Namdrik Marine Resource Assessment - UOGML-CMI-MIMRA - 2014

8/12/2019 Namdrik Marine Resource Assessment - UOGML-CMI-MIMRA - 2014

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Contents 258

1319

22

Introduction and Background

Coral-Reef Assessment Protocols

Comparisons among Different Atolls

Namdrik Atoll Marine Resources

Namdrik Atoll Coral-Reef Ecosystem Condition

Conclusions and Recommendations

Funding for this project was provided through a grant from the CargillFoundation administered to the Micronesian Conservation Trust, andawarded through a small-grants program to the College of the MarshallIslands. The authors and team members are especially grateful toNamdrik Senator Mattlan Zackhras and Mayor Clarence Luther, whoprovided organizational and logistic support. In addition, Namdrikresidents and ishermen provided boat and logistical support to make

this project a success. Last, the Marshall Islands Marine ResourcesAuthority contributed numerous scientiic divers and interns tofacilitate data collection efforts. Kommol tata to all.

FIELD SURVEY TEAM AND CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS:*1,2Peter Houk, 1David Benavente, 1Matthew McLean, 1Rodney Camacho, 4Jessie Capelle, 4Melvin Silk, 4MelbaWhite, 3Dean Jacobson, 3Don Hess

*1University of Guam Marine Laboratory, UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam. 96923; 2Paciic Marine ResourcesInstitute, Saipan, MP. 96950; 3College of the Marshall Islands, Majuro, RMI. 96960; 4Marshall Islands MarineResources Authority, Majuro, RMI. 96960

*Corresponding author email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Acknowledgements


3/243Namdrik Atoll Coral-Reef Resources Monitoring Assessment

Namdrik Atoll is situated along the chainof atolls that comprises the westernMarshall Islands, known as the RalikChain (Figure 1). The atoll consists oftwo islands, Namdrik (south part of the

atoll) and Madmad (north). The main community issituated on the southwestern part of Namdrik wherea freshwater lens exists. Presently, the communityrelies heavily upon their marine resources forsubsistence, but also income generation to a lesserextent. However, the main source of income continues

to be copra production and handicraft sales to thepopulation centers of Kwajalein and Majuro.

Like all RMI atolls, the Namdrik local governmenthas a mandate to manage and protect their marineresources within 5 miles of the atoll (MIMRA Act,1997). The Iroij, Iroij-drik ro, Alaps and dri-jerbalplay key roles in advising the local council on all

Figure 1. Bathymetric map of the Marshall Islands and Namdrik (white square).

Lighter colors indicate shallow waters associated with the atolls.

INTRODUCTIONand background

issues related to the economicdevelopment and the well-beings of the atoll residents.However, the mayor and

senator of Namdrik have a morehands-on roles in improvingthe standard of living forNamdrik community, and thus,continuously seek informationneeded to effectively manageboth their marine andterrestrial resources.

Since 2002, coral-reef surveysand community consultationswith the Marshall IslandsMarine Resources Authority(MIMRA), the College of theMarshall Islands (CMI), andother associated partners havebeen taking place throughthe Reimaanlok process.The goal of these surveysand consultations are toassist management planning

and conservation area establishment by providinginformation needed for communities to make informeddecisions, and take ownership of their managementprocess.

Scientiically-sound, marine resource assessments formthe backbone for resource management discussions anddecisions. Similar to many atolls, it is not understoodif ishery resources and coral-reef ecosystem conditionhave been stable on Namdrik because no quantitativestudies exist to describe their dynamics through time

Certainly expert isher opinions can help ill in theseknowledge gaps, however the opinions of the ishers canvary with their age and experience. For these reasonsthe present efforts on Namdrik have included gatheringthe input and knowledge of the atoll residents, as well asdetailed scientiic descriptions of the current coral andish populations. Together, these sources of informationcan provide the background needed for establishing (ormaintaining) resource management.

