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Development of a coastal environment assessment system using coral recruitment

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  • Environment
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Abstract

A new method for assessing coastal environments using the reproduction potential of corals has been developed and examined in situ. Six assessment racks were deployed before the full moon of May 2006 at three sites located around a river outlet in Nagura Bay, Ishigaki Is. and at one control location in Sekisei Lagoon. Each rack was equipped with two marine blocks (MB) containing 378 holes, two cases of coral settlement devices (CSDs), each containing 120 CSDs, and a water temperature logger. Assessment was based on recruitment of Acropora due to mass spawning. After 4 months of deployment, the surface of assessment racks showed apparent biofouling depending on sites mainly by algal settlement on the surfaces. Almost all the holes of the MBs were partly occupied, mainly by turf algae. Nagura Bay was thought likely to be an “unhealthy” coral reef due to runoff from land. However, our assessment showed that there were 0.85 corals per CSD in the Bay, compared with 0.51 in Sekisei Lagoon, indicating that coral larvae supply is not the cause of the unhealthy condition of corals in the Nagura Bay.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Professor Syunsuke Ikeda of Tokyo Institute of Technology, Professor Jun Matsushita of Shibaura University and Associate Professor Kazutoshi Osawa of Utsunomiya University, and Associate Professor Satoshi Nojima of Kyushu University for their collaboration in this study. We are grateful to Mr. Itaru Oguro, retired Diving Superintendent of JAMSTEC, and Mr. Yuichiro Tamura, master course student of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, for their assistance in the experiment. This study was funded by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (nos. 17106006 and 16201027).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477, Japan

    Kakaskasen A. Roeroe, Minlee Yap & Mineo Okamoto

  2. Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Sam Ratulangi University, Kampus Bahu, Manado, 95115, Indonesia

    Kakaskasen A. Roeroe

  3. Directorate of Conservation and Marine National Park, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta, 10110, Indonesia

    Kakaskasen A. Roeroe

Authors
  1. Kakaskasen A. Roeroe
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  2. Minlee Yap
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  3. Mineo Okamoto
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Correspondence to Mineo Okamoto.

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Roeroe, K.A., Yap, M. & Okamoto, M. Development of a coastal environment assessment system using coral recruitment. Fish Sci 75, 215–224 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-008-0031-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-008-0031-7

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