Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000
throughout the STA. It is predicted that coral bleaching will become a more frequent event
during the next decade, although the level of bleaching and related coral mortality will
probably continue to be low. Reef monitoring in the STA needs to be expanded and
maintained in the long term, because few of the coral reef areas are being covered by
current programmes. In order to properly address coral reef decline, specific and more rigorous
government policies and laws for coral reef sustainable management must be developed
during the next few years, as well as effective protection of marine natural parks and reserves.
Finally, funding for coral reef research, monitoring and management throughout the STA needs
to be considerably increased by both national governments and international agencies.
INTRODUCTION AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
A regional Node for Southern Tropical America was formed as part of the Global Coral Reef
Monitoring Network (GCRMN) in 1999 via the ‘Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y
Costeras’ (INVEMAR) - a Colombian marine research institution on the Caribbean coast. This
Node includes 5 countries: Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil, with 3 of
these having reefs in the Caribbean and the Pacific. All are cooperating to evaluate reef
status and monitoring capacity, and develop coordinated monitoring activities throughout
the region, with the support of UNEP-CAR/RCU.
The coastal marine environment in the tropical areas of South America is characterised by
strong continental influences, which introduce large amounts of sediments that inhibit the
development of extensive coral reefs along most shores. Rainfall in this region is amongst
the highest in the world and there are many large rivers, including the Amazon, Orinoco
and Magdalena rivers. Therefore, both water turbidity and sedimentation are high and
reduce coral growth in most coastal areas. In addition, there are several important coldwater
upwelling areas (e.g. Perúvian shore, the Gulf of Panama, eastern Colombian
Caribbean, and eastern Venezuela) that also reduce reef development. The best coral reefs
occur along the Caribbean coasts of Panama as well as islands off Colombia and
Venezuela. In general, coral reef development is less along the Pacific side than the
Caribbean, with the best Pacific reefs of this region on the Costa Rica-Panama coast. The
following presents a synopsis of the biogeographic features of each.
Brazil
There are only sparsely distributed, discontinuous coral reefs along approximately 2,500km
of the Western Atlantic coastline. Reef development is poor and with low species diversity
(e.g. only 18 hard coral species), but 10 of these species are endemic to Brazil. There are
five major coral reef areas: (1) Touros-Natal, in the northeast, which is an extensive line of
simple coastal knoll and patch reefs; (2) Pirangi-Maceió, also in the northeast, with similar
linear coastal reefs but more developed and with more species diversity; (3) Bahia de
Todos los Santos-Camamu; (4) Porto Seguro-Cabrália; and (5) Abrolhos Region. The last
three are further east and have extensive fringing and bank reefs with mushroom-shaped
pinnacles (‘chapeiroes’) of simple coral species composition.
Colombia
This is the only ‘South American’ country with both Caribbean (1700km) and Pacific
(1300km) coasts and coral reefs. There are about 2,700km 2 of coral reefs in the Caribbean
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