3Namdrik Atoll Coral-Reef Resources Monitoring Assessment


4/244 Namdrik Atoll Coral-Reef Resources Monitoring Assessment

Within this document, we provide a deeper look intothe results of a recent marine resource assessment.We irst develop a framework to understand thenature and status of Namdriks marine resourcesin comparison to two other atolls where similarscientiic data exists, Rongelap and Majuro. Rongelaprepresents a very large atoll that has remained mainlyuninhabited since the atomic bomb testing in 1954.While the resettlement process has recently begun onRongelap, their marine resources depicted a nearlypristine state when surveys were done in 2010,beneicial for drawing comparisons with. On the otherhand, Majuro Atoll represents the population centerof the RMI where resources are heavily used andinluened by human activities, relative to other RMIatolls. Using these two endpoints (i.e., high and low),we irst describe the coral reef resources of Namdrik.We next build into a more detailed assessment ofindividual reefs around Namdrik, and describe thestatus of marine resources at the eight survey locations

visited (Figure 2).Figure 2. A map of Micronesia showing the Marshall Islands,

Namdrik, and the locations of the present marine resource

assessment.

Micronesia

Namdrik

Marshall

Islands15oN

5oN

165oE

5o38N

5

o

36N

168o4E 168

o6E 168

o8E

0

0 5

500

km

N

170oE

34

5

6

8

7 2

1



Benthic substrates

The abundances of benthic substrates such as coralscrustose coralline algae, and leshy macroalgal wereestimated by taking a series of 0.5 x 0.5 m photographsalong the transect lines (Figure 3). In order to estimatethe substrate abundances, 5 data points were randomlyplaced within each photograph, and the substrate undereach point was recorded (typically to the genus level)Using this procedure, benthic substrate estimates foreach site were calculated based upon 250 data pointsper transect, and 5 transects per site (1250 data points)

CORAL-REEFassessment protocols

Island Characteristics and Site Selection

Namdrik is quite small compared to other atolls in theRMI. The lagoon is only 8.55km. 600-700 people live on

the main island that covers an area of about 2.8km. Giventhe small size of Namdrik, eight coral-reef monitoringlocations were established across both outer and innerreefs to assess the marine resources. The survey reefswere selected to represent varying wave exposure,major habitat types, and to include one locally-managedmarine protected area (site #5, Figure 2). Collectively,data from these sites provided a representative snapshotof the atolls marine resources. Each site was identiiedwith a global positioning system and 5 x 50m transectswere established to evaluate benthic substrates andcoral/ish populations.

In order to generate the scientiic data needed tocharacterize the marine resources, standardizedprotocols were used to assess the coral-reef

ecosystem. One of the purposes of using standardizedmeasurements is to ensure their repeatability in thefuture, and provide a baseline for comparisons to assesschange through time.

Figure 3. Protocol used for collecting benthic substrate data.

Figure 4. Protocols used to conduct coral population assessment.

Coral assemblages

A deeper look at the coral assemblages was undertakenby tossing 10 replicate 1m2 quadrats along the 5 x 50mtransect lines (Figure 4). Within each quadrat, the speciesand size of all were recorded to generate information onspecies richness, colony sizes, and relative abundances.

50m 50m 50m 50m 50m

Photoquadrat at each 1m mark = 50 quadrats per each transect

Biologist records the

name and size of all

coral colonies whose

centerpoint was

inside the quadrat

50m 50m 50m 50m 50m



Fish assemblages

Fish size and density were estimated using a stationarypoint count technique. Twelve individual stationarypoint counts (SPCs) were conducted at equal distancesalong the 5 x 50m transect lines. During each, theobserver identiied, counted, and estimated the size ofall foodish within a 5m radius, for a period of 3-minutes.This provided information on the relative sizes and

densities of ish. In turn, size and density data werealso used to predict biomass (or weight) using size-to-biomass coeficients.

Figure 5. Protocols used to conduct fish population assessments.

Fish observer identifies and

estimates the size of all fish

within a 5m radius for 3-minutes 5m

6 Namdrik Atoll Coral-Reef Resources Monitoring Assessment


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general, the amount of energy that can be delivered tothe coral reef ecosystem is a function of the amount ofhabitat available. The larger the atoll, the more shallow-water habitat available, and the greater the derivedenergy.

