The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Environmental Threats Grace Adams

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef: Environmental Threats Grace Adams

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef: • 2 nd largest barrier reef in the world • Extends from the Yucatan Peninsula, along the coasts of Belize, to the Bay Islands of Honduras • Home to over 500 species of fish • Threatened by many environmental factors

Threats: Global Warming

Rising Temperatures • Recent years have had record setting temperatures • (2005 was hottest year since accurate records) • During these summer months, ocean temperatures rise 1°-2°C • Average Northern Hemisphere temperatures have risen 0. 6°-0. 8°C in the last 10 years • Warm waters cause stress to corals: • Rising ocean levels (melting ice sheets) • Increased hurricanes • Increased coral bleaching • Increased acidity

Hurricanes • Largest most destructive hurricanes have occurred in the last 10 years • Becoming more frequent and severe • Stronger hurricanes result in more wave damage and flooding, stressing coral • coral cover is reduced by approximately 17%, in the Caribbean in the year following a hurricane impact

Coral Bleaching • Warm waters cause large-scale bleaching • Average of 25% of coral bleached in each temperature hot spot in 2005 • Occurs when symbiotic zooxanthellae (algae) that provides much of the energy for coral growth, and coral reef growth is expelled from host animal. • Bleached corals starve and are more susceptible to disease • Many bleached corals eventually die out

Ocean Acidification • Parallel to climate change • Increased concentrations of CO 2 dissolve in sea water, reducing p. H levels • Reduces coral’s ability to grow carbonate skeletons • Results in slower growth and is more vulnerable to erosion • By the end of this century, acidification may continue at a rate of 100 times faster

Threats: Fishing

Fishing • Main industry in Central America and Caribbean • Overfishing, illegal fishing, and fishing with inappropriate gear threatens natural resources, fish species, and coral

Overfishing • Commercial fishing industry is expanding due to better technology and increased demand • Over-exploitation of many targeted species such as shrimp, sharks, and lobster • Causes ecological extinctions and loss of ecosystem function • Of Belize’s 554 marine and 237 reef-associated fish species, 21 of these species are threatened and 14 are protected under existing treaties and conventions

Illegal Fishing • Illegal fishing issues include: • • Fishing with scuba gear Use of nets along reefs Use of traps outside reefs Taking conch or lobster below the legal size limit • Fishing outside of closed seasons • Although many Central American countries have laws to prevent illegal fishing, they are not adequately enforced

Cyanide Fishing • Used to stun reef fish in order to collect them • Inexpensive and effective • Illegal in many countries • Causes damage to surrounding coral reefs • Destroys thousands of hectares each year • Causes coral bleaching • Kills both targeted and nontargeted fish as well as corals, invertebrates, eggs, larvae, and microorganisms

Protective Measures

Global Warming • Energy reduction to limit climate change and greenhouse effects Fishing • Enforce laws and create and infrastructure to monitor large reef areas • When at a reef, do not touch the coral or take pieces home • World Heritage Sites and marine reserves protect important areas

Bibliography Playa del Carmen. (2007). Mesoamerican barrier reef. Retrieved from http: //www. aboutplayadelcarmen. com/playadelcarmen/mesoamericanbarrier-reef. asp Coral Reef Aliance, Initials. (2010). Caribbean/latin american crsd sites. Retrieved from http: //www. coral. org/where_we_work/caribbean Gardner, T. A. , Cote, I. M. , Gill, J. A. , Grant, A. , & Watkinson, A. R. (2005). Hurricanes and caribbean coral reefs: impacts, recovery. Unpublished manuscript, School of Biological Sciences and Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Retrieved from http: //www. com. univmrs. fr/~boudouresque/Publications_FLUC_2006_2007/Gardner_et_al_2005 _Ecology. pdf Wilkinson, C. , Souter, D. (2008). Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, and Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, Townsville, 152 p. Retrieved from http: //cmsdata. iucn. org/downloads/status_carib_corals. pdf

Bibliography World Resources Institute, . (2005). Belize coastal threat atlas [p. 9]. Retrieved from http: //pdf. wri. org/belize_threat_atlas. pdf Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy, . (2004, November 15). Petition to the world heritage committee requesting inclusion of belize barrier reef reserve system. Retrieved from http: //www. law. ufl. edu/conservation/international/pdf/belize. pdf Mc. Clellan, K. (2008). Coral degradation through destructive fishing practices. The encyclopedia of earth. Retrieved July 9, 2011, from http: //www. eoearth. org/article/Coral_degradation_through_destructiv e_fishing_practices? topic=4951 Novi Meadows, . (2002). Coral reef. Retrieved from http: //library. thinkquest. org/CR 0215471/coral_reef. htm