Jackson2013-Status and Trendsof Caribbean Coral Reefs

1999 AGRRA survey finds Bonaire has the highest coral cover (nearly 50%) and lowest algal cover in the
Caribbean (Kramer 2003); Hurricane Lenny (Category 3) hits the normally sheltered SW coast with
localized effects (Rolf Bak, pers. comm.); no obvious phase shift to macroalgae (Bob Steneck, pers.
comm.)
2008 No fishing areas established in Bonaire and predator populations began to increase; Hurricane Omar
with localized effects
2009: First lionfish detected, removal schemes pre-approved; Population reached 140,000
2010: Parrotfish catches banned; fish traps licensed for phase out; new permit system for fish nets; warm
temperatures caused beaching in 10-20% corals, death of 10% coral; algal cover increased from 4% to
8%; Tropical Storm Tomas
2011: Algae increased from 5% to 15% (Bob Steneck, pers. comm.)
2012: Official lionfish removals commence
General Literature
Arnold SN, Steneck RS, Mumby PJ (2010) Running the gauntlet: inhibitory effects of algal turfs on the processes of
coral recruitment. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 414: 91-105.
Bak RPM (1975) Ecological aspects of the distribution of reef corals in the Netherlands Antilles. Bijdr Dierk 45: 181-190.
Bak RPM (1977) Coral reefs and their zonation in the Netherlands Antilles. Stud Geol 4 AAPG Tulsa: 3-16.
Bak RPM, Engel MS (1979) Distribution, abundance and survival of juvenile hermatypic corals (Scleractinia) and the
importance of life history strategies in the parent coral community. Marine Biology 54: 341-352.
1
Bak RPM, Nieuwland G (1995) Long-term change in coral communities along depth gradients over leeward reefs in
the Netherlands Antilles. Bulletin of Marine Science 56: 609-619.
2
Bak RPM, Nieuwland G, Meesters EH (2005) Coral reef crisis in deep and shallow reefs: 30 years of constancy and
change in reefs of Curacao and Bonaire. Coral Reefs 24: 475-479.
Barott KL, Rodrigues-Mueller B, Youle M, Marhaver KL, Vermeij M, et al. (2012) Microbial to reef scale interactions
between the reef-building coral Montastraea annularis and benthic algae. Proceedings of the Royal Society
B-Biological Sciences 279: 1655-1664.
Debrot AO, Sybesma J (2000) The Dutch Antilles, Chapter 38. In C. R. C. Sheppard (ed.), Seas at the Millennium:
an Environmental Evaluation, Vol. I Regional Chapters: Europe, The Americas and West Africa, pp. 595-614.
Elsevier, Amsterdam
Debrot AO, Hykema A, Vogelaar W, Meesters HWG, Engel MS, de León R, Prud’homme van Reine WF, Nagelkerken
I. (2012) Baseline surveys of Lac Bay benthic and fish communities, Bonaire. IMARES Wageningen UR Report
C129/12. 52 pp.
de León R, Vane K, Vermeij M, Bertuol P, Simal F (2012) Overfishing Works: A Comparison of the Effectiveness of
Lionfish Control Efforts between Bonaire and Curaçao. Proceedings of the 64th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries
Institute October 31 - November 5, 2011 Puerto Morelos, Mexico: 65-66.
Duyl FC (1985) Atlas of the living reefs of Curacao and Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles). Amsterdam: Brije Universiteit.
Meesters HWG, D.M.E. Slijkerman DME, de Graaf M, Debrot AO (2010). Management plan for the natural resources of
the EEZ of the Dutch Caribbean. IMARES Report C100/10. 81 pp.
8
Nagelkerken I, van der Velde G, Gorissen MW, Meijer GJ, van’t Hof T, et al. (2000) Importance of mangroves,
seagrass beds and the shallow coral reef as a nursery for important coral reef fishes, using a visual census
technique. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 51: 31-44.
Perry CT, Edinger EN, Kench PS, Murphy GN, Smithers SG, et al. (2012) Estimating rates of biologically driven coral
reef framework production and erosion: a new census-based carbonate budget methodology and applications
to the reefs of Bonaire. Coral Reefs 31: 853-868.
18
Sandin SA, Sampayo EM, Vermeij MJA (2008) Coral reef fish and benthic community structure of Bonaire and
Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. Carribbean Journal of Science 44: 137-144.
Steneck RS, Paris CB, Arnold SN, Ablan-Lagman MC, Alcala AC, et al. (2009) Thinking and managing outside the box:
coalescing connectivity networks to build region-wide resilience in coral reef ecosystems. Coral Reefs 28: 367-
378.
Vermeij MJA, Bak RPM, Willemstad C. Status of Acropora Species on the Leeward Islands of the Netherlands Antilles;
2003. Acropora Workshop: Potential Application of the US Endangered Species Act as a Conservation
Strategy. RB, Precht WF (2000) Herbivory and algal dynamics on the coral reef at Discovery Bay, Jamaica.
Limnol. Oceanogr. 54:251-255
Published Data Sources
5
De Meyer K (1998) Bonaire, Netherland Antilles. CARICOMP - Caribbean coral reef, seagrass and mangrove sites
Coastal region and small island papers 3: UNESCO. pp. 347.
6
Grimsditch G, Arnold S, De Bey H, Brown J, Engel S, De Leon R, Vermeij, M (2011) Coral Reef Resilience
Assessment of Bonaire National Marine Park, Netherlands Antilles. International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN). 52 p.
7
Hawkins JP, Roberts CM, Van’t Hof T, De Meyer K, Tratalos J, et al. (1999) Effects of Recreational Scuba Diving on
Caribbean Coral and Fish Communities. Conservation Biology 13: 10.
138 STATUS AND TRENDS OF CARIBBEAN CORAL REEFS: 1969-2012