SECORE (SExual COral REproduction) International arrived at the Cape Eleuthera Institute last month for a week of research focused on coral spawning. SECORE is a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration of coral reefs using wild coral spawn, lab-based fertilization and breeding techniques and outplanting methods. Led by Dr. Dirk Peterson (founder and CEO), Christoph Haacke (BioDivers, Germany), Mark Schick (Shedd Aquarium, USA), and Mitch Carl (Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, USA), the SECORE team believes that in order to rehabilitate degraded reefs, increasing coral survival, diversity and abundance through lab-based breeding techniques is essential. Dr. Peterson began his innovative coral breeding techniques in 2002 by fertilizing coral spawn and raising larvae in a lab. The coral restoration community took notice of his successes, and SECORE has since led projects in locations such as Guam, Mexico, Curaçao, and The Philippines. With reversing the decline of coral reefs a national priority in The Bahamas, SECORE aims to bring its expertise here to Eleuthera, in partnership with CEI, to help with rehabilitation and restoration efforts.

The focus of SECORE’s work in Eleuthera is Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), a critically endangered species. Elkhorn coral spawning has rarely been documented in The Bahamas, but is known to occur elsewhere in the Caribbean after sunset, during the days following August full moons. As the week-long workshop began, SECORE aimed its efforts on diving after sunset in high-density areas of Elkhorn coral in hopes of not only documenting the exact timing of the annual spawning event, but also collecting egg and sperm for fertilization back in the lab. To the group’s delight, the timing was perfect. SECORE and CEI documented Elkhorn coral spawning in Eleuthera for the first time! In addition, SECORE collected approximately one to two hundred thousand eggs from four different coral colonies that spawned simultaneously.

To ensure ample genetic diversity among corals fertilized in the lab, SECORE collects eggs and sperm from multiple Elkhorn coral  colonies. This diversity is  essential for the survival of this endangered species, which can be threatened by a genetic bottleneck as populations decline. Once SECORE induced fertilization, larvae were placed in a breeding chamber for development. Live rock similar to that upon which wild coral larvae attach on natural reefs was introduced to the tanks, allowing lab-reared corals to become established as would their wild counterparts. CEI’s and SECORE’s collaborative goal is to give juvenile corals a head-start by providing a predator-free, controlled environment where survival is enhanced during critical early growth stages. Once juveniles have survived in the lab beyond those critical early stages, they will be strategically out-planted onto local reefs in an effort to rehabilitate areas where Elkhorn corals are in decline.

Many thanks to SECORE International for educating scientists, students and conservationists on site during the visit, and for its continued work to rehabilitate populations of essential, reef-building corals not only in Eleuthera, but throughout the Caribbean.

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On August 20^th, Dr. Craig Dahlgren from The Perry Institute for Marine Science Laboratory arrived at CEI along with more than 20 scientists and conservationists from around the Bahamas and United States to  learn how to conduct reef surveys.  The protocols focused on those developed for Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA). Formed in 1998, AGRRA assesses key attributes of coral reefs in the Caribbean using a standardized protocol leading to valuable regional surveys of coral reef health in an online database. AGRRA surveys incorporate coral, benthic and fish species. For this workshop participants were trained in either coral or benthic surveying, in order for each surveyor to be properly specialized, resulting in the highest quality data.

Data collected during AGRRA surveys is used to create Coral Reef Report Cards. Eleutheran reefs have never been surveyed using AGRRA protocols and therefore there has been a knowledge gap for this area.  Some of the workshop participants were already AGRRA certified and conducted official surveys around South Eleuthera right away, while others began the training needed to conduct the surveys, led by Dr. Dahlgren.

The week-long training included diving and practicing survey methods out on the reefs as well as classroom time learning and identifying species of coral and algae. Members of CEI were also included in the training in order for AGRRA surveys to be carried out all around Eleuthera in the future to fill knowledge gaps and help advise marine resource management decision-making.

Participants involved in the surveying and training included members from The Bahamas National Trust, Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), The Nature Conservancy, The Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology Commission, Disney Conservation Fund, , Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas, Perry Institute for Marine Science, Atlantis, Ocean Crest Alliance, , Greenforce, Forfar Field Station, and Young Marine Explorers. After a busy week everyone was an official AGRRA surveyor and many surveys had already been conducted on the nearby reefs!

Stay tuned to hear more about the workshop conducted by SECORE International involving these participants that combined with their AGRRA training during the week.

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Over the course of six weeks, Natasha Webbe of the University of Leeds, a student representing Operation Wallacea, has been working with the Cape Eleuthera Institute to study the success of the coral nursery set up in Cape Eleuthera. This will be determined by studying staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) and fused staghorn coral (Acropora prolifera) growth rates in relation to the environmental conditions surrounding the coral restoration nursery installed near CEI in March 2014 in collaboration with the University of Miami.

Coral reefs are extremely important worldwide as the most biologically diverse ecosystem, providing essential goods and services. The Bahamas, in particular, are dependant upon coral reefs to support their fishing industry through the habitats they provide. Acropora cervicornis is a major coral reef building species however have been classified as critically endangered by IUCN’s red list, therefore, conservation efforts are crucial to re-establishing healthy coral reefs around Eleuthera, The Bahamas, and the Wider Caribbean.

This project consists of measuring each coral fragment growing in the nursery and conducting data analysis on three years’ worth of data to assess growth rates at different depths of the tree and during different seasons of the year. Complexity will also be studied as fragments with higher complexity may be more beneficial for transplantation, aiding the outplanting success in the long term. Fragments are vulnerable to thermal stress due to climate change causing bleaching and the overgrowth of algae. Therefore, using an index, bleaching and algae have been recorded and can be compared with previous data to establish any significant correlations with the time of year or environmental conditions. Additional observations are recorded, such as,  Domecia acanthophora crabs which are known as the ‘Elkhorn crab’ and are good for coral nurseries. Water samples have also been taken to analyse pH and salinity as well as having recorded temperature on site to see whether any of these variables are affecting growth rates.

This research will form the basis of Natasha’s undergraduate dissertation aiming to determine any relationships between A. cervicornis and A. prolifera growth rates and their environment in the nursery. This can establish their optimum growth conditions to further improve the coral nursery as a restoration method.

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