The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef

1. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef By: Natasha Grech

2. FACTS • The Mesoamerican reef spans over 900 kilometers • It is home to over 65 species of stony coral and over 500 species of fish • The reef gives protection from storms and costal erosion • Costal societies depend on it for economic support, such as the tourism industry and fishing • It is under extreme threat

3. SO WHAT ARE THE SEVERE THREATS TO THE CORAL OF THE MESOAMERICAN REEF AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SAVE THIS GIANT HABITAT?

4. Global warming • Global Warming: “an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect.” – Dictionary.com • Global warming also causes more severe storms and a rise in water temperatures in oceans around the world • This can be a major threat to the Mesoamerican barrier reef because higher water temperatures cause coral bleaching

5. What is Coral Bleaching? • Coral bleaching: “Coral bleaching results when the symbiotic zooxanthellae (single-celled algae) are released from the original host coral organism due to stress” -Sciencedaily.com • It is basically the loss of algae (zooxanthellae) that exists with the coral and provides it with food • Without these essential zooxanthellae, the coral becomes a bleached or white colour because they are what provide the coral with much of their colour • This occurs when ocean temperatures rise 2 – 3 degrees F in a shorter amount of time, because of global warming • Once the coral expels the zooxanthellae, it will start to die from lack of nourishment if high temperatures continue

7. Impacts of Coral Bleaching • Coral bleaching threatens all the organisms that depend on the reef: • Species that use corals as a habitat and food (fish, mammoth whale shark, endangered salt water crocodile) • Local communities that depend on the reef for food, income, and tourist businesses • As well as, it weakens the reef, meaning less shoreline protection from storms and erosion • Other impacts of coral bleaching are; a loss of coral islands, a decline in species diversity and changes in the overall reef communities

8. Fishing • More aggressive fishing methods such as overfishing and cyanide fishing can harm coral reefs • Fishermen use dynamite and inject cyanide into water because this is a simpler method of catching fish, but also severely damages coral • A less obvious harmful fishing method is overfishing

9. Overfishing • Overfishing: To much fishing resulting in the depletion of certain species in an area • This can effect the reefs species biodiversity and ecological balance • It causes a disruption in the natural underwater food chain. Taking one part out will effect all the other species as well • In the Mesoamerican barrier reef, overfishing is depleting populations of lobster, conch, and finfish • A possible solution for this is stricter control of fishing regulations in off-seasons and illegal fishing

10. Conservation - WWF • Has worked with the Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras governments since the mid-1980’s to create marine reserves, protect and preserve the Mesoamerican reef system • WWF has also implemented several public awareness campaigns • Sea turtle conservation, fisheries management and marine protected areas • WWF is researching the impact of climate change, altered rainfall and coral bleaching • Has implemented the Mesoamerican Reef’s Marine Protected Areas Program • Helps to protect the region’s resources for wildlife and local communities • WWF collaborates with local fishermen to wipe out destructive fishing practices and implement sustainable ones

11. WWF – The Lobster Expedition • One of the current conservation measures WWF is implementing is the Lobster Expedition • This is to prevent the overfishing of lobsters – one of the most serious threats is the catch of juvenile lobsters which are illegal to catch under Honduran law • WWF and Darden Restaurants worked together to test a more environmentally friendly lobster trap that lets the juvenile lobsters escape but catch the ones used in restaurants • They conducted an experiment of 5 different fishing boats with 7 different trap designs • The lobster trap they tested and perfected is now required for all lobster fishermen

12. References • "The Atlantic Ocean's largest coral reef." WWF. Web. 7 July 2011. <www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/mesoamericanreef/ >. • "WWF - Mesoamerican Reef - Surveying climate change impacts on Central America's coral reefs." World Wildlife Fund - Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. Web. 7 July 2011. <http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/mesoamericanreef/surveyingclimatechangeimpacts.html> • "Coral Reefs: Bleaching Impacts." Reef Resilience: Building Resilience into Coral Reef Conservation. Web. 7 July 2011. <http://www.reefresilience.org/Toolkit_Coral/C2c0_BleachImpacts.html> • "Global warming | Define Global warming at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 7 July 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/global+warming> • "Coral bleaching." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 7 July 2011. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/c/coral_bleaching.htm> • "Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority :: What is Coral Bleaching." Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority :: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). Web. 7 July 2011. <http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/climate_change/climate_change_and_the_great_barrier_reef/what_is_coral_bleaching> • "Coral Reefs." Exploring the Environment. Web. 7 July 2011. <http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/coralreef/CRanthro.html> • "WWF - Mesoamerican Reef > The Lobster Expedition - The Lobster Expedition - Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras." World Wildlife Fund - Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. Web. 7 July 2011. <http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/mesoamericanreef/lobsterexpedition1.html>