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     data   graph     files  public Species richness in and out of MPAs in Viti Levu, Fiji from 2010-2012 (Killer Seaweeds
project)
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The Dataset's Variables and Attributes

Row Type Variable Name Attribute Name Data Type Value
attribute NC_GLOBAL access_formats String .htmlTable,.csv,.json,.mat,.nc,.tsv
attribute NC_GLOBAL acquisition_description String The study was conducted from November 2010 through February 2011 and between
November 2011 and January 2012 on shallow (~1 m below the surface at low tide,
equal or shallower than 2 m at high tide), intertidal fringing reefs platforms
(up to 800-m wide) along the Coral Coast (18\u00ba\u00a013.05\u2019S,
177\u00ba\u00a042.97\u2019E) of Viti Levu, Fiji\u2019s main island. Many of
the owners of traditional fishing rights along the Coral Coast have
established small, customary no-take MPAs to improve and sustain their
adjacent fishing grounds. The MPAs in this region are delimited by surface
markings and enforced by local villagers, and they have been closed to all
fishing activities since their inception (about 10 years). The only exception
to this closure was a small experimental hook and line fishing research
project that was conducted in the MPAs of Votua and\u00a0Namada. In the
\u00a0non-MPAs, the main fishing targets are species of Acanthuridae
(Nasinae), Epinephelidae, Labridae, Mullidae, and Lutjanidae. Permission for
the research was granted by the Fijian Ministry of Education, National
Heritage, Culture & Arts, Youth & Sports, which is authorized to approve field
studies in Fijian waters. No animal collection or experimental procedures
involving animals were conducted during the study, and no endangered species
were recorded during our assessments.\u00a0

To assess the effects of MPAs on fish assemblages, fish feeding group
composition, herbivory rates, benthic cover, and coral recruit density, we
compared three spatially paired MPA and adjacent, fished, areas (non-MPAs)
associated with the villages of
Votua,\u00a0Vatu-o-lalai\u00a0and\u00a0Namada.\u00a0 Comparisons of fish
assemblages inside and outside of closures are widely used for determining the
effects of reserves, but it should be acknowledged that this approach does not
reveal the state of an MPA relative to an undisturbed baseline.\u00a0

The studied MPAs were established in 2002 (Vatu-o-lalai,\u00a0Namada) and 2003
(Votua), and shortly after establishment, coral cover was low (~7%),
and\u00a0macroalgal\u00a0cover was high (~35\u201345%) in both the MPAs and
\u00a0non-MPAs. All surveys and assays were conducted during the same season
(austral summer) to minimize seasonal variation in sampling. The reef extends
approx. 1 km from shore within each MPA and\u00a0non-MPA,\u00a0and all data
were collected between 30 and 700 m of the shore (i.e., shoreward of the reef
crest) parallel to the\u00a0shoreline.

Fish assemblages: Underwater visual censuses (UVC) were used to assess fish
assemblages in MPAs and non-MPAs at the three village sites. Underwater
visibility at all study sites (> 15 m) was appropriate for the use of UVC, but
due to the visual limitations of this method, we did not consider cryptic
species or species with a maximum total length < 5 cm. During our surveys, we
categorized species into two major categories (Herbivores and Non-herbivores)
that were subdivided into ten sub-categories. Herbivores include the main
roving nominally herbivorous fish clades, which play an important role in the
control of benthic algae, and these species were further divided into four
sub-categories (browsers, grazers, scrapers, and excavators) according to
diet, feeding mode, and impact on the benthos. The category of Non-herbivores
includes all species that feed on other, non-algal resources.

Separate 30m x 4m belt transects were performed for Herbivores and Non-
herbivores. While simultaneously deploying the transect line, a snorkeler
recorded all non-cryptic fishes (either Herbivores or Non-herbivores) within 2
m of either side of the transect. Individual fish were identified to species
and placed into 5-cm (total length) size classes, and the lengths were
converted to biomass using established length-weight relationships.\u00a0