Satellites have recently been used to detect several

indicators of primary productivity within coral reefecosystems. Here, chlorophyll-a images of threedifferent atolls (Namdrik, Majuro, and Rongelap) areshown to provide a perspective of this (Figure 6, blueindicates low productivity, light blue and yellow indicatemoderate productivity, and red is highest). The smallsize of Namdrik, and in particular the small size of theinner atoll waters that are highly productive, resultsin less net energy being retained within the coral reefecosystem, naturally.

Figure 6. A map of the Marshall Islands, Majuro, Rongelap, and

Namdrik showing 10-year, long-term averages of productivity

(chlorophyll-a). Lighter blue, green, yellow and red colors

indicate higher chlorophyll concentrations, respectively.

Figure 7. Fish biomass averaged across a suite of representative

sites from Majuro, Namdrik, and Rongelap for comparison

purposes.MarshallIslands

Majuro

Namdrik

Rongelap

15o

N

5o

N

165o

E

0 500km

0 20

170o

E

km

0 5km

0 20km

Even when considering energy per-unit-area there isa decrease in productivity build-up for smaller atollsbecause of the decreased proportion of coral-reef habitatwhere plankton and detritus (ie, major food sources at

When examining ish populations per unit area for thethree atolls, we found that Majuro and Namdrik havesimilar ish biomass, both disproportionally smallerthan Rongelap (Figure 7). This pattern becomesstronger as we move up the food chain from herbivoresto predators and sharks. There were also limitedabundances of planktivores (plankton eating ish) onNamdrik that is likely due to the small island size andlimited productivity described above.

Majuro Namdrik Rongelap

Meanbiomass(k

g)

per5-meter,3-minuteS

PCsurvey

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

herbivore/detritivore

planktivore

secondary consumer

tertiary consumer

shark

Prior to drawing comparisons between Namdrik,

Rongelap, and Majuro, we irst introduce one ofthe consequences of Namdriks small atoll size.Energy that supports the entire network of coral-reeffood webs originates from sunlight that is used as a foodsource for both corals and marine phytoplankton. In

COMPARISONSamong different atolls

base of food chain) can exist. In sum, a greater proportion

of the outer-reef habitat on Namdrik is inluencedby currents and wave energy refraction as comparedwith larger atolls. This situation has consequences forthe ish populations that rely upon phytoplankton anddetritus at the base of their food chains. Given less foodwe expect to see lower ish populations per unit areathan larger atolls such as Rongelap, naturally.


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Figure 8. Fish body-size distributions for three major function

groups across Majuro, Namdrik, and Rongelap. Thin black lines rep-

resents the median, boxes indicate the 25th (lower) and 75th (up-

per) percentiles, error bars indicate the 5th and 95th percentiles,

and dots indicate magnitude of outliers.


Tertiaryconsumersize(cm)

20

40

60

80


Her

bivore/detritivoresize(cm)

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40


Secondaryconsumersize(cm)

10

20

30

40

50


However, when examining the body sizes of ish withineach functional group between the atolls a differentpattern emerges. For most functional groups, themean body size of ish was smallest on Majuro wherethe greatest human pressures exist, larger on Namdrikwhere a small human population exists, and largeston Rongelap with minimal human presence (Figure8). Thus, despite a similar biomass of most majorish groups between Namdrik and Majuro, there werefewer, but larger ish on Namdrik. This pattern wasstrongest for herbivores such as parrotishes, andweakest for large predators such as groupers. In termsof understanding the entire coral-reef ecosystem, it isimportant to focus upon the herbivores because theyplay an essential role in grazing algae and detritus, andmaintaining a healthy ecosystem with abundant coralsand other calcifying organisms. Larger ish can graze

(i.e., clean) a disproportionally larger reef area, and areexpected to facilitate improved benthic substrates. Thefact that larger predator ish were not found on Namdrikcompared with Majuro might be an artifact of both thesmall size of Namdrik and/or ishing pressure for thelarger groupers (desirable foodish with high economicvalue).



