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Yaf Keru: an update, and a milestone!

With September having come and gone, Yaf Keru officially turned 1! It was in September 2016 that we put our first structures in the water, and transplanted the first coral fragments... and so much has grown and changed since then! There's more structures, coral fragments are growing steadily, and abundant marine life is now habitating the new environment - all very positive signs for this project.

The past few months have also seen some exciting progress and development in a number of areas, for both Yaf Keru and Raja Ampat SEA Centre.  We conducted our first ever Coral Explorers Trip, transplanted more new structures (with help from resort guests), established a new method of restoration and are now looking towards expanding our project to another village jetty.  The whole team is excited by the current interest in Yaf Keru, and the opportunities to restore even wider areas of damaged reef in the region.  Please read on for a current update on all things Yaf Keru!

Enjo naboer!!

First 12 months

It is now 12 months since we installed our first structure, and the restored area is remarkably different to is pre-restoration state. The area has been transformed from a desolate rubble covered area with life limited, to an ecosystem containing everything from macro life, to grazers to large predatory fish.   Additionally, Yaf Keru it is not only restoring the reef, but proving to be an extremely valuable education and research tool for everyone that comes into contact with it: from staff, resort guests, village children to scientists.

THE NUMBERS:
AREA RESTORED: 500m2
NUMBER OF STRUCTURES: 32
NUMBER OF CORALS TRANSPLANTED: 5000+

Surival Rates

Currently no change – the transplanted fragments are still going strong. There is no new mortality on the experimental tables, with a consistent survival rate of 88%. Newer structures demonstrate an initial 10% mortality over the first 3 three months, generally due to predation from Drupella snails. One instance of predation was attributed to a Crown of Thorns starfish, however, COTs in this area are not considered a problem as they exist in a balanced ecosystem where there are enough predators (groupers, triton trumpet snails) to keep them at bay.

Growth Rates

Following the initial “natural selection” during the settling phase, the remaining corals keep growing at remarkable rates. Fastest growing are the acropora species, demonstrating growth of approximately 1.5cm per month. Slower growing species show a growth rate of 1mm per month - highlighting just how old the large and established reef systems in Raja Ampat are!

What's Next?

We are now in the final phase of our pilot study and are currently proofing a new method of substrate stabilization... chicken wire! This method is more cost effective and, combined with the traditional structures, will help in maximizing the restoration “cost/surface” ratios once we start working on large projects.

Full Moon in Raja Ampat

The next two full moons could mean something very exciting here in Raja Ampat! We will be keeping an excited eye out during the next two full moons as October and November… some of the literature suggests that these months are the best time of year to observe coral spawning. Being able to witness the spawning of our transplanted corals would be an amazing victory for us in our mission to develop a good coral rehabilitation program. Additionally, to date there is no footage of this extraordinary event in Raja Ampat!

Coral Explorers 2017

In July this year we conducted our first annual Coral Explorers trip. 8 guests, 2 divemasters, 3 coral gardeners and a number resort staff were lead through a series of workshops, presentations and dives lead by world leading coral scientists: Russell Kelly and Dr Rachel Pears. From life cycles, to tentacles, to how to ID.. we can safely to say the understanding and appreciation of Coral reefs and their significance increased immensely after this trip!  Amongst a myriad of other amazing coral facts, we found at local dive sites:

Coral Explorers - 2018: Book Now!

Coral Explorers 2018 will run from Wednesday May 30th – Sunday June 10th, 2018.
For any diver, snorkeller or nature lover that wants to learn more about the amazing ecology of coral reefs, whilst diving in the most marine biodiverse place on earth.. join us in 2018 in the heart of the coral triangle!  For more information please contact us at info@seacentre.org, or to book please email raja@papuaexplorers.com

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