Download The Mesoamerican Reef

The Mesoamerican Reef
Introduction
 Also Known as The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
System
 Abbreviated to MAR
 Second largest in the world
 Largest reef in the western hemisphere
 Home to hundreds of diverse organisms
Issues
 The Mesoamerican Reef is facing a number of threats
 These threats are both nature and human induced
 Two of these treats include:
 Coral Bleaching, and
 Over fishing
Coral Bleaching
 The whitening of coral reefs
 Results from a loss of zooxantheallae
or reduced photosynthetic
pigmentation concentration in the
zooxantheallae in the reef
 Coral reefs have a symbiotic
relationship with zooxantheallae
 Can be very destructive to reefs
 Coral bleaching has been increasing in extent over the last 20 years
 Global warming may cause an increase in coral bleaching
 Caused by anthropogenic and natural variations in the reef
environment such as:
 Solar irradiance
 Sea surface temperature
 Sedimentation
 Inorganic nutrients
 Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98ynSn_t3lM&feature=play
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Coral Bleaching in the
Mesoamerican Reef
 A particularly bad year for coral bleaching in the Caribbean was
2005
 The warmest sea surface temperatures are usually recorded in
September and October, causing elevated coral bleaching
 By September 26, 2005 most species of coral reef in the Caribbean
have become severely bleached, including those with no history of
bleaching
 The July to November period in 2005 was the warmest in 100 years
 Coral disease prevalence increases after bleaching events
 Mass bleaching occurred in the Mesoamerican Reef in 1995, 1998,
and 2005
 1998 was the most significant bleaching event
 Although 2005 produced low coral mortality rates, it delayed
recovery from the 1995 and 1998 bleaching
 Bleaching will continue as sea surface temperatures are predicted
to rise
 After 2005, 27.9% of the coral in Belize had been bleached and
6.5% of the coral had died
Over Fishing
 Catching too much fish
for the eco-system too
support
 Leads to degradation of
the oceans
 Over fishing is a nonsustainable use of the
oceans
 Caused by over-large
fishing fleets
 Fishing fleets are two to three times larger than that which is needed
 These same fleets are also two to three times larger than what our
oceans can support
 Globally, we have enough fishing capacity to cover four Earths
 Video on the consequences of over fishing:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxacxShp3LY&feature=player_de
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Over Fishing in the
Mesoamerican Reef
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Considered the most pervasive threat to the Mesoamerican Reef
The Caribbean reefs have been subject to intense over fishing since
the 1960s
Belize shows evidence of over fishing by both small-scale local
fishers and industrial fishing fleets
Over fishing also hurts the reefs ability to recover from climate
related threats like coral bleaching
Taking to much sea-life out of the oceans is damaging the balanced
ecosystems of the Mesoamerican Reef
Not only does the lack of fish hurt the balance in the Mesoamerican
Reef, but the large fishing equipment is damaging the reefs
Reefs are being found with large gauges from the equipment
The seabed is being damaged as trawlers drag ten ton chains behind
them
Prioritization of Coastal and
Marine Protected Areas in the
Mesoamerican Reef Region
How It Will Help Save the Reef
 To protect a regional network of coastal and marine areas with
high ecological and practical values in the four countries with the
reef
 To determine investment needs in each protected area to maximize
impact
 To establish priorities and important sites for conservation
 To strengthen a regional network with high ecological conservation
How the Prioritization is Being
Done
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Phase 1: Selection of prioritization components, criteria and factors
Phase 2: Prioritization of regional networks
Phase 3: Identify investment needs
Phase 4: Identify regions to be protected and funded
– Eight regions or less were chosen from each of the four countries
participating in this endeavour
Phase 5: Strengthen protected areas with high biological diversity
This project aims to protect the selected regions from exploitation by
humans and to attempt to maintain the balanced ecosystem within
the reef
References
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Buchheim, J. (n.d.). Coral Reef Bleaching. Odyssey Expeditions - Tropical Marine Biology Voyages!. Retrieved
June 27, 2011, from http://www.marinebiology.org/coralbleaching.htm
Burke, L., & Maidens, J. (n.d.). Sub-regional summary: Western Caribbean | World Resources Institute. World
Resources Institute | Global Warming, Climate Change, Ecosystems, Sustainable Markets, Good Governance &
the Environment. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from http://archive.wri.org/page.cfm?id=3041&z
Lopez-Galvez, I. (n.d.). Prioritization of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in the Mesoamerican Reef Region.
MAR Fund. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from www.marfund.org/en/documentlibrary/2.priorizationcoastalandmarineprotectedareas.pdf
Morgan, J., Heron, S., Eakin, M., McField, M., Bood, N., Fonseca, A., et al. (n.d.). Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs
After Bleaching and Hurricanes in 2005. CORIS: noaa's coral reef information system. Retrieved June 27, 2011,
from coris.noaa.gov/activities/caribbean_rpt/SCRBH2005_05.pdf
Nichols, T. (n.d.). Global warming, over fishing and coral reefs - the effects of global warming and over fishing on
the ocean, dive site directory. dive site directory - scuba diving information and diving reviews on dive sites and
countries all over the world including the Caribbean, Canary islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Malta, New Zealand, USA,
Australia the UK and the Red Sea.. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from
http://www.divesitedirectory.com/global_warming_coral_effects.html
Overfishing - A global environmental problem, threat to our oceans and disaster.. (n.d.). Overfishing - A global
environmental problem, threat to our oceans and disaster.. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from
http://overfishing.org/pages/what_is_overfishing.php
Reisewitz, A., & Carilli, J. (n.d.). Mesoamerican Reef: Low Stress Leads to Resilience | World Resources Institute.
World Resources Institute | Global Warming, Climate Change, Ecosystems, Sustainable Markets, Good
Governance & the Environment. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from http://www.wri.org/publication/reefs-at-riskrevisited/stories/mesoamerican-reef
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