Patterns in benthic substrateabundances were consistentwith those noted for herbivorous

ish sizes. Calcifying substrates(corals and crustose corallinealgae) comprised a greaterproportion of the reef substrateon Rongelap and Namdrik ascompared with Majuro (Figure 9).Calcifying substrates are requiredfor reef growth through time, anda threshold of 50% or higher is ageneral benchmark for sustaining

Figure 10. Coral colony-size distributions on the study atolls.

Note the secondary, smaller peak in large corals found only on

Namdrik and Rongelap that suggests a dominance of corals in

terms of percentage cover.

small corals

large corals

Colony size (cm)

0 - 2 2 - 5 5 - 10 10 - 15 15 - 20 20 - 30 30 - 50 >50

Coralcolonydensity

(proportionoftotal)

0

10

20

30

40

Majuro

Namdrik

Rongelap

reef development through time. Calcifying substratesare also a good indicator of healthy coral assemblages,

and are often associated with both large coral colonysizes and higher diversity.

Coral colony sizes and diversity were consistent withish and benthic substrate abundances, suggestingthe linked nature of each aspect of the coral-reefecosystem across RMI atolls. Smallest coral colonysize distributions were found on Majuro, while largestwere found on Rongelap (Figure 10).


Percentcover(%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Coral

Soft coral

Crustose coralline algae

Macroalgae

Fleshy coralline algae

Turf algae

Figure 9. Percent cover of calcifying substrates (blue) as compared with non-calcifying

substrates (orange-brown) across study atolls.



The size distribution of corals on Namdrik was inbetweenthese two atolls. Interestingly, only Rongelap andNamdrik size class distributions showed a secondary,small peak in the abundances of large coral colonies (>20cm in diameter). Despite comprising ~10% of the coralassemblage in terms of numeric density, these largecorals accounted for a disproportional amount of thepercent cover, and provide the vibrant architecture thatcan be seen from the numerous underwater photos. Coraldiversity per survey quadrat also had a steady increasemoving along the Majuro-Namdrik-Rongelap gradient(Figure 11). High coral diversity is essential to maximizethe ecosystem function of corals. High coral diversityprovides for greater habitat complexity for ishes andother invertebrates. High diversity also enhances theresilience of the coral reef, because disturbances donot act equally across all species. For instance, diverseassemblages can buffer against Crown-of-Thorn starishthat have preferences for which corals they prey uponbecause surviving species will help to maintain the

functional role of corals and speed up the recoveryprocess.

Figure 11. Coral diversity across the study atolls. Thin black

lines represents the median, boxes indicate the 25th (lower)

and 75th (upper) percentiles, error bars indicate the 5th and

95th percentiles, and dots indicate magnitude of outliers.


Numberofcoralspecies

per1m2quadratsurvey

0

2

4

6

8

10

12


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NAMDRIK ATOLL

This second section of the report provides more details about the marine resourceassessment speciic to Namdrik. Among the eight sites examined on Namdrik, sixwere located on the outer reef habitats, and two were located within the smalprotected lagoon waters.


Marine Resources



The greatest ish biomass was found on the northwestcoast on the leeward side of the atoll (site 4, Figure 13).Fish at this site were comprised mainly of herbivores,however larger consumers such as snappers, groupers,and jacks were also found in relatively high abundance.Beyond biomass, the ish populations were also largestin body-size at this site (Figure 14), suggesting itsimportance as both a ishing ground and replenishingfuture ish stocks. Sharks were more commonly seen

on the highly-exposed northern coast, constitutingnearly 50% of the observed assemblage biomass (site3). Yet, shark occurrences on the SPC transect surveyswere rare in comparison to Rongelap, but when present,they always constitute a disproportional amount of thebiomass given their large body sizes. Equal levels of ishbiomass were observed at the remaining sites.

When making general comparisons across the sites itsimportant to irst distinguish between the differenthabitats that exist, outer and inner reefs (Figure 12). Thestrongly contrasting physical environments of the outerand inner reefs dictate both the amount of ish and coralresources, and their species-level composition. Similarto previous comparisons between the atolls, data from

ish assemblages, benthic substrates, and corals arepresented in sequential order for Namdrik, then thesedata are synthesized to assess reef condition.

