Potential impacts of artificial reef development on sea turtle conservation in Florida

Environmental influences on the epidemiology of fibropapillomatosis in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and consequences for management of inshore areas of the Great Barrier Reef

A large proportion of the world's population, including those of Asian countries, live in close proximity to the coastline. Coastlines are being developed at a £aster rate than ever before and there is now a growing body of literature to show that such activities are affecting the quality of coastal ecosystems and its wildlife (see, for example, Jennings, 2004; Siler et al., 2014; Duke eta!., 2007). This in turn is impacting negatively on the fishing and the tourism industries, amongst others. Millions of people depend on these sectors for their livelihoods and, unsustainable development can only make the plight of those who rely on these resources worse. The tourism industry in the coastal regions is particularly at risk since the industry relies heavily on coastal ecosystems to attract visitors. This chapter discusses the strong links that exist between coastal development, tourism, marine ecosystems and its wildlife, drawing attention to two well-known species widely used in tourism, namely whales and sea turtles, and discussing their conservation in relation to tourism. The chapter is divided into six sections. The second section examines why it is important to strike a balance between coastal development and protecting ecosystems. In this section, we discuss the ma.ior identified causes of coastal ecosystem degradation from the published literature, and the third section focuses attention on tourism development in the Asian region, which is one of the major reasons for coastal degradation. A diagrammatic approach is used to illustrate that planning of coastal tourism development which takes into account environmental impacts could result in economic benefits to the areas and regions concerned. The negative impacts on tourism when coastal ecosystems are damaged are discussed in section four. Section five shows the economic benefits resulting from sea turtle and whale watching-based tourism in Australia, and section six examines tourism as a conservation tool. In this section, the differing experiences of sea turtle tourism in Sri Lanka and Australia are discussed based on our published work. The final section concludes.

With increasing human uses of the ocean, existing seascapes containing natural habitats, such as biogenic reefs or plant-dominated systems, are supplemented by novel, human-made habitats ranging from artificial reefs to energy extraction infrastructure and shoreline installments. Despite the mixture of natural and artificial habitats across seascapes, the distribution and extent of these two types of structured habitats are not well understood but are necessary pieces of information for ocean planning and resource management decisions. Through a case study, we quantified the amount of seafloor in the southeastern US (SEUS; 103,220 km2 in the Atlantic Ocean; 10 – 200 m depth) covered by artificial reefs and natural reefs. We developed multiple data-driven approaches to quantify the extent of artificial reefs within state-managed artificial reef programs, and then drew from seafloor maps and published geological and predictive seafloor habitat models to develop three estimates of natural reef extent. Comparisons of the extent of natural and artificial reefs revealed that artificial reefs account for substantially less habitat (average of two estimates 3 km2; <0.01% of SEUS) in the region than natural reefs (average of three estimates 2,654 km2; 2.57% of SEUS) and that this pattern holds across finer regional groupings (e.g., states, depth bins). Our overall estimates suggest that artificial reef coverage is several orders of magnitude less than natural reef coverage. While expansive seafloor mapping and characterization efforts are still needed in SEUS waters, our results fill information gaps regarding the extent of artificial and natural reef habitats in the region, providing support for ecosystem-based management, and demonstrating an approach applicable to other regions.

Evaluation of sea turtles in Indonesia was based on the suggestion of the Directorate General of PHPA to WWF/IUCN, to collect accurate data about sea turtle populations and their habitats in the Indonesian islands, as the basic data for the formulation of the Sea Turtle Conservation Strategy in Indonesia.Rewlh of the exploration activities on the hlands of Sumatera, Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Maluku showed that illegal egg collection and hunting especidy of the hawksbill and green turtles stiU happened almost in all locations. Many nesting beaches had remained damaged vegetations due to the invation of human settlements. Nevertheless, we still have enough time to formulate the sea turtle conservation strategy, to save the sea turtle populations and their habitats on several islands.

Use of artificial reefs (ARs) as a tool for fishery resources management has been thought of as a feasible alternative for increasing fishing productivity. Given the great variety of materials employed in their construction, it is evident the need for assessing the effects of such procedure on the marine biota concerning its physical and biological features in Northeast Brazil. This paper was designed to describe the building of ARs with metallic containers after a partnership between the Brazilian Oil Company (PETROBRAS) and the Marine Science Institute. The site’s least depth, suggestions by fishermen, care with navigation security and the reserve in respect to further surveys have been the chief criteria used in choosing the right site for forthcoming installation of structures at a 10-mile distance from the coastline, in 20-meter depths. This project has complied with the Maritime Authority NORMAN 11 guideline from the Harbor and Coast Directorate of the Brazilian Navy, specific care being taken in the preparation of each container, namely opening of “windows” in its walls and ceiling so as to account for accuracy in the sinking operation. The colonization process has been mostly represented by Hydrozoa organisms. The 21 species identified the visual census, in a 18-month period, have kept clustered in the reefs’ neighborhood, whereas an empty landscape is noticeable outside their sphere of action.

