CRTR 2006 Annual Report.pdf - Coral Reef Targeted Research

Communication....................................................................................................... 50Appendix A – Students affiliated with the CRTR............................................... 52Appendix B – Local Mayors Statement .............................................................. 56Page 3 of 3

AcknowledgementsThis report was developed and collated by Melanie King(Executive Officer, Project Executing Agency) with significantcontributions from the following Program members: Mr Andy Hooten, Synthesis Panel ExecutiveSecretary & U.S Coordinator Ms Kristen Sampson, Finance Officer – ProjectExecuting Agency Mr Kim Mitchell (Currie Communications) –Communication Coordinator Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Chair – BleachingWorking Group & Australasian Centre of Excellence Professor Peter Sale, Chair – Connectivity WorkingGroup Professor Drew Harvell, Chair – Coral DiseaseWorking Group Professor Peter Mumby, Chair – Remote SensingWorking Group Dr Alasdair Edwards, Chair – Restoration &Remediation Working Group Professor Roger Bradbury, Chair – Modelling &Decision Support Working Group Emeritus Professor Ed Gomez – Southeast AsianCentre of Excellence Dr Roberto Iglesias-Prieto – MesoAmerican Centre ofExcellence Dr Alfonse Dubi – East African Centre of ExcellenceFurther InformationInformation used in this report has been collated from theindividual Working Group and Centres of Excellence 2006Annual Reports, and from the communication productsproduced during the year. Additional information has beenproduced with the input of the Management Team.Further information regarding this report and/or to requestcopies of the individual Working Group and Centre ofExcellence Annual Reports can be requested from theExecutive Officer, Melanie King (m.king4@uq.edu.au).Page 4 of 4

Several highlysuccessful training andcapacity buildingworkshops werefacilitated by CRTRProgram in targetregions The Australasian Centre of Excellence hosted asuccessful policy & management study tour by CookIslanders sponsored by NZAID. The tour looked at theimpacts of management and policy decisions on coastalecosystems and how policy worked in practice to providethe participants with some valuable insights into thepracticalities of policy decisions on the environment.These insights and information gained during the studytour are now being incorporated into policy frameworksbeing developed for the Cook Islands to protect theircoastal and marine environment.The Local GovernmentInitiative has had asignificant impact onraising awareness ofcoral reef managementissues with Mayors inhigh priority regionsThe Disease Working Group and East African Centre ofExcellence collaborated on a successful regionalworkshop on coral disease. The workshop trained 25regional scientists and managers in the identification ofdisease and the impacts.The Southeast Asian Centre of Excellence hosted thesecond Stakeholders Consultation on 9 August 2006,together with the Launch of the Philippine EnvironmentMonitor 2005 (PEM 2005) and the Pre-testing of BestPractices for Coral Reef Management of the LocalGovernment Initiative. This workshop involved theparticipation of four mayors of the municipalities of Anda,Bani and Bolinao and of the City of Alaminos, as well asrepresentatives from various local government units(LGUs), national government agencies, non-governmentorganizations, academe and the media.The CRTR Program wasa key supporter ofITMEMS 3 in Mexico,connecting programresearchers with over250 delegates The CRTR Program participated in the 3 rd InternationalTropical Marine Ecosystem Management Symposium inOctober 2006 with a large contingent of membersattending. The Program hosted a special sponsoredCRTR event presenting the activities of the Program, andsupported the Local Mayors Panel which successfullyproduced a Statement outlining local governmentcommitment to the conservation of coral reefs.The Local Government Initiative, funded by the WorldBank/DGF contribution to the CRTR, is underway,addressing how to ‘green’ policies for activities whichimpact on coral reef ecosystems across the four regions.Page 8 of 8

Component One:Addressing Knowledge &Technology GapsComponent SummaryThe Program is organised around six key themes,investigated by interdisciplinary Working Groups of developingand developed country scientists. The Working Groups are:1. Coral Bleaching & Local Ecological Responses2. Connectivity & Large-scale Ecological Processes3. Coral Disease4. Restoration & Remediation5. Remote Sensing6. Modelling & Decision Support.The Working Groups are producing credible research througha series of targeted research studies addressing the mostsignificant gaps in global understanding of how major driversand stressors affect the structure and function of coral reefs(from the cellular level to the ecosystem level).These studies will also reveal how improved knowledge andinformation can be used to design more effectivemanagement tools and techniques. The new knowledge andmanagement tools produced should help coral reef managersunderstand and address both chronic and acute forms ofstress.BLEACHING WORKING GROUPThe Bleaching Working Group (BWG) is focused on fillingcritical information gaps with respect to coral bleaching andmortality with the aim of supporting management responsesfor climate change.BWG Training activitiesThe BWG has identified four major research themes intowhich it is putting its efforts. These themes areinterconnected and are aimed at improving the scientific basisupon which management responses will be developed as theclimate warms and carbonate ion concentrations in ouroceans decline.Page 10 of 10

The BWG has generatedsignificant publicawareness in 2006Overall, the Group’s technical and capacity building activitiesare progressing well and the BWG has delivered on theirstated milestones including delivery of a large number ofoutputs as planned. During 2006, the members of the BWGhave produced in association with the project, over 80newspaper articles, TV interviews and documentariesfeaturing the work of BWG members; 53 papers (including tenreview articles and ten in high impact journals); given 38 talksand plenary addresses; been cited over 1490 (for work donesince 2001), and; supervised 35 postgraduate students fromcountries including: Australia, Venezuela, India, Israel, Italy,Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand,United Kingdom and the United States.The BWG has also established a strong collaborative networkwhich now extends well beyond the discrete membership ofthe Working Group and is focused on linkages and synergiesbetween developed and developing countries. This is asubstantial output for a group of ten scientists and theseachievements, along with the research findings, will continueto be built upon and expanded during the forthcoming year.Activities & Implications for ManagementThe BWG has beenpivotal this year indiscoveries related tocoral bleaching impacton the associationsbetween corals and awide variety oforganismsThe BWG continues to bring together and lead the formerlyfragmented research efforts in the area of coral bleaching andecological change research. Some of the key activities andoutcomes (and their management implications) that haveoccurred during 2006 include:Discoveries through BWG research relating to theassociations corals have with a wide variety of organismssuch as bacteria and endolithic (skeleton-dwelling) algaeare providing important information for both the scientificand management communities on the reasons forbleaching and the factors that may determine recoveryfollowing bleaching events.We now have a clearerunderstanding of whatcauses coral bleaching,and the factors that maydetermine recoveryThis information will allow managers to have a clearerunderstanding of the causes and effects of bleaching andto assist in management decisions to mitigate bleachingimpacts.Page 11 of 11

CONNECTIVITY WORKING GROUPMarine Protected Areas(MPAs) are amanagement toolholding great promise,but managers mustconsider the role ofconnectivity in guidingMPA design andimplementation“Until now, management of coral reefs, where it exists, hasbeen reactive rather than proactive. With coral reefs enteringa time of even greater stress, it is mandatory that managersdevelop more proactive approaches, strongly embedded inscience.”The use of connectivity information to accurately assesslinkages between coral reefs, and local demographiccapabilities of various species will be essential if we are tohave management programs that are capable of sustainingcoral reefs. For example, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) area management tool holding great promise. Realising thatpromise requires connectivity science as an essential tool forguiding the design and implementation of MPAs. If we are tobe successful in maintaining coral reefs into the future, wemust incorporate much more information on connectivity intomanagement plans and procedures.The Connectivity Working Group (CWG) is providing andtesting new methods for building the connectivity knowledgebase that effective management will use. The CWG isundertaking demonstration projects in the Mesoamericanregion that will develop tools and apply them to determineconnectivity patterns for selected species in that region. Workis being done collaboratively with local managementagencies; students from the region are receiving advancededucation, and; efforts are being made to use the projects andresults to inform local communities and show how connectivitydata can be obtained, and used effectively in managementplanning.Activities & Implications for ManagementThe Connectivity Working Group developed an ambitiousprogram including seven distinct research projects thattackled connectivity issues from various directions, and usedfish, corals or lobster.A tiny postlarval stage of theCaribbean spiny lobster sitting ona finger. This is the larval stagethat enters reef habitat, and thestage that recruits to collectorsused in Project 6During 2006 these projects have continued their researchactivities, and there has been a continued approach tomanagement agencies and individuals in order to embedconnectivity into their knowledge and information sets andultimately, their management plans. Key activities andoutcomes for the CWG during the past year include:Page 14 of 14

Five graduate students are now in place and performingwell. All are from the Caribbean basin, two arecompleting M.Sc. degrees at U.S. institutions, and threeare completing M.Sc. or Ph.D. degrees at regionalinstitutions, but with significant opportunities throughsecondments to U.S. or Canadian institutions. In additionto the students recruited and supported through CRTRfellowships, a number of other graduate students areparticipating with support from other sources. Theseinclude Canadian, U.S., Irish, Australian and Frenchstudents.CRTR ProgramConnectivity WorkingGroup research hasfound that up to 70% ofnewly settled corals dieduring the first year,which has implicationsfor recruitment, growthand survival of adultcoral on reefsModel run showing possible pattern of dispersal of larval snapperfrom known spawning sites in Belize during May 2004. Redrepresents greatest number of larvae while blue represents fewestBelizean larvae arriving at that location after 30 days of larval life.Several Working Group members will participate in a daylongsymposium on connectivity being scheduled for the2006 Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI)meeting in Belize City in November.Project Three (Post-settlement bottlenecks in coralrecruitment): To date our results show that up to about70% of newly settled corals die during the first year.Monitoring has been accomplished at Glovers, Carrie BowCaye and Turneffe Atoll. To date results show that 77%of the juvenile corals survived over the past year. Moreanalyses are necessary but the ontogenetic change inmortality rates is becoming clear and should allow thetrajectories of recruitment for each of the study areas tobe determined. The growth rate allows determination ofhow rapidly corals transit through this vulnerable juvenilestage and recruit as adults on reefs.Page 15 of 15

