Project update - Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (Philippines) - January 2004
Added to website: 01 January 2004
Project Brief
Aim
The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project is a three-year collaborative project (2002-2005), to survey the coral reefs of Sogod Bay. The programme provides training and conservation education opportunities for local Filipinos, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout the region.
Location
Sogod Bay, Southern Leyte, South-Eastern Philippines.
CCC Partners
CCC is working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte and the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc (PRRCFI).
Marine Science Programme
Baseline and Reef Check surveys restarted out in a number of sectors. Sector 9 is nearly complete, with work due to start on Sector 12 next month. A quadrat survey series was completed in Secret Garden to gauge benthic sedimentation levels. Sediment traps were collected and replaced at Liloan Fish Sanctuary. New traps were put down at Secret Garden to replace the old ones lost during the rainy season.
Interesting / Unusual Sightings
After the torrential rainstorms of November and December, the weather finally broke this month and allowed survey diving to begin again towards the end of the month. The huge volume of rain had washed great quantities of sediment into Sogod Bay, increasing the pressure on the coral reef ecosystem. In response to the inflow, we undertook a programme to assess the level of change caused by the sedimentation. This included repeating a series of benthic quadrat surveys to gauge the sediment coverage and depth in areas that had been surveyed prior to the rains, as well as repeating our local Reef Check surveys.
The quadrat surveys showed heavy benthic sedimentation of up to 5cm depth in some areas, with a significant amount of recently killed coral being observed. As was predictable, foliose (“leaf” shaped) coral life forms such as those adopted by some of the Turbinaria species were hardest hit, their shape causing them to act like a collecting tray for the settling sediment. This clogs the tentacular feeding mechanism with which many corals obtain up to 20% of their energy requirements.