Namdrik

5o38N

5o36N

168o4E 168

o6E 168

o8E

0 5

km

N

34

5

6

8

7 2

1

Figure 12. A map of the Marshall Islands and Namdrik

highlighting the sites where marine resource assessments were

conducted.

NAM-4

NAM-3

NAM-7

NAM-6

NAM-2

NAM-1

NAM-5

NAM-8

Meanbiomass(kg)

per5-meter,3-minuteSPCsurvey

0

5

10

15

20

25

InnerOuter

herbivore/detritivore

planktivore

secondary consumer

tertiary consumer

sharkFigure 13. Fish biomass across Namdrik survey sites forfive major functional groups.



from the points where currents are strongest), perhapscontributing to the relatively small ish sizes found there

Sites inside the atoll were very different from each otherin terms of ish populations. Clearly ish resources werehigher at the northern inner atoll reef (site 5) compared

with the patch reef near the main human population(site 8). The Northern patch reef was under locamanagement, whereby limited ishing occurred in thesewaters.

Benthic substrates on Namdrik were consistentlydominated by calcifying coral and crustose corrallinealgae growth for the outer reefs. The majority of sites hadover 80% coverage by calcifying organisms, suggestinghealthy benthic substrates conducive for persistentreef growth. The reef on the northwestern coast wasexceptional to these overall trends where lower (~60%)

calcifying substrate coverage existed (site 4). This wasunexpected given the high ish biomass and larger ishsizes, however, this situation is thought to be attributed tothe unique location and physical environment (leewardreef protected from highest wave exposure). Both thissite, and the other wave sheltered outer reef on the southcoast (site 7) had the greatest coverage of macroalgaeBecause of their accessibility throughout much of theyear for ishing, and their productivity build-up givenlow wave exposure, these reefs are expected to offer thegreatest amount of nutrients and detritus for macroalgagrowth. These sites are desirable candidates for futuremonitoring because productivity, macroalgal growthand ish biomass are linked components of the coral-reef ecosystem. Given their accessibility and naturallyhigh ish biomass, these reefs may be most sensitive toishing pressure. The inner atoll reefs were very distinctfrom each other, whereby the locally managed reef in thenorthern atoll had >50% calcifying substrates but thepatch reef near the village had



NAM-3

NAM-6

NAM-1

NAM-2

NAM-7

NAM-4

NAM-5

NAM-8

Percentcover(%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Coral

Soft coral

Crustose coralline algae

Macroalgae

Fleshy coralline algae

Turf algae

Inner

Outer

colonies made up the bulk of the percent coverage andprovided for high habitat complexity (Figure 15). Thelargest corals were found on the southern coast, wherelarge Isopora and Acropora stands were frequentlyobserved. Lush coral growth was also found along theeastern coast despite high wave exposure. A greaterdominance of small colonies was apparent along thenorthern reefs where wave exposure was highest.Interestingly, the unique leeward assemblage on thenorthwestern coast had the smallest mean colony size

(and the greatest range of small-to-large corals). Thedominance of small colonies may be associated withbenthic substrates that were increasingly covered withmacroalgae, a competitor for space on the reef that canimpede coral growth. Continued monitoring shouldkeep coral colony size distributions in mind as oftenthey are sensitive indicators of phase shifts on reefs,or transitions to less desirable states. For example,after disturbance events, colony size distributions shiftmarkedly, and their recovery is critical for maintaininghabitat complexity. On the inner atoll reefs fresh feedingscars from the Crown-of-Thorn starish existed, and

many of the large colonies associated with the locallymanaged inner atoll reef were dead. This certainlyserved to distinguish between inner and outer atollcolony sizes (Figure 15), but interestingly, didnt maskthe consistent pattern whereby the reef currently undertraditional management had larger corals and morecomplex habitat development.

