Caring for corals – Guam WS 2013
Larvae originating from the first Acropora surculosa spawn are ready to be treated for settlement. James Guest from the University of New South Wales, together with other workshop participants, transfers a batch of larvae from the kreisel to buckets stored in a water bath. Each bucket contains preconditioned tiles that will function as the settlement substrate.
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After the spawning, the broodstock, the adult colonies we brought in the lab to collect their egg-sperm bundles, have done their duty. Now its time, to safely return them to the reef. Using epoxy they are attached back to the reef structure to continue growing.
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James Guest is one of the leading scientists for coral reproduction and restoration research. For many years, he lives in Asia, and most of his work has been done there. James is dedicated to coral conservation and restoration efforts and shares his knowledge with us during this workshop.
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James, you are an all through coral reef scientist, how were you hooked on the mystery of coral reefs?
My first dive was in a man made lake in England in the middle of winter. Even though there was not much to see and it was very cold, I was immediately hooked on diving! When I left school, I got a job on a cruise ship, which allowed me to go diving on reefs in the Caribbean every week. The more I dived on coral reefs the more fascinated I became. I also became aware of how reefs were being degraded and wanted to know how I could be involved in reef conservation. I decided to study to be a marine biologist and that the focus of my research would be corals.
Coral reefs are exposed to threats from all sides, overall climate change, do you think coral reefs will have a chance for the future?
Yes, I think coral reefs have a good chance in the future. There are huge challenges to overcome, but I think there are enough people who are concerned about the state of coral reefs that we will collectively convince governments, policy makers and coastal communities that reefs are worth preserving. In addition, I believe that corals are hardier than we give them credit for. I work in Singapore which has some of the most human impacted reefs I have ever seen. Nonetheless, reefs in the shallow water are very diverse and have remarkably high coral cover. Reefs will certainly continue to change in the future but I don't believe they will completely disappear.
Do you think restoration may be a chance to assist coral reef survive?
Reef restoration is still in its infancy and a lot of research is still needed, but yes I do think that restoration may be able to help some reefs to recover and it is one of the tools that can be used by coastal managers when trying to enhance recovery rates on reefs. The most important thing to do when trying to reverse decline in coral health is to identify the causes of decline and to manage these. This action might in itself be enough to return coral cover and diversity to its former state in a relatively short time scale. In some cases however, recovery of a reef does not happen even if the causes of decline have been removed. In such cases, active restoration may be necessary.
