Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

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  Article

  The coral communities of Mararison Island, Culasi, Antique, Philippines 

  CL Marte & YP Tirol - UPV Journal of Natural Sciences, 2006 - University of the Philippines in the Visayas

  An assessment of the extensive fringing reefs surrounding Mararison lsland, Culasi, Antique was undertaken in 1994 to 1996 and in 1998 to provide scientific basis for management and enhancement of the island s resources as part of the Community Fisheries Resource Management project launched in 1991. The fringing reefs on the northwest side of the island are characterized by high percent coral cover (53-65%) consisting of very diverse coral species. The dominant forms are branching non-Acropora,with numerous small colonies of other coral forms. In contrast, the southeast side of the island fronting the fishing village is depau perate (4.7 -17.6% coral cover) with few small colonies of encrusting and massive corals characteristic of stressed reefs. However, highest coral cover consisting of dense stands of branching Acropora interspersed with branching non-Acropora was observed along the reef slope of Nablag station located at the western end of the island. Coral cover in the offshore reef (Guiob) was relatively fair (24%-46%). A total of 166 scleractinian corals were seen although only few species occurred frequently or provided high percent coral cover. Following the bleaching event of 1998, dramatic decreases (30%-61%) in live coral cover, particularly along the reef slopes, were observed in all stations.
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  Conference paper

  Community-based coral farming for reef rehabilitation, biodiversity conservation and as a livelihood option for fisherfolk 

  T Heeger, FB Sotto, JL Gatus & C Laron - In LMB Garcia (Ed.), Responsible Aquaculture Development in Southeast Asia. Proceedings of the Seminar-Workshop on Aquaculture Development … Southeast Asia organized by the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, 12-14 October 1999, Iloilo City, Philippines, 2001 - SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department

  The present condition of marine resources in the Philippines is critical and a majority of coastal communities live below the poverty line. If it continues, the progressive degradation of coral reefs and overexploitation poses a dangerous trend. Coastal resource management strategies are facing a new challenge: the integration of social, economic and natural sciences in future concepts to reverse the current status of ecosystem destruction and improvement of the people s living conditions. Hence, the primary objective of the coral farm is to provide alternative livelihood to fisher families from their resources on a sustained basis. The second objective is the rehabilitation of degraded reefs. Currently coral colonies of 64 species are taken through fragmentation from the wild. After 6-12 weeks (depending on the species) of grow-out in the farm, the fragments were deployed at the rehabilitation site at an average of 2 fragments per square meter (=12.5% cover). The survival of fragments is high at 84%, despite the fact that some coral colonies were placed in unsuitable substrates by the fisherfolk. More trainings have to be conducted improve their knowledge of coral biology and community structure. The net cost of rehabilitating a one-hectare reef is U$2,100 for 12.5% cover. Additional profit from coral marketing is used for community projects identified by the folk. In this case, coral farming may be an option for livelihood and a cost-effective tool for reef rehabilitation.
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  Article

  Total volume of 3D small patch reefs reflected in aerial photographs can predict total species richness of coral reef damselfish assemblages on a shallow back reef 

  A Hattori & T Shibuno - Ecological Research, 2015 - Springer Verlag

  Because fish have a high dispersal ability, an understanding coral reef fish metacommunity structure is vital for effective conservation. Coral reefs provide patchy habitat of various sizes and scales. We examined the species–area relationship (SAR) of damselfish (Pomacentridae) assemblages over 81 environmentally homogenous patch reefs ranging 0.07–45.4 m² with low coral cover. Patch reefs were located in the shallow back reef (<2.5 m deep) off Ishigaki Island, Japan. Reef area was measured by performing image analysis of enlarged sections of a high-resolution (>1/2500) color aerial photograph used as a fine-scale seascape map. To assess the effects of three-dimensional meso-scale rugosity on species richness, we assumed that all reefs had a cylindrical shape and examined species by volume (area × height) relationships (SVR). Patch reef volume was a better determinant of species richness than area, and the regression functions of SVR provided better estimates of patch reef species richness. Neither the observed SVRs nor SARs, however, could be explained by a random placement model alone. Our results suggest that several small reefs are likely to have higher species richness than a single large reef of equivalent area in the shallow back reef where large patch reefs are flat. Thus, total patch reef volume (area × height) better reflects meso-scale rugosity and is a useful indicator of total species richness relative to the total amount of essential habitat in shallow back reefs.