Little Cayman offers hope for coral reefs

ArchiveJun 5, 2020

7 min read

Little Cayman offers hope for coral reefs — AGGRA Surveys 2018

George
Town, Cayman Islands; 6 June 2020
– Little Cayman has successfully been championed to become a
Mission Blue (Sylvia Earle Alliance) “Hope Spot” by the Central
Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) as part of their World Oceans Day
celebrations. The Hope Spot initiative was launched in 2009, and it
now includes some of the world’s most precious ecosystems:

“Hope
Spots are special places that are critical to the health of the ocean
— Earth’s blue heart. Hope Spots are about recognizing,
empowering and supporting individuals and communities around the
world in their efforts to protect the ocean.”

Little
Cayman is being recognized as a Hope Spot because of the high
abundance of threatened and endemic species found there. Just
off the western point of Little Cayman is a site protected by the
Cayman Islands Government that is one of the last remaining large
spawning aggregation sites for the endangered Nassau grouper. Green,
hawksbill and loggerhead sea turtles nest in the hundreds on Little
Cayman’s beaches every year, and the coast is abundant with marine
life, including seven species of sharks.

Little
Cayman’s coral reefs are also a vibrant contributor to the Island’s
rich biodiversity. CCMI’s resilience, restoration and assisted
evolution research efforts examine the features that enable corals to
persist through time, despite changing conditions. This includes
working with staghorn (Acropora
cervicornis)
and elkhorn coral (Acropora
palmata),
both of which are critically endangered following a disease outbreak
and die-off in the 1980s. These coral species are crucial
reef-builders that used to be prevalent throughout the Caribbean, and
they are extremely important to the resiliency of healthy coral
reefs. Little Cayman’s biodiversity both on land and in the ocean
are significant, and CCMI’s scientific discoveries continue to grow
our knowledge of these key ecosystems.

Little
Cayman is also supported by impactful organisations that seek to
identify a more sustainable future, including the Cayman Islands
Department of Environment, the Cayman Islands National Trust, the
Sister Islands Tourism Association (SITA), the Grouper Moon Project
and a host of engaged patrons and stakeholders who reside on Little
Cayman. Conservation legislation of ecologically important species
developed by the Cayman Islands Government, such as the early
adoption of Marine Park Areas (MPAs), no dive zones and specific
species protection policies, has also played a crucial role in
protecting biodiversity locally.

Dr
Carrie Manfrino, CCMI’s founder and president, identified the
positivity regarding Little Cayman’s unique reef health when she
set up the organisation in 1998. “The reefs of Little Cayman are
indicating resilience, and we know healthy reefs lead to healthy
lives. Since
1999, the scientific team at CCMI has completed field expeditions
using the Atlantic & Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol
to get a snapshot of the status of the reefs in the region. Our
results indicate that whilst Little Cayman reefs are not immune to
the impacts of local and global change, they have remained stable
over time and appear to be more resilient than other Caribbean coral
reef systems.”

Survey
results from CCMI’s 1999-2019 AGGRA provide a glimmer of hope on an
otherwise stormy outlook for coral reefs across the globe. What does
a Hope Spot and empirical evidence of a stable coral reef ecosystem
really mean? Simply put, Little Cayman is a unique island that
indicates coral reefs, and therefore the ocean, can be resilient.
Resilience is the key to adapting to changing climate, enabling us to
understand how to sustain reefs systems for the future. Little
Cayman’s reefs therefore create real hope for the future.

Dr
Manfrino has a clear message for everyone this World Oceans Day.
“By protecting
the ocean today, we are protecting the future of humanity. We
can stop the ocean crisis by making a commitment to more
sustainable lifestyles. Make that commitment this 2020 World
Oceans Day - to reduce your impact on the ocean, whether you are a
business, a tourist, or stakeholder. Recognize the changes that you
have made and make them everlasting.”

CCMI invites the public to join CCMI’s virtual World Oceans Day celebrations this year, a part of their “We Need Healthy Reefs” campaign, which includes the launch of the Little Cayman Hope Spot, an underwater photography exhibition and auction, and underwater photography webinars (free to participate; registration is required). A full schedule of World Oceans Day events can be found at https://reefresearch.org/get-involved/events-outreach/world-oceans-day/. CCMI shares the results from their monitoring work with the public via our Healthy Reefs outreach campaigns to improve knowledge and ocean stewardship, which can also be found here: https://reefresearch.org/what-we-do/research/healthy-reefs/

Coral Spawning at CCMI’s Restoration Site (boosting wild coral populations)

2.
Key Findings from the CCMI 2019 Healthy Reef Report

Since
1999, the scientific team at CCMI has completed field expeditions
using the Atlantic & Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol
to get an annual snapshot of the status of the reefs in the region.
Analysis of the trends in AGGRA results since 1999 are as follows:

~ There has
been a gradual decline in coral cover in Little Cayman over the last
20 years, going from circa 24% to 20% coral cover. However, this
change is not statistically significant. The slow rate of decline
indicates that the reefs of Little Cayman are more resilient than
reefs in other parts of the Caribbean where declines were rapid and
reefs have not rebounded from global events.

~ An overall
coral cover of 20% is classified as "good" in terms of reef
health. Over time, the health state in Little Cayman has fluctuated
with an increasing number of sites classified as "poor" and
fewer sites classified as "very good". However, in 2019,
none of the surveyed sites were "poor", and the majority
were either "good" or "good +", indicating a
relatively healthy reef system overall.

~ Our results
show that the composition of the coral community on the reef has
changed over time, from reefs dominated by massive boulder corals,
such as Orbicella
annularis,
to smaller corals such as Agaricia
and Porites.

~ Similar to
coral cover, there was a gradual decline in algal cover over the 20
years, but this difference was not significant. The continued
stability of algal cover, again indicates a healthy reef that has not
yet undergone a phase shift from coral to algae.

~ In terms of
fish communities, we found no significant trend in density or
biomass. Relative to 2018, however, fish biomass and density was
significantly higher in 2019.

~ We found a
significant trend of increasing density of parrotfish over the 20
years. Importantly, parrotfish density was found to positively
correlate with coral cover, indicating that sites with high densities
of parrotfishes have higher percent coral cover. Likewise, overall
algal cover was found to negatively correlate with overall herbivore
density, meaning that sites with higher densities of herbivorous
fishes maintained lower percent cover of macro algae.

~ Results
from 21 years of AGGRA therefore indicate that whilst Little Cayman
reefs are not immune to the impacts of local and global change, they
have remained stable over time and appear to be more resilient than
other Caribbean coral reef systems.

CCMI’s research facility on Little Cayman

3.
ABOUT CCMI

CCMI
is a US 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, a UK registered charity, and a
Cayman Islands registered charity, founded in 1998 to protect the
future of coral reefs.

CCMI
envisions a world with vibrant oceans and healthy coral reef
ecosystems. We seek to be the Caribbean’s premier marine research
institute by delivering cutting edge research, transforming
conservation strategy and developing education programmes of
excellence – discovering and promoting real solutions to declining
ocean health.

Our
plan is to invigorate key species and understand key ocean processes
that drive reef resilience. We support early career scientists who
are INNOVATING
ways to improve coral reef health. We are TRANSFORMING
conservation
strategy and work to inspire the CHANGE that is needed to achieve our
mission. CCMI are PIONEERS
in the region working to reverse the declines of coral reefs.

Contact:
Kholden@reefresearch.org

Website:
www.reefresearch.org

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/reefresearch

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/reefresearch/

Scientific
papers:https://reefresearch.org/publications/ccmi-staff-and-collaborative-scientists/