific and Statistical Committee of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

Weacknowledgethatpeoplearepartoftheecosystem,butwedon’toftenstudythemthewaywestudyotherspecies.Thispresentation,fromthepointofviewofanarchaeologistwhoanalysesfaunalremains,willanswerquestionssuchasthese:HowlonghavepeoplebeenintheMarianaIslands?Howmanypeoplearewetalk-ingaboutatanyonetime?WhyaretheretwoindigenousgroupsintheMarianas?Whatkindsoffishingdidpeopledointhepast?Whatotherhumanactivitieshavehadanimpactonthemarineecosystem?

Uncertainty in Science: Importance to Public Perception, Environmental Education, Policymaking, and Valuing Traditional Knowledge in Coral Reef Management.

Christopher S. Lobban (see pg. 7 for biography) & María SchefterDivision of Natural Sciences, University of Guam, Mangilao, GU 96923 and

Island Environments Book, P.O. Box 5126, UOG Station, Mangilao, GU 96923

Environmentalinformation,includingknowledgeofcoralreefsiscommonlyperceivedasbeinganaccumu-lationoffacts,butisreallyadevelopingsetofconclusionsbasedonevidenceandthetestingofhypotheses.Theseconclusionsmaybestronglyorweaklysupportedbytheevidencebutthelanguagescientistsusetoexpresstheirlevelofconfidenceintheconclusionsisoftenignoredormisunderstoodbythemediaandthegeneralpublic.Partofthismisperceptionhascomeaboutbecausephilosophersofsciencehavefocusedonphysicsandinorganicchemistry,wherevariationisnegligible(e.g.,allsodiumatomsareequal)and“laws”applygenerally.However,biologyandallenvironmentalsciencemustdealwithindividualvariationateverysystemlevelfrommacromoleculestoecosystems,andmustalsodealwiththehistoryofthesystems.More-over,althoughsomebiologicalquestionscanbeaddressedexperimentally,forothershypothesescanonlybetestedbyobservationandcomparison.Observation-and-comparisonisequallyvalidasascientificmethodbut

Nicole Crane, Biology Professor, Cabrillo CollegeNicoleCraneisaFacultyintheBiologyDepartmentatCabrilloCollegeinCaliforniawheresheteachesmarinescience,ecologyandenvironmentalscience.SheisaSeniorConservationScientistwiththeOceanicSociety(www.oceanicsociety.org)whereherfieldworkfocusesonreef‘health’indicatorsandmonitoring,andcommunity-basedconservationandmanagementintheCaribbeanandinthePacific.Nicolealsocon-ductsresearchonpromotingstudentrecruitmentandretentioninthesciences.ShefoundedtheNationalScienceFoundationMarineAdvancedTechnologyEducationCenter.HerworkinMicronesiacentersonworkingwithouterislandcommunitiesofYapstate(specificallyUlithiAtoll)tohelpthemdevelopmarinemanagementplanstoaddressfoodsecurity,environmentalstability,andresourceassessment.

Mark Aguon, Conservation Officer, Guam Department of AgricultureMarkAguonisaConservationOfficerIIwiththeGuamDepartmentofAgriculture’sLawEnforcementDivision.Withover20yearsofexperienceinconservationenforce-mentonGuam,OfficerAguonisdedicatedtoimprovingnaturalresourceenforce-mentcapacityinGuamandacrossMicronesia.HehasrecentlyprovidedtrainingtoenforcementofficersinPalau,Yap,Kosrae,Pohnpei,andtheMarshallIslands.


Human Dimension


oftenpoorlytaughtrelativetoexperimentalmethod.Allbiologicalconclusionsarebasedonprobabilitiesandmustbecouchedinlanguagethatindicatesthelikelhoodoftheirbeingcorrect.Inbiologyandmanyotherfieldsofscience,onecannotproveahypothesistobetrue,norindeed,evenproveitfalse,butonemustalwaysweighevidenceproandcon.Biologistsmoveforwardusingtheseconclusionsasworkingmodelsthataresubjecttochange.Theoriesarebroadconclusionsbasedonmanylinesofwell-supportedhypotheses;butthegeneralpublicconfuseshypothesisandtheory,oftencallinganuntestedhypothesis,“justatheory.”Becausetheseideasarenotwellpresentedinmostintroductorysciencetextbooks,peoplegenerallydistrusthedgedstatementsandcontradictoryinformationinsceincenews.Thislackofscientificliteracyhasconsequencesthatincludeatendencytodisregardtraditionalknowledgewhenitseemsatvariancewithscientific“facts;”tolooktoscienceforanswerstopolicyquestionsthatmustincludescience,economics,socialandculturalfac-tors;and/ortodismissscientificinformationentirely,asglobalwarmingdeniersdo.InrevisingTropicalPacificIslandEnvironments(2ndeditionduefromBessPresslatethisyear),wehavestrengthenedtheexplanationofbiologyasasciencebasedonErnstMayr’sideas,toprovideanevenmoresolidbasisforthescientificunder-standingthatstudentsascitizensneedinordertoappreciatethestrengthsandlimitationsofscientificconclu-sionsandtousethoseconclusionseffectivelyindecision-makingalongsidetraditionalknowledge.

