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SUPPORT OF CORAL REEF RESEARCH BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

The National Park Service (NPS) administers four sites in the vestern Atlantic and Caribbean which have major coral reef resources; Biscayne National Park, Fort Jefferson National Monument, Buck Island Reef National Monument, and Virgin Islands National Park. Since 1983, NPS has committed over 1.5 million dollars for research projects on coral reefs and reef fishes. In 1987, the Park Service completed construction of the Virgin Islands Biosphere Reserve Center on St. John. This complex provides laboratory and office space for the Virgin Islands National Park's Division of Research and Resource Management. The park's Research Biologist has served as the primary coordinator for research on marine resources in the Virgin Islands and Florida.

In 1983, the Park Service organized the Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC) which brought together local and regional expertise to design a baseline research effort with an emphasis on coral reefs. The Cooperative included 16 public agencies and private institutions concerned with conservation, research, and resource managment in the area, including government institutions in Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. VIRMC members produced over 22 reports on coral reefs and associated marine resources. Several of the research projects evolved into more detailed studies as part of the NPS Reef Assessment Program which was initiated in 1988.

In 1988, NPS provided $590,000 to support a coral reef assessment program for 5 years in cooperation with six institutions, including the University of Georgia, the Florida Dept. of Natural Resources, the USVI Dept. of Planning and Natural Resources, Northeastern University, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Island Resources Foundation. The goal of this program is to establish effective long-term research and monitoring programs at the NPS sites in Florida and the US Virgin Islands. Primary objectives are to 1) develop and evaluate standardized methods for assessment of trends on coral reefs, 2) provide baseline data on reef fish and coral populations and environmental parameters, and 3) determine natural rates of change. Major accomplishments to date include quantification of the effects of Hurricane Hugo (September 1989) on reefs at Buck Island and the Virgin Islands National Park and rates of recovery from the storms; interpretation of the geological history of Buck Island Reef; evaluation of photographic, quadrat, and linear transect methods; and assessment of natural rates of change in living coral cover at all sites. A great deal of effort has gone into establishing permanent transects and photostations at the four sites, monitoring of individual coral colonies, censusing of fish populations, installation of recording thermographs, and evaluation and fine-tuning of methods. Recommendations on methods have been summarized in a draft coral reef monitoring manual, and research results from several of the projects in this regional program have already been published.

UNIVERSITY OF

Miami

REF:100-662:BR:mm May 12, 1992

Congressman Dennis Hertel

U. S. House of Representatives 2442 Rayburn House Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative Hertel:

Thank you very much for inviting me to participate in the recent hearing in Key Largo on the nation's living coral reefs. My colleagues and I at the Rosenstiel School are most appreciative of your efforts to focus and fund a long-term coral reef research agenda through federal legislation. Such measures are long overdue and, as South Floridians, we have observed first hand the escalating health problems the reefs are facing.

After listening to the testimony of others at the hearing, I am more convinced than ever that legislation is needed to advance coral reef research in a coordinated and meaningful way. Current efforts are too fragmented, too unfocused and too underfunded to produce the results which provide an adequate foundation for conservation and management.

I strongly endorse your including in the legislation specific long-term research objectives. In addition to those subjects already outlined in the proposed legislation, we believe an important component of the research agenda must be the study of recruitment and regeneration; that is, understanding the birth and population dynamics of young corals and the rate at which new corals are replacing dying corals. Our scientists believe it is possible that the major differences between the vigorous healthy reef areas and those that are dying are not so much the rates of death but the rates at which the dead corals are being replaced (or are not being replaced) by new, young recruits. Very little data has been collected on this subject.

Easylink Mailbox No. 62845425

Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

Office of the Dean

4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, Florida 33149-1098

(305) 361-4000

Telex No. 317454

Clearly, for an ambitious, long-term research agenda to work and for funds to be invested most effectively in research coordination is critical. We encourage the establishment of a national coral reef research institute which is representative of the research community, can coordinate the research agenda among participants, channel funding to appropriate institutions and investigators, foster cooperation and assure the advancement of initiatives at the regional, national and international levels.

Finally, we suggest that the legislation establish provisions for a thorough review of current coral reef research literature and the establishment of a national archive or repository to compile and catalog the results of coral reef research.

All of these issues were covered in my testimony to the committee. Once again, I appreciate the opportunity to share our thoughts with you. If we can be helpful in any way regarding the passage of this legislation, please do not hesitate to call on us.

Sincerely,

B-K hisen

Bruce R. Rosendahl

Dean and Weeks Professor

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