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In May 1999, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park, in partnership with Canon U.S.A., Inc., the National Park Foundation, the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Park Service began an exciting project to see if we could help nature restore our vital coral reefs. This is the story of that project -
DAMAGED REEFS - A METHOD TO SPEED RECOVERY?
Because of the high level of concern regarding the overall state of coral reefs and the associated reef fishes in the Caribbean and the Virgin Islands in particular, Canon USA, Inc. and the National Park Foundation have generously funded a two year coral reef experiment at Virgin Islands National Park. Researchers with the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Florida Caribbean Science Center, rangers at Virgin Islands National Park and Buck Island Reef National Monument, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park, and volunteers from the local communities will all participate in the project.
Presently, little is known about the survival rate of small coral colonies in the Caribbean. The objective of this project is to document the survival of small coral colonies or fragments which occur in natural communities and those which have been transplanted to other reefs. The results from this project will give us vital information on the natural processes which affect survival of young coral colonies and fragments. The findings will also allow us to determine whether the survival rates of transplanted colonies warrant the costs and time required to transplant “at-risk” fragments to damaged reefs. With the increased incidence of damage to coral reefs and the continuing lack of recovery from damage in the Caribbean region, interest in restoration has heightened. If corals have a low likelihood of survival in an specific environment, can be easily transplanted to a more stable reef site, have a high probability of surviving the transplantation process, and then grow, they may be good candidates for transplanting to a damaged reef.
The Experiment: Three of the fastest growing reef corals in the Caribbean are elkhorn, staghorn and finger corals. Elkhorn and staghorn corals can grow up to several inches per year - very fast for a coral. One of the primary ways these three species colonize other areas is by fragmentation. Powerful waves from winter storms or hurricanes easily break off branches or pieces from coral colonies. The coral fragments tumble around until coming to rest wedged into a crack on a reef or simply lying on the bottom. Specific conditions are necessary for a large fragment to lodge in a crevice on a reef, grow, and eventually cement to the sea-bottom: the bottom must be hard; only small amounts of sediment, which can abrade and smother live coral tissue, can be present; and water movement must be moderate, unless the fragment is well secured against rolling around on the bottom. If the fragment is in very shallow water and/or lying on or surrounded by sand or sediment, the likelihood of it surviving is low.
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Coral is tagged for identification |
Natural communities: Naturally occurring small colonies or fragments of the three species have been measured, photographed and identified with numbered tags. (The highly visible red tags with white numbers mark all the coral colonies being followed in this study.)
Transplanting fragments: Small colonies or live fragments of elkhorn, staghorn and finger corals have been taken from very shallow or sandy areas where the chance for survival was low and attached to the reef at Whistling Cay or at the Trunk Bay underwater trail in Virgin Islands National Park.
Volunteers: Volunteers play a key role in the project. Using Canon digital still cameras in underwater housings, trained volunteers monitor on a monthly basis the survival of transplanted fragments and naturally occurring small colonies and document the presence of disease and coral predators (such as voracious snails). The local non-governmental organization, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park, which administers the grant, coordinates volunteer involvement including recruitment, scheduling and training of volunteers.
 Some of our volunteers who regularly dive to photograph the coral transplants. |
Education:
VINP interpretation: Underwater signs will be placed on the underwater trails at Virgin Islands National Park and Buck Island Reef National Monument, to interpret the project and explain the causes of damage to reefs. National Park interpretive rangers will discuss the project and damage to reefs during snorkel tours.
Underwater video: An underwater video on the project, produced by William Stelzer Design, will be shown on local television, at Trunk Bay (St. John) and in local schools.
Websites: The project is highlighted in the National Park Foundation and Friends of Virgin Islands National Park websites.
Assessment:
After photographing and measuring colony size every six
months for two years, scientists and park managers will assess
the results of the project. Was the survival of transplanted
colonies high enough to justify the financial cost and time
required to find and temporarily transplant “at-risk”
colonies to more stable “nursery” areas from which they
would eventually be permanently transplanted to initiate recovery
on recently damaged reefs?
If successful, this resource management technique would be suitable for use in cases of severe damage (as in large vessel groundings), but not as a panacea for restoring all degraded reefs. A damaged reef can never be truly restored. We must take care of our coral reefs - for ourselves, future generations of visitors, and for the hundreds of thousands of animals and plants which live within the reef.
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