'%Healthy Reefs for Healthy People - A Guide to Indicators of Reef Health and Social Well-being in the Mesoamerican Reef Region%'%by Melanie McField and Patricia Kramer%

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E C O S Y S T E M FU N C T I O N I N D I C AT O R S

REPRODUCTION

RECRUITMENT

AND

Conservation Objective

Maintain or restore conditions optimal for coral and fish reproduction and recruitment; preserve pathways

of larval connectivity and minimize actions that disrupt them.

Threats

Main threats are diseases, coral bleaching, algal overgrowth, competition and predation, overfishing

and unregulated fishing, hurricanes, pollution (including sedimentation and nutrification), direct removal

or damage, and global climate change.

Management Actions

· Reduce sediment and pollution runoff associated with agricultural practices and coastal

development.

· Fully protect all spawning aggregation sites.

· Severely restrict marine dredging operations.

· Reduce production of (and clean up existing) marine pollution.

· Reduce destruction of mangrove, seagrass and coral nursery areas, protecting migration and

larval corridors.

· Reduce illegal fishing and destructive fishing practices.

· Improve management of existing marine protected areas.

· Reduce activities contributing to global climate change.

reduces the overall reproductive success of these

Reproduction and recruitment are among the most

species. In the Caribbean Sea, the Nassau grouper

critical processes governing reef communities.

has been especially hard-hit.

Reproduction refers to the process by which organisms

produce new offspring. Recruitment refers to the

Anadditionalchallengetoreproductionandrecruitment

successful addition of individuals to some defined

of reef corals and fishes is terrestrial runoff. Runoff

group (e.g., a specific population of parrotfish).

from land can decrease water quality and introduce

chemicals that may negatively impact reef organisms

For many corals and fishes, the ability to replenish

(e.g., chlorpyrifos reduces coral settlement)1.

their populations depends on linkages between their

larval source and nursery areas. Some reef species

Loss of key environments may be reducing the overall

rely on local currents to help retain or return locally

recruitment success of some fish and invertebrate

produced recruits. Other species rely on upstream

species in the MAR. Protection of spawning sites,

and sometimes distant areas as sources for larvae.

restoration of nursery habitats and reduction of

These linkages are not well defined, and they may

pollution can all help ensure reproductive success on

vary from year to year.

the Mesoamerican Reef2.

Coral reef, mangrove and seagrass areas serve as

Indicators selected to track reproduction and

necessary habitat for many reef species at various

recruitment are:

developmental stages. These habitats also serve as

corridors for transient species.

Coral Recruitment

For many larger, commercially important reef

Fish Recruitment

fishes such as groupers and snappers, spawning

aggregations (that is, temporary gatherings of fishes

Coral Size Frequency

that have migrated specifically to reproduce) are

Fish Size Frequency

critical. Fishing of these vulnerable aggregations