Post on 20-Jul-2018
1
Seagrass community assessment: two case studies from the
Philippines
Hildie Maria NacordaMarine Science InstituteUniversity of the Philippines
Case 1: North Palawan (NP)? Specific objectives:
? to conduct an extensive baseline assessment of seagrass communities in 8 municipalities of North Palawan;
? to describe seagrass distribution patterns, if any; ? composition, structure, diversity
? to recommend seagrass priority management area(s) in each municipality.
2
? Primary use of assessment results: zoning for tourism
? Time, manpower, trade-off? limited field days per municipality (regardless of
coastline length!)? <10 semi-skilled to very skilled personnel per
survey? trade-off: level of detail
Case 1: North Palawan (NP)
Secondary data from NRDB Pro 1.05? Natural Resources Database software ? Palawan Corridor Strategy Development
software developed by Richard Alexander? licensed to Conservation International? powerful Windows-based GIS tool for
developing countries? free for distribution
? outputs: spreadsheets, maps
3
119 120
10
11
12
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
? Puerto Princesa City: survey of status following inventories dated 1987 to 2002
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
April 2005 survey
? 12 legs in 12 days (4/13-24)
? 91 stations, 11 islands? 9 skilled personnel
13 boat trips1 city jeepney1 4-wheel drive
? Kind supportfrom private enterprise
4
Field methods
? Access stations (GPS);
? Establish transects’direction (perpendicular); note headings
? Read bottom data at systematic points along the transects;
? Save seagrass edges as coordinates (GPS)
At the end of the day…
5
9.50 N, 118.70 E
Puerto Princesa Bay First impressions:
dominant dominant EnhalusEnhalus population population
30-50% seagrass cover, 4-7 species
9.50 N, 118.70 E
Puerto Princesa Bay dominant dominant SargassumSargassum standsstands
relatively exposed shorelinerelatively exposed shoreline4-16% seaweed cover, 4-16 genera
6
9.50 N, 118.70 E
Puerto Princesa Bay
hard substratum & seaweedshard substratum & seaweeds
dense mix of 4dense mix of 4--7 seagrass species7 seagrass species
9.50 N, 118.70 E
Puerto Princesa Bay
feeding trail of the dugongfeeding trail of the dugong
grouper culture (BFAR)grouper culture (BFAR)
7
9.50 N, 118.70 E
Puerto Princesa Bay
dense mix off the wide mudflatdense mix off the wide mudflat
shallow & narrow but diverse mixshallow & narrow but diverse mix
9.50 N, 118.70 E
Outer Honda Bay - Sextensive, dense & diverse mix extensive, dense & diverse mix of seagrassesof seagrasses
fish juveniles in the most fish juveniles in the most extensive bed (1.5 km!)extensive bed (1.5 km!)
8
Honda Bay coast
EnhalusEnhalus on muddy sandon muddy sand
Mangroves that protect the Mangroves that protect the coastlinecoastline
Honda Bay coast
Epiphytes on seagrass leavesEpiphytes on seagrass leaves
9
Honda Bay islands
young catfishyoung catfish
less epiphytes on bladesless epiphytes on blades
PundeadoPundeado: dense community: dense community
narrow reef flatnarrow reef flat
Honda Bay islands
cyanide use?? algal growthcyanide use?? algal growth
seasonal desiccationseasonal desiccation
DiademaDiadema aggregationaggregation
10
Outer Honda Bay (north)
TurbinariaTurbinaria
beachbeach
dropdrop--offsoffs
bouldersboulders
Outer Honda Bay (north): deep meadow!!
feeding trail of dugongfeeding trail of dugong
H. H. uninervisuninervis & S. & S. isoetifoliumisoetifolium
11
10.30 N, 118.80 EUlugan Bay
sparse sparse EnhalusEnhalus
PadinaPadina on rockon rock
dropdrop--offs aheadoffs ahead……
mangroves mangroves
pristine beachespristine beaches
rocky shoresrocky shores
10.30 N, 118.80 ECabayugan-New Panggangan
THREAT?
some some HalophilaHalophila
Red tide slick
pristine beachespristine beaches
12
Napsan-Bacongan
Red tide slick
pristine beachespristine beachesrocky shoresrocky shores
bouldersboulders
fish corralfish corral
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
From the first impressions…? the east coast of
Puerto PrincesaCity have:
? well-covered meadows;
? diverse seagrass communities; and
? feeding grounds of the dugong
13
Based on analyzed data: distribution maps
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
0
4
8
12
16
20
100 200 300 400 500 1000 1500
bed width, m
N st
atio
ns
? indicative bed widths
Species occurrence? Enhalus acoroides
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
14
? Enhalus acoroides? Thalassia hemprichii
Species occurrence
? Enhalus acoroides? Thalassia hemprichii? Cymodocea rotundata
Species occurrence
15
? Enhalus acoroides? Thalassia hemprichii? Cymodocea rotundata? Cymodocea serrulata
Species occurrence
? Enhalus acoroides? Thalassia hemprichii? Cymodocea rotundata? Cymodocea serrulata? Syringodium isoetifolium
Species occurrence
16
? Enhalus acoroides? Thalassia hemprichii? Cymodocea rotundata? Cymodocea serrulata? Syringodium isoetifolium? Halodule uninervis
Species occurrence
? Enhalus acoroides? Thalassia hemprichii? Cymodocea rotundata? Cymodocea serrulata? Syringodium isoetifolium? Halodule uninervis? Halophila ovalis
Species occurrence
17
Species richness
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
0
200
400
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
N species
n p
lots
0
2
4
6
8
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
N species
n st
atio
ns
Seagrass leaf canopy cover on bottom
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
? ?plots????????
