One People One Reef Expedition: June 8 – June 30, 2015

Super-Typhoon Maysak

Super-Typhoon Maysak hit the Federated States of Micronesia on March 31, 2015. Land structures (houses, churches, and schools) were extremely damaged, and much of the vegetation (including coconut and breadfruit trees) was uprooted. Food and water were scarce, and even today their diet has become heavily reliant on imported canned food.

Explorer’s Club Flag #112

We had the great privilege and honor to carry the Explorers Flag #112 with us on our expedition. While our original goal was to collect needed data in this poorly studied region, Typhoon Maysak changed our focus to direct our efforts towards assessing typhoon damage to the reefs. Our new purpose was to assess the reefs, which are critical to the livelihoods of the people who live here, and to their islands.

Montipora Invasion

In particular, we sought to study the ‘weedy’ and potentially harmful coral Montipora sp., which has been overtaking other corals on reefs in close proximity to villages.

The Montipora reefs that we observed had much lower biodiversity and could not support the countless species that thrived in hard coral reefs.

Montipora’sability to reproduce from broken fragments meant that the Typhoon’s powerful storm surge that fractured and scattered Montipora far beyond its observed range may have a drastic impact on the diversity of the reefs around Ulithi Atoll.

Reefs that we identified as Montipora-dominated in previous years were littered with broken bits of coral, often blanketed by a dark, slimy cyanobacteria. New coral colonies on the rubble were evident, and sometimes abundant, but these were overwhelmingly more Montipora than other species.

Even within the Montipora dominated reefs old, hard coral remain as a refuge for diversity.

Hanging out in one of these refuges of hard coral was an inquisitive cuttlefish!

More photos to come!

Although the threat from Montipora is a real one, there is hope! Diverse, protected reefs like this hard coral reef off the island of Yealil still survive and thrive with proper management techniques.

The management strategies put into place by the Micronesian Outer Island communities seems to be working. The reef closures pre-Typhoon may have provided the boost in fish that fed the people after the initial devastation. Shipments of building material and food aid continue to support recovery efforts.
Any rewards from this post (and all my posts about the Micronesian Outer Islands) will go directly to the people of Ulithi Atoll as they rebuild their lives in the face of an uncertain future!