Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000 Along with the main island, there are two inhabited small islands off the east coast (Culebra and Vieques), and three uninhabited islands (Mona, Monito, Desecheo) off the west coast. Most coral reefs occur in the east, south and west coasts, with fringing reefs being the most common type. The western two-thirds of the north coast consists of mainly hard ground and reef rock with low to very low coral cover and some small, sparse, low coral colonies. Coral reefs cover approximately 3,370km 2 within 3 nautical miles of the coasts, which are about 3% of the total coral reef area under US jurisdiction (Hawaiian Islands are first with 85%). The main islands of Puerto Rico, including Culebra and Vieques, are almost completely ringed by reefs, although coral reef abundance is highly variable and dependent of local conditions. US Virgin Islands Coral reefs occur around all the major islands; St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas, as well as the offshore cays. Fringing reefs, deep reefs (wall and shelf-edge), patch reefs, and spur and groove formations are present, although only St. Croix has barrier reefs. Bank reefs and scattered patch reefs with high coral diversity occur deeper offshore. The US Department of Interior, the US Department of Commerce, and the Virgin Islands Government have jurisdiction over submerged lands with coral reefs within the USVI. Navassa This tiny (5km 2 ) uninhabited US protectorate, located between Jamaica and Haiti, is under the jurisdiction of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Knowledge about the status of Navassa’s reefs is extremely limited, being based primarily on several expeditions over the past 2 years sponsored by the Center for Marine Conservation. STATUSOFTHECORAL REEFS Florida East Coast Reef Health There have been no comprehensive surveys of the reefs in this area. Their general condition is similar to reefs in the Keys; relatively healthy coral populations with comparable bleaching. The only monitoring is on environmental impacts to specific sites (dredging, ship groundings, pipeline and cable deployments, and beach renourishment), and these have lasted a few years. Recent monitoring has expanded to include environmental conditions (physical and chemical oceanography), coral, sponge, and fish abundance and cover. Florida Keys Coral Health Damage to reefs from human activities has been noticed for decades in the Florida Keys, including boat groundings, propeller scouring of seagrass, accumulation of debris, and improper anchoring practices, which have damaged large areas. In addition to these direct impacts, there are many indirect stresses that are affecting corals and other reef organisms. This is seen as a decrease in coral cover and species diversity and an alarming increase in coral diseases and coral bleaching along the Florida Keys. The Coral Reef/Hardbottom Monitoring Project (CRMP) is monitoring the status and trends of coral communities throughout the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary at 43 permanent sites. Since 1996, 73% of sites show losses in hard coral diversity with a maximum of 7 species lost, and most 242
Status of Coral Reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico sites have lost coral cover, with an overall loss of 16.4% at 9 sites. Coral diseases are becoming an increasing threat to the overall health of the reef system with over 10 coral diseases observed. Most of these are due to unknown causes, indicating an urgent research need. More and more sites contain diseased coral, and the number of species affected by disease is increasing. This increase in diseases may be directly linked to increases in seawater temperatures. Coral Bleaching There has been an increase in frequency and duration of coral bleaching events in the Florida Keys over the past 20 years. In June 1980, millions of reef fish died following 6 weeks of calm, hot weather, and soon after there was slight coral bleaching along the lower Keys reef tract. In June-July 1983, many corals were bleached severely from Big Pine Key to Key West during similar calm weather with warmer water temperatures. This coincided with the massive die-off of long-spined sea urchins. There were large outbreaks of black-band disease on corals in May-September 1986 throughout the Florida Keys, concentrated at the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, but coral bleaching was minor. Similar doldrum-like weather in June 1987 triggered severe coral bleaching which lasted 3 weeks. Slight bleaching was seen in 1989, before the advent of more calm weather in July 1990 provoked massive coral bleaching including coral communities in the near-shore waters for the first time. These corals were considered to be acclimatised to wide temperature variations, but the extremes of the summer of 1990 pushed them beyond their previous limits. Sanctuary biologists and managers documented 