IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1

Research article
erd

Growth Rate of Acropora nobilis Attached to Table Type
Framework
JESRELLJANE AARON-AMPER*Bohol Island State University, Candijay Campus, Bohol, Philippines
Email: jesrelljane@gmail.com

JOSUEH M. GULAYAN
Bohol Island State University, Candijay Campus, Bohol, Philippines

CHRISTOPHER OLAVIDES
Bohol Island State University, Candijay Campus, Bohol, Philippines

SAMUEL J. GULAYAN
Bohol Island State University, Candijay Campus, Bohol, Philippines
Received 22 January 2015

Accepted 6 May 2015(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The Municipality of Panglao has been experiencing constant pressures caused byhuman and natural factor that affect the resources within the municipality particularly thereefs. Reefs are underwater structures created by the growth of corals. It has the highest
gross of primary productivity in marine systems. However, sustainable practices to maintainthe state and well-being of reefs have been largely ignored. Transplanting coral fragments
or ramets is one way of restoring damaged portion of reefs. Hence, this study aims todetermine the survival and growth rates of ramets in a table type framework deployed at 5,10, and 20 m depth in three months. Coral fragments found scattered on the reef bottoms
were cut into smaller fragments (ramets). There were 16 ramets attached in a single coral
nursery unit. One hundred forty three representing three levels of depths and three
replicates per depth. Monitoring was conducted monthly. The survivorship of Acropora
nobilis was found out to be at 88.7%. Ramets had overgrown the plastic cable ties as well as
steel bars indicating three dimensional growths. The growth rate of the ramets were highbut there was no significant difference found with depth (p=0.066). The highest growth rate
was found out to be at 20 m, with a mean growth rate of 0.81 cm mo⁻ . The high survivaland growth rate of A. nobilis proves that it is a good species for coral reef restoration in
Panglao, Bohol.
Keywords coral, growth rate, framework, branching coral, survivorship

INTRODUCTION
Coral reefs have been in existence for many decades, an evident result of the complex constructiveprocess. Among the five major marine ecosystems, coral reefs have the highest levels of marine
biodiversity on earth, and play a big role in the highly tangible environment. In the Southeast Asia,a nearly 100,000 km of coral reef (34% of the world’s total) can be seen. The species that areprimarily abundant around the area are the branching corals, the same species that can be found in
the coral reef ecosystem of Panglao, Bohol (USC, 2012).
Branching corals have been slowly declining due to illegal fishing practices, tourism,overfishing, global warming and pollution from land populated areas. A small change in theenvironmental parameters caused by the aforementioned activities can significantly affect up to50% of the growth rate of this species (Crabbe and Smith, 2005; Jimenez and Cortes, 2003;
Macdonald and Perry, 2003; Kaandorp, 1999). Hence, many have tried developing a technologythat could conserve the coral reef ecosystem and mitigate the negative impacts (Lee et al., 2009:Ⓒ ISERD108

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1

Shaish et al., 2008; Raymundo et al., 2007; Rinkevich, 1995). Recently, researchers in thePhilippines also started developing such technology, and pilot tested it at the different parts of thePhilippines through the Coral Reef Rehabilitation Project. In this project, the itinerary is usuallyfocused on the coral reef restoration and no studies have been done yet on the growth rate of ramets
attached to nurseries deployed at different depths. It is in this context that this study will find its
merits.
OBJECTIVESThis study aims to measure the growth rate of Acropora nobilis in 3 different water depth layers(i.e., 5, 10, 20 meters during the lowest low tide) in Alona Beach, Panglao Island, Bohol,Philippines.
Specifically, this study aims to
1. determine the survivorship of the ramets attached to the units, and
2. compare the growth rate of the A. nobilis in the 3 different water depth layers
METHODOLOGY
Site Description
This study was conducted in Alona Beach, Tawala, Panglao, Bohol (Fig. 1) from April-August,2013. Alona beach is located at the south part of the island. It has fringing reef that experiences
northeast monsoon from November to March and southwest monsoon from June to October, ashallow reef flats that are mostly composed of fine sediments, sands, seagrasses, seaweeds, andalgae, and a fore reefs that extend up to several meters with coral cover of approximately 10percent. Alona beach has been subjected to both natural and human induced destruction such as thetyphoon Bupha or locally known as Pablo, improper anchorage, and poor buoyancy control of thedivers.

