Download Jamaica`s Marine Biodiversity

Jamaica’s Marine Biodiversity
By
Professor Ivan Goodbody
Department of Life Sciences
University of the West Indies
The term Biodiversity is used to denote the variety of plants and animals in any locality or
environment. Biodiversity can be expressed in a number of different ways and for our purposes
here we will define it as ‘species richness’ or the number of different species found living in
Jamaica’s ocean space, including the whole of Jamaica’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). For
the fullest understanding we need to know not only the number of species but also the names of
each species and what role each one plays in the ecology of the system. Only with this sort of
information can we institute measures for the protection and conservation of our biodiversity. A
recent study undertaken by Dr. George Warner and the present writer has determined that there
are at least three thousand five hundred different species of plant and animal in the Jamaican
marine environment. This is a conservative estimate and future research will most certainly add
significantly to the list. The reader must understand that this diversity includes much more than
just corals, fishes, lobsters and other well recognized inhabitants of the sea, but includes
everything from tiny worms and shrimp up to large whales and dolphins, but excludes microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. It also includes organisms living in a very wide
variety of marine habitats: coral reefs, mangrove lagoons, beaches, rocky shores, sea grass beds
and even the deep sea down to depths of over 2,000 metres such as exists in the Walton Channel
between the Pedro Bank and the St. Elizabeth coastline, an area of considerable species richness.
Why should we be interested in knowing about all this biodiversity in our waters?
There are several good reasons, both scientific and even political, which require us to document
information about the biodiversity in our ocean space. First, in any given community, be it coral
reef, mangrove lagoon or other, the organisms living there are integrated with and dependent on
each other in subtle ways and each organism contributes to the overall health and trophic status
of the community. If we know what organisms are living in any community and what function
each performs we place ourselves in a position to predict what changes may occur if we destroy
or over-exploit any one component of the system. This of course is particularly relevant to the
management of fish stocks. At every stage of their life, fish are dependent on other biological
systems for food and shelter. The juvenile stages of reef fish seek shelter in a variety of habitats
such as among corals, in sea grass beds and among the hanging roots at the edge of a mangrove
lagoon. If we can determine the food preferences of individual species of fish and what
organisms they select as prey in these nursery environments our knowledge of the fauna and
flora will permit us to institute conservation measures to ensure that that food supply is not
destroyed by anthropogenic activity.
The above is just one example of how we may benefit from knowledge of marine biodiversity.
Many readers will also know that the ocean is a source of potential discovery of new and
interesting pharmaceutical compounds. This topic has recently been the subject of an article
written by Dr. Winklet Gallimore of the Chemistry Department at UWI, for the Gleaner’s “Eye
on Science” page ( Daily Gleaner January 5th2006). Sponges and Sea Squirts in particular are
likely sources of new compounds and are the target of many researchers in the field.
Nevertheless, it requires more than the expertise of chemists who can isolate and identify the
new compounds. It also requires the expertise of biologists who can identify the organism from
which the compound is extracted and who can determine where additional stocks of the organism
may be harvested for further research. Beyond this, if large quantities are needed to exploit the
discovery, biologists must identify sources where the organism may be harvested on a
sustainable basis without danger to the ecological balance, or otherwise determine if the
organism can be cultured. If research of this sort is to be promoted it is necessary to ensure that
resources are available to train taxonomists who can undertake the work of accurately identifying
marine organisms. Ideally such training could be undertaken on a regional basis for the entire
Caribbean.
Examples of sea sponges found offshore from Sandals Grande Ocho Rios
We must also remember that entire ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves represent a
part of our biodiversity and need special attention for protection and conservation. Both reefs and
mangroves are a part of the natural protection against coastal erosion and each provides a barrier
against abnormal wave action. This role as coastal protection was amply demonstrated in parts of
the Indian Ocean during the Tsunami event of 2004 and on our own shores was effective along
the north coast during the events of several recent hurricanes, notably ‘Allen’ in 1980 and
‘Gilbert’ in 1988.
