INVESTIGATING REEFS AND MARINE WILDLIFE IN THE BAHAMAS 2015 FIELD REPORT Amazon Riverboat Exploration 2012 FIELD REPORT 1
Investigating Reefs and Marine Wildlife in The Bahamas 2015 FIELD REPORT Background Information LEAD PI: Alastair Harborne REPORT COMPLETED BY (NAME): Alastair Harborne PERIOD COVERED BY THIS REPORT: June 2015 October 2015
Phone: 1-800-776-0188 Web: earthwatch.org facebook.com/earthwatch twitter.com/earthwatch_org Dear Volunteers, We have now completed the final fieldwork of this project, with teams going into the field at CEI during the summer of 2015. Following the completion of the field phase of the project, on behalf of all the project scientists and field team leaders, I would like to thank you all for supporting the project. All the teams were very successful, and our knowledge about the mangroves and patch reefs of Eleuthera continues to grow. The patch reefs continue to surprise us in terms of how different they can be as we move around the study area. Teams during the summer 2015 field season worked on a variety of projects, including revisiting some patch reefs that were known to be important grunt nurseries from earlier surveys to see if this pattern is stable over time. Thanks for counting all those small fishes! The database is now complete with 203 individual patch reefs, and 242 reefs in total, along with a range of ancillary data. Furthermore, we have data on all the major mangrove areas around Rock Sound. We can certainly claim to have undertaken a thorough assessment of the area!the focus of the project is now on analyzing all the data that you have collected, in order to understand the ecology of the area and to help make management recommendations. These analyses are now underway, and all the pieces are being assembled. In addition to the database of fishes, I have been able to generate a habitat map of the area from satellite data. This is important for understanding the habitat surrounding each patch reef, which may influence the fish we see during surveys.furthermore, we have now completed analyzing all the video data collected on coral and algal cover on each reef. This was a major bottleneck to being able to link together all the data collected by the project, and we are now able to move ahead with the analysis phase of the project. This should lead to some exciting results to share over the next six months. We were also delighted to be able to continue to have Bahamian community fellows participate on the teams. We hope that they enjoyed their Earthwatch experience, and that they continue to take an interest in marine biology and conservation in The Bahamas. They certainly gave the other volunteers a new perspective on Bahamian life, conservation, and culture. Thanks to everyone for a great field season, and I look forward to keeping you up to date in the future. Regards, Dr Alastair Harborne University of Queensland
SECTION ONE: Scientific research achievements TOP HIGHLIGHT FROM THE PAST SEASON Although we have not analysed the full data set, preliminary analyses of the patch reef surveys have shown some intriguing patterns. A key aim of the project is to establish the most important characteristics of a patch reef that makes it a good nursery. Does it need to be close to mangroves where fish settle and grow, have good coral cover or few predators? The initial analyses suggest that all of these factors are important for species such as grunts that use nurseries, but that proximity to mangroves is of primary importance. However, not all the mangroves are equally important. For example, for a couple of species of grunts, the mangroves close to the airport seem to be very important. This is important because these mangroves are not currently included in draft plans for the marine protected area. Furthermore, it suggests that clearing mangroves may be more important at least for some fish species - than losing coral cover from bleaching events. REPORTING AGAINST RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Objective 1: Mangrove surveys During summer 2015, data collection focused on the patch reefs, as we have data from all the known mangrove areas that support fish around Rock Sound. We have also established a collaboration with researchers at CEI to use their seine data, which catches many of the bigger fishes exiting the creeks, which will be important data to understand the ecology of each site. The mangrove data will be analysed in 2015 to assess the relative importance of each creek and mangrove area as a nursery, and how they affect fish populations on the patch reefs. Figure 1. Map of the nine mangrove sites surveyed by the project.
Objective 2: Patch reef surveys As for mangrove surveys, patch reef work has continued during the 4 teams that have gone into the field. The database has continued to expand, with 203 individual reefs surveyed (Figure 2). During the summer of 2015, we revisited many reefs that were thought to be important nurseries for grunts and a matching series of sites that had few grunts in order to examine the temporal stability of juvenile grunt populations on the reefs. Figure 2. Map of the 203 patch reefs surveyed by the project. During 2015 I have also developed a draft habitat map of the area, which is important for understanding the habitat types surrounding each patch reef (Figure 3). This map will also be important for other researchers at CEI.
Figure 3. Draft habitat map of Rock Sound. Light green, green, and dark green show the different densities of seagrass, blue is areas rich in gorgonians, and orange is hard-bottom with algae. Some preliminary analyses of the data has commenced, and will continue in 2015 once the video quadrats have been analysed. However, the preliminary analysis has provided insights into the ecology of some speciesthis understanding is critical for management. Training of volunteers has continued to be successful, with volunteers able to learn how to accurately identify, count and size fishes. Summarising volunteer data accuracy will be included in the publication describing the abundance of fishes on the patch reefs. We have also completed watching the video of transient predators (e.g. jacks and barracuda) visiting patch reefs, and have now submitted a paper documenting the results the Journal of Fish Biology. These results will also be used to interpret fish population data of other species on the patch reefs.
Objective 3: Sub-lethal changes to parrotfish behaviors (aquaria) Progress with this experiment was reported previously. A manuscript has now been submitted to the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes. Objective 4: Sub-lethal changes to parrotfish behaviors (patch reefs) We have made limited progress with this objective, but have collected some pilot data during 2015. It is hoped that CEI researchers will continue to collect data for this part of the project.
