Microbial community analysis of Acropora palamata mucus swabs, water and sediment samples from Hawksnest Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Colonies of the scleractinian coral Acropora palmata, listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act in 2006, have been monitored in Hawksnest Bay, within Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, from 2004 through 2010 by scientists with the US Geological Survey, National Park Service, and the University of the Virgin Islands. The focus has been on documenting the prevalence of disease, including white band, white pox (also called patchy necrosis and white patches), and unidentified diseases (Rogers et al., 2008; Muller et al., 2008). In an effort to learn more about the pathologies that might be involved with the diseases that were observed, samples were collected from apparently healthy and diseased colonies in July 2009 for analysis. Two different microbial assays were performed on Epicentre Biotechnologies DNA swabs containing A. palmata coral mucus, and on water and sediment samples collected in Hawksnest Bay. Both assays are based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of portions of the small rRNA gene (16S). The objectives were to determine 1) if known coral bacterial pathogens Serratia marcescens (Acroporid Serratiosis), Vibrio coralliilyticus (temperature-dependent bleaching, White Syndrome), Vibrio shiloi (bleaching, necrosis), and Aurantimonas coralicida (White Plague Type II) were present in any samples, and 2) if there were any differences in microbial community profiles of each healthy, unaffected or diseased coral mucus swab. In addition to coral mucus, water and sediment samples were included to show ambient microbial populations. In the first test, PCR was used to separately amplify the unique and diagnostic region of the 16S rRNA gene for each of the coral pathogens being screened. Each pathogen test was designed so that an amplified DNA fragment could be seen only if the specific pathogen was present in a sample. A positive result was indicated by bands of DNA of the appropriate size on an agarose gel, which separates DNA fragments based on the size of the molecule. DNA from pure cultures of each of the pathogens was used as a positive control for each assay.

Temporal trends in reef fish assemblages inside Virgin Islands National Park and around St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1988-2006

This report is a result of long-term fish monitoring studies supported by the National Park Service (NPS) at the Virgin Islands National Park since 1988 and is now a joint NPS and NOAA collaboration. Reef fish monitoring data collected from 1988 to 2006 within Virgin Islands National Park (VINP) and adjacent reefs around St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) were analyzed to provide information on the status of reef fishes during the monitoring period. Monitoring projects were initiated by the National Park Service (NPS) in the 1980s to provide useful data for evaluation of resources and for development of a long-term monitoring program. Monthly monitoring was conducted at two reef sites (Yawzi Point and Cocoloba Cay) starting in November 1988 for 2.5 years to document the monthly/seasonal variability in reef fish assemblages. Hurricane Hugo (a powerful Category 4 storm) struck the USVI in September 1989 resulting in considerable damage to the reefs around St. John. Abundance of fishes was lower at both sites following the storm, however, a greater effect was observed at Yawzi Point, which experienced a more direct impact from the hurricane. The storm affected species differently, with some showing only small, short-term declines in abundance, and others, such as the numerically abundant blue chromis (Chromis cyanea), a planktivorous damselfish, exhibiting a larger and longer recovery period. This report provides: 1) an evaluation of sampling methods, sample size, and methods used during the sampling period, 2) an evaluation of the spatial and temporal variability in reef fish assemblages at selected reef sites inside and outside of VINP, and 3) an evaluation of trends over 17 years of monitoring at the four reference sites. Comparisons of methods were conducted to standardize assessments among years. Several methods were used to evaluate sample size requirements for reef fish monitoring and the results provided a statistically robust justification for sample allocation.

Voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication: summary

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) were adopted by member countries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and were officially approved as an international instrument in June 2014. What is very special about the SSF Guidelines is that it was created as a result of a very long history of the struggles of small-scale fishworkers around the world appealing for greater recognition of their status and their role in the fisheries sector of their countries. These Guidelines have 100 paragraphs which are distributed across 13 sections. This document is only a summation of the contents of the Guidelines. It was produced for ICSF by John Kurien, founder Member of ICSF, who has worked for the last four decades with small-scale fishing communities in many areas around the world, particularly in Kerala, India.

SSF Guidelines: the beauty of the small

An examination of the role of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication in the context of the small-sale fishery of Kerala, India.