Establishing Critical Resource
Thresholds for Marine Habitats in the
Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Krista Sherman, Craig Dahlgren, Daniel
Brumbaugh and Lindy Knowles
2nd Bahamas Natural History Conference, March 6th, 2014, Nassau, Bahamas
Project Objectives
1. Determine critical resource thresholds for key habitats
in ECLSP
2. Develop long-term monitoring programme
3. Design & Implement Business Plan and Sustainable
Financing Mechanisms (SFMs)
4. Develop Sustainable Tourism Model
5. Provide community training in sustainable livelihoods.
2
Map of The Bahamas
and the ECLSP.
Coral Reef Sites (n=14): Green =
channel reef; Yellow = fringing
reef; Light blue = shallow forereef
(<10m); Dark blue = deep forereef
(>10m)
Mangroves: Orange (n=2)
Seagrasses: Pink (n=5)
3
Methods
1.) Benthic Surveys – 1m2 quadrats (n=40
per site for coral reefs) species richness for
macroalgae, hard and soft corals, sponges,
anemones, zoanthids, and tunicates.
2.) Seagrass Beds – n= 20 1m2 quadrats per
site + shoot density
3.) Fish Surveys – 30x2m belt transects
(n=536 coral reefs; n =115 seagrass; n=35
mangroves) and timed roving diver surveys
(n=166)
4.) Reef Check (GCRMN)
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Figure 1. MDS plot showing similarities in benthic community structure across reef sites, types,
and surveys. Symbol colors represent reef types: green = channel reefs, yellow = fringing reefs,
light blue = shallow forereefs, and dark blue = deeper forereefs. Symbols of identical color and
shape represent survey replicates across seasons and/or years.
5
Figure 2. MDS plots of benthic community structure across reef
types, sites and surveys with highlights of perceived anthropogenic
factors.
C.
D.
E.
F.
percent cover (+/- std. dev.)
90
A.
n = 38-51
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
MA
percent cover (+/- std. dev.)
Year, Quarter
2010, 4th
2011, 1st
2011, 2nd
2011, 3rd
2011, 4th
2012, 1st
2012, 3rd
2013, 2nd
Danger / Amberjack Reef
80
90
3
T
4
CCA
5
C
B.
S
90
Shark Reef
80
6
G
I
7
8
O
C.
Shroud Cay Wall
80
70
n = 41-5170
60
60
50
50
40
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
n = 42-47
0
1
MA
2
T
3
CCA
4
C
5
G
6
S
I
7
8
O
1
MA
2
T
3
CCA
4
C
5
G
6
S
7
I
8
O
Figure 3 (A-C). Benthic community structure of deep forereef sites over time. Histograms depict
mean percent cover of fleshy macroalgae (MA), turf algae (T), crustose coralline algae (CCA), stony
corals (C), gorgonians (G), sponges (S), other invertebrates (I), and other substrates (O).
28
percent cover (+/- std. dev.)
90
A.
n = 37-51
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
MA
percent cover (+/- std. dev.)
Year, Quarter
2010, 4th
2011, 1st
2011, 2nd
2011, 3rd
2011, 4th
2012, 1st
2012, 3rd
2013, 2nd
2013, 3rd
Parrotfish Reef
80
90
3
T
4
CCA
5
C
B.
6
G
7
S
8
I
O
C.
BBP North M2
80
BBP North M3
n = 41-47
70
n = 42-44
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
MA
2
T
3
CCA
4
C
5
G
6
S
7
I
8
O
1
MA
2
T
3
CCA
4
C
5
G
6
S
7
I
8
O
Figure 4 (A-C). Benthic community structure of shallow fore reef sites over time. Histograms depict
mean percent cover of fleshy macroalgae (MA), turf algae (T), crustose coralline algae (CCA), stony
corals (C), gorgonians (G), sponges (S), other invertebrates (I), and other substrates (O).
30
percent cover (+/- std. dev.)
90
A.
B.
Sea Aquarium
80
Rocky Dundas
n = 37-41
70
n = 38-43
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
percent cover (+/- std. dev.)
MA
90
T
CCA
C
G
S
I
O
C.
MA
T
CCA
C
G
S
I
O
D.
Jeep Reef
80
Friday’s Reef
n = 40-42
70
n = 41-43
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
MA
T
CCA
C
G
S
I
O
MA
T
CCA
C
G
S
I
O
Figure 5 (A-G). Benthic community structure of fringing reef sites (A-B) and channel reefs (C-G)
over time. Histograms depict mean percent cover of fleshy macroalgae (MA), turf algae (T),
crustose coralline algae (CCA), stony corals (C), gorgonians (G), sponges (S), other invertebrates
(I), and other substrates (O) across field surveys.
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percent cover (+/- std. dev.)
90
E.
Conch Cut
80
Lobster Mountain
n = 39-43
70
n = 40-50
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
MA
percent cover (+/- std. dev.)
F.
90
2
T
3
CCA
4
C
5
G
G.
6
S
7
I
O
8
n = 39-43
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
T
3
CCA
4
C
5
G
6
S
7
I
Airplane Reef
80
MA
1
MA
2
T
3
CCA
4
C
5
G
6
S
I
7
8
O
Year, Quarter
2010, 4th
2011, 1st
2011, 2nd
2011, 3rd
2011, 4th
2012, 1st
2012, 3rd
2013, 2nd
2013, 3rd
32
8
O
Results – Fish Communities
Figure 6. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) plot showing similarities in fish community
structure.
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Sherman et al. 2013
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Results – Queen conch
Density (No. of conch per transect)
60
50
40
30
2011
2012
2013
20
10
0
Figure 8. Conch densities for each site across all survey
periods.
Monitoring Programme for BNPAS
• Fish – AGRRA protocols
• Benthic – Quadrat
sampling
• Continued capacity
building
• Frequent monitoring of
sites near development
• Immediate monitoring
following major events
– e.g. hurricanes, coral
bleaching
Conclusion
Improve understanding of ecosystem
processes and MPA design
Strengthened capacity for coral reef
monitoring
Effectively monitored and managed park –
model for Bahamian MPAs.
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Acknowledgments
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GEF/UNEP
BNT
Dr. Craig Dahlgren (PIMS)
Dr. Daniel Brumbaugh (AMNH)
Lindy Knowles
ECLSP Staff
Atlantis – Marine Aquarium Operations
Staniel Cay Divers
Best Commission
DMR
Staniel Cay Local Government
Black Point Local Government
Field Assistants
RSMAS
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