Coral Propagation – Monthly Progress
At Kuda Huraa during June, we created three new media frames, monitored 69 frames (at the Starfish and House Reef sites), and relocated 122 vulnerable frames from the Channel.
At Landaa this month, we transplanted 30 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (17) and the Resort (13), adding almost 1,400 coral fragments onto the reef. In addition, we monitored (repaired, cleaned, photographed) a total of 307 coral frames at various sites around the island. We have also been lifting any buried frames out of the sand (that shifts around the island, carried by seasonal ocean currents). We lifted 45 frames along the Coral Trail and at Anchor Point, adding 400 new fragments to degraded frames.
As part of our longer-term goals, restoration at Parrot Reef is continuing. We performed five separate dives during June, finished the QGIS re-mapping, and added 1,420 new coral fragments collected from various wild Acropora colonies from nearby reefs. Thanks to the whole team for their valuable help in this major project.
Predation of mature coral colonies …
… by the bumphead parrotfish, cruising our coral pyramids
NOAA Bleaching Warnings for The Maldives
Bleaching of corals at the Water Villas and House Reef was observed in June at Landaa, following an extended period of high sea surface temperatures. Some frames were moved under the water villas and boardwalks to increase shading, and we have been monitoring to track recovery. With the onset of rainy season, we have observed re-uptake of zooxanthellae and deeper pigmentation of tissue for many colonies.
The waters surrounding Kuda Huraa were predicted to be in a “watch” state according to the forecast provided by NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch bleaching model for this month. On 13 June, we entered a “no stress” state, as the water temperatures dropped, and the corals experienced less stress. In terms of degree heating weeks (DHW), a measure of accumulated heat stress within a 12 week period, the whole month of June was characterised by a measurement of +1 DHW.
Coral Bleaching Study – Monitored Coral Colonies
The Maldives (and oceans worldwide) have been experiencing seasonally warm sea surface temperatures (SST) these past few weeks.
From our coral bleaching surveys during June, we have determined that Acropora muricata is currently the most impacted species (9% partially/bleached, 4% mortality), followed by significant bleaching of Pocillopora verrucosa.
– Acropora humilis is the least impacted species (100% healthy) followed by Acropora digitifera (73% healthy).
– Overall 54% of corals = Healthy (especially in the Deep House Reef site).
– Overall 35% of corals = Pale / 3% = Partially-bleached / 6% = Partially dead (mainly at the Channel site) / 2% = Dead
Suspected coral black band disease
Coral bleaching survey analysis
Seagrass Transplantation
Seagrass is one of the most important ecosystems in the marine environment, providing food, habitat and nursery areas for vertebrates and invertebrates alike. Seagrass meadows absorb 35 times more carbon than rainforests, despite only covering 0.2% of the ocean floor. In addition, seagrass root systems reduce the effects of coastal erosion by stabilising the seabed… literally helping to hold each of the Maldivian islands together!
Our new project will take some of the seagrass from sandy shallow waters at the Beach Villas, and retransplant it closer to the reef crest, to create a stable new seagrass meadow and biodiverse ecosystem for our coral frame gardens. We will use the ‘turf’ method to simply dig shovel-sized squares of seagrass, with substrate and roots intact. We then dig a similar-sized hole at the new location for the relocated seagrass, ensuring that roots and rhizomes are fully buried.
