Fijian Coral Reef Degradation

What did the coral reefs in Fiji Historically look like and what is the historical state of this ecosystem?

                         Some of the most diverse ocean environments surround the 320 islands of Fiji in the Southwest Pacific (Ngm.nationalgeographic.com, 2015). The archipelago includes four key reefs and one key reef system (Wwf.panda.org, 2015). The biodiversity that is present in the coral reefs in Fiji today is largely due to the persistent monitoring and management efforts by the government, NGOs and private businesses (Wwf.panda.org, 2015).

The high islands in Fiji are from volcanic origin and the low islands consist of coral and limestone varieties. The volcanic islands, for example Viti Levu, have mountainous landscapes, ancient volcanoes and rocky outcrops and shores (Ngm.nationalgeographic.com, 2015). Historically, the islands were elevated and so were exposed to erosion. This reduced their height to present day and created the shape of the atolls. Atolls are circular oceanic reef systems which surround a deep, central lagoon.  The platforms in which the corals have grown were left by the erosion of the central island (Anon, 2015). The best known example of an atoll in Fiji is Wailagilala, on the eastern side of the Nanuku Passage.

However recently as the islands have become more populated, run-off from pollution and sewage discharge has increased from urban areas. This contamination as well as siltation, caused by dredging, has lowered fish population (Wwf.panda.org, 2015.. Overfishing, introduction of alien species, hunting marine turtles for their shells and meat and the collection of small tropical fish for aquarium trade has all decrease the rich biodiversity that was more present in the past. These factors contribute to how the coral reefs in Fiji are beginning to change from what they looked like historically. In the pacific Islands there are 146,000 ha of Mangroves and the largest areas includes Fiji (Ngm.nationalgeographic.com, 2015).

 However, recently mangroves are being destroyed due to land clearing, agricultural development and construction. In addition Fiji's reefs took a major hot-water hammering in 2000 and 2002, leading to widespread bleaching (Ngm.nationalgeographic.com, 2015). This caused a loss of algae and corals which left uncovered limestone (Ngm.nationalgeographic.com, 2015). Whereas in other places which were not bleached sea life blossomed and the biodiversity of the marine species thrived. 

This demonstrates the fragility of marine life and how recent human factors can so easily cause the destruction of the coral reef ecosystems to change what they historically looked like. 

Human Interaction with Environment

Humans normally visit Coral Reefs for the aesthetic pleasure. The beauty of Coral Reefs attracts large amounts of human traffic. The same holds true for Fiji. Increasing traffic on the islands as well as the introduction of industrialization techniques have been contributing to the loss of the beautifully natural Fijian roral Reefs.

First, nutrient distribution of the Fiji coral reef water has been thrown off recently. Scientists are attributing these changes to overfishing of herbivore species necessary for control of macro-algae. Without these overfished species present, macro-algae are allowed to dominate the area and take a proverbial hold over the environment. Further proof for human influence on these ecosystems is shown by data from the same study showing that pollution levels were highest around human inhabited areas. Waters next to hotels and other ‘tourist attractions’ are found to have the highest pollution levels, seemingly due to presence of humans. Normal pollution levels are typically found around the non-human inhabited areas of the island. Continued commercial fishing is strangling the presence of predator species in Fiji. The lack of predators has caused an increase in starfish species which prey on coral. Studies have shown that starfish species are less dense when human fishing is less commonly practiced around the area. This shows how commercial use for fish populations in coral reefs can directly effect the natural balance of the ecosystem.

            Continued human activity on land actually effects the coral reefs as well. The carbon rich environment created by human activity is warming the world. This warming effect on land also reaches the ocean waters. Increased water temperatures cause a bleaching effect of coral reefs. The coral is unable to survive in water above 86 degrees. This global warming effect is stripping the life preserving algae which sustain coral from the substrates and in turn ruining coral reefs. Support is growing to create a protected area of Fijian Coral Reefs which will obviously help preservation, but global warming will undermine these efforts if we can't find a way to decrease the effects of global warming in order to keep water at a reasonable temperature that can sustain coral reefs.

