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 20053025% Cover201510504035Mean % Cover302520151050Dman's CayGun CayLime CayMonkey IslandRackhams CayTern CayWreck ReefDairy BullDancing LadyDman's Cay 1Dman's Cay 2Gun Cay 1Gun Cay 2Lime Cay 1Lime Cay 2Monkey Island 1Monkey Island 2Mooring One 1Mooring One 2Navy Island 1Navy Island 2Pear Tree 1Pear Tree 2Rackhams Cay 1Rackhams Cay 2Rio BuenoTern Cay 1Tern Cay 2Wreck Reef 1Wreck Reef 2Site% Cover of Hard Coral % Cover of Bleached CoralLive hard coral cover (light bars) ranged from 3.1% to 28.1% (average 13.4%). At some sites onLime Cay, Drunkenman’s Cay and Dairy Bull, more than 80% of the coral community bleached(dark bars).SiteNIA – Nov 2005 NIA – May 2006RKC – Nov 2006RKC – May 2006Comparison of the percent cover of nutrient indicating algae (NIA) and recently killed coral (RKC)recorded during surveys in November 2005 and May 2006.80
The Effects of Coral Bleaching in the Northern Caribbean and Western Atlanticsome of the corals displayed evidence of recovery and growth. In 2005, Hurricanes ‘Dennis’,‘Emily’ and ‘Wilma’ passed close to the island bringing heavy rainfall and wind. Althoughthe island was not affected directly by either of these systems, the southern parishes and thewestern town of Negril were hit by storm surge that toppled some corals.Mangroves and seagrasses: The government, through the National Environment and PlanningAgency (NEPA), has embarked on a process that will eventually lead to a no net loss policyfor mangroves and seagrasses. Where development will result in loss or destruction, it isrequired that there is relocation/rehabilitation of an area roughly 120% the size that is lost ordamaged.Socioeconomic impacts and management responses: It is expected that the impacts of thedamage associated with these events will ripple throughout the fabric of the socioeconomicenvironment in Jamaica as they have undoubtedly contributed to the continued decline in thelanded fisheries resources of the island. Management responses have included cancelling thebird shooting season after hurricane Ivan to allow time for populations to recover (inclusive ofmangrove areas).NEPA has implemented a stricter permit and licensing system for activities that may damagecoral reefs, and also ensured that assessments are conducted to feed into annual reportson resource status, with recommendations for management and improvement. A definedgovernment policy on wetlands (inclusive of coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses) is beingplanned.The Government has implemented programs to increase the number of monitoring sites andthe frequency of monitoring undertaken. This is facilitated by the University of the West Indiesand the Jamaica Coral Reef Monitoring Network.In an effort to improve conservation efforts by the Government and the general public, theimportance of all coastal ecosystems is continually being emphasized by demonstrating theeconomic losses that occur as a direct result of ecosystem degradation.Turks and Caicos IslandsGeographic Distribution and Extent of Coral Reefs: There are 8 low-lying limestone islandsand 40 small sand cays distributed over 1736 km 2 in the Turks and Caicos, which is on anextension of the southeastern Bahamas Platform. All the islands and cays are fringed bynarrow, discontinuous, shelf-edge reefs dominated by corals, algae and gorgonians growingdown to 40 m, on hard substrata.Status of coral reefs prior to 2005: Reef condition across the islands was quite similar,although human pressures from fishing, boat grounding, diving/snorkeling, sedimentsand nutrient flows from coastal development, varied between islands. Live coral cover onProvidenciales ranged from 6–36%, with extremely low macro-algal cover. The near shorepatch reefs had many isolated coral heads of Montastraea and Diploria, and a high cover ofgorgonians. Montastraea, Siderastrea and Porites were the dominant corals on South Caicos.The cover of macro-algae at South Caicos was generally higher and this is probably related to81
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Dedication: This book is dedicated
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Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs aft
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Status of Coral Reefs in the Caribb
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Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

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