1. 24 www.timespub.tc
green pages
newsletter of the department of environment & maritime affairs
head office: church folly, grand turk, tel 649 946 2801 • fax 649 946 1895
• astwood street, south caicos, tel 649 946 3306 • fax 946 3710
• national environmental centre, lower bight road, providenciales
parks division, tel 649 941 5122 • fax 649 946 4793
fisheries division, tel 649 946 4017 • fax 649 946 4793
email environment@gov.tc or dema.tci@gmail.com • web www.environment.tc
Hidden Pillars
of the Economy
Studying, monitoring, and protecting TCI’s coral reefs.
By Emily Stokes and Heidi Hertler, School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies
Photos By Heidi Hertler
Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse and highly productive ecosystems on Earth. Whilst
they cover a mere 1% of the Earth’s surface, their contribution to the global economy is estimated at
close to $10 billion/year in tourism and recreation, $9 billion/year in coastal protection and $6 bil-
lion/year in both fisheries and biodiversity (http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/values/). Despite
the ecological complexity and high biodiversity of coral reefs and the ecosystems associated with them,
they are particularly sensitive to impacts from a series of phenomena (climate change, storms, current
pattern changes) and anthropogenic activities.
Healthy reef systems support millions of species of marine life.

2. green pages newsletter of the department of environment & maritime affairs
Times of the Islands Spring 2015 25
In the case of Caribbean reefs, the most significant
damage is attributed to coral diseases, hurricanes, mass
mortality of the herbivorous long-spine sea urchin
(Diadema antillarum), localized human impacts, recent
bleaching events, and climate change. These drivers of
change have caused dramatic phase shifts to systems
dominated by macroalgae and other nuisance species,
fields of unstable coral rubble, loss of three-dimensional
structure, and increases in abundance of shorter-lived
brooding corals such as Agaricia and Porites. In addition,
overfishing of exploitable reef species, sedimentation and
water pollution from on-shore development and popula-
tion growth, as well as global climate change combine with
natural phenomena to create a situation on a global scale
where near shore marine systems are under increasing
stress. As a result, coral reefs are at risk of a death by a
thousand cuts; therefore it is critical to establish compre-
hensive coastal management plans to curtail and prevent
the destruction of these critical habitats, which are likely
irreplaceable.
Located at the southern tail of the Bahamian archipel-
ago, the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) are indeed “Beautiful
by Nature.” The TCI is comprised of four banks, of which
only two are inhabited, with eight main islands and numer-
ous tiny cays. The extensive reef system surrounding the
country not only protects adjacent shorelines from wave
action and prevents erosion and property damage, but
most importantly, supports the TCI economy directly and
indirectly, through fisheries—specifically spiny lobster
(Panulirus argus) and the queen conch (Strombus gigas),
which are the staples of the local fishing industry — and
tourism. Recognizing the critical importance of coastal
marine systems, the TCI has established an extensive net-
work of 34 protected areas, incorporating critical marine
habitats, such as reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, and
sand banks, and the faunal communities they support.
On South Caicos, a unique opportunity to study and
monitor long-term environmental changes was seized
upon by The School for Field Studies’ Center for Marine
Resource Studies (SFS CMRS). The School for Field Studies
(SFS) is a US-based academic institution that provides mul-
tidisciplinary, field-based environmental study abroad
opportunities to undergraduate university students. Each
SFS program (nine in total) highlights a different region of
the world, with its own distinct cultural and ecological
characteristics and unique environmental challenges.
Faculty and students at the SFS CMRS on South Caicos
work in close cooperation with local partners including the
TCI’s Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs
(DEMA), TCReef Inc. (www.tcreef.org), and local fishermen
and processing plants to protect and enhance the man-
agement of the island’s coral reefs and other marine
resources. SFS CMRS recognizes the importance of study-
ing climate change impacts on local ecosystems by
including related projects in program and research com-
ponents. Likely, and already observed, impacts of climate
change to marine and coastal ecosystems include those
linked to temperature change on organism metabolism,
water chemistry including carbonate cycle, precipitation
change on water balance, and wind and water circulation
pattern changes. Long term data collection is a crucial ele-
SFS staff member Emily Stokes lead student survey teams.

3. green pages newsletter of the department of environment & maritime affairs
26 www.timespub.tc
ment of observing and understanding such impacts, ben-
eficial to stakeholders and essential to policy makers.
As it is, the effects of climate change increase the bur-
den on already stressed ecosystems. Ocean acidification,
a result of carbon dioxide (CO2) being absorbed by the
ocean and in turn altering the pH of the water, is slowing
hard corals’ ability to grow and leaving them more sus-
ceptible to diseases. Sea surface temperatures have been
rising steadily over the past century (http://ocean.nation-
algeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-temperatur
e-rise/) placing additional stress on many coral species.
When corals become too stressed by the changes to their
surrounding environment, they expel an internal photo-
synthetic alga called zooxanthellae, which deprives them
of their normal colors, a phenomenon commonly referred
to as coral bleaching. Coral bleaching itself is not fatal, as
it is possible for the corals to recover and reabsorb the
expelled zooxanthellae, but such reabsorption does not
always occur and bleaching leaves corals more vulnerable
to contract fatal diseases.
On South Caicos, SFS CMRS faculty and staff lead
teams of students to collect baseline data on the health of
the local reef system. Sites were permanently marked at
three depths in the Admiral Cockburn Land and Sea
National Park so they could be revisited. The research
team uses several methods to assess the overall condition
of the system. The methods include measuring species
composition (number of different organisms observed)
using the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment proto-
col (AGRRA – www.agrra.org), documenting and
recording fish species abundance (including the invasive
lionfish), and photographing and videoing the benthic
community for composition analysis using specialized
software. An increasingly important part of long term reef
studies is the assessment of coral bleaching. SFS CMRS
uses a method that is easily transferable to citizen scien-
tists (non-specialists) and could be replicated on other
islands. Coral bleaching is documented using the
CoralWatch card system (Siebeck et al. 2006), which allows
the researchers to record coral bleaching data quantita-
tively for analysis and documentation.
The data collected as part of this project are promis-
ing, as patterns are starting to emerge over time and
among sites. The benthic (sub-surface) community
SFS research shows that the South Caicos reef system approaches 15% live coral cover, and is dominated by star corals (shown above), sea
rods and sheet corals.

4. green pages newsletter of the department of environment & maritime affairs
Times of the Islands Spring 2015 27
approaches 15% live coral cover and is dominated by sea
rods (Pseudoplexaura spp.), star corals (Monastraea spp.),
and sheet corals (Agaricia spp.). In general, sites with
greater amounts of live coral have the greatest fish abun-
dance and sites surveyed closer to the main shipping
channel have the lowest live coral cover, suggesting an
anthropogenic impact in this area.
This research is producing exciting results and its con-
tinuation through the five-year plan should provide even
stronger patterns of baseline data. The Center for Marine
Resource Studies on South Caicos is the only program cur-
rently carrying out research on the reefs in this area, so it
is imperative to continue collecting data to create a com-
plete picture of regional and global coral health. With such
promising results, this research approach could continue
beyond the five-year plan to create a long-term reef-mon-
itoring program.
Healthy reefs are crucial pillars of a healthy planet and
a healthy economy. Without them, fish stocks will continue
to decline, tourism will be negatively impacted, and other
ecosystems will be irreparably altered. The incentives for
a healthier ocean and a healthier earth are self-evident,
and it behooves us to continue studying and protecting
the species, such as coral reefs, that support our lives. ❁
To learn more about the SFS program, go to
http://www.fieldstudies.org/tci.
SFS student uses photographs to document the sub-sea community.