Global warming andclimate change ispotentially reducingcoral connectivityHigh ambient seawatertemperatures in theCaribbean (30 O C) reducelarval and postsettlementsurvival Project Four (Coral Connectivity): Larval developmentand behaviour: During years 1 and 2 researchersdeveloped time courses of development of swimming andsettlement behaviour for five of the major species ofCaribbean reef coral: Montastraea faveolata, M.annularis, M. cavernosa, Acropora palmata and Diploriastrigosa. Development time-courses vary significantlyamong species suggesting some species may havegreater dispersal potential than others. Results show thatat currently high ambient seawater temperatures in theCaribbean (30 0 C), both larval and post-settlementsurvivorships are reduced relative to rearing at lowertemperatures. Thus, global warming/climate change ispotentially reducing coral connectivity.Project Seven (Modelling lobster larval dispersal) involvesdetermining whether stage-specific differences in larvalbehavior may affect vertical distribution. The CWG testedin laboratory experiments the response of different stagesof development of the spiny lobster larvae, PanilurisArgus, to light wavelengths and intensities that mimickedday and night illumination at depths of 0 – 50m, 50 – 75m,and 75 – 100m. Results suggest that early larval stage P.argus are positively phototactic (the influence of light onmovement) and remain near the surface (< 75m deep)during the day until they are about four months old. Afterthat, the late stage larvae are negatively phototactic; atnight, all stages are more active which presumablypromotes greater vertical dispersal in the water column.This information has important implications for theconnectivity trends of an important Caribbean-widefishery, because it helps determine the distance thisspecies is likely to travel and when settlement is mostlikely to occur.Attaching settlement plates tomonitor recruitment of corallarvae for Project 3.The CWG is attempting a different form of capacitybuilding by working with a cadre of junior managementagency personnel, who are staff biologists involved inenvironmental monitoring as part of their managementresponsibilities. Annual workshops are being used toraise their understanding of recruitment and connectivityissues, and they are expected in turn to undertakerecruitment monitoring at their home locations. TheGroup is also taking the first steps in bringing theConnectivity program to the notice of more seniormanagement agency personnel and NGO representativesfrom within the Region, all of which assists in providing aconsiderable profile for the Connectivity program in theregion.Page 16 of 16

The CWG is attempting anon-traditional form ofcapacity building byworking with juniormanagement agencypersonnel, who are staffbiologists involved inenvironmentalmonitoring as part oftheir managementresponsibilities.The CWG hasdetermined thatenvironmentalmonitoring is not beingused to guidemanagement decisionsBuilding effectiverelationships betweenscientists and managersmust become animportant part of thesolutionThe third workshop at Centro Ecologica Akumal ((CEA)Akumal, Mexico) was conducted in April 2006. Sixteenparticipants attended from management agencies andenvironmental NGOs with monitoring or managementresponsibilities in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, andHonduras. Nine of the 16 had participated in previousCWG workshops. The workshop included presentationsand discussion on the use of recruitment information inmanagement decisions, field recalibration exercises toensure accurate recruitment monitoring in the comingyear, presentation of research results from the first year ofthe project, and discussions of problems encountered inyear one and possible ways to resolve them.Three training workshops with personnel from the regionhave now been held. These have been targeted to juniorlevelstaff (i.e. field biologists), conducting environmentalassessments. This program has been explained to seniormanagement staff and has their support (or no objection).Limited CWG funding has been made available to supportsuch staff in the monitoring effort. Despite considerableefforts to mentor the agency personnel, both during, andbetween workshops, it has proved difficult to get thismonitoring program under way (fish monitoring data arenow in hand for just 7 of 11 sites, for example). Thereasons appear to be a) turnover of junior personnel, b)lack of real commitment by individual employees, c)change or reduction in the support originally proffered bysenior staff.The extent of the difficulty has been both surprising anddisappointing, considering that the CWG chose to workwith the same individuals and agencies that haveparticipated in the region-wide monitoring programmounted by the MBRS project, and in many earliermonitoring programs. The fact is that, at least in thisregion, environmental monitoring is not being used toguide management decisions, there appears to be scantappreciation for how such data might be of local use, andthe resources allocated to management of designatedareas are woefully inadequate. Rather than take peoplethought to be experienced in environmental monitoringand then train them to monitor recruitment, the CWG isfinding it necessary to first build a basic appreciation ofparticipants and their bosses of the value and need formonitoring and its relationship to supporting developmentindicators.Page 17 of 17

Searching a collector for lobsterlarvae. Technique used inmonitoring lobster recruitment inProject 6The need to build real commitment for a routine andcommitted monitoring program may well be beyond thecapability of the CRTR Program, or could use additionalassistance to convince coastal governments of itsimportance in assessing the status and processesaffecting the resource base. Given the considerable effortthat has been devoted by World Bank, NGO, and otherprograms, over many years, to improving environmentalmanagement in these waters, the evidently poor capacitystill present is of concern.There is an enormous gap between the development ofscience-based procedures for guiding managementdecisions, and the actual creation of effectiveenvironmental management in these countries. That gapwill not be bridged by doing more science; however, thebuilding of effective relationships between scientists andmanagers must become an important part of the solution.This gap appears to exist despite the willingness of manyscientists to work with managers. The CWG effortsdescribed above are attempting to bridge this gap.DISEASE WORKING GROUPStrategies for dealingwith coral diseaseoutbreaks are currentlynon-existentUnderstanding thespecific ways in whichcoral diseases can alterreef function will allowbetter predictive powerfor conditions underwhich outbreaks mayoccurCoral diseases potentially impact both well-managed andunmanaged reefs indiscriminately. However, strategies fordealing with disease outbreaks are currently nonexistent. Theincreasing frequency with which diseases influence and alterreef communities necessitates their consideration andincorporation in management plans.The Disease Working Group (DWG) is undertaking researchaddressing this need by providing the scientific background toformulate recommendations for managers and policy makers.For example, links between the role of coral communitystructure and diversity in maintaining productive fish andinvertebrate populations is generally unstudied. As manyMPAs are established specifically with the goal of protectingthe fishery in mind, diseases that alter a reefs’ ability tosupport a diverse fish population is of concern.Understanding the specific ways in which coral diseases canalter reef function will allow better predictive power forconditions under which outbreaks may occur, and therationale to apply pressure to policy makers and localgovernment to improve waste water treatment, solid wastedisposal and land use practices.Page 18 of 18

Baseline diseasesurveys at most Centresof Excellence have nowbeen completed.Significant advances have been made across all goals of theDisease Working Group (DWG). For example, in year oneand two, the DWG established baseline disease surveys at allCentres of Excellence except East Africa, with permanenttransects established along the Yucatan Peninsula and GreatBarrier Reef, Australia. The Group demonstrated for the firsttime, links between disease and warm temperature anomaliesin Australian and Caribbean reefs.The DWG has preliminary evidence for effects of nutrients asfacilitators of some coral disease syndromes and has madesignificant advances in epidemiology, notably throughmolecular studies of black band disease, yellow blotch, andAspergillosis. Substantial inroads in uncovering enzymaticmechanisms of resistance to disease have been made whilsta new frontier has been opened investigating potential forphage therapy of coral disease.The Disease Working Group’s scholarship program issupporting four graduate students and one postdoctoral fellowfrom the Philippines, Palau, Venezuela, and Mexico.Workshops have been conducted on the Microbiology of CoralDisease in Mexico, Australia, Palau, and East Africa. Themost ambitious of these is the regional scale workshop run atthe Institute for Marine Studies, Zanzibar, funded in part bythe Living Oceans Foundation.Activities & Implications for ManagementDWG surveys revealed new coraldisease syndromes at each offour Centers of Excellence, whichwill provide managers with newinformation regarding coraldisease in these regions andknowledge necessary to developstrategies to monitor disease.Using satellitetechnology the DWGfound a highlysignificant relationshipbetween the frequencyof warm temperatureanomalies and theemergent disease WhiteSyndromeFollowing efforts from the previous year, in 2006, theDWG surveys revealed new coral disease syndromes ateach of four Centers of Excellence (MesoAmerica, thePhilippines, Australia, and East Africa). This effort willprovide managers with new information regarding coraldisease in these regions and will ultimately provide themwith the information necessary to develop strategies tomonitor disease.Whilst investigating the relationship between temperatureand coral disease, the DWG used a new high-resolutionsatellite dataset of ocean temperature and six years ofcoral disease and coral cover data from annual surveys of48 reefs to investigate whether the frequency of warmtemperature anomalies was positively related to coraldisease frequency across 1,500 km of Australia’s GreatBarrier Reef.Page 19 of 19

One increasing priorityarea is the attempt tolink ecosystem and coralhealth with managementactions through a test ofthe hypothesis thatMPAs have lower levelsof coral diseaseResults with phagetherapy are showing onepotential, ecologicallysustainable frontier fortreating coral disease intarget regionsThe Group found a highly significant relationship betweenthe frequencies of warm temperature anomalies and whitesyndrome, an emergent disease of Pacific reef-buildingcorals. The DWG and members of the RSWG (MarkEakin and William Skirving) will now apply these samemethods to disease levels followed at sites in theCaribbean. Similarly, colleagues are developing Pacificwidedisease surveys that will allow additional tests of theclimate as a facilitator of coral disease hypothesis.One increasing priority area is the attempt to linkecosystem and coral health with management actions,through a test of the hypothesis that Marine ProtectedAreas (MPAs) will have lower levels of coral disease.This is an extremely complex hypothesis to test due tovariability in effectiveness and longevity of MPAs.However, it is also an absolutely critical issue because wecurrently have no implementable managementapproaches to coral disease and MPAs remain one of ourmost important management tools to sustain coral reefs.Success in demonstrating an increase in coral healthinside MPAs would be an important advance. DWGmembers are submitting a paper on preliminary work inPalau, and next year will report on progress in thePhilippines. Work is underway to address components ofthis hypothesis in Mexico.The DWG continues to work to uncover diverse elementsin coral resistance to disease. Eugene Rosenberg’sresults with phage therapy are very interesting in showingone potential, ecologically sustainable frontier for treatingcoral disease. Phage therapy is undergoing a resurgence(for example in the meat-packing industry, where phage isused to control bacterial growth on consumer products),and does indeed have some potential in naturalecosystems.A major regional scale workshop on Microbiology of CoralDisease was held at the Institute for Marine Studies,Zanzibar, funded in part by the Living Oceans Foundation.Twenty-five East African scientists from Mozambique,Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, and the Seychellesparticipated in a five day workshop that included coraltaxonomy, coral microbiology, and coral disease surveymethods. Dr Harvell also gave the keynote address at the2006 US Coral Reef Task Force meeting about linksbetween climate warming and coral disease outbreaks.Page 20 of 20