0
100
200
300
400
0 10 25 50 75 100
leaf canopy cover, %
N p
lots
0
5
10
15
20
0 10 25 50 75 100
leaf canopy cover, % (pooled)
N s
tatio
ns
18
Contribution of seaweeds to bottom cover
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
? very little…
9.50 N, 118.70 E
10.30 N, 118.80 E
Unique feature: dugong feeding trails
? prominent!!
19
Criteria of seagrass areas for priority management (core zones)
? Seagrass beds bordering core zone for mangrove and corals
? Seagrass beds with at least 50% cover of macrophytes
? Seagrass beds with sightings of dugong
We propose also:? Seagrass beds composed of at least 4
seagrass species
(http://www.pcsd.ph/resolutions/sep/res94-44.htm)
Proposed seagrass core zones
9.50 N, 118.70 E9.50 N, 118.70 E9.50 N, 118.70 E9.50 N, 118.70 E
? sites with overlap of? good seagrass leaf
canopy cover;? composed of at least 4
seagrass species;? presence of dugong
feeding trails
20
And then?
9.50 N, 118.70 E9.50 N, 118.70 E9.50 N, 118.70 E9.50 N, 118.70 E
? refinements of zoning from:? overlay of other
coastal/ marine core zones
? coral reefs
? mangroves
? overlay of uses
? traditional? multiple
Case 2: Bolinao? Specific objectives:
? to ground-truth bottom types of selected coordinates in an analyzed remote sensing image;
? to conduct an extensive and quantitative baseline assessment of seagrass communities;
? to describe seagrass distribution patterns, if any; and
? to recommend pilot sites for the BSDS Project.
UNEP/GEFSouth China Sea Project
Marine Environment andResources Foundation, Inc.
Bolinao SeagrassDemonstration Site
21
Image analysis
Figure 1. Bolinao, December 2000 – The LandSat enhanced thematic map used for the analysis of major marine bottom types. (Courtesy of the BAR-AFMA/UPMSI Ocean Color for Sustainable Fisheries Project)
Secondary data
22
Image analysis
Figure 2. Bolinao, December 2000 – the distribution of the five major marine bottom types classified from the LandSat enhanced thematic map.
Image analysis
Figure 3. Ground-truthing – The scatter of 200 waypoints on the classified image of Bolinao that were planned for bottom type verifications.
23
“Oceans 10”
Sea-truthing: waypoint search
Figure 4. Ground-truthing – A target waypoint would usually be accessed easily by boat, except during low tide. (Photo: G Regino)
24
Sea-truthed waypoints
??
SantiagoIsland
BOLINAO
Seaweeds on hard bottoms
(Photos: W Mendoza, H Nacorda)
25
Invertebrates on hard bottoms
(Photos: W Mendoza, H Nacorda)
Seagrass-associated seaweeds
(Photos: W Mendoza, H Nacorda)
26
Seagrass-associated invertebrates
(Photos: W Mendoza, H Nacorda)
Seagrass habitat uses
(Photos: W Mendoza, H Nacorda, G Regino)
27
Urchin encounters16.45 N119.95 E
16.40 N119.85 E
? Tripneustes gratilla? Salmacis sphaerioides? Diadema setosum
Seagrass shoots grazed by T. gratilla
28
Dense and less dense seagrass bottoms
Dense and less dense seagrass bottoms16.45 N119.95 E
16.40 N119.85 E
29
Lush beds
Sampling seagrasses
bb cc dd
aa
(Photos: H Nacorda)
30
Apparent flowers and fruits16.45 N119.95 E
16.40 N119.85 E
Seagrass species richness, N16.45 N119.95 E
16.40 N119.85 E
0
5
10
15
20
25
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
n species
n st
atio
ns
31
Seagrass densities16.45 N119.95 E
16.40 N119.85 E
0
5
10
15
20
25
500 1500 2500 3500 4500 5500
Density classes
n st
atio
ns
Seagrass species diversity, H’16.45 N119.95 E
16.40 N119.85 E
0
4
8
12
16
20
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
species diversity, H
nsta
tions
32
Coral
Sand
Seagrass
Mixed
The Bolinao Seagrass ReserveThe Bolinao Seagrass ReserveMunicipal Ordinance 2007-02, 21 March 200760 ha (0.60 km2)- 40 ha, buffer zone-20 ha, core zone
Municipal Ordinance Municipal Ordinance 20072007--02, 02, 21 March 200721 March 200760 ha (0.60 km2)60 ha (0.60 km2)-- 40 ha, buffer zone40 ha, buffer zone--20 ha, core zone20 ha, core zone