QUINN, NJ*; KOJIS, BL; Univ. of West Indies, Discovery Bay Marine Lab, Jamaica; Division of Fish & Wildlife, St. Thomas, US Virgin Is: Assessing Enhancement Techniques to Increase Acropora cervicornis Populations and Increase Fish Biodiversity in Jamaica

Shallow water Acropora species were nearly extirpated on Jamaican reefs in the late 1970�s and early 1980�s where they remain uncommon today. With the loss of acroporids from hurricanes, disease and the reduction of grazers, macroalgae has proliferated. Restoration of acroporids has been proposed to increase the reef complexity and to assist fishers by increasing fish populations through the improvement of essential reef fish habitat. Comparative fish counts on similar reefs with and without A. cervicornis populations demonstrate high fish diversity and abundance on reefs with A. cervicornis populations. Reefs with greater A. cervicornis biomass have larger edible fish populations. Since June 2004, we have been involved with fishers, hotel operators and environmental groups to increase the biomass of A. cervicornis and the complexity of reefs. With protection of these restored reefs we anticipate an increase in fish abundance which should result in greater fish catches for subsistence fishers. However, the potential for Acropora spp. to naturally recover should be examined before efforts to restore them are undertaken. Efforts to transplant or restore acroporids are very expensive and unnecessary if they have the natural capacity to recover. We have observed juvenile colony recruitment of A. palmata and prolifera, but not A. cervicornis. While these species appear to be recovering, it appears that the long-term survival of A. cervicornis is threatened by lack of successful larval recruitment. This study assessed methods of restoring A. cervicornis populations in selected habitats using experimental transplants.