RESTORATION AND REMEDIATIONWORKING GROUPCRTR Program ‘ReefRestoration Guidelines’due to be released inDecember 2006Coral reefs worldwide are suffering degradation from anumber of disparate natural and man-induced causes.Tackling the root causes of degradation through effectivecoastal management measures is likely the best way both toreduce further damage and to allow reefs to return to viablehealthy states. Nevertheless, there can also be opportunitiesfor direct intervention to actively restore degraded coral reefs.Three tenets of coral reef restoration were published in theSociety for Ecological Restoration, 2004, which are importantto managers. These tenets are:o Coral reef restoration is in its infancy. We cannotcreate fully functional reefs.o Ecological restoration is the process of assisting therecovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded,damaged, or destroyed.o Improved management of reef areas is the key totheir health. However, within an overall managementplan, active restoration offers managers a useful andpotentially powerful tool for assisting recovery ofdegraded reefs.Given these tenets, the research being carried out by theRestoration & Remediation Working Group (RRWG) isseeking not only to address many of the knowledge gapswhich hinder restoration but also to channel advice to themanagement community so that restoration projects can beundertaken in a more informed way and with better chance ofsuccess.Restoration trials using nurserycages to rear young coralsThe RRWG has continued to develop its research programand has made significant inroads during the past year. TheWorking Group’s capacity building activities during 2006worthy of note includes the continuation of scholarshipsupport, workshops and the development of products formanagers.Of particular note has been the development of a guideentitled “Reef Restoration Concepts and Guidelines: makingsensible management choices in the face of uncertainty”.These guidelines have been produced by the Chair and Co-Chair and based on discussions and comments from theRRWG. A PDF version, which is updated as new knowledgebecomes available, will be downloadable fromwww.gefcoral.org by the end of 2006.Page 21 of 21

Activities & Implications for ManagementThree types of coralnurseries have beenestablished toinvestigate theenhancement ofrecovery of corals byculture andtransplantationDuring 2006, the Restoration & Remediation Working Grouphas advanced significantly in their research and capacitybuilding activities. Major activities and outcomes for the yearinclude:The scholarship program under the RRWG continues tomove forward with currently four Philippines graduates,working for MSc degrees, being trained by the RRWG atthe Southeast Asian Centre of Excellence withscholarships wholly or partially supported by the CRTRProgram. Further to this, one recent Philippines PhD hasbeen appointed from September as a CRTR postdoctoralfellow to carry out RRWG research at Bolinao and Palau.A Tanzanian PhD student, supported by a scholarshipfrom the East African CoE, is engaged in restorationresearch under the direction of Dr Rinkevich of theRRWG. Two Research Assistants at the PalauInternational Coral Reef Center have been trained byRRWG members and are assisting in RRWG researchthere. For one of these Prof. Omori was able to obtain$17,500 of JICA funding for two months additional trainingat Akajima Marine Science Laboratory, Okinawa. Thefieldwork costs of four developed country students (2MSc, 2 PhD) are funded by the RRWG.Rope nursery reared fragment ofcoralIn August, 2006 a five-day workshop for all students andresearch assistants working with the RRWG and fundedunder the CRTR Program was held in conjunction with ECREEFRES project postdoctoral fellows based at the SouthEast Asian CoE. The workshop was rated as a valuableexperience for all concerned and assisted in building thepeer networks of these researchers.Three types of coral nurseries have been set up close tothe Bolinao Marine Laboratory (Philippines) looking at theenhancement of recovery of corals by culture andtransplantation. These include one floating nursery, onebottom-attached nursery and one low-cost experimentalrope nursery. Initial results are:- The floating nursery has the advantage that corals areheld at a constant depth (the nursery moves up and downwith the tide), and can be moved to greater depths ifocean temperatures warm.- The bottom-attached nursery is cheaper to make but thewater depth varies with the tide.- The experimental rope nursery is very cheap as coralfragments are just slipped between the strands of a ropeand allowed to grow.Page 22 of 22

Faster growing specieshave already grown intosmall colonies in thenurseries and manyhundreds of these havenow been transplantedto degraded bommies(large coral heads)- Approximately 10,000 nubbins belonging to nine specieshave been reared for about one year. Results show thatthere is about 10% mortality and 6% detachment of coralfragments.Preliminary results show not only significant differencesbetween species in terms of growth and survival, but alsobetween different genotypes (inheritable traits) of thesame species. Faster growing species have alreadygrown into small colonies in the nurseries and manyhundreds of these have now been transplanted todegraded bommies (large coral heads) to see how theywill survive.In parallel, a series of degraded bommies have had coralfragments transplanted to them directly at two differentdensities to compare survival and growth of directlytransplanted common coral species. Initial results arepromising with about 86% survival overall after 5 months.REMOTE SENSING WORKING GROUPThe Remote Sensing Working Group (RSWG) is quantifyingthe limitations of coral reef remote sensing by combiningmodelling and field experiments. Models predict the ability ofa given remote sensing instrument to detect the subtleties ofbottom reflectance that distinguish reef habitats or the coverof corals and macroalgae within habitats. Remote sensing isalso needed to identify habitat type and possibly predict thecover of corals and algae on a reef. Methods used to identifythis will highlight which areas of the coast have undergone thegreatest change and help managers quantify the rate ofchange in reef habitats and to identify areas wheremanagement efforts may be better focused.Remote Sensing workshop inManilaRecent remote sensing research has improved the detail ofreef habitat maps but the interpretation and uses of theseproducts for management has received relatively littleattention. Specifically, what do habitat maps mean in terms ofbiodiversity and reef function and how should they be used forconservation planning? Outputs from the RSWG will enablemanagers to monitor the effectiveness of reserves effectivelyby stratifying their sampling by both habitat type and localhabitat complexity, both of which affect the densities of reeffish.Page 23 of 23

Maps of habitat complexity may also identify the location andextent of critical fish habitat which will guide MPA siteselection and help understand the connectivity of fishpopulations.The second year of the RSWG has proceeded largely asexpected. A few changes occurred such as member EricHochberg leaving the Group and the failure to acquireairborne hyperspectral data in Palau (due to airport closure).Managers will have theability to monitor theeffectiveness of reservesbetter through stratifyingtheir sampling by bothhabitat type and localhabitat complexity, bothof which affect thedensities of reef fishHowever, the RSWG is overcoming these set-backs bycreating a new PhD scholarship for a student at UQ (probablyfrom the Philippines and to work on use of hyperspectral datafor monitoring coral cover) and conducting an alternativeairborne campaign at Heron Island in 2007.The research of all project students is progressing well. SoniaBejarano has already made an empirical link betweenacoustic remote sensing and the density of particular reef fishspecies, and the management implications are discussed inthe detailed RSWG report.The oceanic remote sensing team (William Skirving, AlStrong, Mark Eaking and Laura David) have had twoworkshops in the Philippines and the Working Group held abroader, group-wide workshop in Mindoro (Philippines) inNovember.Activities & Implications for ManagementMajor activities and outcomes for the Remote SensingWorking Group in 2006 include:The RSWG scholarship program is continuing apace withthe project taking on two Filipino, one Colombian, oneSingalese and one Palauan student, and a further PhDscholarship will commence later this year. The studentshave worked in Belize, Bolinao and Palau as part ofintensive field activities at each location.A month-long field campaign was undertaken in Bolinaoand Palau throughout April which extended into May forseveral students. Studies were divided into severalcomplementary categories:♦♦♦habitat mapping surveys;detailed studies of reef and lagoon microhabitatsincluding their rugosity, 3-dimensional structure,species composition and associated fishcommunities;studies of the effects of reef structure on grazing byherbivorous fishes;Page 24 of 24

A cost-effective andeasy-to-use radiositybasedmodel forpredicting lightdistribution overstructural benthos willbe made available oncefine-tuning for accuracyis completedThe RSWG has nowcompleted the world’sfirst thorough globalsurvey of InherentOptical Properties (IOP)data which will providecritical information formanagers using the‘Reef Observer’ expertsystemVideo clips sourced fromthe RSWG supported‘ReefVid’ website havebeen used in Al Gore’sfilm ‘An InconvenientTruth’♦♦♦♦♦discrimination of reef structure using high resolutionoptical data (Quickbird imagery) and acoustic sensors(though a collaboration with Dr B. Riegl at NOVASoutheastern University);prediction of relative reef fish density and grazingthrough combination of acoustic and optical remotesensing;measurement of inherent optical water properties (thefirst set of data from Pacific reefs with stronggradients in water quality);measurement of apparent optical water properties;testing a new automated system for extracting coralcover from towed video data.John Hedley's radiosity-based model for predicting lightdistribution over structural benthos has been completedand is currently being fine-tuned for accuracy. This willimprove the ability to detect and identify coral reeffeatures from satellite data. As an additional output of theproject, the model will be made available as a costeffectiveand easy-to-use alternative to HydroLight© formanagers and students interested in the light environmentof the water column and benthos.In April 2006, Inherent Optical Properties (IOP) data(beam attenuation, total scattering and back-scattering)were collected for around 40 locations in Bolinao,Philippines and around 20 locations in Palau. Togetherwith the Belize IOP data from 2005 this constitutes thefirst-ever thorough global survey of IOPs of coral reefwaters, and encompasses a wide variety of waterconditions, including unique situations such as waterpollution due to overfeeding near fish farms in Bolinao. Allof the raw IOP data has been processed ready for use inthe models mentioned above. The data combined withRSWG models will have direct management application:1) for guiding remote sensing campaigns as part of ourplanned “Reef Observer” expert system, and 2) inphotobiology applications, for example in assessing theeffect of fish farm pollution on benthic light levels andphotosynthesis.John Hedley and Peter Mumby created the websitewww.Reefvid.org which is housed on the Project server.The site offers over 500 free video clips of coral reefphenomena for educational purposes, several of whichwere filmed during Project field work. ReefVid’s popularityis growing rapidly with over two thousand registeredusers, and we anticipate that it will become one of thepremier online coral reef educational resources.Page 25 of 25

