Title
Series of blogs documenting a new scientific survey of the waters and islands comprising Fiji’s Northern Lau Group
Author(s)
Nand, Yashika; Miller, Katy; Mangubhai, Sangeeta
Published
2017
Abstract
The islands that make up the Lau Group have largely been unexplored. Local Fijian scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Vatuvara Foundation surveyed 35 sites on outer fringing reefs, reef flats, and lagoonal systems in the course of an 8-day expedition looking at five islands in the Northern Lau Group.We knew before we started this trip that last year’s Category 5 Cyclone Winston had passed quickly through the Lau Group, but until now, no one had documented the impact caused to coral reefs. Sadly, we did survey cyclone damaged areas with large boulders and upturned corals, high sand and rubble cover, and an overgrowth of algae. However, we also documented extensive areas of reef that had very little to no damage, where there was a lot of intact structural complexity to reef systems surrounding the islands.
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PUB21149