1. 2Masbate School of Fisheries, Milagros, Masbate, Philippines
Assessment of the Resilience to Climate Change of Marine Reserve Sites in Central Philippines
Abner A. Bucol1,*, Angel C. Alcala1, Jasper Leif P. Maypa1 and Doris Dalanon2
1Silliman University Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines
2Masbate School of Fisheries, Milagros, Masbate, Philippines

2. Introduction
Coral reefs are among the most threatened ecosystems due to the increasing scale and frequency of human impacts
In addition, global climate change is considered as the greatest long-term threat to coral reefs.

3. Introduction
From Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2009

4. Introduction

5. Introduction…
Certain corals are resistant and resilient to the effects of bleaching, depending on the nature and severity of the stress.
From Obura (2005)

6. Introduction… RESISTANCE RESILIENCE
From Grimsditch, Gabriel D. and Salm, Rodney V. (2006). Coral Reef Resilience and Resistance to Bleaching. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 52pp.
RESISTANCE
RESILIENCE
The ability of an ecosystem to withstand disturbance without undergoing a phase shift or losing neither structure nor function.
Ex. A coral reef ’s ability to withstand bleaching and mortality.
The ability of a system to absorb or recover from disturbance and change, while maintaining
its functions and services.
Ex. a coral reef ’s
ability to recover from a bleaching event

7. Introduction…
The establishment of no-take marine reserves is one of the proposed solutions to improve the resistance and resilience of coral reefs to the effects of climate change such as bleaching.

8. Introduction…
Certain sites appear to be more resilient to the effects of climate change

9. Hard coral cover recovery at Apo Island
From 62% down to 15% in
From 15% in 2001 to 50% in 2003, recovery rate of 17.5%/yr
Bleaching Event
*Data from various sources

10. To maximize the use of financial and technical resources:
Introduction…
To maximize the use of financial and technical resources:
Determine which sites have potentials for resiliency to climate change

11. The Study Area

12. Methods
Resilience Assessment Framework (Modified from Maynard et al. 2010)
Bathymetric data taken from NAMRIA, GeoEye, etc.
Benthic composition (i.e. live hard coral cover)
Fish Visual Census Data (e.g. abundance of herbivores)

13. Methods Not really=1 Certainly=3 Somewhat=2 Island/Reef Name:
Site Name:
Date:
Average depth:
Observer:
Brief site description:
Broad-Scale Resilience Indicators
Not really
Somewhat
Certainly
Is the site impacted by upwelling?
Are factors present that work to increase water movement
and promote mixing (e.g. peninsulas/channels, exposure to winds and waves)?
Is the site free from contamination/pollution (e.g. nutrients and waste)?
Has the site been exposed to hot water events previously and survived and/or recovered quickly?
Are neighboring upstream reefs close enough to this site to provide larvae for recolonization following disturbance events?
Is the site free from physical impacts (e.g. storm damage, mining/extraction, destructive fishing)?
Totals:
Not really=1
Somewhat=2
Certainly=3

14. Methods Not really=1 Somewhat=2 Certainly=3
Local-Scale Resilience Indicators
Not really
Somewhat
Certainly
Does the site have topographic complexity (e.g. gullies, ridges, large range in coral sizes and morphologies)?
Do corals at the site stay submerged at low tide?
Is coral cover at this site higher than at other sites in your analysis?
Is the coral community made up primarily of resistant/tolerant coral species?
Are mature (large) coral colonies abundant at the site?
Is there a high availability of hard substrate suitable for coral recruitment?
Is the site free from sedimentation?
Is the site free from other physical impacts (e.g. anchor damage, dive/snorkel fin damage)?
Totals:
Not really=1
Somewhat=2
Certainly=3

15. Methods
Resilience Indicator Scoring Framework (Modified from Maynard et al. 2010)
Example: Bugsayon Marine Reserve 
Indicator Weighing
Scale
Resilience Indicator
Indicator Score (1-3)
Multiplied by
Score
Critically Important
Broad-Scale
Connectivity 2 3 6
Free from pollution 9
Local-Scale
Coral cover
Resistant/tolerant corals
Very Important
Water mixing
Free from physical impacts
Abundance of herbivores
Abundance of mature corals 4
Substrate Availability
Free from anthropogenic physical impacts
Important
Proximity to deep water 1
Coral submersion
Topographic complexity
Free from sedimentation
TOTAL 76

16. Results

17. Higly Resilient
Marine
Reserves

18. Bugsayon Marine Reserve, Masbate Pass

19. Buntod Marine Reserve, Masbate Pass

20. A bleached hard coral in Bangad Marine Reserve, Asid Gulf

21. A dying coral colony due to siltation in Narangasan, Asid Gulf

22. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH!!!