The ReefVid site has been featured in Science (Netwatch,August 2006) and clips have been used for Al Gore'sDVD, 'An Inconvenient Truth', and for educational DVD-Roms in the British Virgin Islands and in Australia.Stuart Phinn has been involved in a project developingeducational materials such as and on-line toolkit forselecting suitable image data and mapping techniques touse for mapping and monitoring coral reefs, seagrassbeds and water quality(http://www.gpa.uq.edu.au/CRSSIS/tools/rstoolkit/). Theaim of this toolkit is to show managers, scientists andtechnicians working in coastal marine environments howimages collected from satellites and aircraft (remotesensing) can be used to map and monitor changes toindicators of coastal ecosystem health. We recognise that"coastal environments" encompass a broad range ofecosystems, however, this toolkit focuses on coastalwater bodies, seagrass, coral reefs, and mangroves.A priority for future work is to extend the toolkit to cover allother coastal ecosystems. This toolkit focuses on sensorsthat measure reflected sunlight (passive systems), formore detail on active systems (e.g. acoustic technologies)refer to http://www.coastal.crc.org.au/cwhm/toolkit/.MODELLING & DECISION-SUPPORTWORKING GROUPModelling is animportant tool formanagers, allowing theresults of ‘what if’questions to bevisualized immediatelyModelling is an important management technology that allowsdecision makers and reef users to see the dynamics of thewhole system – the biophysical and the socio-economic parts.Models can be organised so that the results of scenarios of‘what if’ questions can be computed and visualizedimmediately. The Modelling & Decision Support WorkingGroup (MDSWG) is developing modelling resources to enablereef managers to work with simulations for their own areas,better understand the links between local, regional and globalprocesses and access realistic scientific and economic dataover the internet.The 2006 year – the second year of the Modelling & DecisionSupport project – has seen progress against the WorkingGroup’s goals. In the current year, the Group has elaboratedits fundamental modelling framework to the point where it canbe used to develop particular models.Page 26 of 26

The MDSWG hasdeveloped its first localand regional modelsincorporating bothbiophysical and socioeconomicdynamicsIt has developed its first local models (of Chinchorro Bank,Mexico) and regional models (of the Meso-American BarrierReef System) which incorporate both biophysical and socioeconomicdynamics. In developing these models, the Grouphas built relationships with reef managers, involving them inworkshops during the development and testing. The MDSWGshared the regional model with managers and policy makersat the ITMEMS conference in Cozumel and at the annualmeeting in Akumal in October.The Group has received some external support through twodoctoral scholarships (College of London and University ofTasmania). It has also formed links with clients throughparticipatory workshops and site visits held thus far.Activities & Implications for ManagementIn the ten months of the current year (to September 2006), theGroup has made significant progress against its goals:The Group has further elaborated the fundamentalmathematical framework – it now includes the ecologicaldynamics of the reef benthos and fish as well as thesocio-economic dynamics of fishing and tourism.The Group has built a regional model of the Yucatán reefsystem suitable for role-playing scenarios – this waslaunched at the ITMEMS meeting, and was be the basisfor a special workshop with regional managers in Akumalfollowing ITMEMS (Oct. 23 rd -27 th , 2006).The local model of Chinchorro Bank has been tested withweb-based data feeds through a GIS interface.The MDSWG project is proceeding through five parallel,and interacting, streams of work:• The first is work on the fundamental mathematicalstructures. These structures will underpin all themodels – they are the basis for the Group’s high-levelframeworks. They describe the key interactions (suchas phase shifts in reefs or economic choices betweenresources) between and within the reef ecosystemand the socio-economic system. Through a processof stepwise refinement, the Group has analysed andis now satisfied with the elements of the dynamics.Page 27 of 27

A regional model of theMeso-American BarrierReef System wasdemonstrated duringITMEMS 3 as a ‘handson’tool for managers todevelop and testscenariosThe MDSWG hascommenced work onlinkages between theglobal economy and theworld’s reefs• The second is work on local models. The MDSWGhas built and tested the first elaborations of thefundamental mathematical structures as agent-basedmodels. The Group transformed the equations into‘stocks-and-flows’ systems dynamics models andthen from these into ABM models, checking at eachstage that the basic dynamics could be reproduced.The models are now being parameterized with realdata from Chinchorro Bank in the Meso-AmericanBarrier Reef System. Work on the Lingayen Gulf isalso starting with associated project funding initiativestogether with the socio-economic survey undertakenby the Philippine COE.• The third is work on regional models. This work wasmade a high priority at our March 2006 workshopfollowing the request from the Executive Committee tomake a significant contribution to the ITMEMSmeeting. The MDSWG decided that it should offer aworkshop that would present a regional model of theMeso-American Barrier Reef System, and use such amodel as a hands-on tool to allow managers todevelop and test scenarios.A prototype ABM model of the MBRS from Belize toCancun has been built on a ca 5 km grid, using theCORMAS modelling system. The dynamics of thismodel follow the fundamental mathematicalstructures. It captures basic ecology (corals, algaeand fish), basic connectivity (ocean currents forrecruitment, land-sea connections for nutrients andpollution), and basic economics (fishing, tourism,land-based development and pollution) in anintegrated, visual and interactive way.• The fourth stream is work on global models. At theMarch 2006 workshop the group sketched a way tohandle the linkages between the global economy andthe world’s reefs. This work is still embryonic and willdraw extensively on global futures and scenariosdeveloped in other contexts.Page 28 of 28

• The fifth stream is work on linkage between scalesand on data management and processing issues.This stream of work was seriously explored for thefirst time at the workshop in March 2006. Some webbasedapproaches were discussed as ways to ensurethat both models and data could be accessed by allstakeholders. The Group now has some preliminaryresults in applying web-based workflow methods tothe ABM models for Chinchorro Bank. This stream ofwork gave rise to two workshops at ITMEMS: one onthe problems of scale for management, and the otheron the impact of the future Web 2.0 on management.The MDSWG is developing models that enable managers to work withsimulations for their own areasPage 29 of 29

Component Two:Promoting ScientificLearning & CapacityBuildingAlthough most coral reefs are located in developing countries,the majority of coral reef research is currently based inuniversities and research institutes in the developed world.Rectifying this global imbalance in knowledge and capacity isa key mission of the CRTR program. The program is buildingor enhancing the capacity of institutions at sites in at leastthree developing countries within the first phase so that theycan function as regional Centres of Excellence. These threesites will be supported by a fourth site based in Australia.The Centres of Excellence are:1. Southeast Asia: Marine Science Institute of Bolinao,University of the Philippines.2. East Africa: Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dares Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanzania.3. Mesoamerica/Western Caribbean: Unidad AcademicaPuerto Morelos, Universidad Nacional Autonoma deMexico, Mexico.4. Australasia/South Pacific: Heron Island ResearchLaboratory, Centre of Marine Studies, The University ofQueensland, Australia.Page 30 of 30

CRTR Program Centresof Excellence continueto facilitate strongengagement with localand regionalmanagement and policystakeholdersEach Centre of Excellence (COE) is intended to become asustained regional resource with responsibility for engagingstakeholders throughout each region and serving as a hub forresearch, capacity building, and information exchange. Thisis the first step in what will be a long-term effort.In support of the Working Group efforts, the Centres ofExcellence have also continued to build their resourcesthrough both research implementation and infrastructure inorder to engage regional stakeholders and to support the workof the Working Groups. In particular, there has also beenstrong engagement with the local and regional managementand policy communities.AUSTRALASIAN CENTRE OFEXCELLENCEThe Australasian CoE isbuilding capacity inIndonesia and theWestern PacificcountriesThe Australasian Centre for Excellence has continued to buildits resources and presence in the Australasian and WesternPacific region.The Centre has also pursued its objectives to build capacitywithin the Australasian region and is now firmly focused onIndonesia and the Western Pacific countries. In this regard,the project has attracted two students (from Thailand andIndonesia) to undertake PhD programs within the Centre.The Australasian Centre for Excellence intends to expand itslinkages and activities in 2007. In this regard, the continualfocus on Indonesia and the Western Pacific will be a priority,but will also expand its contributions to selected countries inthe wider Indo-Pacific region.Activities & Implications for ManagementThe Australasian Centre of Excellence has made somesignificant inroads in its workplan during 2006 and has madeadvancements both with training and scholarship. Specifickey outputs and outcomes for the year are as follows:Following the completion of infrastructure improvementsat Heron Island Research Station, the CoE has hostedworkshops for both the Bleaching Working Group (2) andthe Disease Working Group (2). These Groups were alsoinitial users of the new equipment purchased to supportthe research activities of the CRTR Working Groups.Page 31 of 31

The Centre for Marine Studies (UQ) has successfullypositioned Heron Island Research Station as part of theintegrated Ocean Observing System via the AustralianNational Competitive Research Infrastructure (NCRIS)Scheme. This has linked the activities and capability ofCentre for Excellence into the Great Barrier Reef OceanObserving System (GBROOS). The central aim of thisGBROOS project (now funded) is to further enhance ourresearch capacity to understand climate change on thesouthern Great Barrier Reef. This will provide muchneeded information and connectivity of the southern GreatBarrier Reef into the broader regional environmentaltrends and understanding. This development will besynergistic with a large ARC Linkage project with NOAA,which has been approved to start on Sep 30, 2006. Thisproject will focus on developing new technologies formonitoring and projecting change on coral reefs.The project has attracted two students (from Thailand andIndonesia) to undertake PhD programs within the CoE.While the students are based in Australia, their field workwill be conducted in Thailand and Indonesia with the ideaof building stronger capacity and linkages within thesecountries. The CoE has also sponsored a PhD studentfrom James Cook University in Australia who is focusedon the role of effective coral reef governance in coral reefmanagement.The CoE also ran a short course for research studentsfrom the University of Diponegoro in central Java,Indonesia, leading to several students applying to dograduate work through AusAID with Centre researchers.Page 32 of 32