65% losses of Millepora corals at Looe Key Reef. Prior to this only a few percent of corals had died after bleaching episodes. The next major coral bleaching was in 1997 during the same calm weather patterns with widespread bleaching of inshore coral communities. The following winter was mild and also the spring of 1998, so water temperatures remained high and bleaching virtually continued into the summer of 1998, when it was again severe. Then Hurricane Georges and Tropical Storm Mitch hit the Florida Keys while the corals were still stressed and large amounts of living coral cover was lost on some shallow reefs as a result of these combined impacts. These losses of corals have highlighted the importance of continued monitoring to improve management strategies to maintain coral health. Research & Monitoring Programmes The Sanctuary implemented a comprehensive monitoring programme in the Florida Keys reef. The largest component is the Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) which began in 1994 with 3 components: water quality; corals and hardground communities; and seagrasses. The status of reef fishes, spiny lobster, queen conch, benthic cover, and algal blooms are also monitored at fixed stations. The Zone Monitoring Program monitors the effects of no-take management, which began in 1997 at 23 discrete marine reserves. The goal is to determine by 2002 whether the no-take zones are protecting marine biodiversity and enhancing human values related to the Sanctuary. Measures of effectiveness include the abundance and size of fish, invertebrates, and algae; and economic and aesthetic values of Sanctuary users and their compliance with regulations. This is a three-level program which includes monitoring changes in ecosystem structure (size and number of invertebrates, fish, corals, and other organisms) and function (such as coral recruitment, herbivory, predation). Human uses of zoned areas are also being tracked. 243
Page 1 and 2:
Status of Coral Reefs of the World:
Page 3 and 4:
FOREWORD Over the past few years, I
Page 5 and 6:
CONTENTS COUNTRIES, STATES AND TERR
Page 7 and 8:
COUNTRIES, STATES AND TERRITORIES A
Page 9:
Countries, States and Territories T
Page 12 and 13:
Page 14 and 15:
Page 16 and 17:
Page 19 and 20:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CLIVE WILKINSON T
Page 21 and 22:
Executive Summary CORAL BLEACHING I
Page 23 and 24:
Executive Summary South Asia Most r
Page 25 and 26:
Executive Summary parts of Fiji and
Page 27 and 28:
Executive Summary management and mo
Page 29 and 30:
Executive Summary tourism developme
Page 31:
Executive Summary problem is loomin
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 107 and 108:
6. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN SOUTH A
Page 109 and 110:
Status of Coral Reefs in South Asia
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
Page 143 and 144:
8. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF EAST AN
Page 145 and 146:
Status of Coral Reefs of East and N
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
9. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF AUSTRAL
Page 155 and 156:
Status of Coral Reefs of Australasi
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
10. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE SO
Page 173 and 174:
Status of Coral Reefs in the Southw
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
11. STATUS OF SOUTHEAST AND CENTRAL
Page 195 and 196:
Status of Southeast and Central Pac
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204: Status of Southeast and Central Pac
Page 211 and 212: 12. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF AMERIC
Page 213 and 214: Status of Coral Reefs of American S
Page 229: Status of Coral Reefs of American S
Page 232 and 233: Status of Coral Reefs of the World:
Page 273 and 274: 15. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE NO
Page 275 and 276: Status of Coral Reefs in the Northe
Page 297: Status of Coral Reefs in the Northe
Page 304 and 305:
Page 306 and 307:
Page 308 and 309:
Page 310 and 311:
Page 312 and 313:
Page 314 and 315:
Page 316 and 317:
Page 318 and 319:
Page 320 and 321:
Page 322 and 323:
Page 324 and 325:
Page 327 and 328:
17. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE EA
Page 329 and 330:
Status of Coral Reefs in the Easter
Page 331 and 332:
Page 333 and 334:
Page 335 and 336:
Page 337 and 338:
Page 339 and 340:
Page 341 and 342:
Page 343 and 344:
18. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN SOUTHE
Page 345 and 346:
Status of Coral Reefs in Southern T
Page 347 and 348:
Page 349 and 350:
Page 351 and 352:
Page 353 and 354:
Page 355 and 356:
Page 357 and 358:
Page 359 and 360:
Page 361 and 362:
19. SPONSORING ORGANISATIONS, CORAL
Page 363 and 364:
Sponsoring Organisations, Coral Ree
Page 365 and 366:
Page 367 and 368:
Page 369:
Page 372 and 373:
Page 375:
LIST OF ACRONYMS AGRRA AIMS ASEAN B
show all

Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?