Coral Reef Protected Areas

Coral reefs are important because they provide a habitat for approximately 9 million species of organisms and almost one fourth of all marine life. They are the “rainforests of the sea.” Home to countless types of fish, mollusks, worms, crustaceans, echinoderms, sponges, tunicates, and other cnidarians, coral reefs make up a rich and diverse ecosystem. Since data has shown that coral reefs are rapidly dying all around the world, a movement towards preservation has ensued. Conservation actions seek to sustain the assets of the reefs and therefore preserve the marine life that inhabits them.

Many organizations serve to protect coral reefs in the United States and across the globe. The United States Coral Reef Task Force (USCTF) works to protect at least 20% of coral reefs on US territory. These include:

• American Samoa
• Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Florida
• Guam
• Hawaii
• Puerto Rico
• US Virgin Islands

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also works to increase the number of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and better protect them.

MPAs have become more and more prominent today as they promote responsible fishing and habitat preservation. Similar to national parks and wildlife refuges, MPAs have the objectives of restoring coral reefs as well as maintaining their aesthetics, biodiverse and economic benefits.

MPAs include:

• Bowie Seamount in British Columbia, Canada
• The great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia
• The Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary in the seas of Italy, Monaco, and France
• The Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys, USA
• The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii
• The Phoenix Islands in Kiribati
• The Channel Islands in California, USA
• The Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  Status of Coral Reefs
  

  
  

The status of coral reefs today is bad. Many factors contribute to the destructive trend that coral reefs are experiencing. Coral mining, agricultural and urban runoff, overfishing, blast fishing, pollution, and oceanic acidification have caused serious damage to the majority of coral reefs. The decline in the number and size of the reefs has led scientists to project that about 60% of coral reefs will be lost by 2030 without an heightened action towards preservation. Coral reefs will be an endangered ecosystem by 2050 unless change occurs.

More and more reefs are experiencing coral bleaching as most of the key problems continue to affect the precious ecosystem. The deficiencies of zooxanthellae result in a loss of color and intracellular tissue.

Near the beginning of the 21st century,  the Fijian coral reefs experienced widespread bleaching as a result of a water heat wave. While some reefs starved and died, leaving hunks of limestone in the bottom of the ocean, some areas gave way for the blossoming of new life. Today, the Fijian coral reefs cherish an abundance of fish and invertebrates ranging from sea cucumbers to butterfly fish and varieties of stingrays. They are one of the most highly monitored and protected coral reefs in the world due to their abounding biodiversity, which functions as very effective tourist attraction. While the global status of coral reefs in universally poor, many organizations such as the Coral Reef Alliance are putting a lot of effort into sustaining Fiji's valuable coral reefs, attributing the Fijian coral reefs with a more optimistic outlook.

Supporting Data

The data table above illustrates the distribution of cumulative human impact on various types of marine ecosystems. On the graphs, the X-axis represents the cumulative impact score (% of total km^2 on a map of the globe) of that ecosystem. A score of 0-5 would represent an area of the ecosystem that is minimally impacted by humans while a score of 8 or more shows a medium to very high human impact on the measured area of that ecosystem. Accordingly, the Y-axis functions as a measurement of the area (km^2) of the specific ecosystem that is affected at each level of human impact score.

Analysing the specific graph for coral reefs, we can observe that there are no areas of coral reef around the world unaffected by humans (smallest cumulative impact score of 2). This means the all coral reefs experience medium high to very high human impact.

The data table above functions as a “health indicator” for coral reefs around the world. Data was taken from reefs in Fiji, Egypt, Florida, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and other important sites of the unique ecosystem. By observing the effects that overfishing (OF), dynamite fishing (DF), cyanide fishing (CF), aquarium fish fishing (AF), pollution (PL), and curio collection (CR) all have on marine life and coral reef conditions, scientist were able to assemble a global survey of coral reefs.

For example, the data shows that dead coral is an indicator of dynamite fishing and pollution. Both of these human activities contribute to the degeneration of coral reefs. In the indo-pacific oceans, the presence of barrimundi cod points towards the detrimental practice of overfishing, dynamite fishing, and cyanide fishing. Similarly, giant clams are an indicator of overfishing and attract curio collection activity.