Transects were conducted in each area within 2 h of high tide (approx. 1.5 m
depth) and were equally distributed between the two sampling periods (Dec
2010\u2013Jan 2011 and Dec 2011\u2013Jan 2012), the months within each sampled
year (December and January of each year). On each sampling day, four to six
transects were deployed on the reef parallel to the shoreline, with a minimum
of 10m between adjacent transects. To ensure that transects were independent
and non-overlapping, small numbered surface floats were placed at the start
and end of each transect, and were left in position during all sampling. Care
was taken to avoid re-counting fishes that left and subsequently re-entered
the transect areas. The initial starting point of the transects for each day
was selected based on a map of the study sites with two constraints: (1) as to
a minimum distance from shore\u00a0(at least 30 m), and a minimum distance
from the MPA boundaries\u00a0(150 m).\u00a0
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_0_award_nid String 480718
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_0_award_number String OCE-0929119
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_0_data_url String http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0929119 (external link)
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_0_funder_name String NSF Division of Ocean Sciences
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_0_funding_acronym String NSF OCE
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_0_funding_source_nid String 355
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_0_program_manager String David L. Garrison
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_0_program_manager_nid String 50534
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_1_award_nid String 674109
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_1_award_number String U01-TW007401
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_1_data_url String https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?icde=0&aid=7741942 (external link)
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_1_funder_name String National Institutes of Health
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_1_funding_acronym String NIH
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_1_funding_source_nid String 636502
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_1_program_manager String Flora Katz
attribute NC_GLOBAL awards_1_program_manager_nid String 674108
attribute NC_GLOBAL cdm_data_type String Other
attribute NC_GLOBAL comment String M. Hay
Species Richness
Version 6 January 2017
attribute NC_GLOBAL Conventions String COARDS, CF-1.6, ACDD-1.3
attribute NC_GLOBAL creator_email String info at bco-dmo.org
attribute NC_GLOBAL creator_name String BCO-DMO
attribute NC_GLOBAL creator_type String institution
attribute NC_GLOBAL creator_url String https://www.bco-dmo.org/ (external link)
attribute NC_GLOBAL data_source String extract_data_as_tsv version 2.3 19 Dec 2019
attribute NC_GLOBAL date_created String 2017-01-07T00:48:25Z
attribute NC_GLOBAL date_modified String 2019-04-05T15:15:50Z
attribute NC_GLOBAL defaultDataQuery String &amp;time&lt;now
attribute NC_GLOBAL doi String 10.1575/1912/bco-dmo.674172.1
attribute NC_GLOBAL infoUrl String https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/674172 (external link)
attribute NC_GLOBAL institution String BCO-DMO
attribute NC_GLOBAL keywords String bco, bco-dmo, biological, chemical, data, dataset, day, dmo, erddap, management, oceanography, office, preliminary, site, species, status, transect, type, year
attribute NC_GLOBAL license String https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/674172/license (external link)
attribute NC_GLOBAL metadata_source String https://www.bco-dmo.org/api/dataset/674172 (external link)
attribute NC_GLOBAL param_mapping String {'674172': {}}
attribute NC_GLOBAL parameter_source String https://www.bco-dmo.org/mapserver/dataset/674172/parameters (external link)
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_0_affiliation String Georgia Institute of Technology
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_0_affiliation_acronym String Georgia Tech
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_0_person_name String Mark Hay
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_0_person_nid String 480720
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_0_role String Principal Investigator
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_0_role_type String originator
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_1_affiliation String Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_1_affiliation_acronym String WHOI BCO-DMO
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_1_person_name String Hannah Ake
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_1_person_nid String 650173
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_1_role String BCO-DMO Data Manager
attribute NC_GLOBAL people_1_role_type String related
attribute NC_GLOBAL project String Killer Seaweeds
attribute NC_GLOBAL projects_0_acronym String Killer Seaweeds
attribute NC_GLOBAL projects_0_description String Extracted from the NSF award abstract:
Coral reefs are in dramatic global decline, with reefs commonly converting from species-rich and topographically-complex communities dominated by corals to species- poor and topographically-simplified communities dominated by seaweeds. These phase-shifts result in fundamental loss of ecosystem function. Despite debate about whether coral-to-algal transitions are commonly a primary cause, or simply a consequence, of coral mortality, rigorous field investigation of seaweed-coral competition has received limited attention. There is limited information on how the outcome of seaweed-coral competition varies among species or the relative importance of different competitive mechanisms in facilitating seaweed dominance. In an effort to address this topic, the PI will conduct field experiments in the tropical South Pacific (Fiji) to determine the effects of seaweeds on corals when in direct contact, which seaweeds are most damaging to corals, the role allelopathic lipids that are transferred via contact in producing these effects, the identity and surface concentrations of these metabolites, and the dynamic nature of seaweed metabolite production and coral response following contact. The herbivorous fishes most responsible for controlling allelopathic seaweeds will be identified, the roles of seaweed metabolites in allelopathy vs herbivore deterrence will be studied, and the potential for better managing and conserving critical reef herbivores so as to slow or reverse conversion of coral reef to seaweed meadows will be examined.