<em>Abstract</em>.—In support of the Magnuson–Stevens Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, which tasked regional fisheries management councils with ending overfishing of numerous marine finfish species, the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council established 8 deepwater (90–150 m [300–500 ft]) type II marine protected areas (MPAs) along the coastline of the southeastern United States. At the request of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), one of these MPAs was established on an undeveloped sand-bottom area previously permitted by SCDNR for artificial reef development. After monitoring the production potential of unfished artificial reefs for several years on shallower experimental reef sites, SCDNR staff proposed that a deeper location had the potential to become a highly productive spawning site, particularly for deepwater grouper species. Development of this permitted site began in 2014 when two 79-m (260 ft) barges with nearly 30 m (100 ft) of added profile were deployed. Subsequent monitoring of the site through remotely operated underwater vehicle video revealed colonization by several target species, including Warsaw Grouper <em>Hyporthodus nigritus</em>, Snowy Grouper <em>H. niveatus</em>, and Misty Grouper <em>H. mystacinus</em>. Due in part to the success of this deepwater MPA, the SCDNR was also granted spawning special management zone designation for its two previously established, undisclosed experimental artificial reef sites in federal waters off South Carolina in 2017.

Coastal sea turtle stranding and bycatch are common phenomena worldwide and have received more attention in recent years. They are caused by both natural and anthropogenic factors. One thousand and seventy-two turtles were reported to be victims of these phenomena from March 1997 to November 2019 in Taiwan. Number of stranding/bycatch were variable and infrequent for the first 14 years, but increased each year after 2012 and peaked in 2019 with 217 cases. Most turtles were juveniles to subadults. All five of Taiwan's species were reported in stranding and bycatch records, and the green turtle was reported the most common. The main reported seasons lasted from winter to spring, when the weather changes dramatically. The sex ratio (female: male) ranged from 7 in the hawksbill turtle to 0.7 in the olive ridley, with an average of 2.4 for all species. Green turtles were the dominant stranded species, and more loggerhead turtles were by-caught. The hotspots were the towns of Dougou and Tochen in Yilan County, and Gongliao District in New Taipei City, located in NE coast of Taiwan respectively. Stranding was the more common of the two phenomena reported, and 80% of all stranded turtles were subadult green turtles. Eighty percent of all stranded/bycaught turtles were dead. Pond-nets were the fishing gear that accounted for the most bycatch, and captured mainly living young and subadult green turtles as well as subadult loggerhead turtles. The hotspots for bycatch were the towns of Dongou and Tochen in Yilan County. The Coast Guard and concerned citizen were the main sources of reports. This is the first study to analyze the long-term stranding/bycatch of sea turtles in Taiwan.

<em>Abstract</em>.—Most artificial reef deployments to date have been directed toward fish assemblage enhancement, with only a few that are fisheries- or species-specific. The ostensible rationale for this approach is that when the artificial reef fish assemblage increases in a given area, the component target species will also increase. This premise also implies that the target species is characteristically reef- or structure-associated. Targeted species may not be niche-specific with regard to their association with reef attributes; however, trophic groups may be niche generalists for a suite of reef attributes. Artificial reef designs could be directed toward trophic groups and not individual species or the entire assemblage. This would allow more efficient optimization of artificial reef designs directed toward generalized life history features common among species within a trophic group. The delineation of species according to reef niche should include attributes based on trophic features that will allow optimal management through trophic-group-oriented artificial reef deployments. If successful, trophic groups within an assemblage could be more efficiently managed to allow the full integration of artificial reefs into fisheries management on a worldwide basis. Thus, the application of artificial reef design principles could become universal for targeted trophic groups.

