Indicators of herbivorous fish biomass in community-based marine management areas in Fiji
Simon Albert A D , Alifereti Tawake B , Ron Vave C , Paul Fisher A and Alistair Grinham A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.
B Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) International Network, Suva, Fiji.
C Institute of Applied Science, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji.
D Corresponding author. Email: s.albert@uq.edu.au
Pacific Conservation Biology 22(1) 20-28 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC15051
Submitted: 19 December 2015 Accepted: 28 January 2016 Published: 4 March 2016
Abstract
There has been a resurgence in community-based management of coral reef resources in the developing world over the last two decades. However, many of the threats to reef ecosystems are increasing at a rate beyond local knowledge acquisition. Consequently, there is a continuing need for management tools and monitoring to support community-based approaches. Using algal, fish and reef indicators we provide a rapid assessment method of herbivorous fishes in Locally Managed Marine Areas in Fiji. The algal indicator technique provided a time-integrated assessment of the process of herbivory within Locally Managed Marine Areas and could be used by untrained community members to quantify management responses. Generally, reefs with higher herbivore biomass had a diverse low biomass of algae typical of healthy reefs. Reefs with fewer herbivores had a higher biomass of turf or leathery algae typical of degraded reefs. These results show that simple ecological indicators can be a useful addition to the existing local knowledge that underpins community-based management.
Additional keywords: algae, community management, coral reefs, indicators.
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