REEF AT RISK Finding the Resilience Area Izarenah, M.R., Hyde, J., Alvin, J.C., Sue, C.Y., and Chan,A.A.

Lima Island

Malaysia Reef at RISK 95% of Southeast Asia coral reef are under risk by local threat- Reef at Risk Revisited, 2011 Estimated Threat Level Low Medium High

Reef under Risk: Local Threat Mass tourism Pollution Overfishing/ Destructive Coastal Development

Reef under Risk: Global Threat Climate Change: Coral Bleaching Ocean Acidification Sea Level Rise

Healthy reef Bleached reef Damaged reef

Resilience ability to cope The ability to absorb disturbances, to be changed and then to re-organise and still have the same identity (retain the same basic structure and ways of functioning)

Goals o To assess and find the resilient reef areas

Methodology Adapted from: IUCN Resilience Assessment of Coral Reefs Developed for rapid assessment of reefs around the world

62 characteristics assessed: Substrate cover & coral size class Fish abundance & biomass Resilience factors Semi-quantitative 5 point scale Methodology

Desk Study/Background Information Oral communication survey Monitoring report Literature Methodology

Pulau Tioman 18 Sites

Results

Low number of coral and fish High physical damage High amount of rubble, algae Highly developed area Finding the LEAST Resilience Area

1 2 3 High level of coral cover Canopy corals and physical shading are abundant Healthy fish populations High recovery rates from previous bleaching Finding the MOST Resilience Area

The Resilience Area Integrating Resilience Assessment into Marine Park Management: Marine Park database- MPMIS Zoning Plan- Pulau Tioman Addressing local threats Replicate to other islands Further research

1 2 3 The MOST Resilience Area Manage it, Before we lost it…

THANK YOU

Further Reading Coral Reef Resilience : Rapid Assessment of the Coral Reefs of the Marine Parks of Redang, Tioman and Sibu-Tinggi Islands, Malaysia Sukarno, W., Hyde, J., Alvin, J.C., Sue, C.Y, & Chan, A.A. 2013

What influences reef resilience? Supply of coral larvae Substrate and reef morphology Good water quality Herbivory Shading and screening Coral condition Anthropogenic factor

Why is resilience important to management? More damage = more recovery Resilience = successful recovery Managing for resilience = good management

Lima Island Malaysia as one of the 12 most biological diverse country in the world. Malaysia reef area 4,006km coral species -77% of the total recorded species in the world (Kamarruddin et al, 2011). Home to no less than 700 species of fish in Malaysian water (Fishbase, 2011).

Communities & industries depend on healthy reef ecosystem