SECTION TWO: Impacts The information you provide in this section will be used to help Earthwatch understand the achievements accomplished through the projects we support. Earthwatch has identified 12 Measures of Success (MoS) to express achievements across the diverse portfolio of projects we support; details can be found in the questions below. Please report against each of these Measures of Success for the past fielding year. Your project may not address all MoS, but we are looking for reasonable progress against a significant number of them. Please be as specific as possible with the information you provide. 1. INCREASING SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE MoS 1.2 Peer Reviewed Publications Paper in review at Environmental Biology of Fishes (Earthwatch acknowledged): Non-consumptive effects of native and invasive predators on juvenile Caribbean parrotfish L. Eaton, K. A. Sloman, L. Eaton, R. W. Wilson, A. B. Gill and A. R. Harborne Paper in review at Journal of Fish Biology (Earthwatch acknowledged): Environmental drivers of diurnal visits by transient predatory fishes to Caribbean patch reefs R. Harborne, J. D. Selwyn, J. M. Lawson, and M. Gallo MoS 1.3 Grey Literature and Other Dissemination of Your Results Previous facilitators Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop and Aoise Tutty compiled two films documenting the project. These can be seen at: https://vimeo.com/102834661and https://vimeo.com/102834663 2. DEVELOPING ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS MoS 2.1 Education The project has now supported 14 Bahamian research fellows, who participated as full volunteers within the team. These fellows have all been very complimentary about the project, and I believe that it will increase their interest in marine conservation and the chances of them becoming environmental leaders in The Bahamas. The scientific training and survey work undertaken by the volunteers, particularly the teen teams, has helped them understand reef ecology, threats to reef health, the process of scientific research and the need for data to better inform reef conservation. The groups have also been exposed to the sustainable lifestyle possibilities that are actively encouraged at CEI. 3. PARTNERSHIPS MoS 3.1 Organizations Actively Engaged The project is a partnership between the University of Exeter, the University of Queensland, the University of the West of Scotland and the University of Cranfield. These universities support the time of the PIs, and the University of Exeter is managing funds for the project. Field Team Leaders have been provided by the University of Exeter and the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI).Bahamian research fellows have been identified through links between CEI and local schools.
4. CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLICIES OR MANAGEMENT PLANS MoS 4.1 Informing Policies or Management Plans International Policies or Management Plans: NONE AT THIS STAGE National or Regional Policies or Management Plans: NONE AT THIS STAGE Local Policies or Management Plans: None at this stage MoS 4.2 Actions or activities that enhance natural and/or social capital One of the aims of the research is to aid more effective conservation planning in the area, leading to more sustainable catches for local fisherfolk. 5. ENHANCING NATURAL AND SOCIO-CULTURAL CAPITAL MoS 5.1 Conservation of Taxa We have data on every species of coral and fish on each of >200 patch reefs 1) Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus 2) Regionally threatened, IUCN Red List 'Endangered' 3) Project aims to better understand the habitat preferences of sub-adults, and links to juvenile nursery areas. MoS 5.2 Conservation of Habitats 1) Mangrove and coral patch reefs. 2) By highlighting key mangrove creeks and patch reefs we aim to have them included in a marine reserve, so maintaining (or possibly improving) their ecological state. 3) Area currently unknown. 4) Ecological state previous poorly documented. MoS 5.3 Conservation of Ecosystem Services The key ecosystem service that should be maintained, and potentially restored, by recommendations from this project is capture fisheries. One of the focal species of the project is a critically important fishery species (Nassau grouper). While this species is relatively rarely fished in mangroves or on patch reefs, their role as a nursery means that they are vitally important in the life cycle and population dynamics of this grouper, and hence the catchable adults on forereefs. This is also true for other species including snappers and grunts.in addition the project will highlight the need to conserve both mangroves and patch reefs that also provide the ecosystem services of sand production (from fishes and calcareous benthic organisms), shoreline protection (mangroves), and recreation / ecotourism (snorkelling and diving on reefs). MoS 5.4 Conservation of Cultural Heritage The archipelagic nature of The Bahamas means that local communities have strong connections and, therefore, recommendations leading to conservation of coral reef seascapes will maintain this general cultural heritage. MoS 5.5 Impacting Local Livelihoods A key project aim is to provide recommendations for the conservation of nursery habitats and, therefore, increase the abundances of many fish species that will include those that are economically important for fisheries. Such increases in abundances can lead to higher and more consistent catches for fisherfolk, an important livelihood in The Bahamas. The establishment of a marine reserve on Eleuthera (guided by project recommendations) also has the potential to provide new livelihoods to members of the local community (wardens, dive guides, accommodation of tourists).
SECTION THREE: Acknowledgements, Funding and Appendices The project was supported by all the partner universities providing facilities to the PIs. The University of Exeter is also managing UK funds for the project. CEI also provides discounted rates for EW groups. In addition, CEI was increasingly central as they become the lead group for this project from June 2015. This increased role for scientists at the study site increases the chances of the project becoming sustainable in the longer term. Currently the project is 100% reliant on Earthwatch funds for in field expenses. It is also anticipated that once results are available, this may lead to further proposals to other funding agencies. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Earthwatch for funding the project, and the enthusiasm and hard work of the volunteers. We would also like to thank the funders who allowed the Bahamian research fellows to join the teams.
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