Preliminary results indicate that seaweeds may commonly damage corals via lipid- soluble allelochemicals. Such chemically-mediated interactions could kill or damage adult corals and produce the suppression of coral fecundity and recruitment noted by previous investigators and could precipitate positive feedback mechanisms making reef recovery increasingly unlikely as seaweed abundance increases. Chemically-mediated seaweed-coral competition may play a critical role in the degradation of present-day coral reefs. Increasing information on which seaweeds are most aggressive to corals and which herbivores best limit these seaweeds may prove useful in better managing reefs to facilitate resilience and possible recovery despite threats of global-scale stresses. Fiji is well positioned to rapidly use findings from this project for better management of reef resources because it has already erected >260 MPAs, Fijian villagers have already bought-in to the value of MPAs, and the Fiji Locally-Managed Marine Area (FLMMA) Network is well organized to get information to villagers in a culturally sensitive and useful manner.
The broader impacts of this project are far reaching. The project provides training opportunities for 2-2.5 Ph.D students and 1 undergraduate student each year in the interdisciplinary areas of marine ecology, marine conservation, and marine chemical ecology. Findings from this project will be immediately integrated into classes at Ga Tech and made available throughout Fiji via a foundation and web site that have already set-up to support marine conservation efforts in Fiji and marine education efforts both within Fiji and internationally. Business and community leaders from Atlanta (via Rotary International Service efforts) have been recruited to help organize and fund community service and outreach projects in Fiji -- several of which are likely to involve marine conservation and education based in part on these efforts there. Media outlets (National Geographic, NPR, Animal Planet, Audubon Magazine, etc.) and local Rotary clubs will be used to better disseminate these discoveries to the public.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Rasher DB, Stout EP, Engel S, Kubanek J, and ME Hay. "Macroalgal terpenes function as allelopathic agents against reef corals", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v. 108, 2011, p. 17726.
Beattie AJ, ME Hay, B Magnusson, R de Nys, J Smeathers, JFV Vincent. "Ecology and bioprospecting," Austral Ecology, v.36, 2011, p. 341.
Rasher DB and ME Hay. "Seaweed allelopathy degrades the resilience and function of coral reefs," Communicative and Integrative Biology, v.3, 2010.
Hay ME, Rasher DB. "Corals in crisis," The Scientist, v.24, 2010, p. 42.
Hay ME and DB Rasher. "Coral reefs in crisis: reversing the biotic death spiral," Faculty 1000 Biology Reports 2010, v.2, 2010.
Rasher DB and ME Hay. "Chemically rich seaweeds poison corals when not controlled by herbivores", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v.107, 2010, p. 9683.
attribute NC_GLOBAL projects_0_end_date String 2014-08
attribute NC_GLOBAL projects_0_geolocation String Viti Levu, Fiji (18º13.049’S, 177º42.968’E)
attribute NC_GLOBAL projects_0_name String Killer Seaweeds: Allelopathy against Fijian Corals
attribute NC_GLOBAL projects_0_project_nid String 480717
attribute NC_GLOBAL projects_0_start_date String 2009-09
attribute NC_GLOBAL publisher_name String Biological and Chemical Oceanographic Data Management Office (BCO-DMO)
attribute NC_GLOBAL publisher_type String institution
attribute NC_GLOBAL sourceUrl String (local files)
attribute NC_GLOBAL standard_name_vocabulary String CF Standard Name Table v55
attribute NC_GLOBAL summary String Species richness in and out of MPAs in Viti Levu, Fiji from 2010-2012 (Killer Seaweeds project)
attribute NC_GLOBAL title String Species richness in and out of MPAs in Viti Levu, Fiji from 2010-2012 (Killer Seaweeds project)
attribute NC_GLOBAL version String 1
attribute NC_GLOBAL xml_source String osprey2erddap.update_xml() v1.3
variable type   String  
attribute type bcodmo_name String sample
attribute type description String Category of fish assemblage sampled; Herbivores include the main roving nominally herbivorous fish clades; non-herbivores includes all species that feed on other, non-algal resources.
attribute type long_name String Type
attribute type nerc_identifier String https://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/P02/current/ACYC/ (external link)
attribute type units String unitless
variable site   String  
attribute site bcodmo_name String site
attribute site description String Site name
attribute site long_name String Site
attribute site units String unitless
variable status   String  
attribute status bcodmo_name String site_descrip
attribute status description String Status of area where sampling was done; Marine Protected Area (MPA) or non-MPA (NON)
attribute status long_name String Status
attribute status units String unitless
variable species   byte  
attribute species _FillValue byte 127
attribute species actual_range byte 0, 21
attribute species bcodmo_name String species
attribute species description String Number of different species counted on each transect for each category of fish assemblage; herbivore or non-herbivore
attribute species long_name String Species
attribute species units String count
variable year   String  
attribute year bcodmo_name String date_range
attribute year description String (A) Sampling took place between December 2010 and January 2011; (B) Sampling took place between December 2011 and January 2012
attribute year long_name String Year
attribute year units String unitless
variable day   String  
attribute day bcodmo_name String time_point
attribute day description String Day that sampling took place within each year's sampling event. A, B, and C all took place in during year A (Dec 2010 - Jan 2011); D, E, and F all took place during year B (Dec 2011 - Jan 2012).
attribute day long_name String Day
attribute day units String unitless
variable transect   byte  
attribute transect _FillValue byte 127
attribute transect actual_range byte 1, 18
attribute transect bcodmo_name String transect
attribute transect description String Transect number; 1-15
attribute transect long_name String Transect
attribute transect units String unitless

The information in the table above is also available in other file formats (.csv, .htmlTable, .itx, .json, .jsonlCSV1, .jsonlCSV, .jsonlKVP, .mat, .nc, .nccsv, .tsv, .xhtml) via a RESTful web service.


 
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