Reef Check 2004 Teaching Presentation: Introduction Reef Check-UCLA 1362 Hershey Hall Box UCLA Los Angeles, CA (310)

History In 1993 at a Symposium in Miami a question was asked: What is the health of the world’s coral reefs? Science “as usual” failed to give answers because: Too few scientists, too little time on reefs Too few study sites Few long-term studies Emphasis on basic research Different questions and methods

Why do we care? Home to ¼ of all marine fish Support tourist economies a new frontier for medical research A food source for 100s of millions of people Coastal protection from wave erosion 20 million scuba divers Great beauty and spiritual value

Threats to Coral Reefs

Cyanide Fishing

Blast Fishing

Reef gleaning Overfishing Muro-ami

What is the health of coral reefs globally? Before Reef Check scientists had not answered this question because: Too few scientists, too little time on reefs Too few study sites Few long-term studies Emphasis on basic research Different questions and methods

1997 –Reef Check begins Reef Check designed global survey method for Int’l Year of the Reef Simple, Rapid, All volunteer Combined manpower of local communities with scientific experts ‘Eco-holistic’ -- not just fish or coral Provides basic data on coral reef health Applicable anywhere in the world

Target Reef Check “communities” include: Villagers/fisherfolk Tourist divers Local dive clubs Government agencies Local/regional NGO’s, conservation groups Other stakeholders

RC global-scale goals: Science a synoptic assessment of human impacts on coral reefs based on long-term monitoring of selected sites Conservation and Management raise public awareness about value of coral reefs, threats to their health and solutions build a network of monitoring and management teams Provide local resource managers with the tools necessary to manage their reefs

Community involvement Involving the community in monitoring is the only answer Most cost-effective Builds stewardship Builds support for government management efforts

Reef Check Monitoring Each country has a coordinator Provide seed funding to new teams Monitoring is simple and fun so will be repeated

What do we monitor? High value fish typically targeted by aquarium collectors, spear fishermen and others. Count at family level, with specific exceptions Invertebrate species typically targeted as food species or collected for curio trade. Substrate categories chosen to detect large scale changes.

Success! 1997: 750 divers, >100 marine scientists, 31 countries, 350 reefs surveyed 1998: >1000 divers, >150 scientists, 40 countries, 250 reefs 1999: >1500 divers, >160 scientists 50 countries, 250 reefs 2000: Expansion within each country: 50+ sites in Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia  2001: Expanded to 8 new countries and territories  2002: Continue to expand….

1400 Reefs, 62 Countries and Territories Reef Check Global Network

Reef Check Results First scientific documentation of global extent of coral reef crisis in 1997 Tracked 1998 global bleaching, 10% mortality confirmed in 1999 High-value species missing from most reefs Red Sea reefs -- healthiest in the world Many remote reefs just as bad as those near cities Many marine parks are not working well

Reef Check Strategy

Management Successes  Soufriere, St Lucia -- Marine Management Authority uses RC to demonstrate the value of the marine protected area (MPA) for fish  Gilutongan Island, Cebu, Philippines – local barrio decided to set up MPA after RC participation. Today most successful urban, no-take MPA in Philippines (Ross et al, 2000).

Management Successes  Hainan, PRC – government sets up provincial monitoring and management program following RC training.

Education Successes  Recife, Brazil – local government decides to set up children’s reef education center after RC shows reef damage.  In collaboration with Friends of the Reef, RC Indo conducts art contest to educate school teachers and students in Bali.