Sunday 9 November 2008

The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count November 2008: Results: South Kadavu, Matava Resort

The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count November 2008
On reefs all across the Fiji Islands, volunteers from schools, universities, conservation organisations, resort and dive operations took part in 30 minute counts of Butterflyfish, as an indicator of biodiversity and coral health.
See www.Fijibutterflyfishcount.com for full details and results as they come in.
Results: South Kadavu, Matava Resort:
Participants:
Alice and James Calvert from Australia 

Alan and Lindsay Coley of the UK




Jone Waitaiti, Matava Dive Guide 
Richard Akhtar, Matava Owner






Helen Sykes, Fiji Coral Reef Monitoring Networkand Reef Check coordinator


Count in progress
Triangular Butterfly 
Cheveroned Butterfly 
Longnosed Butterflies
 Teardrop
Threadfin

Across the South Kadavu Dive Sites, 24 of the 27 known Butterflyfish in Fiji were seen. On average 79 Butterflyfish were seen over the 30 minute counting period.
Site
Reef Type
Average # of fish / 30 mins Average # of species
Eagle Rock,
Outer Wall
52 % Hard coral cover
23% Soft coral cover
92.5
20 (74%)
Vesi Bay,
Nearshore fringing Reef
38% Hard coral cover
7 % Soft coral cover
85.5
14 (52%)
Naiqoro Passage
Deep passage to outer wall
Hard coral gardens
82.8
22 (81%)
Japanese Gardens,
Passage side to outer slopes
Rock walls in passage, Hard corals on slopes
46.5
17 (63%)
South Kadavu Overall
78.8
24 (89%)
Many more species were found on the outer wall sites where there was high hard coral cover, and more variety of coral types. At the inner reef and passage side sites, where there was less hard coral, there were fewer species, and in one case, fewer fish, mainly those who do not depend entirely on corals for food.

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