Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Pacific Conservation Biology Pacific Conservation Biology Society
A journal dedicated to conservation and wildlife management in the Pacific region.
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Indicators of coral reef ecosystem recovery following reduction in logging and implementation of community-based management schemes in the Solomon Islands.

S Albert, A Grinham, B Gibbes, I Tibbetts and J udy

Pacific Conservation Biology 20(1) 75 - 85
Published: 01 May 2014

Abstract

The livelihood of many coastal communities in the Pacific Islands is directly dependent on the health of adjacent coral reefs. Reduction in water quality and over-harvesting of herbivorous fish are known to drive reef ecosystems towards a more degraded state. Community-based resource management practices have the potential to improve damaged reefs but quantitative data on their effectiveness remains largely unreported. This study investigated how land use changes and implementation of marine management influenced water quality, herbivorous fish biomass and reef condition of Marovo Lagoon in the Solomon Islands. Four study sites were located along a gradient of water quality, with two of the sites located inside marine protected areas (MPAs) designated in 2006. The results suggest that water quality in coastal areas adjacent to catchments modified by logging was negatively impacted. However, following natural revegetation of bare soil in the catchment between 2000 and 2010, water quality improved at all sites. The biomass of herbivorous fish was significantly greater in the MPAs compared to other sites and, importantly, we detected an increase in herbivore biomass between 2005 and 2008. Inshore reefs adjacent to logging operations had significantly lower coral cover and higher macroalgal cover than those offshore. Between 2005 and 2008 all sites showed an increase in crustose coralline algae cover and a decrease in turf algae colonising rocks, with the changes indicative of improving reef health. Collectively, these results indicate that reduction in logging and implementation of community-based management can have a positive influence on reefs in Marovo Lagoon.

https://doi.org/10.1071/PC140075

© CSIRO 2014

Committee on Publication Ethics


Export Citation Get Permission

View Dimensions

View Altmetrics