Community Based Fishery Management on GuamAdrienne Loerzel,

Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, NC 27708

Guam’sreefsystemisunderimmensepressurefromarangeofthreats,includingsedimentation,overharvest-ingandclimatechange.Managerslackthenecessaryresourcestoeffectivelyaddressthesethreats,andfisher-iesmanagementinparticularhasproventobeexceedinglydifficult.Fishersandmanagers,thoughtheydonotagreeoncausesorsolutions,bothrecognizedramaticdeclinesinmanyfishstocksandtheneedtotakeactiontoreversethisnegativetrend.Communitybasedmanagementmodelsofferonepromisingapproach.ThisstudyexaminesthecurrentstateofGuam’scommunitybasedmanagementeffortsandobstaclestoexpandingcommunityapproachesonisland.Datacollectedthroughparticipantobservationandkeyinformantinter-viewswereusedtocreateaseriesofrecommendationstoimprovecurrentmanagementandmovetowardmorecommunityinvolvement.Recommendationsincludecontinuingsupportofprogramstoreconnectresi-dentswiththemarineenvironment,repairofrelationshipsbetweenlocalandfederalgovernmentagenciesandstakeholders,improvedenforcement,andpilotprojectsforcommunitymanagement.

Guam Community Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Engaging Guam Residents in Coral reef Management

Marybelle Quinata, IMSG - NOAA Fisheries - Pacific Islands Regional Office

TheGuamCommunityCoralReefMonitoringProgram(GCCRMP)involvesresidentsincoralreefmanage-ment.LaunchedinJuly2012,GCCRMPhastrainednearly200volunteerstocompletebiologicalsurveysofGuam’sreefflats.Volunteerslearnhowtocollectdataonbenthiccoverandmacro-invertebratesinsurveys.MonthlybenthicandmacroinvertebratemonitoringwillhelpbuildsubstantialdatacollectionthatcanhelptrackthehealthofGuam’scoralreefsaswellaskeepvolunteersengagedwiththeprogram.Datacollectedbyvolunteerscanhelplocalreefmanagersinthedecision-makingprocessinadditiontopromotingcommunitystewardshipofourmarineresources.AlthoughGCCRMPhasgainedmomentumbybuildingupitsmember-ship,thereisaneedforconsistentvolunteerattendanceatmonitoringeventsfordatacollection.Asanewcommunityoutreachprogram,GCCRMPwillcontinuetodevelopitsstructureandaddresschallengesinordertoensureitscontinuityforstakeholderengagement.

PacIOOS ‘Voyager’ Tool Improves Decision-Making for Cor-al Reef Managers in the Pacific Islands

Laura Biggs and Melissa Iwamoto, University of Guam Sea Grant Program, Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System

ThePacificIslandsOceanObservingSystem(PacIOOS)offersanew,flexible,interactiveonlinemappingtoolnamed‘Voyager’forcoralreefmanagers.PacIOOSVoyagerallowsoceanuserstodynamicallycombine,view,download,andquerythousandsofdatalayers.Freetothepublic,thispowerful,yeteasy-to-useinterfaceservesasadecision-makingportalthroughoutthePacificIslands.Voyagerallowsadiversityofuserstointeractwithoceanandcoastaldata,whetherrecent,historical,predic-tions,dynamic,orstatic,inamap-basedinterfacethatiscomfortable,understandable,andbuiltuponafamil-iarGoogleproduct.Theabilityofausertointeractwithmanydifferentdatasetsatthesametime,inthesamewindow,makesiteasiertoinformandmakecomplexdecisions.Furthermore,Voyageruserscansavemapsandsharevisualizationstodocumenttheirdecisionmaking,sharetheirresearch,andpreservecustommapsforfutureuseanddistribution.

Voyagerwasdevelopedinresponsetorequestsfromresearchers,agencystaff,andmembersofthepublic.VoyagerhasgrownfromanexperimentalmaptoolfocusedontheHawaiianislandofO‘ahutoaregionalsystemthatprovidesaccesstodozensofterabytesofdataspanningmultipledisciplines,geographies,anddecades.Thispresentationwillhighlightthepowerofthisdatavisualizationtool,availableathttp://pacioos.org/voyager.

