Expedition Akumal. Coral Reef Restoration. Summary Report 2016 by Jenny Mallon

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1 Expeditin Akumal Cral Reef Restratin Summary Reprt 2016 by Jenny Malln

2 This year I celebrated my secnd year crdinating the Cral Restratin Prgram. I am hpeful fr the future f the reefs f Akumal and will cntinue t cntribute t the prject as it grws. Our prject is an example f what can be achieved when a lcal business invests in cnservatin. One f the jys f cmpiling this reprt was reflecting upn the advances that we have made this year, and being grateful fr all that was accmplished. I hpe that yu enjy reading it! Jenny Malln, Crdinatr, Cral Nurseries Back in August 2014, installed the first line nurseries in Akumal, with sme 35 fragments f pprtunity fund n the sea bed. Thrugh 2 years f careful maintenance we have seen them flurish, and are pleased t share ur recent develpments: We installed new line nurseries at ur sites and prpagated 250 new fragments. The secnd and third generatin fragments are healthy and strng. Early bservatins suggest that the fish ppulatin has been helping us ut with keeping the nursery lines clean frm algal build up. We are slwing ur cleaning regime dwn frm weekly t mnthly cleaning dives. Thrugh experimenting with different techniques we fund that cable ties are still the strngest cmpetitrs when it cmes t hlding bigger fragments t the line nurseries, whilst using mnfilament t attach smaller fragments allws fr mre crals t be attached t the nursery. Our trials shw that clipping the nursery fragments did nt cause any mrtality when at least apprx. 30% is f the riginal fragment is left intact. Outreach and Training 2016 has been a year f building bridges and wrking with ther researchers and the lcal and internatinal cmmunity t share the wrk f Expeditin Akumal with a glbal netwrk f cral reef prjects. Develping knwledge in this yung science imprves ur understanding and efficiency. We wrk with lcal businesses and dive prfessinals t raise awareness f cnservatin issues. Errr! N text f specified style in dcument. 1

3 Transplanting Crals nt the Reef Wrking clsely with Oceanus A.C, we were authrized t begin ut-planting ur cral clnies frm the nurseries nt the reef. Cmparing methdlgies is the first stage in this prcess, as we have a unique set f envirnmental cnditins and dnr ppulatins here in Akumal. Wrking with Staghrn cral at depths f 12 18m makes ur prject different frm many thers, and adds t ur ptential t make sme interesting discveries abut this species and it s recvery n the Caribbean reefs. Last mnth ur team assisted Oceanus t trim the nursery lines and transplant 75 cral fragments nt the reef crest f Akumal. We als emplyed their cement bases fr 45 transplants at nursery site 2 and installed a light / temperature sensr next t the fragments. Pht 1: Clnies frm nursery site 2 transplanted nt the reef crest. Pht credit: Lena Kustra Experimenting with Nvel Techniques Trying ut different methdlgies, we attached 45 nursery-reared clnies t the reef substrate at site 1, and 15 clusters at site 2. These fragments fused t the reef ver the first few weeks f attachment. Frm these preliminary studies, we bserved that there is variability in the time it takes fr fragments t attach t the reef, and we are setting up experiments t test ut which factrs (e.g light, substrate cnditin, fragment size) are having the mst effect n ur cral transplants. In autumn f 2016 we were given permits t prceed with upscaling the prject, thanks t the supprt f Oceanus A.C and CONANP wh included ur wrk in Akumal in their natin-wide reef restratin plan, and nw we are able t begin testing ur theries n where and hw t transplant ur crals. We want t maximize efficiency, survival and health f the cral cmmunity, whilst maintaining the eclgical and scientific integrity f ur wrk. Errr! N text f specified style in dcument. 2

