The Mesoamerican Reef

1. The Mesoamerican Reef

2. 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

3. 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=player_detailpage

4. 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

5. Over Fishing • Catching too much fish for the eco-system too support • Leads to degradation of the oceans • Over fishing is a non-sustainable 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_detailpage

6. Over Fishing in the Mesoamerican Reef • 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

7. 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

8. How the Prioritization is Being Done • 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

9. References • 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-risk-revisited/stories/mesoamerican-reef • APA formatting by BibMe.org.