Evaluating the threat of IUU fishing to sea turtles in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia using expert elicitation

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the expression of both multi-metric qualitative habitat evaluation index (QHEI) and biological integrity index (IBI) for artificial structures eco-artificial fish reef (EAFR) for fishes asylum and habitat. Especially, both experimental evaluation and biological verification were performed in Water and Environmental Center's outdoor test-bed of Korea Institute of Construction Technology located in Andong-city, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The experimental conditions reflecting the situation of domestic river include the flow rate (e.g., ), the width (e.g., 1.0~3.0 m), the depth (e.g., 0.05~0.70 m), and variable bed materials. Both QHEI and IBI were monitored for 8 months from May to December 2010. Whereas QHEI values were highest at experimental points of the E~F with an average of 83.1, those were lowest at B~C with an average of 78.1. However, QHEI values inside EAFR were more than 98.9, regardelss of space and time, and indicated more than the highest good of the state (Good) in the habitat. Overally, IBI values showed similar trend with QHEI, but were 44.2 in the winter dry season, compared to 32.8 of QHEI values. IBI values Also, IBI values inside EAFR were greater than those at the experimental channel by 5.7 to 11.4% and 18.7 to 34.8% in flow and stagnant conditions, respectively, indicating that EAFR can secure asylum and habitat for fish during the dry season. For comprehensive aquatic ecosystem assessment, the experimental channel showed generally fair conditions (Fair~Good), whereas EAFR showed good conditions (Good), suggesting that EAFR can be applied to aquatic ecosystem restoration and improvement.

This paper investigates the development and optimization of artificial reefs through a new generative design method that integrates Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimization (BESO). Since the 1950s, artificial reefs have been deployed to enhance marine ecosystems, and this study begins with a survey of existing reef designs. In response to limitations in current design approaches, we adopt a topology optimization strategy aimed at improving spatial allocation for polyphony expansion within reef structures. By coupling fluid-dynamic analysis with an iterative optimization loop, we evaluate the effectiveness of material exchange enabled by these artificial formations—an essential consideration given advanced manufacturing constraints and the need for rapid production of natural-like geometries. To extend artificial reef design into new possibilities, we propose a generative workflow in which reef morphology emerges from the interaction between CFD and BESO, iteratively removing and adding material in accordance with external loading conditions. The resulting reef is then compared with representative benchmarks from current artificial reef designs to assess material efficiency, structural performance, and geometric characteristics under complex underwater conditions.

The impact of climate change on sea turtles: Current knowledge, scientometrics, and mitigation strategies

Artificial reefs can mimic natural habitats for fish and macroinvertebrates in temperate coastal waters of the Yellow Sea

<em>Abstract</em>.—Identifying morphometrics, age composition, and growth of Red Snapper <em>Lutjanus campechanus </em>(Poey, 1860) in the Gulf of Mexico is crucial for management of this valuable species. Red Snapper are highly associated with artificial reefs situated off the coast of Texas. Artificial reefs, two in federal waters (offshore) and two in state waters (inshore), were sampled quarterly from December 2014 through December 2016. Characteristic differences in age and growth patterns at inshore and offshore sites and across sampled sites were compared. Mean ± standard deviation was calculated for total length (TL), weight, and biological age. Red Snapper collected averaged 464.5 ± 92.6 mm in TL, 1.62 ± 1.03 kg, and 3.8 ± 1.5 years. Significant differences in TL, weight, and age were observed across sites but not between inshore and offshore locations. In comparing 12 previous Red Snapper length-at-age (0–25 years) studies across the Gulf of Mexico, results were similar except for two studies significantly different from one another, but none with respect to our study. Our findings suggest that Red Snapper populations are young and restricted to one or two spawning years before capture on artificial reefs. Continued management of fisheries associated with these reefs are necessary to increase the stock and eventually lead to robust and sustainable fisheries.

Human activities are currently threatening sea turtles at all life stages, both on nesting beaches and at sea. The debris and toxic waste dumped on the coast or at sea pollutes the sea and puts marine life in danger. In recent years, the number of global turtle population have noticeably decreased, and this is largely due to plastic pollution. However, how the sea pollution affects the sea turtles’ populations is not fully understood. Therefore, in this study, using the mathematical model, we will investigate the impact of pollution on sea turtle population. The model system is analyzed using standard mathematical techniques, including positivity of solutions and stability analysis. Our findings showed that there are two possible equilibrium points (i.e. steady-state solutions) for the model proposed, in which the stability analysis showed that only one of the solutions is asymptotically stable. Thus, the conditions of stability for both equilibrium points were also derived analytically based on their eigenvalues. As for the numerical simulations, the parameter of contamination rate is varied to investigate the effect of pollution on the population of sea turtles. The results suggested that if the contamination rate is high, then the population of sea turtles are expected to decrease and extinct approximately within 10 years. The comparison of survival and extinction of sea turtles are shown using the time series plots.