Montserrat Ridge to Reef Project Marisa Sorrell December 2016
1. Latest news CONTENTS 2. Story of the Month 3. Educational & Community Projects 4. Survey Update 6. Creature of the month
PROJECT AIM The Montserrat Ridge to Reef Conservation Project (MRRCP) is a collaborative project to support the sustainable use of Montserrat s natural resources. The programme encompasses scientific surveys of coral reefs and other marine resources, as well as terrestrial species and habitats focussed primarily in the Centre Hills. The MRRCP provides training and conservation education opportunities for local Montserratians, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of natural resources throughout the country. Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) is working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Government of Montserrat and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Coral Cay Conservation provides the resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection, restoration and management of coral reefs and tropical forests.
LATEST NEWS CCC Welcomes New Field Base Manager! This month has been a massive handover of leadership as we say sad goodbyes to Susan Robertson; who has been Field Base Manager (FBM) for seven months and a member of CCC in Montserrat for over two years! Fortunately, she has a wonderful replacement, Gareth Turner; who has joined the Montserrat team after completing his Marine Expedition Management Scheme with Coral Cay in the Philippines in October 2016. He first came into contact with Coral Cay in Cambodia after he had completed his PADI Instructor course in Thailand. He then became part of a team setting up a new coral regrowth and seahorse monitoring project on the island of Koh Rong Samloem. Previous to that, he spent two years working as a Conservation Project Facilitator on a Green Turtle project in the Perhentian Islands of Malaysia as well as diving around places such as Sumatra, the Philippines and Bali. His passion for conservation became clear when he found that he didn t enjoy working in the dive industry as an instructor only. Now as he is part of the Montserrat CCC team, he is looking forward to taking all he has learnt during six months on site in Southern Leyte, and passing it on to his new team of staff, volunteers and others in Montserrat, in addition to learning more of what the island has to offer. Gareth has a fantastic personality and witty banter, and only one month in, cannot get enough of the beautiful landscapes and wildlife on the island. He is also considering dropping his vegan diet if it means getting rid of the loud screams of Cockerels outside his window every night! But since his arrival to Montserrat, he has really enjoyed and appreciated the constant waving and friendliness of the locals wherever he walks, including the generosity and willingness of help by everyone he meets. Welcome, Gareth! We all look forward to your good work here on the island!
STORY OF THE MONTH The Darwin-Plus workshop At the beginning of December, CCC participated in a workshop with the Darwin-Plus-supported project, whose aim is Maximising the long-term survival prospects of Montserrat s endemic species and ecosystem services. This was the second workshop of a two-year initiative by the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF) which provided the opportunity for stakeholders to provide input, ideas, and express strengths and weaknesses for a sustainable plan towards the future management of the South of Montserrat. The workshop looked at future potential activities on Montserrat such as control of invasive and feral animals, management of terrestrial and marine areas, sand-mining, plus cropping fruit trees, etc. Within the different sections discussed the strengths of these management schemes, weaknesses, the opportunities it would provide to the public and to natural resources, including the threats it could face or bring to ecosystem services. Project Scientist, Marisa Sorrell, had the chance to provide input and interact with other local organisations including local dive shops and key island stakeholders. It was a massive turn out, with ideas passed around between all the groups. It was a great chance for Marisa to promote the work CCC conducts and our importance on the island, and she had a great day networking and challenging the mind!
Library Sessions EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS This Month s workshops with the kids involved talking about where tropical rainforests can be found globally, the types of forests in Montserrat and what characteristics they exhibit, before moving on to the main topic of the talk, the forest canopy. The kids were quizzed on the names of the different layers and what kind of Montserrat species lived within each layer and got great enjoyment by shouting their guesses trying to name the different organisms pictured. The craft session involved the children painting their very own rainforest scene. Everyone had a great time was a particularly nice opportunity for Science Officer, Derry, and FBM, Gareth, to meet and connect for the first time with the kids we will be seeing over the coming months. For Christmas, the kids learned about the impacts of Christmas waste and how they can help reduce the waste by reducing, reusing, and recycling! We showed ways to reuse every day waste they may find such as drink bottles and egg cartons. To make the holiday season more light-hearted, the CCC team helped the children make Christmas tree wall decoration, and good old fashioned Christmas cards, full of glue and glitter (but mostly glue). It was a great ending to the year and we look forward to starting the library sessions again in mid-january.
EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS Math s and Science Fair Over December, Montserrat held their annual Maths and Science Fair, where CCC was invited to impart some Science knowledge to the kids. The fair was well attended by children of all ages from all over the island. The children themselves filled the auditorium with their own fascinating exhibits on a wide range of topics from statistics to potato powered lights, while CCC and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory had their exhibits in the entrance foyer. CCC s topic of discussion for the day was Animal Adaptation, a comparison study between fish and birds (to compliment the main areas of focus of our Ridge to Reef programme) and the different ways each have adapted to the challenges of living in the marine environment and to flight. Many examples were also used from Montserrat such as the adaptation of the particular shore birds found around the beaches here, and the colourations and survival skills of eagle rays, Octopus, and other marine creatures. The children were inquisitive and enthusiastic throughout and were particularly engaged with the countershading interactive piece and with the beak and food-source matching game. Children and adults alike all left having learned a lot.
SURVERY UPDATE Terrestrial Surveys As Marine surveying, has taken a short break until January, the CCC team have been successfully completing all the trails and shore bird surveys each week. As migratory birds, have been growing in abundance over these past few weeks, the forests are singing with new bird calls and vibrant feathers, keeping the trails interesting and exciting to trek. There have also been sightings of the harmless Leeward Racer snakes a few times, which is positive as snakes help regulate and lessen mouse and insect populations. Therefore, the more snakes, the less pesky mice! Scientific reports from all of CCC s sites around the world are available on our website at http://www.coralcay.org/science-research/scientific-reports/.
Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus) CREATURE OF THE MONTH Tis the season for Christmas Trees above and below the water! Well, not really, you can find these Christmas tree worms all year long but what s wrong with feeling festive all year long! The common name for these worms is derived from their colourful appearance, not their habitat or diet. Each worm has two brightly coloured crowns that protrude from its tube-like body 1. These crowns are composed of radioles, which are hair-like appendages used for respiration and to catch dinner, which typically consists of microscopic plants, or phytoplankton floating in the water. These worms are sedentary, that they don t move much. Even though we see the colourful crowns of these worms, most of their bodies are anchored in burrows that they bore into hard coral. In Montserrat, CCC mainly sees these worms on brain coral, but can be found on other hard coral. When approached, they instantly retract the crowns into tubes. Divers can find these beautiful creatures in Florida, Bahamas, Caribbean, but are also circumtropical (found around tropical environments) 2. 1 http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/xmas-tree.html 2 Reef Creature Identification. Ned DeLoach and Paul Humann. 2013.