The water around the islands of Fiji hosts some of Earth’s prominent coral reefs, and the rising temperatures of the water are drastically affecting these ecosystems. In the near future, a devastating amount of the coral reefs in  Fiji, will be lost due to El Nino. El Nino is the warming of the tropical pacific ocean that usually occurs every 3-6 years. When the water temperature of a coral reef rises, bleaching occurs. This process occurs when the reefs respond to the stress of warmer temperatures by evacuating the colorful algae that live within them, resulting in a white “outer shell” that holds no nutrients. Coral has the remarkable ability to recover if the water temperature returns to normal, but it oftentimes dies and the ecosystem it sustains disappears.

Due to the vast amount of species residing in coral reefs, it is very important that a balance between the ecosystem and people is maintained. There are a few ways to do this. The first is to limit the use of water as it will result in less runoff and wastewater that pollutes the ocean. We must only use ecological or organic fertilizers because runoff  from fertilizers is harmful to marine life and coral reefs. It is also crucial to avoid pollution by using eco-friendly means of transportation, since pollution results in global warming, rising water temperatures and therefore coral bleaching. Global warming is the biggest cause of coral bleaching, but there are smaller things that we can do to prevent furthering the destruction of this ecosystem. These methods include disposing of trash properly, volunteering for coral reef clean up, and practicing safe snorkeling, diving, and fishing in the areas. This balance is essential because the marine life heavily depends on the coral and when a balance is not maintained we put marine life at risk of extinction and coral reefs at risk of degradation.

Resources

• Dulvy, Nicholas K., Robert P. Freckleton, and Nicholas V.C. Polunin. "Coral Reef Cascades and the Indirect Effects of Predator Removal by Exploitation." Ecology Letters 7.5 (n.d.): 410-16. Apr. 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
• Norstrom, A. V., M. Nystrom, J. Lokrantz, and C. Folke. "Alternative States on Coral Reefs: Beyond Coral-macroalgal Phase Shifts." Marine Ecology Progress 376th ser. (n.d.): 295-306. Feb. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
• Kauffman, Les. "Fiji's Rainbow Reefs." National Geographic Magazine, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2015
• Mosely, Luke M., and William G.L. Aalbersberg. "Nutrient Levels in Sea and River Water along the ‘Coral Coast’ of Viti Levu, Fiji." The South Pacific Journal of Natural Science 21.1 (n.d.): 35-40. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
• Anon, (2015). [online] Available at: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/media/icri_stateofreefs.pdf [Accessed 22 Nov. 2015].

• Fiji, (2015). Fiji. [online] Available at: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fiji/@-17.4499075,177.0139768,7z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x6e1990fd703cdc5d:0x9e9c319946ef5b9 [Accessed 22 Nov. 2015].
• Goldenberg, S. (2011). Coral reefs report warns of mass loss threat. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/feb/23/coral-reef-report-dying-danger [Accessed 22 Nov. 2015].
• Ngm.nationalgeographic.com, (2015). Fiji's Reefs @ National Geographic Magazine. [online] Available at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0411/feature3/ [Accessed 22 Nov. 2015].
• Wwf.panda.org, (2015). Fiji Barrier Reef. [online] Available at: http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/fiji_barrier_reef.cfm [Accessed 22 Nov. 2015].
• Halpern, Benjamin S., Shaun Walbridge, and Kimberly A. Selkoe. "A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems." Science Magazine319.5865 (2008): 948-52. Science Magazine: Sign In. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.
• Hodgson, G. "A Global Assessment of Human Effects on Coral Reefs."Marine Pollution Bulletin 38.5 (1999): 345-55. Sept. 1999. Web. 01 Dec. 2015. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X99000028>.
• McLanahan, Timothy R. "The near Future of Coral Reefs." Environmental Conservation 04 (2002): 460-83. Environmental Conservation. Dec. 2002. Web. 01 Dec. 2015. <http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=142453&fileId=S0376892902000334>
• "Global Warming and Coral Reefs." National Wildlife Federation, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/Global-Warming/Effects-on-Wildlife-and-Habitat/Coral-Reefs.aspx>. 
• Halpern, Benjamin. "Go to Science." Science Magazine: Sign In. 11 Dec. 2007. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.sciencemag.org/content/319/5865/948.full>. 
•  Hodgson, G. "A Global Assessment of Human Effects on Coral Reefs." A Global Assessment of Human Effects on Coral Reefs. 1 May 1999. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X99000028>

•  "Fiji." Coral Reef Alliance. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://coral.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/fiji/>.