Houk, P., Johnson, S. M. (eds.), Benavente, D., Okano, R., Castro, F. (contribs.)

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Coral Reef Ecosystems Monitoring Program for FY2009 FY2011

2012

Saipan, CNMI

Coastal Resources Management Office (CRMO), Office of the Governor, CNMI

19

Final Report

"During 2009-2011, the CNMI monitoring program has continued their long-term monitoring efforts by collecting standardized data at 30 forereef and 24 lagoon sites. These data reside in newly formalized databases that aim to streamline and enhance data storage and handling structure, quality assurance and quality control, and query techniques. These databases and techniques are described within. Besides collecting repetitive data pertaining to benthic substrate abundances, macroinvertebrate densities, and coral assemblages, the monitoring program has strategically hired new staff to expand efforts to include monitoring of fish and algal assemblages. Protocols for assessing fish and algal assemblages are introduced with a brief examination of their statistical power and ability to answer pressing questions defined by our program. Specifically, both protocols were capable of detecting multivariate trends through time with high confidence, and thus can assist our program goals in defining how and why assemblages shift through time, in response to localized stressors and their management. Further, algal surveys provide meaningful insight to possible community phase-shifts due to a reduction in water quality and/or herbivory, which often gives algae a competitive advantage for growth over corals. Finally, we provide a summary of three major multi-year analyses that were conducted, or remain ongoing. Two represent published studies pertaining to our nearshore reef and lagoon assemblages, respectively, while the third ongoing analysis is generating insight into decadal trends and differential recovery following natural disturbances in 2003-2006. In closing, we highlight how our data has been used for several, local management projects, ranging from conservation action plans to setting and meeting the goals of the regional initiative, the Micronesian Challenge. MMTs long term and consistent dataset allows management plans to have a strong scientific foundation to measure project success by."

FY2009 CRCP Project ID 1106, Old Project ID 20251; Project Title: National Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Program (Grant); Principal Investigator: Mark Monaco. NOAA FY2009 grant NA09NOS4260099

NA09NOS4260099