Fig. 1 Map of the study site in PanglaoⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1Coral Nursery Construction
The coral nursery units, Table type were constructed from March 28-April 3, 2013 at Tawala,Panglao, Bohol. The nurseries were made up of 9 mm round bar materials, measuring 50 cm lengthby 50 cm width, and 40 cm depth with four fixed series of 9 mm round bars running the whole
length with 10 cm gap in between and another four fixed series of 9 mm round bars running thewhole width with the same gap in between. Additionally, a steel plate was connected to each of thenursery’s foot so that it can be fixed on the bottom minimizing movement due to waves andcurrents. Each nursery was tagged randomly.
Collecting Fragments and Transplanting in Nursery
Fragments of Acropora nobilis were collected along the Alona strips. These were placed in red or
yellow crates and were brought to waist level seawater. The fragments were cut into 5 cm
(SD±0.05) smaller fragments (ramets) using hack saw. A plastic caliper was used to measure themaximum height of the ramets for growth rate determination. Tagging of ramets using dymo tags
were done. All ramets were tied firmly with plastic cable ties for anchorage and will be attached tothe coral nursery unit in a complete randomize manner. There were 16 ramets in a single coral
nursery unit. Overall, there were 144 ramets representing three levels of depths, and three replicatesper depth.
Deployment of the Framework Units
A pumpboat was rented when the framework units were deployed. Three framework units weredeployed everyday for three consecutive days. The frameworks were attached to PVC rafts thatwere tied to the outriggers of the pumpboat so that the ramets will remain submerged in theseawater. The units at (20, 10, and 5 m) were placed perpendicular to the shoreline.
Survival and Growth Rate Determination
Survival was monitored every month for three months by recording the status of each ramet as dead,partially dead, bleaching, live, or missing.
After one week of deployment of the units, ramets were photographed with underwater
camera. Growth measurement was done using a plastic caliper for calibration. Growth rate wascalculated by using Eq. (1):
DGR= (Lf – Li) / t₂ - t₁

(1)

where: Lf = final length, Li = initial length, t₂ = days terminated, and t₁ = start of study. The sameprocedures were done after three months.
Maintenance
A monthly dive was done to remove fouling organism (algae, sponges, etc), predators (crown ofthorns, sea stars, corallivore snails, etc.), and other debris.
Data Analysis
Statistical analysis was performed using Systat 12. In lieu of one-way analysis of variance (oneway-ANOVA) for the growth rate, a non-parametric analysis, Kruskall-Wallis test was used since
the data failed to meet the assumptions even after transformation.

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Survivorship of the Ramets
Fig. 2 shows that the nurseries deployed in five meters had the highest number of live ramets while
the nurseries at ten meters depth had the highest number of partially dead and dead ramets.
Survival of all ramets was 88.7% for Acropora nobilis which is lower compared to the 94.8-95.8%of the Andaman Sea (Putchim et al., 2007) but is more or less equivalent to the 87% survivorshipof the transplanted corals in the outfall of North Florida, USA (Thornton et al., 2000). The cutting
and attachment process did not apparently affect their survival. One of the principal concerns about
coral transplantation is the effect of relocation. Many have moved corals to different environments
and experienced difficulties due to many changes in its habitat (Thornton et al., 2000). The highsurvival rate of the ramets in this study could be due to the lack of relocation effects.
60504030

520

1010200
Dead

Partially Bleaching
DeadLive

Missing

Fig. 2 Survivorship of the ramets at 20, 10, 5 meter depth
Growth RateFirst month after deployment, the ramets started to form new branches (Fig. 3). After three months,
the ramets had overgrown the plastic cable ties as well as steel bars (Fig. 4).These indicates that theramets deployed in three different depths have actually grown three-dimensionally. But, thesegrowth rate showed no significant difference (p=0.066) with depth (Fig. 5). The mean growth rate
at 20 m is 0.081 cm/d⁻ (SD ± 0.005) while, 10 m has a mean growth rate of 0.078 cm/d⁻ with (SD± 0.009) and 5 m depth has a mean growth rate of 0.052 cm/d⁻ with (SD ±0.008). If computedmonthly, 20 m has a mean growth rate of 0.81 cm mo⁻ while, 10 m has a mean growth rate of 0.78
cm/mo⁻ and 5 m depth has a mean growth rate of 0.52 cm/mo⁻ which is higher compared the 0.41
cm/m⁻ of the A. grandis and 0.23 cm/m⁻ of the A. muricata deployed at 8-10 m of the Andaman
Sea (Putchim et al., 2007).

Fig. 3 Ramets forming new branchesⒸ ISERD

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Fig. 4 Ramets overgrowing the steel bar and cable ties

growth rate (cm/day)

0.100
0.080
0.060
0.040
0.020
0.000
510depth20Fig. 5 Growth rate at 20, 10, 5 meter depth
CONCLUSION
In view of the results and discussion, the following generalizations are drawn:
1. Fix-to-bottom framework type is an ideal technique in doing coral reef restoration as it caneliminate the natural predators (e.g., crown of thorns, corralivore snails) from eating the corals
that causes mortality to the nurseries. Secondly, it requires lesser maintenance compared toother types of nurseries.
2. Broken live fragments that measures 5 cm (SD±0.05) used as initial growth can give anassurance that the transferred ramets can survived and healed when attached to the nurseries.
3. Ten meter depth is so far the most ideal in doing coral reef restoration using Acropora nobilis
due to its fast growth rate and less mortality rate.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The researchers are grateful to their friends who contributed a lot to the realization of the research
namely: Dexter Piloton, Gerold Aton, Myko Ocol of Bohol Island State University, CandijayCampus and Dominic Belleza of University of San Carlos, Cebu City.
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