BasedwithintheSchoolforOceanandEarthSciencesandTechnologyattheUniversityofHawai‘iatMānoa,PacIOOSisthePacificIslandsregionalcomponentoftheU.S.IntegratedOceanObservingSystem(IOOS®).PacIOOSisapartner¬shipofdataprovidersandusersworkingtogethertoenhanceoceanobservationsanddevelop,disseminate,evaluate,andapplyoceandataandinformationproductsdesignedtoaddresstheenvi-ronmental,economic,andpublicsafetyneedsofstakeholderswhocallthePacificIslandshome.

Adrienne Loerzel, Masters Student, Duke UniversityAdrienneLoerzelrecentlycompletedhermastersdegreeatDukeUniversity’sNicholasSchooloftheEnvironment.ShehasworkedinnaturalresourceeffortsonGuamintheprivatesector,nonprofitcommunityandlocalandfederalgovernmentofficesandiscur-rentlyinvolvedinwatershedrestoration,outreachandcommunityinitiativestosupportcoralconservation.

Marybelle Quinata, Program Coordinator, Guam CCRMPMarybelleQuinataistheprogramcoordinatorfortheGuamCommunityCoralReefMonitoringProgram.SheisoriginallyfromSantaRita,Guam.AftergraduatingfromNotreDameHighSchoolin2006,sheearnedherbachelor’sdegreeinInternationalRela-tionsfromChaminadeUniversityofHonoluluin2010.Quinatahasanextensiveback-groundinservicelearningprojectsthatemphasizecollectivecommunityimprovement.HerexperienceasaninternforCongresswomanMadeleineZ.Bordalloencouragedhertopursuealong-termcareergoalofimprovingGuam’scommunity.TheGuamCommu-nityCoralReefMonitoringProgramisfundedbytheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministrationundertheCoralReefConservationProgram.


Emerging Research


Academic and Aquarium Professionals Join Forces to Save Guam’s Corals: Introducing the Guam SECORE Coral

Spawning Field WorkshopMike McCue, Curator,

UnderWater World Guam

TheideaofSECORE(SExualCOralREproduction)wasbornin2002withtheinnovativecoralbreedingresearchofDr.DirkPetersenattheRotterdamZoo.Dr.Petersenandcolleaguessoughttofacilitatecollaborationbetweencoralscientistsandaquariumprofessionalsinthedevelopmentoftoolsforbreedingandrestoringendangeredcorals.ThisworkoriginallyfocusedontheIUCNRedlistedstaghorn(Acroporacervicornis)andelkhorn(Acro-porapalmata)coralspeciesintheCaribbean.Today,SECOREhasevolvedintooneoftheleadingcoralconser-vationinitiativesofscientistsandaquariumprofessionalsfromaroundtheworld.Aftermorethan10yearsofworkingintheCaribbean,SECOREhasincorporatedasanon-profit,tax-exemptfoundation,andisreadytoexpanditsworkaroundtheworld.TogetherwiththeUniversityofGuam’sMarineLab,UnderwaterWorldGuam,theHenryDoorlyZoo,andthePittsburghZoo&PPGAquarium,SECOREwillhostafieldtrainingworkshopfromJuly25ththroughAugust4th,2013.The2013Workshopwillkick-offamultiyearcoralconservationprogramthatSECOREplanstocarryoutwithlocalandinternationalpartnersinGuam.Thisyear’sworkshopprogramwillincludeworkwithbrood-ingspecies(Pocilloporadamicornis,Leptastreapurpurea)aswellasbroadcastspawningspecies(Acroporaspp.).Gravidcoloniesofthelatterwillbeculturedinflow-throughcultureaquariaattheMarineLab,withgametescol-lectedduringthepredictedspawningnights.Inaddition,coralspawningcanbeobservedbytheparticipantsonthereefduringnightdives.Coralrestorationandbreedingtechniques,coraldiseasesandoutplantingofculturedcoralswillbesubjectsofmini-workshops.Also,UnderWaterWorldwillofferacoralexhibitworkshopwithinitsaquariumfacilities.LecturesfortheparticipantsanddiscussionsessionswillprovidebackgroundknowledgeandinitiatethedialoguetoaddresscoralconservationinGuam.Manyofthelecturesandworkshopactivitieswillbeopentothepublicforobservationandparticipation.ThisworkshopaimstobringtogethergovernmentalagenciesandNGO’s,aswellaslocalandinternationalcoralscientistsandaquariumprofessionalstoworkinthefieldofcoralrestorationandconservation.

