Jeffrey Maynard; Steven McKagan; Steven Johnson; Lyza Johnston; Douglas Fenner; Dieter Tracey

Assessing resistance and recovery in CNMI during and following a bleaching and typhoon event to identify and prioritize resilience drivers and action options

2018

Marine Applied Research Center LLC

"This project builds upon the first Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) resilience assessment conducted in 2012, where the resilience indicators and the relative weighting of those indicators within the 2012-2015 assessment were based entirely on resilience theory. Consequently, the final resilience assessment results and relative classes for resilience describe resilience potential. This project created the opportunity to re-visit sites initially surveyed in Saipan, CNMI in 2012 . Since 2012, reefs in CNMI have experienced four bleaching events and an intense typhoon. By documenting 2012-2018 changes in resilience potential (i.e., assessed resilience) and condition, we can evaluate demonstrated resilience and hence develop recommendations based on reality rather than theory. For example, we present and examine spatial patterns in coral cover loss and increases in macroalgae cover, assess whether bleaching resistance or resilience scores from 2012 predict changes in coral cover, re-assess spatial patterns in resilience and identify resilience class groupings, and set and use criteria to identify target sites for management actions. This represents the critically needed first opportunity to undertake a follow-up resilience assessment using the methodology our team developed."

coral reef, coral reef resilience, coral bleaching, CNMI, Saipan

NOS

OCM

FY2017; Domestic Cooperative Agreement NA17NOS4820088; Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Maynard.

NA17NOS4820088