The Centre has established a relationship with NewZealand Aid (NZAID) Cook Island Marine ResourcesInstitutional Strengthening Project (CIMRIS) as part of abroader Pacific initiative. As part of this relationship, theCentre organised and hosted a study tour for senior staffon policy and management in practice. The focus for thetour included: policy and its role in the management ofnatural resources; policy and how it is developed, and;policy in action. Further plans are underway to send asmall team to the Cook Islands in 2007 to undertakemonitoring and assessment of long-term changes in thehealth of the Cook Island reef systems.Cook Islands look to Australasian CoEfor coastal policy insightsA delegation of senior coastal environment managers from theCook Islands visited Australia to learn the keys to successfulmarine conservation and sustainable economic developmentpolicy first-hand from some of the world’s leading researchers.The small nation of just 20,000 people spread across 15separate islands is rapidly emerging as a ‘must see’ tourismdestination in thePacific. With suchgrowth inevitablycomes pressure onthe Cook Islands’natural resources –and the coastaland marineenvironment inparticular – sodeveloping sound policy for management to keep up with theexpected growth is becoming critical.One of the visiting Cook Islanders, Paul Lynch, a lawyer withthe Cook Island National Environmental Services, said thatwith nearly 80 per cent of the country’s exports derived fromfish products and pearls, and the increasing focus on theislands as tourism hot spot, the delegates were keen tostrengthen the capacity of their country’s policy developersand law makers to guide the long-term management of itsrelatively pristine marine resources.Page 33 of 33

EAST AFRICAN CENTRE OFEXCELLENCEInfrastructureimprovements havesignificantly improvedthe capacity of the EastAfrican CoEThe Eastern African CoE served as a hub for research andstarted to build its capacity and that of the Eastern Africanregion as planned. The CoE has provided support to severalmembers of the Working Groups, e.g. Prof Rob van Woesikand Tim McClanahan of the Bleaching Working Group.Regionally important coral reef research was undertakenunder three subprojects. The CoE continued to build itscapacity through the acquisition of some field and laboratoryequipment. Included in this was the upgrade of its internetband-width and the stabilizing of the electrical power supplywith the installation of a new standby power generator.The CoE supported the Disease Working Group with theirfield work and collaborated on the holding of a regionalworkshop on coral disease. Other members of variousWorking Groups had an opportunity to work with the CoE inplanning and implementing various CRTR Program activities.Further to this, the CoE has recruited three PhD students andwill support them during Phase One; a National AdvisoryGroup of experts has been established to provide advice andguidance, and; various collaborative activities have beeninitiated, such as the CoE-MACEMP-WIOMSA collaboration.The East African CoE scholarshipprocess has commenced with therecruitment of three PhD studentsActivities & Implications for ManagementThe East African Centre of Excellence has continued to worktowards its goals in the research and capacity building areas.Key outputs during 2006 include:The CoE has provided support to several members of theBleaching Working Group, e.g. Prof Rob van Woesik andTim McClanahan. A collaborative research projectbetween the CoE and Drs. McClanahan and van Woesikis progressing well. This collaboration has resulted in ajoint coral reef research sub-project on assessing reefhealth conditions and climatic change impacts.The CoE, jointly with the Disease Working Group,organised and conducted a regional workshop on themicrobiology of coral disease on 3rd – 7th April 2006 inZanzibar. Twenty-five East African scientists fromMozambique, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, and theSeychelles participated in a five day workshop thatincluded coral taxonomy, coral microbiology, and coraldisease survey methods.Page 34 of 34

The indigenousknowledge project oncoral reef managementhas found even wheresome forms oftraditional managementstrategies exist in thestudy area, these are ofdecreasing effectivenessin protecting fishinghabitats and marineresources in generalThe East African CoEhas become animportant hub forencouraging linkagesand collaborationbetween research andmanagementThe Centre of Excellence scholarship process hascommenced with the recruitment of three PhD students.These students (Mbije, Suleiman and Jones) are currentlyin the admission and registration process within andoutside Tanzania.Remote Sensing Working Group activities in the regionhave already started. Through the RSWG Chair, the CoEhas received Ikonos Satellite images for Unguja(Zanzibar) Island. These images will be analysed and willserve as demonstrations to the upcoming RemoteSensing and GIS workshop to be held in September 2007.The CoE hosted a regional meeting of the Indian OceanGlobal Ocean Observation Systems (IOGOOS) on 10th –12th October 2006.A GIS expert, Dr. Lauretta Burke, of the World ResourceInstitute, Washington DC visited. The purpose of the visitwas to provide technical guidance to the GIS unitincluding performing a basic informal user needsassessment, establishing good basic GIS practices, andhelping to prepare for a GIS training workshop in 2007.In July 2006, the CoE hosted a collaborative meetingbetween CRTR, WIOMSA and MACEMP. The objectiveof the meeting was to discuss how MACEMP, CRTR, andWIOMSA could establish more linkages and collaborationas well as create enabling mechanisms for continuousand fruitful partnership in research and management.Through the sub-project looking at indigenous knowledgeon coral reef management, the CoE has already come tosome early conclusions. They state that even wheresome forms of traditional management strategies exist inthe study area, these are of decreasing effectiveness inprotecting fishing habitats and marine resources ingeneral. They conclude there are two reasons for this.The first relates to population increase within the fishingcommunity, and an intensification of fishing effort becauseof more efficient gear and increasing exports of fish. Theother relates to the arrival of increasing numbers ofimmigrant fishermen who are overwhelming localcommunities even where they use legal techniques andconform to local customs (and frequently they do neither).For reasons such as these, there is little doubt that fishinghabitats (including coral reefs) will be threatened andcatch per unit effort will decrease significantly.Page 35 of 35

MESO-AMERICAN CENTRE OFEXCELLENCEThe Mesoamerican CoE at Puerto Morelos is hosted by theUnidad Académica Puerto Morelos (UAPM) of the Instituto deCiencias del Mar y Limnología (ICML) of the UniversidadNacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).The activities of the Mesoamerican CoE are centered on thefollowing four main objectives: a) To conduct researchactivities linked with the Working Groups, b) to conduct localresearch activities, c) the development and implementation ofcapacity building activities and finally d) the linkage of thescientific results to local management and policy decisionmakers.Although meeting the benchmarks has been delayedas a consequence of the late approval of the sub-grantAgreement by UNAM, significant progress has been achievedin all four objectives:Development in the Meso-American region continues to putpressure on coral reef systemsThe Meso-American CoEis focusing on two majorresearch outputsrelating to thedevelopment of acirculation model and agroundwater model forunderstanding thesemajor water fluxes thatinfluence the regionCoral reefs in the area are under the influence of two majorwater fluxes, on the ocean side the Yucatan Current and onthe continental part, and the drainage of groundwater throughthe karstic geology characteristic of the zone. Considering themajor objectives of the project, the CoE has identified thestudy of these two fluxes as the local research priorities. TheCentre of Excellence is currently focusing on two majorresearch outputs relating to the development of two models (acirculation model and a groundwater model) for understandingthese major water fluxes that influence the region.The dynamics of the Yucatan Current greatly influences thewater fluxes in the interior of the reef lagoon. On the otherhand the quality and volume of the freshwater inputs mayhave a profound effect on the health of the fringing reef. TheCoE has selected a 6 km section of the reef in front of ICML-UNAM facilities in Puerto Morelos as a study site. Thedevelopment of a hydrodynamic model for the lagoon and thedescription of the ground water fluxes will generate importantinformation for both scientists and managers of the protectedarea. Furthermore, this information can be important for coralreef stakeholders in other geographic areas.In addition to the research activities, the CoE has, during thelast year, hosted the continuous operation of some of theBleaching and Disease Working Groups and initiated acollaboration with local managers and the Restoration &Remediation Working Group. The CoE has also offered twograduate courses as part of the capacity building activitieswith the participation of 29 students from seven countries.Page 36 of 36

Activities & Implications for ManagementThe development of ahydrodynamic model forthe lagoon and thedescription of theground water fluxes willgenerate importantinformation for bothscientists and managersand that can be appliedto other regionsSignificant outputs for 2006 under the Centre of Excellenceactivities include the following:The development of a hydrodynamic model for the lagoonand the description of the ground water fluxes willgenerate important information for both scientists andmanagers. Products will have direct applications formanagement, such as: a) an early coral bleachingwarning system for the local fringing reefs, that currentlyare not well covered by the current NOAA satelliteproducts, and b) a model describing the dispersion in thereef lagoon of pollutants introduced into the watershed.Although it is too early to release both products, they havethe potential to be useful management tools.The Centre of Excellence provided six students fromaround the region (Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela andColombia) to attend courses in Marine Protected Areasand Light & Photosynthesis on Coral Reefs. The twocourses were attended by 19 and 10 students respectivelyand have provided valuable insight and knowledge to theparticipants which can be used in their home countries.SOUTH-EAST ASIAN CENTRE OFEXCELLENCEThis second annual report covering the period from 1stSeptember 2005 to 31st August 2006 represents the first fullyear of normal operations of the Philippines/Southeast AsiaCenter of Excellence (CoE). Activities within the CoE are nowwell under way and described below.The coordination office continues to support the CoEactivities, and provides some assistance for the linkedresearch activities of CRTR Working Group members, bothlocal and foreign, who are conducting research activities in thePhilippines.Two doctoral students and three master’s degree students arenow engaged in the research projects of the CoE, plusanother two doctoral and five master’s level studentssupported at the CoE from funds from projects of WGmembers.South-East Asian CoE Graduatestudents at workPage 37 of 37

In addition to formal, ongoing training, coral taxonomyworkshops were held in February and August while a trainingcourse on coral diseases/marine microbiology was held fromApril-May 2006.The three local research projects (improvement in coraltaxonomy, coral disease and the connectivity and rearing ofrabbitfish) continue to make progress. In contrast to lastyear’s reports which primarily covered organizational aspects,the present period indicates more substantive activities fromcollection of specimens to initial analysis and characterizationof microbiological and genetic materials.Activities & Implications for ManagementMajor outputs for the Centre of Excellence in 2006 are asfollows:A workshop on the Development of a Communication andCapacity Building Strategy for the Philippines/SoutheastAsia CoE was held on 22-23 May 2006 at the MarineScience Institute in Diliman. This was attended by theprincipal investigators of CoE-assisted projects, membersof Remote Sensing Working Group and Modelling andDecision Support Working Group, the CoE Coordinator(also RRWG member) and staff and the Project ExecutiveOfficer. The workshop was aimed at developing acommunication and capacity building workplan and actionplan within a Philippine context. The Second Stakeholders Consultation was held on 9August 2006, together with the Launch of the PhilippineEnvironment Monitor 2005 (PEM 2005) and the Pretestingof Best Practices for Coral Reef Management ofthe Local Government Initiative. The PEM 2005 is aproject of various Philippine agencies with funding fromthe World Bank. The Best Practice for Coral ReefManagement project is a component of the LocalGovernment Initiative of the World Bank executed by theResearch Institute for the Subtropics (RIS) of Okinawa,Japan.Page 38 of 38