4 Fr the mment, we are cllecting data n ur initial ut-plants, and the results lk gd s far. We will keep up with ur pht database and rigrus data cllectin f ur transplanted crals, with results expected mid Cmmunicatins During 2016 we have develped ur capacity t share ur wrk: Maintaining the Yutube channel, by publishing weekly vides f ur underwater wrk. Thmas Vgt, ur underwater videgrapher, dcuments ur wrk in his vides and assists with data cllectin using bth vide and pht. By publishing phts, research updates, and sharing relevant articles n Facebk, we dubled ur number f page fllwers. Thrugh netwrking nline and in persn, we gained internatinal recgnitin fr ur wrk This year we began ur newsletter mailing list Updated the website regularly Wrte blg psts and featured guest writers Presented ur wrk at the Ll-Ha restaurant in Akumal and t grups f university, high schl students, researchers, the Rtary Club, the University f Mexic, and visitrs t the Htel Akumal Caribe. Training In Nvember 2016 the team cmpleted mdule 1 f the Oceanus A.C cral restratin training wrkshp, hsted by the Htel Akumal Caribe. Our vlunteers learnt abut cral bilgy and reprductin, the wrk f Oceanus in ther areas f Mexic, and cmpleted the practical exercises f ut-planting using Oceanus prtcl. Back in August, I tk sme time ff f t take part in training with Secre Internatinal, wh are wrld leaders in using cral sexual reprductins t imprve resilience n cral reefs. The wrkshp taught me abut their grund-breaking research n cral restratin and hw t incrprate this int the reef restratin f Akumal. In May 2016, the Healthy Reefs Initiative rganized a training prgram with the Centr Eclgic Akumal fr marine cnservatin leaders in the mesamerican reef area. They kindly allwed me t jin the prgram, which has helped me t develp my skills fr mnitring ur sites. Thrughut 2016 I develped and delivered cral reef eclgy and species identificatin training sessins fr vlunteers wh will help with data cllectin. This will imprve ur accuracy and efficiency f mnitring the transplanted crals and surrunding reef area in the cming years. Errr! N text f specified style in dcument. 3

5 Vlunteer Prgram is a nn-prfit initiative which depends n vlunteers fr the underwater nursery installatin, maintenance and data cllectin. Vlunteers give their time, and in return are able t learn abut cral restratin and benefit frm free dives and training. The skills learnt here can be transferred t ther marine cnservatin prgrams wrldwide. Expanding ur vlunteering prgram t include snrkelers and full-time interns has been my persnal highlight f the year, as it is very rewarding t teach and share knwledge with enthusiastic early-career scientists. This year we had 2 full-time interns, ne f whm cmpleted her Dive Master curse with us. We als had sme new vlunteers jin the team. We still miss Matt, ur phtgrapher f 2 years, wh mved t the UK with his wife and yung family. Staff at the Akumal Dive Center are getting invlved in the underwater wrk when they have time, building upn ur cmmunity utreach and raising awareness. We are especially thankful fr the cntinual supprt f their wnderful captains getting us safely t and frm ur sites. Snrkeling in the bay t check n ur reef crest ut-plants is a new activity n ur vlunteer prgram, which allws fr nndivers t get invlved t. Check ut ur latest blg pst t find ut mre abut the snrkel prgram. Vlunteers f 2016 A special thank yu t ur vlunteer team, wh dnate their free time t the cnservatin and restratin f Akumals reefs: Allysn, Analie, Betsy, Ivan, Jamar, Jim, Juan Carls, Natalie, Laura, Lena, Lupita, Maddie, Martha, Matt, Michelle, Owen, Sara, Sev, Shaleh, Suzanne, Thmas We are always interested in taking n new vlunteers wh can cmmit t regular time slts, especially thse with marine bilgy backgrund r relevant experience in areas such as cmmunicatin f science. If yu wuld like mre infrmatin, please yur CV t expeditin.akumal@gmail.cm Dnatins This year we received sme wnderful dnatins frm ur vlunteers and spnsrs: - Scuba equipment, - Hard drive, - Underwater camera, - Underwater slates, - Materials fr cleaning the nurseries - Mesh bags fr ur divers equipment - Temperature sensr - Water quality testing kit - Clippers fr cral, cement bases - Species Identificatin bks Errr! N text f specified style in dcument. 4

6 Hw t Get Invlved If getting invlved with Expeditin Akumal is n yur reslutins list fr 2017, the first step is t get t knw ur wrk and get in tuch. Yu can d this by replying t the newsletter, via ur cntact us frm n the website, subscribe t ur YuTube channel, Like ur Facebk Page, Send an t r make an appintment t visit the Science Office in the Htel Akumal Caribe. Lking frward t 2017 During the first few mnths f 2017 we will be cnducting pilt studies t strategically plan the upscaling f ur cral restratin prject. We will test hypthesis n the best areas t transplants crals t, the specific bjectives f ur wrk, and the mst successful techniques fr lng-term recvery f Akumal s reefs. Using these findings, we will then have the backgrund infrmatin t plan the upscaling f the reef restratin wrk here in Akumal. Our aim is t cmplete ur first large-scale ut-planting befre the ht weather and strms arrive, and s that the crals have the best chance f survival pssible. Our results will be published nline, but in the meantime, yu can keep up t date n ur prgress n scial media, ur blg, and by signing up fr ur newsletter. Thank yu fr reading, and a Happy New Year t all f s vlunteer team and supprters. Thank Yu t ur Spnsrs