Bleaching Update: Belize
Coral Health and Monitoring Program
coral at coral.AOML.ERL.GOV
Tue Oct 17 20:42:14 EDT 1995
This message from Melanie McField herewith forwarded to the Coral List:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 95 12:48 CST
From: Melanie McField <Earth.Works at ucb.edu.bz>
To: Coral Health and Monitoring Program <coral at coral>
Subject: Bleaching Update: Belize
Coral Bleaching in Belize: Second Update
As a follow up to the initial report on September 28, the Coastal Zone
Management Unit of the Fisheries Department has been gathering information
on the bleaching situation in Belize. Anyone who has plans to collect, or
has collected, data from Belize is requested toforward such data to one of
the following addresses:
1. Melanie McField, Coastal Zone Management Project, fax: 501-2-35738
E-mail: Earth.Works at ucb.edu.bz
2. Earl Young, CZMU, Fisheries Department, fax: 501-2-32983
To date, bleaching has been recorded on reefs off North Ambergris Caye
(Bacalar Chico, Basil Jones Cut, Mexico Rocks), Hol Chan Marine Reserve,
Caye Caulker, Sergeant's Caye, Goff's Caye, Southwater Caye, Carrie Bow
Caye, Turneffe Atoll, Lighthouse Reef, Glovers Reef, reefs off Hopkins and
Placencia, Snake Cayes, and Sapodilla Cayes. An aerial survey was carried
out over the area between Goff's Caye, Gallows Point and the northern part
of Turneffe Atoll, with some bleaching observed on most of the reefs.
However, although it is widespread, bleaching is nevertheless patchy, with
some areas escaping and others being badly affected. In these badly
affected areas bleaching can be recorded in aerial photographs.
Underwater surveys, using point intercepts, random points, video transects
have been carried out. At three locations individual corals have been
tagged and photographed to monitor recovery. . The CZMU has developed a
number of simple methods that can be used by volunteers to help collect
data on this event, in hopes of expanding the range of field data
collection. We want to estimate the percent of corals that are bleached,
the species involved, and the depths at which bleaching occurs, as well as
the rate of recovery or amount of coral death. We hope to be able to
incorporate some of the CARICOMP recommendations forwarded by Jeremy
Woodley.
In most places, the worst bleaching is at shallow depths (1-2 metres)
behind the reef crest, with preliminary data indicating approximately 50%
total coral colonies affected by some level of bleaching. The species
apparently most affected is Montastrea annularis - all morphs, although
the smooth (sensu stricto) appears to be the most affected. The maximum
depth of surveys thus far have only been down to 20 meters, at which depth
bleaching has been observed, primarily in Agaricia spp.( in deep waters).
The CZMU is also gathering data on sea water temperature, with the
assistance of the Meterology Office and others. We do not yet have recent
satelite sea surface temperatures and would appreciate this data ( or
instructions on how to locate the data on the internet, if available).
Hopefully, one beneficial effect of Hurricane Roxanne will have been that
it cooled down the waters and may have stopped any further bleaching. An
updated species list follows:
Acropora cervicornis
Agaricia: agaricites, humilis, tenufolia, grahamae, lamarcki,
Colpophyllia natans
Diploria labyrinthiformis, D strigosa
Dichocoenia stokesii
Eusimilia fastigiata
Favia fragum
Madracis spp (from Wellington)
Meandrina meandrites
Montastrea annularus ( all formas), M. cavernosa
Millepora alcicornis, M. complanata
Mycetophyllia aliciae, M danaana
Porites astreoides, P. porites f. porites, divaricata, furcata,
Siderastrea siderea, S radians
Stephanocoenia michilini
Palythoa caribaeourm
Erythropodium caribaeorum
Briareum asbestinum
Eunicea spp.
More information about the Coral-list-old
mailing list