Four mayors participated in the event from themunicipalities of Anda, Bani and Bolinao and of the City ofAlaminos, as well as representatives from various localgovernment units (LGUs), national government agencies,non-government organizations, academia and the media.A summary of the feedback from the LGUs regarding bestpractices for coral reef management, obtained through thequestionnaire provided by Dr. Seiji Nakaya of the RIS isprovided in the detailed CoE report.The second StakeholdersConsultation attracted Mayorsand other representatives fromvarious government and nongovernmentorganisations,together with researchers andrepresentatives of the mediaA new long-range dive boat hasallowed more efficient field tripsfor the CRTR Programresearchers operating inpartnership with the South-EastAsian CoEThe CoE has received a large amount of media exposureduring 2006. In April 2006, the CRTR Program wasfeatured in three national daily newspapers, namely: ThePhilippine Star, The Manila Times and Business World.The articles focused on the overall objectives andsignificance of the CRTR Program, both in theinternational and national context. It should be noted thatthe Philippine Star is the second most widely read dailynewspaper in the country. These different articles werebased on an expanded article initially published in theJanuary-February 2006 issue of the UP Forum, apublication of the UP Information Office circulated withinthe UP System nationwide. A PDF file of the article maybe obtained from http://www.gefcoral.org.The Second Stakeholders Consultation, held on 9 August2006, was featured in a news article posted on thewebsite of the City Government of Alaminos City,Pangasinan (http://www.alaminoscity.gov.ph/news/). Inthe beginning of this year, an article on the FirstStakeholders Consultation workshop was published in thePhilippine Daily Inquirer, the paper with the largestcirculation.The purchase and completion of infrastructure andequipment has continued in order to build the capacity ofthe research institute. Some examples include: theinstallation of the PABX telephone system (which hasmade telephone communication between researchers andadministrative staff in UPMSI at Diliman and BML mucheasier); the purchase of a new boat for CRTR researchproject use in Bolinao, and; construction of a new coralmuseum at the third floor of BML, Pangasinan wascompleted as well as repainting and renovation of thecoral museum at UP MSI in Diliman.The CoE has been lending support to the activities of theEU INCO-DEV Reef Restoration Project (REEFRES).Two work programs are being undertaken in Bolinao bytwo members of the RRWG (E. Gomez and A. Edwards).Page 39 of 39

The Bolinao-based COE subproject on coral disease isstill soliciting collaborative input from international expertsin coral disease pathology including histology andenzymology. Close collaborative links with internationalmembers of the DWG are indispensable. Theforthcoming DWG workshop to be held at Bolinao inJanuary 2007 is viewed as an important milestone forfurther progress.Informal contacts have been made with the SeagrassDemonstration Site personnel at the Bolinao MarineLaboratory which is a component of the GEF/UNEP SouthChina Sea Project. Discussions have related to commonconcerns about conservation of coastal resources andlinkages with stakeholders, especially the localgovernments and the schools in the region. Furthercollaboration is expected.Component Three:Linking ScientificKnowledge toManagement and Policy2006 has seen the research activity of the Working Groups,Centres of Excellence and the Program as a whole, beingfirmly linked to the management and policy audiences. Asevidenced in the sections for Components One and Two,each Working Group and Centre of Excellence is makingexcellent progress towards ensuring that their researchoutputs are being linked early in the process and to therespective target audiences. This has been occurring througha series of capacity building and communication forums i.enetworking opportunities (meetings, workshops, and trainingsessions), and the development of products targetedspecifically for the audience and training sessions.During the past year specific activities have commenced atnot only the Working Group or Centre of Excellence level, butalso at the strategic Program level, which have been designedspecifically for linking outputs and information to themanagement and policy audiences.Page 40 of 40

The most prominent of these activities include the following:• The Local Government Initiative has been developedto link local governments and communities at chosensites in the four regions to the Program, and toprovide information to assist local communities in theirmanagement practices to reduce the impacts on thecoral reefs;During the past yearspecific activities havecommenced at WorkingGroup, Centre ofExcellence and at thestrategic Program level,specifically to linkoutputs and informationto the management andpolicy audiences• The development and release of the compilation ofreef-friendly practices designed to assist managers,policy-makers and local governments with casestudiesshowing effective management of coral reefs;• The compilation of a technical baseline compendiumhas been developed that establishes the state of ourknowledge of coral reefs at the commencement of thisProgram, and later will be used as the baselineagainst which future knowledge and progress can bemeasured, and;• The CRTR Program provided support to, andattended the 3 rd International Tropical MarineEcosystems Management Symposium (ITMEMS) inOctober 2006.Of particular note is the 3 rd ITMEMS conference of which alarge contingent of CRTR Program members attended inCozumel, Mexico. The CRTR was a prominent supporter andparticipator in a number of the conference sessions includinga Local Mayors Panel, workshop sessions and the sponsoringof a special event promoting the work being undertaken by theProgram. This event was critical in raising the profile of theProgram and its participants, building linkages into themanagement community and exchanging information toensure that the CRTR outputs are credible, in demand andviewed as valuable to the stakeholders the Program istargeting.These above activities, combined with those of the individualWorking Groups and Centres of Excellence, have ensuredthat the targeted research is relevant to the appropriateaudiences, and in particular, has emphasized the value of theresearch outputs. The efforts to date have also built essentiallinkages with those stakeholders who will most benefit fromthe Program’s findings and products.Page 41 of 41

3 rd International Tropical Marine EcosystemsManagement Symposium (ITMEMS)Cozumel was host to the 3 rdITMEMS conference where theCRTR Program had a majorsession to highlight theimportance of integrationbetween scientists and managersThe 3 rd ITMEMS Conference was held from the 15 – 20October in Cozumel, Mexico. The CRTR Program had astrong presence at the conference with all Synthesis Panelmembers attending along with a number of Working Groupmembers. The Program sponsored a special cocktailreception event which highlighted the work of the Programincluding the importance of integration between managersand scientists as well as providing an effective feedbackmechanism on priorities and the utility of the targetedresearch to management needs. Individuals participated in 14different workshop sessions. Of note was the participation ofthe members of the Modelling & Decision Support WorkingGroup under the Modelling and Decision Support Theme,whereby (amongst other things) they conducted sessions ofmodelling workshops where a new regional model for theMeso-American Barrier Reef System was presented.Local Mayors PanelThe Program was also a major supporter and sponsor of theLocal Mayors Panel which was held as part of ITMEMS.The Mayors Panel consisted of:The CRTR Program was a strongsupporter of the Local MayorsPanel held as a part of the 3 rdITMEMS conference in Mexico- Gustavo Ortega Joaquin Mayor, Island of Cozumel,Mexico- Mahmoud Juma Issa Mayor. Zanzibar Municipal Council,Tanzania- Ann Bunnell Deputy Mayor, Townsvile, Queensland,Australia- Lucilo Bayron Vice Mayor, Puerto Princesa City,Philippines- Teariki Matenga Mayor, Tukitumea, Rarotonga, CookIslands- Hermani Braganza Mayor, City of Alaminos, Pangasinan,Philippines- Jeremy Harris Former Mayor, Honolulu, Hawaii, USAThe Program sponsored the three mayors from thePhilippines (Mayor Braganza), Zanzibar (Mayor Issa) and theCook Islands (Mayor Matenga).The public Panel sessions were strongly supported byattendees at ITMEMS and culminated in the drafting andsigning of a Local Government Leaders’ Statement (seeAppendix B) whereby the Panel identified six major issuesthat should be addressed to develop the partnership betweenthe global coral reef management community and localgovernment.Page 42 of 42

The Program is continuing the association with these mayorsand others through the Local Government Initiative (seebelow).Further information and findings on the ITMEMS conferencecan be found at the ITMEMS website www.itmems.org.Local Government InitiativeThe Local Government Initiative is a new initiative developedunder the CRTR Program which aims to bring about changeto assist in raising awareness of the issues facing localgovernments and communities who depend upon coral reefsfor their livelihoods, and to work with chosen communities toexchange information and knowledge which may assist inaddressing these issues. They include:The Local GovernmentInitiative is now beingintegrated into projectsmanaged by CRTRProgram Centres ofExcellenceUnsustainable fishing and coastal management practices.Lack of public awareness, limited acceptance of rules andlow level of compliance.Lax or ineffective enforcement.Lack of plans/ordinance for coral reef management.Lack of alternative income generating activities to reducehuman impacts on the reefs.Lack of funding.The Local Government Initiative aims to address these issuesthrough the following goals:1. To ‘green’ policies and business practices of localgovernment so that they align with those factorsessential to maintaining coral reef health andproductivity.2. To improve the capacity of the Coral Reef TargetedResearch and Capacity Building for Management(CRTR) Program’s Centres of Excellence to partnerwith local governments throughout their target regionsin the identification, dissemination and uptake of goodpractices.All Centres of Excellence are currently preparing projectswithin their regions to bring about change in the practices oflocal governments and communities in combating some of theissues facing coastal and coral reef ecosystems from humanimpacts.Page 43 of 43

