Biomonitoring Of Coral Reef Health Using Butterfly Essay
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Biomonitoring of coral reef health using Butterflyfishes (Family: Chaetodontidae) Ryan Gounder 11/6/99 THE INDICATOR HYPOTHESIS "Coral feeding Butterflyfishes respond to declines in coral quality or abundance by behavioral and spatial adjustments that can be easily and rapidly observed." (Crosby & Reese 1996) Introduction A fundamental question that one asks when using Chaetodontidae, or for thatreason any species as biomonitors is: why use an organism whensophisticated machines are available to detect very small quantities ofpollution in short space and time? One might think that biomonitoring hasbecome redundant because of these machines, but the opposite is true,chemical monitoring tells us what is there, but not its effects -especially long term effects on ecosystems therefore biomonitoring hasbecome a preferred method of assessing ecosystems (Spellerberg 1993). The conditions required for healthy coral reef growth as well as factorscausing damage to reefs are well understood (Reese 1981). Usually acuteenvironmental impacts on coral reefs can be easily assessed (Brown 1988).However it is not as simple when it comes to chronic sublethal factors.Using conventional methodologies the overall health of a coral reef canbe determined against a baseline study (Brown 1988). But it is of no-usebecause the damage has already been done, that is why indicators of sublethal are urgently required so stress can be detected early, andcounter-measures put forth (Brown 1988, Reese 1981, Hourigan et al 1988).In this essay the use of Butterflyfishes as indicators of reef health willbe discussed. What are Butterflyfishes? Butterflyfishes are consipicious, largly dirunal fishes ranging typicallyfrom 10 - 20 cm in length (Sale 1991). There are 114 species ofButterflyfishes world-wide (Crosby & Reese 1996), thirty five found in Fiji(Seeto 1999). The name Chaetodontidae is derived from Greek "khaite",meaning hair and "odont-" meaning tooth (Allaby 1991). They are, perhapswith some disagreement, the most beautiful fishes on coral reefs. Watchinga Butterflyfish on the reef is an awesome acrobatic like performance! Theirsheer colourfullness, beauty and apparent will to let people comephysically close to them make this group of fishes rather special (personalexperiences and observations). The body shape helps Butterflyfishes escape from predators (Seeto 1999,Allen at al 1998). When Butterflyfishes are viewed from the side, theimpression one gets is that they are comparatively large, but as the fishmove to front view they almost disappear because their bodies are socompressed (personal observations and experience). Its significance is thatButterflyfishes are able to live relatively long lives partly because oflack of predators (Seeto 1999), making them even better indicators of reefhealth. Furthermore Butterflyfishes are either home-ranging or territorial (Reese1989). What this means is that the Butterflyfishes live out their lives inthe same area of coral reefs unless there is any stress. Butterflyfisheshave a life span up to 10 - 12 years depending on species and have beenobserved on the same territories for seven to eight years (Reese 1991). Itssignificance is that since the Butterflyfishes are always relatively in thesame area they will "feel" the stresses and respond accordingly (Crosby &Reese 1996, Why use Butterflyfishes as Biomonitors? There are many species of Butterflyfishes that have co-evolved with coralsand are obligate corallivores (Reese 1981, 1991 Harmelin-Vivien &Bouchon-Navaro 1983). The metabolic or energy demand of these species areso "intimately linked" to the health of the corals that these species haveexcellent potential as indicators of changes on coral reefs (Crosby & Reese1996). Crosby and Reese (1996) have described four important reasons whyChaetodontidae are potentially good indicators: Scientific names of corals and fishes are not required to be known by the data collectors. Suggested species for Fiji are in Appendix 1. Information collection can be stepwise, example, the first step could be counting the Butterflyfishes along the transect and the next step could be counting the corals. This method allows the matching of time, recourses and personal available. Butterflyfishes are best used where there is gradual, chronic (sublethal) disturbances which would be difficult to measure by alternative methods, example, collection of tissue and water samples for analysis. However this method is not appropriate for catastrophic disturbances, example, oil spills, storms, etc. Lastly, it is environmentally friendly, relatively cheap, nondestructive and non-consumptive method that does not require technical scientific training thus can be used by volunteers, local communities and individuals. Practical Application of Butterflyfishes as Indicator Species Crosby and Reese (1996) propose a 8 step process in the application of thismethod. Firstly the problem has to be assessed, the question asked clearlyidentified and the goals of the monitoring program stated. The second isfield observations, since the Butterflyfishes are directly observed - it isnecessary to have scuba diving equipment. The third step involves the establishing of transect lines. Transect linesare placed in sections of approximately 30m. They are placed purposefullyin areas of high coral cover since change in living coral cover andbehavior of Butterflyfishes are of interest. The data is recorded on underwater paper. Usually data sheets arephotocopied on underwater paper to make recording of data easier. Howeversometimes the underwater paper has to be run through the copy-machine twice(See appendix 2) to get a good result (Reese 1999). Step four involves counting and recording the numbers of each species ofButterflyfish within five meters of the transect lines (See Appendix 2).This method is known as the Belt Transect Census Method and is reviewed byBrock (1982). Step five involves the estimation of coral cover along the transect lines.Data is again recorded on underwater data sheets (see Appendix 3). In thesixth step the territory boundary is marked and the chasing behavior
measured (see Fig 2 and appendix 4). The seventh step is the measuring of the feeding behavior and the size ofthe territory (see appendix 5 & 6). The size of the territory is estimatedby measuring the territories to the left and right of the transect line andthen the area in square meters is calculated (see appendix 6). The eightstep is like a clean-up operation, all the equipment (transect lines,colour-tagged nails, etc) are removed. However in order to return to thesame site, accurate coordinates must be recorded. The final step is the analysis of the data. A comprehensive data analysisdescription with examples can be found in Crosby and...
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