Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

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Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs after Bleaching and Hurricanes in 2005SATELLITE BLEACHING ALERTSSatellite Bleaching Alerts (SBA) notify reef managers when changes occur in theenvironmental conditions relevant to coral bleaching at or near their reef. NOAA CoralReef Watch transmits emails for 24 locations around the world, including 6 strategic reefsites across the greater Caribbean region. SBAs are sent to registered users wheneverHotSpot and Degree Heating Week indicators show that the thermal stress level haspassed a critical threshold; either increasing or abating. Subscription is free at http://coralreefwatch-satops.noaa.gov/SBA.html; additional SBA sites are under developmentand further locations can be requested.Bleaching Watch: Keep an eye out! Corals are experiencing low-level thermal stress.Temperatures have exceeded the usual summer maximum but have not yet reached theBleaching Threshold. Degree Heating Weeks (DHWs) are not yet accumulating.Bleaching Warning: Get prepared now. The HotSpot is now at least 1°C and coralsare stressed. DHWs have begun to accumulate and are at 1°C-week.Alert Level 1: Corals are probably bleaching or will soon! DHWs have reached 4°Cweeks,signifying that thermal stress has reached levels that cause bleaching. Generally,corals will respond to this level of thermal stress in the next 1-3 weeks, depending on thespecies and other local factors.Alert Level 2: Double trouble. At DHW of 8°C-weeks, thermal stress is widespreadand you can expect to see mass coral bleaching. Unfortunately, by this time, the thermalstress has persisted long enough that some corals will probably die soon.No Stress: Temperatures have cooled and hopefully stressed corals will recover.At least they are no longer under thermal stress.18-Aug-05 Extensive bleaching has been seen in the Florida Keys, right after an SBA Alert Level1 email was sent on 13 August. SST has been around 31°C, with calm and sunny conditions.There could be more trouble in store for Florida’s reefs; a strong HotSpot is developing, asshown in the image on page 9.23-Aug-05 More bleaching has been seen in Biscayne Bay, Florida Keys, and now corals nearPalominitos Island, Puerto Rico are bleaching.Hurricane Katrina, 23 to 30 August 2005Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters in the United Stateshistory. Katrina was the most costly hurricane to strike the U.S., making landfall in Florida(Category 1) and then intensifying to Category 5 over the Gulf of Mexico before strikingLouisiana/Mississippi (Category 3). Katrina was exceptionally large with hurricane-forcewinds extending 170 km from the centre and storm-force winds out to 370 km. The 8 mstorm surge that accompanied Katrina caused major flooding in New Orleans and along thenorthern Gulf coast. However, Katrina also did some good in the Florida Keys, as a Category1 hurricane, mixing up the waters and cooling overheated reefs.40
The 2005 Bleaching Event: Coral-List Log27-Aug-05 Record-breaking thermal stress is affecting Sombrero Key in the Florida Keys andan SBA Alert Level 2 has been issued. Hurricane Katrina is crossing over South Florida – arewe going from bad to worse?29-Aug-05 According to an article in the Key West Citizen, Hurricane Katrina has really helpedthe Florida Keys, providing much-needed relief from thermal stress.01-Sep-05 Several coral species are bleaching on the reefs of Belize, ranging in intensity frompaling to bright white.06-Sep-05 SST has dropped by more than 2°C at Sombrero Key from a week ago. The SBA levelhas been reduced to Bleaching Watch; hopefully these corals can recover from the thermalstress. The HotSpots are now covering extensive areas of the Caribbean, as seen on the imageon page 10.09-Sep-05 Hard corals in eastern Puerto Rico have bleached extensively, and octocorals,gorgonians, and zoanthids have also bleached. Water temperatures are around 29.5-30 o C andthere is barely any wind.12-Sep-05 Things are looking bad. Corals in Biscayne Bay range from unbleached, to pale, toextensively bleached, and black band disease has been observed. The Florida Keys corals rangefrom slight to severely bleached, and divers have reported recently-dead Elkhorn coral. Coralsin southwestern Puerto Rico have started to bleach and white plague has also been seen.14-Sep-05 The first bleaching of the flower coral Mussa angulosa has been recorded innortheastern Puerto Rico, as well as bleaching and mortality reports of Palythoa caribbaeorum.Bleaching has also been seen in northern and western Barbados and southeastern Costa Rica.15-Sep-05 A report has come from eastern Puerto Rico of the first-ever record of a bleachedcolony of Elkhorn coral in the region. There has been extensive bleaching and mortality, aswell as an outbreak of black band disease. Scientists have noted that for some reason there doesnot appear to be any cleaning gobies on the reefs - are the gobies stressed too?17-Sep-05 Now coral bleaching has been seen in the British Virgin Islands. Are any reef areassafe?19-Sep-05 Not only are hard corals, octocorals and zoanthids bleaching around Barbados,scientists have noted unusually high mortality of moray eels and white sea eggs (a type of seaurchin).21-Sep-05 Thermal stress has progressed southward and eastward through Cuba, PuertoRico and the Virgin Islands. DHW levels have exceeded 8°C-weeks, so the likelihood of coralmortality is high. It’s hard to not feel helpless.41
Page 1 and 2: Stat u s o fCa r i b b e a nCo r a
Page 3 and 4: Dedication: This book is dedicated
Page 5 and 6: Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs aft
Page 25 and 26: Status of Coral Reefs in the Caribb
Page 35 and 36: 3. Hu r r i ca n e s a n d t h e i
Page 37 and 38: Hurricanes and their Effect on Cora
Page 39 and 40: Hurricanes and their Effect on Cora
Page 41 and 42: 4. Th e 2005 Bl e a c h i n g Ev e
Page 43: The 2005 Bleaching Event: Coral-Lis
Page 47 and 48: The 2005 Bleaching Event: Coral-Lis
Page 49 and 50: 5. Stat u s o f t h e Mesoamerican
Page 51 and 52: Status of the Mesoamerican Reef aft
Page 65 and 66: 6. Co r a l Reefs o f t h e U.S. Ca
Page 67 and 68: Coral Reefs of the U.S. Caribbean19
Page 69 and 70: Coral Reefs of the U.S. CaribbeanMe
Page 71 and 72: Coral Reefs of the U.S. Caribbeanwe
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Page 77 and 78: 7. Th e Effects o f Co r a l Bl e a
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9. Th e Effects o f Co r a l Bl e a
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The Effects of Coral Bleaching in S
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10. Ma n ag i n g f o r Ma s s Co r
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Managing for Mass Coral Bleaching:
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Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

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