Compilation of reef-friendly practicesA compendium of goodmanagement practiceshas been developed andintegrated into the CRTRProgram’s LocalGovernment InitiativeprojectsThrough support from the Japanese Trust Fund, acompendium of good management practices for coral reefs,based on sound science and documented literature, has beencompiled by the Research Institute for the Sub-tropics (RIS), aJapanese NGO. These practices range from integratedcoastal management, erosion management and waste watertreatment, to Marine Protected Areas, tourism guidelines andrestrictions on fishing and equipment.These practices including the rationale, methods, results andlessons learned, have been drawn from coral reefmanagement contexts around the world.Pre-testing of good practicesA representative sample of the coral reef friendly practicescompiled above was vetted in stakeholder consultations withFilipino Mayors and other local government leaders inAlaminos City, Pangasinan, Philippines in early August 2006.Over 80 stakeholders attended the day long workshop, whichincluded a briefing on the declining state of coastal andmarine resources in the Philippines, estimates of economicloss from degraded coral reefs, and what some communitieswere doing in response.Examples of field-tested best practice for coral reefmanagement in the Philippines were presented tostakeholders for discussion, along with those examples fromother parts of the world. Local government leaders were bothdisturbed by the accelerated rates of coral reef degradationand consequent loss of resource rents in the Philippines (e.g.,in the fisheries and tourism sectors) and hopeful that thiscould be turned around with decisive and appropriate actions.Presentation of pilot results at ITMEMS 3The local government leaders representing coral reefcommunities from around the world (e.g., from Mexico,Philippines, Cook Islands, Tanzania, Fiji, PNG, Hawaii,Australia, Belize) discussed a compendium of coral reeffriendly practices and the pre-test results in the Philippines.Page 44 of 44

The Commitment by mayors and other local governmentleaders to take on board several of these good practices inresponse to threats to coral reefs in their own communities isexpected, along with a statement calling local governmentleaders to take action and develop a strategy outlining keysteps that they can take to protect coral reefs in theircommunities.Publication of Manual and Brochures in three languagesfor broad disseminationFeedback from the Local Government Leaders’ Forum andplenary discussions involving a broad group of stakeholderswill be incorporated into a final report. This will also bereviewed by the coral reef research community to ensure thatrecommendations are robust and based on good science.An illustrated brochure of these coral reef friendly practiceswill be published initially in English, Spanish and Tagalog forbroad dissemination to local governments which depend oncoral reef goods and services.Synthesis PanelThe Synthesis Panel has continued to make decisionsdetermining the direction of the Program’s research agenda.During 2006, the Panel held its meeting at Puerto Morelos,Mexico, from the 11-14 October 2006. A copy of the minuteswill be available in the 2007 six-monthly progress report.Common Sampling for Working Groups &Centres of ExcellenceIn October, 2004, a joint meeting of selected working groupmembers initiated a special program to establish commonrepeated measures of key process variables in and aroundeach of the Centres of Excellence. The approach was roughlymodeled after the 50 hectare terrestrial monitoring plotsoriginally established by researchers of the SmithsonianTropical Research Institute, which has since grown into aglobal network of comparable data sets. The CRTR team metwith two consulting statisticians to help in reviewing programdesign.Dr. Rob van Woesik of the BWG has been coordinating theeffort and study sites have been established in three of theCoEs to date. Additional effort will be directed toward thePhilippines in 2007, as well as engaging other Working Groupmembers who can assist with standard operating procedures,methods and techniques in common data collection.Page 45 of 45

This will be so that all repeated measures sampling will becomparable across study sites and over the life of theprogram. Ultimately, the data generated should also benefiteach of the Working Groups and CoEs, but also contributetoward data validation and parameterization needed by theModelling and Decision Support Working Group.Technical Baseline CompendiumThe draft of the technical baseline summary, to serve as thestate-of-knowledge at the commencement of the project, waspresented during the October, 2006 Synthesis Panel meetingfor review and comment by Synthesis Panel members.The compendium will be made available for internal Programmembers in early 2007. A special edition for external releasewill also be completed in early 2007.Synthesis WorkshopBased upon targeted research conducted and findings todate, a workshop will be held in early 2007 for SynthesisPanel members to commence the integration and synthesis ofthis research information and outputs. A key output from thismeeting will be the development of summary statements onthe research findings so far.The intent of the workshop is to review summary material forproducing several documents 1) a statement by the panelrelating to early findings and areas of concern (and producedas a product by the CRTR program) 2) a policy forumdiscussion to be submitted to Science and other peerreviewedarticles.These outcomes will be the first synthesised product from theProgram utilising research outputs from across the sixWorking Groups and will be specifically for the Program’starget audiences.Page 46 of 46

Component Four:Program Management2006 has seen the finalisation of many of the procedures tobe implemented by the Project Executing Agency (PEA) toensure an effective and accountable operating structure. Allsub-grant contracts are now in place and the terms andconditions of the contracts are being effectively met with theassistance of the institutions involved. CRTR members of theManagement Team, Working Groups and Centres ofExcellence, along with their respective institutions, have beeninstrumental in assisting the PEA through the implementationprocess and the ongoing operation of the Program, and theirsupport is most appreciated.Despite a slower than expected start to the fundsdisbursement, the past year has seen a steady progressiontowards meeting the estimated program expenditure asoutlined in the project planning documents, due to all subgrantAgreements now being in place and increasedmomentum with the Program activities under all threecomponents.Monitoring and evaluation of Program activities has beentracked throughout the year. Following direction from theWorld Bank, the performance indicators for the Program arecurrently undergoing revision. Due to this, a monitoring andevaluation report is unable to be supplied with this report, butwill be undertaken against the new performance indicatorsand submitted to the World Bank Team Leader once thesehave been finalised.Work has continued on the development of theCommunication program for the CRTR Program with thecommunication strategy and visual identity being reviewedand revised by Currie Communications. Promotional andinformation products have also been produced includingposters and research updates. These products werepresented at the ITMEMS Conference in October to anaudience of coral reef managers and decision-makers, withgreat effect. Efforts in this area will continue in 2007 with agreater emphasis on the production of synthesizedinformation.Page 47 of 47

Activities & ImplicationsDisbursementsDisbursements have continued during 2006 with the Programon-target with its expenditure projections. By the end of thereporting period (30 September 2006), the Project is on-targetto meet its expenditure objectives for Year Two. Activitiesfunded include the research activities under Component One,the research and capacity building activities under ComponentTwo and the activities to link scientific knowledge tomanagement under Component Three.Prolonged agreement negotiations with some institutionscaused initial delays in the disbursement of funds. However,these negotiations have now all been finalised and thedisbursement under the GEF funding source is now on-track.Research activity has also accelerated in the past year whichhas had an impact on the amounts disbursed as WorkingGroups increase activity to meet their objectives.ProcurementThe procurement for the Project for the year is below:ConsultanciesDuring the reporting period, the following consultancy hasbeen granted:Mr Andy Hooten, Synthesis Panel Executive Secretary &US Coordinator.Dr Lauretta Burke, Provide technical guidance to the GISunit located at the Institute of Marine Science, Zanzibar.Dr Roger Green and Dr Brian McArdle were contracted ona retainer basis, to participate in discussions and providestatistical guidance on common sampling and informationsharing approaches.Executive Committee HonorariaAs mentioned in previous reports, Drs Knowlton and Muthigahave been placed on the Honoria list for their work undertakenon behalf of the Project as Executive Committee members.Sub-GrantsDuring the reporting period, the Project Executing Agencyhave finalised all sub-grant Agreements.Page 48 of 48

Monitoring & EvaluationMonitoring of Program activities has continued during 2006and there have been significant inroads in the first two yearsof the Program to ensure that the research outputs are ofvalue to the target audiences. Due to the revision of theProgram’s performance indicators a report has not beenprepared at this stage demonstrating targets and impactsagainst the revised indicators. A report will be prepared oncethe performance indicators have been finalised in the comingmonths.Page 49 of 49

CommunicationFollowing the resignation of Elaine Tilson in May 2006 as theCommunication Officer, the Program appointed CurrieCommunications in the interim period to review thecommunication strategy and provide recommendations as tohow the Program could move forward, and to revise theProgram branding.Kim Mitchell, a senior consultant from Currie Communicationshas been working effectively with the Management Team, andmore recently, with the Synthesis Panel to revise andimplement the communication strategy and Programbranding. Specific details of the communication activity aredetailed below by Mr Mitchell.A series of CRTR Programposters have proven popular atmajor eventsA detailed review of the CRTR Program communicationprogram and visual identity was facilitated by Currie within thefirst few weeks of being appointed. This has since resulted ina complete revision of the program branding, establishment ofmore open and flexible design protocols for products and thedevelopment of a revised communication strategy.Following consultation with members of the ExecutiveCommittee and PEA, the new visual identity has now beenapplied to a number of flagship communication materials,including conference/exhibition posters, program promotionalmaterials such as the summary brochure, postcards and othercorporate materials including business cards for all SynthesisPanel members, PowerPoint, letterhead and other templates.Currie has also worked with Synthesis Panel members toinitiate a series of ‘Research Updates’ which were publishedfor the ITMEMS 2006 conference in Mexico. A series of highlyvisual scientific posters have also been developed for each ofthe Working Groups as well as for the Centres of Excellenceand Local Government Initiative.Both products have been very well received by WorkingGroup and COE Chairs with strong demand for additionalcopies noted for targeted communication by CRTR Programmembers.CRTR Program ResearchUpdates aim to provide a detailedinsight into research progressPage 50 of 50

The CRTR Program website is undergoing a major update,with a stronger focus on connecting on-line users with CRTRProgram research outcomes, providing a news and featurearticle-style information service for first-time users whileensuring the site has the level of technical capacity andinteractivity required by CRTR participants. The revisedwebsite also offers significantly easier navigation andfunctionality, aiming to allow users to go directly to their areaof interest (by Working Group, COE, etc) or stepping throughan intuitive pathway via the graphic-rich strapline and bannersections.The revised CRTR Programwebsite will offer higher levels offunctionality and ease of use toaccess program informationKim Mitchell participated in a one-week CommunicationWorkshop at the SCRIPPS Institute, University of California,in late August 2006 to interact with the SeaWebcommunication group and senior staff members at SCRIPPS.During this workshop Kim met with CRTR Program SynthesisPanel Chair Nancy Knowlton to facilitate feedback on theCRTR’s Communication and Capacity-Building Strategies.Kim also coordinated a component to the workshop’s mediatraining session by stepping participants through a mediaconference exercise to improve the level of skills inanticipating, and successfully answering, questions from themedia.Kim also attended the October 2006 Synthesis Panel meetingin Puerto Moreles, Mexico. During this time a number of oneto-onebriefings were undertaken with the various Chairs todetermine the level of progress, and assistance required, inimplementing communication workplans. A majorcommunication focus emerging for many of the WorkingGroups lies in the development of Products derived fromCRTR and other research for key program stakeholders.Working with Chairs and project teams in successfullydeveloping and disseminating such materials will be a priorityfocus for the CRTR Program in the coming year.Following approval of the final draft CRTR ProgramCommunication Strategy Currie will work with the PEA toassist Working Groups and COEs to develop communicationworking plans and also to refine communication guidelinesand protocols for the broader program.Page 51 of 51

