[Coral-List] Amazing coral cover!

Fri Feb 5 12:00:27 EST 2016

We learned this about Roatan back in 2011 when we teamed with the CORAL 
program training professional divers from around the Caribbean about CRW 
products. The rep from Honduras [Roatan] encouraged each of us to visit 
what he showed was some fabulous coral cover...despite the increased 
activity from cruise ships.  I've threatened to visit but still not made 
it.  About a year ago, someone even posted portions of a 
circumnavigation underwater video....amazing!

Cheers,
Al

On 2/4/2016 1:02 PM, Melanie McField wrote:
> Dear Joe and Listers,
>
> The Healthy Reefs Initiative and Roatan Marine Park have been monitoring
> this site for a number of years now.  It is amazing and now has added
> protection as a  Site of Wildlife Importance" with A. cervicornis being the
> featured 'wildlife".  It is featured on the cover of our 2012 Report Card,
> with new information in the 2014 Report Card (both available at
> healthyreefs.org).
>
> We had the opportunity to take Sylvia Earle to Cordelia in 2011 and she
> called it one of the best reefs in the Caribbean, including 50 yrs ago!!
>
> There is another reef (mainly Undaria agaracites and tenuifolia) found on
> Banco Capirio off Tela, HN.  With over 65% live coral cover - in an area
> fairly close to fluvial runoff.  We affectionately call these Honduras'
> 'misbehaving reefs' because they are just not behaving 'as expected").
> Therefore both are great places for further scientific investigations.
>
> Send me a message if you want to know more about how you could link up with
> our efforts in the region.
>
> Melanie
>
> On Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 9:30 AM, Dennis Hubbard <dennis.hubbard at oberlin.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Joe:
>>
>> Impressive cover indeed. Lisa Greer is working on a reef in Belize that is
>> similarly robust but likewise not particularly diverse in its shallower
>> portions. The deeper sites look like a number I've seen (lots of *Madracis*
>> coming in) and are still good news.
>>
>> It is interesting that the shallower reef seems to be *mostly** A.
>> cervicornis* and *Agaricia tenufolia* (or whatever we are agreeing to call
>> it these days). If I remember the story correctly, the excellent Aronson
>> and Precht papers from years back described them as different reef states.
>> That aside, neither species is a major reef builder except in the western
>> Caribbean or protected bays where wave energy is low enough to allow them
>> to accumulate. But.... they'll make a lot of good sediment if it's not all
>> exported by increasing storminess. It would be very interesting to look at
>> the stratigraphy of this reef to see whether it has been like this for a
>> long time or if this is something new. It has been my experience that these
>> are often opportunist species (I'd say "weedy" except for the connotation
>> that "weeds are bad").
>>
>> Thanks for the video. It will be a nice break from the "gloom and doom"
>> that increasingly dominates my *Coral Reefs* course.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Dennis
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 8:28 AM, Pawlik, Joseph <pawlikj at uncw.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> Greetings, coral-listers,
>>>
>>> I've just posted a video dive survey of Cordelia Banks, just off the
>> south
>>> coast of Roatan, Honduras:
>>> https://youtu.be/FHcUmUry8Vk
>>>
>>> This site has amazing coral cover for a contemporary Caribbean reef -
>>> anyone know of other Caribbean sites that still look like this?
>>> More surprising is that this site is just a few km from Coxen Hole, the
>>> largest town on Roatan, just off the coast of the airport, and very close
>>> to the transit channel for the harbor and cruise ship port.
>>>
>>> For those of you studying coral resiliency, I would think this site would
>>> be worth sampling.
>>>
>>> Enjoy the video,
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>> **************************************************************
>>> Joseph R. Pawlik, Professor,
>>> Dept. of Biology and Marine Biology
>>> UNCW Center for Marine Science
>>> 5600 Marvin K Moss Lane
>>> Wilmington, NC  28409
>>> Office:(910)962-2377; Cell:(910)232-3579
>>> Website: http://people.uncw.edu/pawlikj/index.html
>>> PDFs: http://people.uncw.edu/pawlikj/pubs2.html
>>> Video Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/skndiver011
>>> **************************************************************
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Coral-List mailing list
>>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dennis Hubbard
>> Chair, Dept of Geology-Oberlin College Oberlin OH 44074
>> (440) 775-8346
>>
>> * "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong stop"*
>>   Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>
>

-- 

**** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< *******

Alan E. Strong, Ph.D.
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Senior Consultant
Strong Research & GST
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program
  e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov
url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov

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