U.S. Reef Status
Stephen C. Jameson
sjameson at coralseas.com
Thu Mar 14 10:15:48 EST 1996
Dear Ken,
In response to your 3/11/ question regarding the status of United States
reefs.
There are no - comprehensive - figures available on the percentage of
degradation to coral reef ecosystems (or on just coral species in coral
reef ecosystems) under United States jurisdiction. I define under U.S.
jurisdiction as any coral reef ecosystem where United States
environmental laws or regulations apply.
Historically, most coral reef surveys have been limited to discrete reefs
or species or have been time limited (Rogers 1985, Dustin and Halas 1987,
Bythell et al. 1992, Porter and Meier 1992, Ginsburg 1994). The status
and trends of complete coral reef ecosystems around entire islands or
reef tracts have never been comprehensively evaluated because of the
complexity, length of time, and cost of such endeavors.
I did a paper for the National Biological Service on this topic.
Jameson, S.C. 1995. Coral Reef Ecosystems. In: Our Living Resources:
A Report to the Nation on the Distribution, Abundance, and Health of U.S.
Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems. U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Biological Sevice, Washington, D.C. pp 280-281.
Copies of Our Living Resources are for sale through the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, Stock
#024-010-00708-7.
Since you are with EPA you can probaly get a free copy by calling or
writing:
Michael Mac
National Biological Service
Status and Trends Report Manager
Mailstop 3660-MIB
1849 C. St. NW
Washington, DC 20240
phone: 202/482-2348
At the time of writing this paper the reefs under United States
jurisdiction included:
Western Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean:
Florida Reef Tract
Flower Garden Banks
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Pacific Ocean:
Northwest and Main Hawaiian Islands
Wake Island
Johnston Atoll
Northern Mariana Islands
Guam
Palmyra Island
Kingman Reef
Howland Island
Baker Island
Jarvis Island
American Samoa
Let me know if you need more details.
Best regards,
Dr. Stephen C. Jameson, President
Coral Seas, Inc. - Integrated Coastal Zone Management
4254 Hungry Run Road
The Plains, VA 20198-1715 USA
703/754-8690, 703/754-9139 (FAX)
Internet: sjameson at coralseas.com
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