Appendix A – Students affiliated with the CRTRWorkingGroup orCentre ofExcellenceSurname First Name ScholarshipBleaching Kongjandtre Narinratana PhD Thailand University of Queensland,Australia.Country Scholarship Institution Scholarship Title Start Date End DateTaxonomy and connectivity of coralsfrom the genus Favia in Thailandand on the southern Great BarrierReef.Bleaching Padillo-Gamino Jackie PhD TBC University of Hawaii Assessing the impacts ofdisturbance on reproduction of coralsBleaching Furaha Juliet Masters TBC Moj University The influence of area protection andsite characteristics on recruitment,survival, and growth of coral specieson the Kenyan Coast01/07/2006 30/03/201001/01/2005 31/12/201001/01/2005 01/01/2008Bleaching Visram Shakil PhD TBC TBC TBC TBC TBCConnectivity Alvarado Nathaniel B.Sc. Belize University of Maine, USA Coral ecology 01/01/2006 31/12/2007Connectivity Mojica Angela M.Sc. Guatemala Old Dominion University,USAConnectivity León Zubillaga Ainhoa M.Sc., Venezuelan Universidad Simón Bolivar,Caracas with secondments toGeorgia Tech, WaterlooUniversity (Canada)Connectivity Porto Morales Isabel M.Sc. Colombia Universidad de los Andes,Colombia, with secondmentConnectivityMaría Salas DeLa Fuente(1) Impact of grazing crabs on coralreefs(2) Postlarval lobster responses tosettlement cuesGenetics and connectivity ofAcropora palmatato Georgia Tech.Eva MSc Costa Rica Population genetics of the Bicolordamselfish, Stegastes partitus01/07/2006 30/06/200801/04/2006 31/03/2009Coral genetics and connectivity 01/06/2006 31/05/200801/06/2005 30/05/2007Disease Croquer Aldo Post-doc University of Puerto Rico Geographic assessment andmonitoring of diseases in the widerCaribbean.Disease Jordán Garza Guillermo Masters Mexico Instituto de Ciencias del Mary Limnología, MexicoGeographic assessment andmonitoring of diseases on MexicoreefsTBCTBCTBCTBCPage 52 of 52

Disease Ridep-Morris Alma Australia James Cook University,AustraliaThe dynamics and epidemiology of acoral disease outbreak in Nikko BayDisease Rosell Kathryn B. Philippines Philippines The effects of the riverine dischargeson coral disease prevalenceModelling & Ching Fung Tak PhD UK University College, UK Modelling coral reef ecosystems andDecisiontheir interaction with humanSupportsocietiesTBC TBCTBC TBC01/10/2004 30/09/2008Modelling &DecisionSupportGeronimo Rollan C. MSc Philippines University of the Philippines Modeling marine protected areanetworks along the South ChinaSea01/01/2006 30/03/2007Modelling &DecisionSupportModelling &DecisionSupportRemoteSensingRemoteSensingRemoteSensingRemoteSensingRemoteSensingRestorationandRemediationRestorationandRemediationRestorationandRemediationTrebilco Jessica PhD Australia University of Tasmania,AustraliaDecision support systems formanaging coral reefs at a regionalscale01/10/2006 31/10/2009Cleland Deborah Other Australia ANU, Australia Summer Research Scholarship 01/09/2006 31/03/2007Idip David MSc Palau Canada (2/3) and Exeter(1/3)Dedicated training in remotesensing: mapping reefs, bathymetry,wave exposure and beta diversity ofPalauBejarano Sonia PhD UK University of Exeter Use of acoustic remote sensing topredict relative fish density andgrazing intensityLim Alan PhD Canada University of Waterloo Use of remote sensing to detectecological changes in coral reefenvironments using texturalmeasuresTiczon Victor Philippines University of the Philippines Use of remote sensing to predict thedensity of keystone taxaPenaflor Eileen PhD Philippines University of the Philippines Remote sensing of coral bleaching.Began October 2005Vicentuan Kareen Masters Philippines UPMSI, Philippines The reproductive biology ofscleractinian corals and in addition,the effects of fragmentation on theirreproductive statusBaria Maria Masters Philippines UPMSI, Philippines Spatial and temporal patterns ofcoral recruitment in Bolinao,Pangasinan15/09/2006 31/08/200701/10/2005 30/10/2008TBCTBC01/04/2005 TBCTBCTBC01/01/2006 30/03/200801/03/2006 TBCCabaitan Patrick Masters Philippines University of the Philippines TBC TBC TBCPage 53 of 53

RestorationandRemediationRestorationandRemediationDe La Cruz Dexter Masters Philippines University of the Philippines TBC TBC TBCBaria Vanesa Masters Philippines University of the Philippines TBC TBC TBCAustralasian Schuttenberg Heidi PhD USA James Cook University, Understanding Effective Coral Reef 01/12/2006 30/03/2010AustraliaGovernanceAustralasian Kongjandtre Narinratana PhD Thailand University of Queensland, Taxonomy and connectivity of corals 01/07/2006 30/03/2010(Nong)Australiafrom the genus Favia in Thailandand on the southern Great BarrierReef.Australasian Albert Simon PhD Australia The University of Queensland New tools to identify coral reef TBC TBCecosystems at riskEast African Mbije Nsajigwa PhD Africa Tanzania TBC TBC TBCEast African Suleiman Mohammed PhD TBC State University of Zanzibar TBC TBC TBCEast African Jones Leonard PhD TBC Institute of Marine Sciences TBC TBC TBCMesoAmericanMesoAmericanMesoAmericanMesoAmericanMesoAmericanMesoAmericanMesoAmericanSouth EastAsianSouth EastAsianSouth EastAsianCoronado Cesar PhD Mexico Centro de InvestigaciónCientífica y de EducaciónSuperior de Ensenada.MexicoColombo Florencia PhDstudentMexicoCentro de InvestigaciónCientífica y de EducaciónSuperior de Ensenada,MexicoWater Circulation in the PuertoMorelos Reef LagoonSupport for attending the course onLigth and Photosynthesis on CoralReefsPereraValderramaSusana Manager Cuba Centro Nacional de ÁreasProtegidas de Cuba, CubaSupport for Attending the course ofMarine Protected AreasHernández Aylem Manager Cuba Centro Nacional de Áreas Support for attending the MarineProtegidas de Cuba, Cuba Protected Areas courseBohorquez Carlos Manager Colombia Colombia Support for attending the MarineProtected Areas courseYepsi Alejandra Manager Venezuela Venezuela Support for attending the MarineProtected Areas CourseGarcía Nieto Natalia Masters Mexico Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM,MéxicoArboleda Mark Dondi PhD Philippines Marine Science Institute,PhilippinesRavago-Gotangco Rachel PhD Philippines The Marine Science Institute,PhilippinesVergara Mark MSc Philippines The Marine Science Institute,Philippines01/01/2006 01/01/201010/01/2006 10/02/200617/06/2006 25/06/200616/06/2006 25/06/200617/06/2006 25/06/200617/06/2006 25/06/2006Support for attending the Marine 17/06/2006 25/06/2006Protected Areas courseTBC 16/06/2005 15/06/2007TBC 01/11/2005 31/10/2006TBC 01/02/2005 31/01/2007Page 54 of 54

South EastAsianSouth EastAsianLumibao Candice MSc Philippines The Marine Science Institute,PhilippinesPueblos Miahnie Joy MSc Philippines The Marine Science Institute,PhilippinesTBC 01/02/2006 31/08/2006TBC 15/07/2006 15/10/2006Page 55 of 55

Appendix B – Local Mayors StatementITMEMS 3 COZUMEL DECLARATIONLOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERS’ STATEMENTLocal Governments hold the key to the future of coral reefs and other tropical marineecosystems.Greenhouse gas emissions, land based sources of marine pollution, unsustainablecoastal development, overfishing and destructive fishing are local problems that impactat the global level. Healthy coral reefs are a beautiful indicator of healthy coastal andmarine ecosystems and an increasingly valuable natural resource. The economic, socialand cultural futures of people of tropical coasts and islands are linked to the health ofcoral reefs.Local Government is on the front line of the issues that directly affect the future of coralreefs and associated ecosystems. Many local governments face huge and constantlychanging challenges in providing for sustainability – meeting the needs of the presentwithout compromising the needs of the future.We are grateful for the opportunity provided for us to engage with the expertise of thecoral reef management and scientific community through participation in the program ofthe Third International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium.We have identified 6 major issues that should be addressed to develop the partnershipbetween the global coral reef management community and local governmentEMPOWERMENTWe call upon the management and scientific community to support the empowermentand resourcing of local governments to manage tropical marine ecosystems.NETWORKSWe call upon the management community to work with local government and communitynetworks to develop informed partnerships to address the management of tropicalmarine ecosystems.CAPACITY BUILDINGWe call upon the management community to work with local government to developpractical technical capacity at the local level to address marine ecosystem issues.KNOWLEDGE AND COMMUNICATIONWe call upon researchers to communicate current research information in a manner thataddresses the needs of local government.POLITICAL WILLWe call upon the management community to work with local government to build thepolitical will to meet the challenges of managing tropical marine ecosystems.RECOGNITION OF ACHIEVEMENTPage 56 of 56

We encourage the management community to publicly recognize the achievements oflocal government in sustainable management of marine resources.Gustavo Ortega Joaquin Mayor, Island of Cozumel, MexicoMahmoud Juma Issa Mayor. Zanzibar Municipal Council, TanzaniaAnn Bunnell Deputy Mayor, Townsvile, Queensland, AustraliaLucilo Bayron Vice Mayor, Puerto Princesa City, PhilippinesTeariki Matenga Mayor, Tukitumea, Rarotonga, Cook IslandsHermani Braganza Mayor, City of Alaminos, Pangasinan, PhilippinesJeremy Harris Former Mayor, Honolulu, Hawaii, USAPage 57 of 57