What
are the "Caribbean coral reefs"?
The Caribbean coral reefs refer to the
"Greater Caribbean region," or what is formally known as the
"tropical western Atlantic." This region includes the coral reefs of
Florida, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the northeastern coast of South America. The
reefs, which cover about 8% of the world's coral reefs, encircle small islands
such as Aruba, Bonaire, Antigua and the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean region.
The Caribbean coral reefs are mostly fringing reef systems which are reefs that
grow directly from a shore. It is characterized by a lack of lagoon between the
reef and shore, and it is the most common type of major coral reefs. Fringing
reefs are especially sensitive to human activities as there is no lagoon to
buffer the water runoff, human pollution and sedimentation. Subsequently,
fringing reefs are the most vulnerable to the increase in human population and
their activities near the coasts of Caribbean Sea.
What
are the benefits brought on by Caribbean coral reefs?
The reefs are home to thousands of species,
and provide benefits to human population living nearby. The coral reefs serve
as a buffer zone for human beings from hurricanes, and bring economic profit to
the nearby community with its coral reef attractions. Large number of tourists
visit these coral reefs to snorkel and scuba dive annually. Furthermore, these
island and coastal residents depend on the fisheries of coral reefs for
substance, or as source of their food and livelihoods.
Historical
state of Caribbean coral reefs
Caribbean coral reefs rose in isolation to
other coral reef environments outside the Greater Caribbean Sea region. They
were cut off from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans about three million years ago
due to the emergence of the land that is now Central America. During the ice
ages, most of coral reefs were destroyed, but many survived to recover and
rebuild the reef systems. The diversity of this region is lower compared to the
Indo-west Pacific region, with only 62 stony coral species compared to 719
species. An analysis of coral fossils have revealed that Caribbean reefs had a
stable composition and zonationa pattern for at least 125,000 years. The reefs
were generally covered by "Acropora palmata," "O.
annularis," "Agaricia spp." and "A. cervicornis>"
The branching coral species "A. palmata" and "A.
cervicornis" are especially important as they provide the fundamental
three-dimensional structure to most of the reefs. Damage to coastal reef
environment began to occur due to overuse of land and agriculture before and
after the arrival of Columbus to the Americas in 1492. With the modern
plantation system put into use in the 17th century, the human population
increased near the coral reefs in the Caribbean region.
Human
impact on Caribbean coral reefs
During the last three decades, the Caribbean
coral reefs have been rapidly declining in both their quality and productivity
of fisheries. The coral reefs in the Caribbean face a number of dangers,
including ocean acidification, rising temperature, water pollution, invasive
species and overfishing. A major report in 2014 warned that Caribbean coral
reefs will disappear within the next 20 years unless action is taken to restore
the critically endangered ecosystem. While climate change was noted as one of
the primary reasons behind the declining of the region's corals, human
activities such as tourism, overfishing and pollution were found to be the most
critical factors. As of now, two main grazer species, which are the parrotfish
and sea urchin, are declining in large numbers. While tourism in this region
has economically helped the nearby human community, it has backfired with
excessive recreational diving and snorkeling. The Wider Caribbean region has
over 285 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which contains about 20% of the
region's coral reefs. Increasing public awareness about the dangerous level at
which the Caribbean coral reefs are decreasing has led many Caribbean nations
to designate more MPAs and impose stricter regulations.
 |
| Decline in percent coral cover on Caribbean coral reefs from 1963 to present based on data compiled for this report (yearly averages weighted by the area surveyed per study) compared to Gardner et al. 2003 (yearly averages weighted by the inverse of a study's sample variance); Credit: © IUCN |
 |
| Percent cover by region for (a) Acropora, (b) Poritidae, (c) Agariciidae, and 9d) the Montastrea annularis species complex; Credit: © IUCN |
The International Coral Reef Initiative’s
(ICRI) Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the United Nations Environmental
Programme (UNEP) has jointly researched for three years and reported that most
Caribbean coral reefs will disappear in 20 years in the new report: Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs:
1970-2012. Since fish eat seaweed, decreasing number of them results
Caribbean reefs to be gradually smothered by algae. The report addresses that
loss of parrotfishes and other grazers has been far more important than climate
change for Caribbean reef destruction so far. Although climate change causes
coral bleaching and more acid oceans, Jeremy Jackson, lead author of the
report, says, “healthy reefs will bounce back faster after damaging extreme
heating events and hurricanes.” The report confirms that reef locations where
parrotfish are protected from overfishing are the healthiest such as Flower
Garden Banks in the northern Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda and Bonaire. Reefs without
the parrotfish by overfishing have suffered tragic declines. Due to rising
temperature and ocean acidification, the current state of coral reefs is
predicted to worsen in the future. In addition, the increase in algae and
sponges along with growth in coral reefs of weed-like nature will make the
protection of healthy coral reefs more difficult. In conclusion, climate change
and human activities must be controlled by extensive reef management to prevent
further deterioration of coral reefs in the future.
How can
we improve the current state?
Although climate change affects the decline of coral reefs' population, the major impact on its decline is from human activity such as overfishing, recreation, excessive and destructive coastal development, and pollution.
Therefore, the government should impose a strict regulation to control the recreation activity and coastal development and to ban any fishing activities that harm parrotfish.
By regularly observing MPAs, the government should record the environmental activities and coral reefs' condition and take a proper action in order to keep the regulation effective.
For example, an illegal overfishing should be punished with some fine and if a dangerous level of pollution is detected, the government should prohibit any coastal development or activity.
Therefore, the government should impose a strict regulation to control the recreation activity and coastal development and to ban any fishing activities that harm parrotfish.
By regularly observing MPAs, the government should record the environmental activities and coral reefs' condition and take a proper action in order to keep the regulation effective.
For example, an illegal overfishing should be punished with some fine and if a dangerous level of pollution is detected, the government should prohibit any coastal development or activity.
References
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Alevizon, William. "Caribbean Coral Reefs." : Types, Characteristics, Marine Life. Coral Reef Facts, 13 Sept. 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. http://www.coral-reef-info.com/caribbean-coral-reefs.html
Armstrong, Dave. "Coral Cover's Deadly Decline." Earth Times 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. http://www.earthtimes.org/conservation/coral-cover-deadly-decline/2172/
Carefoot, Tom. "BCCR: TYPES OF CARIBBEAN
CORAL REEFS." BCCR: TYPES OF
CARIBBEAN CORAL REEFS. Biology of Caribbean Coral Reefs, n.d. Web. 02 Dec.
2014. http://www.mousetrapmultimedia.com/virtualcoralreefdive/types.php
lvarez-Filip, Lorenzo. "Flattening of
Caribbean Coral Reefs: Region-Wide Declines in Architectural Complexity." Proceedings: Biological Sciences
276.1669 (2009): 3019-025. Marine Spatial
Ecology Lab. University of Exeter, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/06/05/rspb.2009.0339
"Parrotfish Key to Reef Survival." International Coral Reef Initiative.
International Coral Reef Initiative. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. http://www.icriforum.org/caribbeanreport
Singh, Timon. "The Caribbean’s Coral
Reefs Could Soon Be Extinct."Inhabitat
Sustainable Design Innovation Eco Architecture Green Building The Caribbeans
Coral Reefs Could Soon Be Extinct Comments. Inhabitat, 11 Sept. 2012. Web.
02 Dec. 2014. http://www.ibtimes.com/caribbean-coral-reefs-could-vanish-20-years-due-overfishing-tourism-report-1617546
