Glover's Reef Marine Research Station

James A Powell jpowell at btl.net
Sat Oct 26 19:07:22 EDT 1996


Glover's Reef Marine Research Station  
Belize, Central America  
Wildlife Conservation Society  
P.O. Box 2310  
Belize City, Belize  
Tel: 501-2-33855  
FAX: 501-2--31963  
E-mail: jpowell at btl.net  

Please take a look at our WWW page at:  http://www.une.edu/glover/glovindx.html 

Glover's Reef atoll and marine reserve is located approximately 50 km off the coast of central Belize. It  
is considered to be one of the most  pristine and  important coral reef sites in the Caribbean.  Due to the   
isolation of Glover's Reef atoll,  there is little influence from coastal sedimentation or pollution. It is   
considered to be one of the most ideal sites in the world to conduct coral reef research (Dahl, MacIntyre  
& Antonius. 1974. A  comparative survey of coral reef research sites. In:  Marie-Helene Sachet and  
Arthur Dahl. Atoll Research Bulletin. 172: 37-75.). Consequently, the Wildlife Conservation Society  
(WCS) in cooperation with the Government of Belize has established a permanent research station at   
Middle Cay  located on Glover's Reef. WCS along with the Government of Belize would like to invite   
scientists and  graduate level students who are interested in working at Glover's Reef to contact James  
Powell at  jpowell at btl.net for more information.   

The marine reserve at Glover's Reef atoll  is a major component of a general comprehensive program  
for  coastal zone management for Belize, Central America.  In a broad sense the reserve was  
established to  maintain ecological processes, preserve genetic diversity, achieve sustainable yields of  
its resources  through wise management of species and their habitats,  maintain natural areas for  
education and research  and provide social, and economic benefits through ecologically sensitive  
recreation and tourism. Keenly  aware of the need to protect this world class resource, the Wildlife  
Conservation Society (WCS) purchased  the island of Middle Cay, situated at the southern end of the  
atoll, for the purposes of  providing  a marine  park headquarters for the Government of Belize and to  
establish a marine research field station. WCS has  completed construction of this facility and now  
provides a base of operations for park rangers and scientists  alike.   

WCS's over-arching mission is to provide for the long-term conservation and protection of Glover's Reef   
atoll. To accomplish this goal, WCS is working in close collaboration with the government of Belize to   
develop a coordinated research and management program for the atoll. WCS's primary responsibility in  
this  partnership is scientific research. In the coming years, we hope that the research on Glover's Reef  
atoll will  lead to a better understanding and management of this coral reef.  The Comparative  
Investigations of Tropical Reef Ecosystems (CITRE) program identified  Glover's Reef as  the most  
preferred site  in the Caribbean for "long-term, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional investigation of  coral  
reef ecosystems" (Dahl, MacIntyre & Antonius. 1974. A  comparative survey of coral reef research  sites.  
In:  Marie-Helene Sachet and Arthur Dahl. Atoll Research Bulletin. 172: 37-75.). The authors reported,   
"In contrast to the other reefs surveyed in the Caribbean area, Glover's Reef atoll appears to offer the   
greatest variety of reef types, and the optimum reef development in terms of population density and  
species  diversity of reef corals and associated organisms". In addition to Glover's Reef, Belize's  
extensive barrier  reef is 30 km away.     

The WCS research station on Glover's Reef atoll is located on Middle Cay. The present facility includes  
a  ranger station and visitor's centre, a dry laboratory and work area, dining and cooking facilities (meals  
are  provided) and housing for eight scientists and/or students. There are  boats, air compressor and  
SCUBA  tanks for researcher support.  Aquarium facilities  are available.  The station is  
completely self- sufficient with full-time electricity (110 vac) provided by a complementary system of  
wind and solar power.  Fresh water is available through a de-salination plant and  
rain-water catchment.  Refrigeration is available. Toilet facilities are state-of-the-art pollution-free,  
containment composition type.  One aim of the station is to utilize non-polluting and energy efficient  
technology.  WCS invites any scientists or students interested in using the Glover's Reef Research  
Station   to please  contact: Glover's Reef Marine Research Station, P.O. Box 2310, Belize City, Belize  
or  Tel. 501-2-33855 or  fax 501-2-31963.  E-mail messages can be sent  to: jpowell at btl.net.  



--  
James A. Powell 
Director 
Glover's Reef Marine Research Station 
P.O. Box 2310 
Belize City, Belize 
Tel./Fax 501-233855 
Middle Cay tel: 501-148474 
E-mail: jpowell at btl.net 




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