March Update - Philippine Marine Project
Added to website: 31 March 2005
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 Surveys
Our baseline surveying programme is designed to gather data about the biological and morphological standing of Sogod Bay. These data are combined with information on human and natural impacts on the reefs, along with oceanographic data, to ultimately produce a Geographical Information System ‘map’ of the various habitats of the bay. It is like a ‘stock-take’ of the current marine resources, which is being produced to provide policymakers and concerned institutions with information necessary to effectively manage those resources. To date, the northern end of Sogod Bay has been surveyed, and the remainder of the project will concentrate on the south and Limasawa Island. If you would like more information on our surveying rationale or methodology, please don’t hesitate to contact our Project Scientist.
Number of transects surveyed this month
Transects B0317C, B0317D, B0317E, B0501G, B0505D (complete), B0507C, B0507D, B0507E, B0508A, B0508B.
Marine Protected Area Database
One of the inherent drawbacks in scientific data gathering is that differing methods are used by various individuals and organisations to achieve specific aims. This means that the results are often not comparable. To get around this problem, a common method for the gathering of data about the Marine Protected Areas of the Philippines has been proposed under the auspices of the Marine Protected Areas Project (www.coast.ph). A database has been created to collect all of this information to allow the various sites to be evaluated relative to each other and to provide a ‘yardstick’ for the monitoring of progress. The database is managed by the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation (formerly known as the Sulu Fund), and currently has over 90 participating MPAs from around the country. Coral Cay is keen to encourage this monitoring program in the nascent MPAs of Padre Burgos Municipality, as there are currently no MPAs from Southern Leyte involved in the project. The first biological surveys have just been conducted in 3 of these MPAs, with the fourth timetabled for April.
Reef Check
Based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), ReefCheck is the name of both the world’s largest coral reef monitoring network and of the common methodology used, allowing the comparison of results from various locations worldwide. Although less detailed than CCC’s baseline surveys, the ReefCheck method is effective for monitoring changes in reef health over time. In order to do this, we mark the survey ‘transect’ with metal stakes, to ensure that repeat surveys are in the same place each time. These stakes are sited in rock, dead coral or sand for minimal disruption of the fragile reef system. CCC is proud to be a major contributing member of ReefCheck. Check out their site at www.ReefCheck.org
A new series of Reef Checks has just been started, and with the increasing number of volunteers due to arrive over the next few months, we have scheduled a comprehensive surveying programme around our local reefs. It is apparent that the coral cover in the waters of Southern Leyte is, in places, exceptional but as yet we have no way of accurately quantifying this. The Reef Check method will allow us to do exactly that, and it is felt that Southern Leyte deserves to stand up on the international stage and take a bow. Early results are encouraging, with 75% hard coral cover being recorded at the very first survey site.
Interesting / Unusual Sightings
The Crown-of-Thorns Seastar (COTS) outbreak that has befallen Limasawa has been quite a shock to all involved. Despite the enormous amount of international funding invested in the study of these organisms, their peculiar habits make them extremely difficult to conduct research on and thus little is known about them. According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (www.aims.gov.au), physical removal of the COTS from the immediate reef area is one of the few strategies to have any impact on an outbreak, and even this can only have a very localised effect. Although the immediate future is bleak for much of the corals of eastern Limasawa, the healthy coral cover remaining around Sogod Bay will hopefully provide enough larvae to allow re-colonisation of the area as long as these areas are not the next destination of the COTS.
Environmental Awareness
Our Project Scientist made an ‘appearance’ on local radio to discuss the COTS issue and provide whatever knowledge he could to the public about the issue and the organisms themselves.
CCC International News
At the invitation of a sub-committee of the Royal Thai Government, a team of scientists from Coral Cay conducted an assessment of the impacts of the December 26th tsunami on the coral reefs of Mu Ko Surin Marine National Park in Thailand. Despite the heavy coral damage that has been sustained in other areas of the country, these islands were relatively unscathed, with only 18% of the coral being damaged by the tsunami event. As these coral reefs of these islands had been declared the “Best in Thailand”, this was a small piece of good news in a country so badly affected overall. It is hoped that ocean currents from this island group may transport coral larvae to repopulate may of the badly damaged reefs, thus rehabilitating some of the fishing grounds on which many of the local communities depend for their livelihoods.
