Participants

James Udy	David Neil	Simon Albert	Guy Marion	Dana Burfiend

Worklocations and outcomes

Coral cores. Between February 3rd - February 14th 2005, a total of 19 Porites coral cores were collected by Guy and Simon with assistance from local villages. Collections were made across two west-east transects in the northern and southern Marovo Lagoon, named Chea and Mbili, respectively. Each transect contained three sites: an “inner river” reef, a mid-lagoon reef, and an outer channel reef. At least 2 replicate cores per site were drilled, with the longest record (154 cm- Chea), representing at least 100-130 years of growth, depending on coral extension rates. Both the Mbili and the Chea transects were selected based on the presence of the following criteria: a) significant logging activity within the immediate catchment, b) altered inshore water quality / coral reef conditions, as assessed during water sampling and reef surveys, c) significant river outflow producing flood plumes capable of crossing the lagoon into the ocean, and d) presence of multiple healthy, intact corals suitable for coring. Despite the added excitement of needing to ship a replacement core barrel from Canberra to Seghe airport in barely 8 days, this coring expedition was a great success. The coral “library” is extensive, replicated, and represents reefs that are amongst the most flood-exposed of the Lagoon. Moreover, from the resulting growth data and ultimately more sophisticated geochemical analysis (trace metal, C/N stable isotopes), we can understand how the last 20 years of catchment land use change has altered the Marovo water quality, providing a long-term baseline to measure with fish and coral reef surveys.

Prepared handouts were used to introduce the local community to the objectives of this trip. To download

Measurements were taken near Chea village and Tengomo Island. In each of these areas, three sites were studied: 1. Near Vangunu 2. Middle of Lagoon 3. Outer reef