The Effect of Taxonomic Inflation on Reef Management and Conservation

Schils T1*, Simeon AE1, Saunders GW2, Leliaert F3

1University of Guam, Marine Laboratory, UOG Station, Mangilao 96923, Guam2University of New Brunswick, Department of Biology, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

3Ghent University, Phycology Research Group, Krijgslaan 281 S8, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumMarinebiodiversityassessmentsareinastateoffluxasgeneticdiversityanalysesrevealthattraditionaltax-onomygreatlyunderestimatesdiversityatvariousspatialscales.Aspositiverelationshipsbetweenbiodiversityandecosystemfunctioningarenowwell-established,accurateestimatesofspeciesdiversityandobjectivetoolstomeasurethisdiversityareessentialtosupportmarinemonitoringprograms.IntheMarianaIslands,marinemacroalgaearethedominantbenthicreeforganismswithredalgaebeingthemostspeciosealgalgroup.Phylo-geographicstudiesoftheecologicallyimportantredalgaeareemployedtoevaluateourcurrentunderstandingofmarinebiodiversityandbiogeographyinMicronesia.DNAbarcodingsurveysoftropicalredalgaerevealahighdegreeofcrypticdiversity.Thediscoveryoflargenumbersofnewspecieswithincreasinglysmalldistribu-tionrangesisconsistentwiththelowdispersalcapacityofredalgaeasdemonstratedbyexperimentalstudiesandstressestheneedforacompletetaxonomicrevisionofmacroalgalflorasinMicronesia.Theexpectedincreaseinbiodiversity,riseinendemismandchangeinfloristic/evolutionaryaffinitiesbetweenMicronesianIslandswillgreatlyaffectnaturalresourcesurveys,habitatequivalencyanalyses,andinvasivespeciesriskassessments.Con-trastingresultsfromtraditionaltaxonomicandgeneticdiversityanalyseswillbeusedtoillustratetheeffectoftaxonomicinflationonreefmanagementstrategiesthatarebeingdevelopedinlightoftheAsia-PacificMilitaryRealignmentandtheMicronesiaBiosecurityPlan.

Tom Schils, Professor, UOG Marine LabTomSchilsisaphycologistattheUniversityofGuamMarineLaboratorywhostudiestheecologicaldiversityofmarinemacroalgaetosupportthedevelopmentofreefmanage-mentandconservationstrategies.

Mike McCue, Curator, UnderWater World GuamBeforeacceptingtheCuratorpositionwithUnderWaterWorldGuamnearly10yearsago,FloridanativeMikeMcCueworkedforseveraldifferentfacilitiesasascubainstructor,aquarist,andunderwatercameraman.Throughhiswork,hehasbeenheavilyinvolvedwithmanyconservationinitiatives,andinanefforttohelpprotectthecoralreefsofGuamheisnowhelpingtoorganizetheSECOREfoundationsfirstprojectinthePacific.


Laura Biggs, Curator, UnderWater World GuamLauraA.Biggs,Ph.D.receivedherPh.D.inPharmacologyandToxicologyfromtheUniversityofUtahinSaltLakeCity,Utahin2009.Sheworkedtodevelopascienceout-reachprogramforgradesK-7.TheLet’sDoScienceprogramwaspilotedintheSaltLakeCitySchoolDistrictandlatermovedtoGuamwithDr.Biggsforincorporationintopublicandprivateschools.Theprogramreachedover3000studentsintwoyears.WhileattheUniversityofUtah,hereffortswererecognizedwhenshereceivedTheWolfPrizefor‘ex-cellenceinteachingandcommitmenttoanacademiccareer.’In2009,Dr.BiggswashiredasAssistantProfessorofExtensionandEducationwithUniversityofGuamSeaGrant.SincethenshehasworkedtocreateaSeaGrantpresenceonGuam.

Symposium Coordinators

PCR Environmental, Inc.Tri-Con Corporation City Hill Company (Guam), LTD

dba: Guam PlazaNIPPO USA, Inc.Pryamid International Corp.

P&S Construction, Inc.Culligan of Guam Global Recycling Center

Sumitomo Mitsui Const. Co. LTD.HSG, Tommy Tanaka, Jr.APEC

This conference was made possible through funding from Guam EPA, American Samoa EPA and the CNMI Division of Environmental Quality.

Special thanks to our conference sponsors:

Pacific Islands Environment ConferenceCoral Symposium - Communications Workshop - Water & Wastewater Symposium - Goodwill Games

Program

2013 coral reef symposium book

Documents

coral reef symposiumjune

governor of guams poc

processandchalle firststewards

department of chamorro

west maui

year perspectivewendy

agenda overviewwelcome