Coral reef offshore from Whitehouse, Westmoreland
Mangrove ecosystem along Black River, St. Elizabeth
There is also a political and international imperative for documenting our biodiversity, whether it
be marine or terrestrial. Jamaica is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity (UNCBD). This places a responsibility on the State, as the Contracting Party, to
document, conserve and protect the genetic resources in all areas under national jurisdiction. In
response to this responsibility the Government of Jamaica has prepared and published a
“National Strategy and Action Plan on Biodiversity in Jamaica”. This document sets out the
framework for legislation and for management of genetic resources. We cannot manage these
resources properly unless we have a complete inventory of those resources. Hence an accurate
documentation of the marine fauna and flora is a necessary starting point. This is a daunting task
as any such inventory must include all living forms and not be confined to large and easily
recognized organisms. In a recent publication in the Jamaican Journal of Science and
Technology I have estimated that a complete database of Jamaica’s marine biodiversity might
need to accommodate at least one million entries. We have a long way to go, if less than five
thousand have been documented already (see above). However, we cannot reasonably expect to
document all these organisms, as many are micro-organisms, but reference to the document
already published by Dr. Warner and myself will show that even for larger multicellular
organisms our knowledge is still very imperfect. It is at this level that we need to improve our
knowledge and encourage younger scientists to become interested in identifying and
documenting information about the rich biota they see around them when working in the marine
environment. We need to go further than this because we need also to gather information on the
natural history and ecology of the organisms we find, so as to learn how they contribute to the
overall ecology of the environment in which they live. Funds are available internationally for
training scientists in taxonomic procedures and marine biologists in the Region should be
exploring opportunities for accessing such funds to train a local and regional cadre of
taxonomists. At the same time we should be encouraging the notion that studying the basic
natural history of living organisms is a perfectly respectable and desirable activity which
contributes to a fuller understanding of life in the sea. We should recognize that even if we have
not yet documented all the existing biota in our marine environment we have a responsibility to
protect it and ensure that no action is taken which might destroy organisms which might later be
found to have economic potential or might be important in maintaining balanced ecosystems.
Essentially this is suggesting that conservation measures must commence before we know what
we are conserving.
Apart from natural events such as storms and tsunamis one of the greatest threats to our marine
biodiversity is unregulated anthropogenic activity. The problem of over fishing is well known
and has frequently been the subject of reports and comment in the print and electronic media.
Over fishing is essentially the unsustainable harvesting of stocks in such a manner that the rate of
reproduction is unable to keep pace with the rate of mortality caused by fishing practices. Other
examples of human activity may be quoted: the development of the tourist industry requires
development along the coastline involving hotel construction, waste disposal, beach development
and other activities which in sum total may destroy or modify animal and plant communities. We
need to have accurate scientific information about these communities so that conservationists and
developers may work together to manage the risks to the environment and avoid verbal
confrontation based on emotion rather than scientific facts. Other forms of physical development
posing risks to biodiversity are seabed dredging for shipping channels and drilling for oil and in
both cases prior knowledge of the biota at risk can prepare the way for mitigating those risks.
This will not always be easy. For instance, forty years ago scientists at UWI undertook a survey
of biodiversity in the deep sea around Jamaica. That survey determined that the Walton Channel
is an area of great species richness. If seismic data shows that the Walton Channel is a potential
source of oil, that community of animals would come under threat from drilling operations.
Fortunately our early researches have identified the main constituents of this community. It is
rich in species diversity and we must be satisfied with the knowledge that we know what is at
risk should oil exploration ever be approved.
In conclusion, we have noted that there is a rich diversity of plants and animals in Jamaica’s
ocean space. These biological resources provide economic benefit in several different ways: as a
source of food, as a possible reservoir of hitherto undiscovered compounds of medical
importance and in the case of reefs and mangrove forests as a first line of protection against
coastal erosion. Additionally, the white sands of our beaches, so important to the viability of the
tourist industry, are produced by plants living on the reefs. We have an obligation to document
this rich diversity and take appropriate measures to protect it for the benefit of future generations
of Jamaicans. This in turn demands that in those instances in which we use marine resources for
economic benefit that this is done in a sustainable manner. None of this is easy and for success it
requires not only suitable legislation which is enforced but also the co-operation of everyone
who uses the marine environment whether it is in pursuit of their livelihood or for purely
recreational purposes. It also requires that adequate financial resources are obtained to support
the scientific work needed for documentation and conservation planning.
Additional Reading
“Marine Diversity – Patterns and Processes.” Eds. R. F. G. Ormond, J.D. Gage & M.V. Angel.
Cambridge University Press 1997. 449 pp.
“Caribbean Marine Biodiversity”. Eds. P. Miloslavich & E. Klein. DES tech Publications2005.
Chapter 1.4 Jamaica by George F. Warner and Ivan Goodbody.
“Port Royal as a focal point for marine biodiversity in Jamaica” by Ivan Goodbody. The
Jamaican Journal of Science and Technology. Vol. 15 December 2004 pp. 37-53.
NOTE: Edited portions of this article have already been published by The Daily
Gleaner(March30th 2006) in the “Eye on Science” page.
Contact Information
Prof. Ivan Goodbody
Department of Life Sciences,
University of the West Indies,
Kingston 7.
Tel (876) 927-1202/927-2753
Email: [email protected]