Coral diversity appeared to be driven by high waveexposure that exists on the north coastline, preventingthe growth of large coral colonies, and thus maximizing

the number of species that existed (Figure 16)Elsewhere, coral diversity was mainly consistent, withthe northwest atoll having the lowest number of specieswithin each survey quadrat (site 4). Species diversitycan be inluenced both by natural environments as welas human inluences. Comparisons of diversity are besinterpreted for the same reef through time, or for reefswithin similar physical environments. High diversitywas also found along the protected southern coast, atreefs in closest proximity to the points where currents

are strongest. Lastly, the locally-managed inner atolreef held substantially more diverse coral assemblagescompared with the patch reef closer to the humanpopulation.

Figure 14. Percent cover of calcifying

substrates (blue) as compared with

non-calcifying substrates (orange-

brown) across study atolls.


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Figure 16. Coral diversity across Namdrik.

Thin black lines represents the median, boxes

indicate the 25th (lower) and 75th (upper)

percentiles, and error bars indicate 5th and

95th percentiles.

Figure 15. Coral colony-size distribution across Namdrik survey sites.

NAM-3

NAM-2

NAM-7

NAM-1

NAM-6

NAM-4

NAM-8

NAM-5

Numberofcora

lspecies

per1m

2quadra

tsurvey

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Inner atoll

reefsouter atoll reefs

C

olonydensityperm2

0

25

50

0

25

50

0-2

2-5

5-10

10-15

15-20

20-30

30-50

>50

0

25

50

75

0

25

50

75

0

25

50

0

25

50

0

25

50

75

Colony size (cm)

0-2

2-5

5-10

10-15

15-20

20-30

30-50

>50

0-2

2-5

5-10

10-15

15-20

20-30

30-50

>50

0-2

2-5

5-10

10-15

15-20

20-30

30-50

>50

0

25

50

NAM-1

NAM-2 NAM-3NAM-4

NAM-5NAM-6NAM-7

NAM-8




Namdrik Atoll Coral-ReefEcosystem Condition

Coral-reef condition on Namdrik was estimated by considering the three

components of the marine resource survey assessments equally. Fish biomassand body-size data were standardized and combined to provide an indicator of the

ishery resources. Benthic substrates were evaluated by taking the percent cover of alcalcifying substrates (i.e., corals, crustose coralline algae, and soft corals) and dividingthat by all non-calcifying substrates (i.e., algae). The resultant ratio provided a measureof benthic substrate quality. Last, coral colony sizes and species diversity data werestandardized and combined to provide an indicator of the coral resources. In this senseequal weighting was given to the corals, ishes, and benthic substrates. Together, themean scores from these three categories were taken and used as an overall indicator ofcoral-reef ecosystem condition.


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The coral-reef ecosystem condition assessment foundthat the highest resource values currently exist forthe most wave exposed, northern reefs (Figure 17Table 1). This was an artifact of high scores acrossall ecosystem components, ish, corals, and benthicsubstrates. Elsewhere, most of the reefs appeared tohave high ecosystem values that were not substantially

different from each other (sites 4, 6, 1, and 7). Howeverthe individual components of the ecosystem differedmarkedly, and should be considered. For instance thenorthwestern reef (site 4) had among the highest scoresfor ish and corals, but the lowest for benthic substratesThis suggests the site may be naturally rich in resourcesgiven its physical attributes, yet ishing pressure or otherhuman inluences may be limiting grazing potentialand/or facilitating macroalgae growth. In sum, althoughhealthy ishery and coral resources were found here incomparison to other reefs, they likely have been evenmore impressive in the past, and their shift through timemay be linked with the benthic substrates.

Reefs on the eastern coastline had similar inconsistenceswith ecosystem component scores. Here, ish and coraresources were among the lowest, yet high values existedfor benthic substrates. This situation may be due tothe eastern wave exposure lushing macroalgal growthpromoting crustose coralline algal growth, and limitinglarge coral colony development. The low ish resource

0 5 Kilometers

N

34

5

6

8

7 2

1

Figure 17. A map of Namdrik with site-symbols scaled

proportionally in size with coral-reef condition score. Condition

was evaluated by considering three major components of the

ecosystem: fish resources, coral populations, and benthic

substrates (see text). Larger symbols indicate better condition.



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Table 1. Coral-reef condition rankings for each ecosystem component, and overall raw

scores with corresponding ranks in parentheses.

scores were thought to be less of an artifact of waveexposure and more attributed to human inluence giventhe proximity to the main village.

The remaining two sites on the southern coastlinehad more consistent values for each component. Thissituation of moderate overall scores may be an artifactof enhanced accessability due to lower wave exposurealong the southern coastline. Along the southern coast,

site 2 was unique in that a major reef collapse existedremoving much of the reef slope and leaving only a steepwall for coral growth. This natural event was most likelythe cause of the lowest ecosystem condition score.

Ecosystem condition was expectedly higher for thelocally managed inner reef in comparison to the patchreef near the human center. This pattern was consistentacross all components.


NAM-1

Site ReeftypeFish Resources

(ranks)

Benthic Substrates

(ranks)

Coral Assemblages

(ranks)

Ecosystem Condition

(scores and ranks)

NAM-2

NAM-3

NAM-4

NAM-6

NAM-7

NAM-5

NAM-8

Outer

Outer

Outer

Outer

Outer

Outer

Inner

Inner

4

3

2

1

6

5

1

2

3

4

1

6

2

5

1

2

4

6

1

2

5

3

1

2

0.72 (4)

0.48 (6)

2.01 (1)

1.33 (2)

0.78 (3)

0.68 (5)

1.47 (1)

0.53 (2)



This report has taken a comparative approach

towards describing the status of the marineresources on Namdrik. Initial comparisons at theatoll level suggested that healthy coral-reef ecosystemsand ish populations currently exist on Namdrikcompared with Majuro, where human impacts arehigher. Yet, comparisons with Rongelap, a more pristineatoll, suggested that human footprints exist, and theobvious question is to what extent. The presence ofhealthy ecosystems on Namdrik was supported by thedominance of calcifying substrates, coral assemblageswith large colonies forming complex habitats, high localdiversity, and large sizes of many functional ish groups.While the overall trends are positive for Namdrik,

comparisons across sites found a gradient in ecosystemcondition, with many sites on the leeward and moreaccessible southern side of the atoll having lower thanexpected ish resources. These inding for the basis formanagement recommendations.

Given the small size of Namdrik, it seems ideals ofboth locally-managed protected areas with ishing islimited, as well as locally-derived policies to addressishing techniques and catches become reined and/or established. For instance, setting aside portions ofthe inner atoll lagoon as no-take protection zones areencouraged because they are easier to enforce, and can


CONCLUSIONSand Recommendations



Coral Reef Life and Death Cycles

Acute

Disturbances

Recovery and

resilience

Acanthaster

(COTS)

Coral-dominated

EcosystemEcosystem

Ecosystem functions

needed for recovery

Chronic stressors

(human influences)

Algal-dominated

Storm Events

Figure 18. Life and death cycles

on coral reefs. While we have

less influence over disturbance

events on coral reefs, we can

keep localized stressor in check

as to promote recovery of coral-

dominated ecosystems into the

future. Where each atoll society

draws their line (i.e., the black

vertical line in the figure) will

ultimately depend upon how they

manage their resources.


fate through time. If localized stressors become toostrong the cycle is disturbed, and reefs will take longerthan expected to recovery, or may never recover to statesdominated by calcifying substrates. Managing localizedstressors is now more imperative than ever becauseclimate change is expected to increase the frequency ofdisturbances that impact reefs, placing a greater need

for a speedy recovery processes. Therefore, keepingreefs in a state where they can rapidly recover is the bestway to embrace the future.

In March, 2012, the Namdrik Atoll Local ResourceCommittee was awarded the prestigious United NationsEquator Prize for innovative approaches towards

managing their resourcesThis leadership was

exempliied by the presentstatus of the marine resourcesHowever, maintaining coralreef resources in their healthystate will require continuedattention to maintaining andadapting management tomodern economic demandsand a changing climate.


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Documents

Namdrik Marine Resource Assessment - UOGML-CMI-MIMRA - 2014