What is the health of the world's coral reefs? Reef Check, with the help of the Quiksilver Crossing, is on a mission to find out.
Reef Check is the world's largest volunteer coral reef monitoring program with teams in more than 50 countries. Through its partnership with the Quiksilver Crossing, and together with its 198 volunteer coordinators and scientists, Reef Check is documenting the condition of the world's coral reefs, and providing conservation tools to local communities in order to help them wisely use and conserve their marine resources. During 2003, Reef Check teams conducted a record number of surveys (700), at 450 reef sites around the world using identical procedures. The results of these surveys have provided the most up-to-date gauge of coral reef ecosystem health and the extent to which people have impacted reefs around the world.
On a global scale, coral reefs are still in critical condition. Decades of injury by people, who have removed too many reef components and added pollution to coastal marine habitats, have taken their toll on the vital functions of reef ecosystems. Based on seven years of data collection, Reef Check has identified ecosystem performance levels for the major reef regions of the world. In 2003, Reef Check's global network of reef monitors found only 1 in 20 surveys had a key reef health indicator at an ideal level. The majority of reefs surveys found lower than expected numbers of fish and invertebrates. Marine management strategies that protect particular reefs from over-harvest and pollution have been effective at minimizing damage by people and have nursed some areas back to health. However, economic realities in tropical countries have often caused these strategies to be ignored and to be difficult to enforce.
Reef sites surveyed in the Pacific Ocean that are remote from large human populations, like those visited by The Indies Trader, were expected to have the best reef health indicators. While in general this was found to be the case, the reach of fishing fleets and global climate extremes have made their mark even on these ecosystems that were once protected by their isolation. By taking Reef Check scientists to these remote reef areas to gather this kind of data, The Crossing is helping to bring attention to how widespread coral reef decline has become, and is helping to identify reefs in the best condition that need to be protected from further decline.
In 1998, high ocean temperatures damaged a large proportion of the Indian Ocean 's coral populations. This damage resulted from high temperature forcing corals to lose the algae that normally live inside their tissue. This “bleaching” event was the most severe in recorded history. While some corals were able to survive this devastating event, its effects were still evident in 2003. Surveys on East African reefs found living coral colonies on reef surfaces were still low in number and dead coral rubble dominated some sites. Government authorities have put some of these reefs in “intensive care” and these conservation efforts have helped to keep fish numbers relatively high, even where the amount of living coral is relatively small. In spite of these efforts, Reef Check's scientists found that pollution and heavy tourist use of these reefs still threaten their recovery.
The reefs of the Atlantic and Caribbean have been under pressure from human populations for centuries. While the diversity of coral reef communities is naturally lower in the Caribbean compared to the Pacific and Indian Oceans , over-fishing set the region up for an unprecedented decline in the early 1980's. Unusually large numbers of grazing sea urchins had become vital to keeping the coral smothering algae at bay. Fish with this role were low in number, but fish predators of the urchins had also been removed and resulted in increased urchin numbers. In 1983, a disease spread throughout the entire Caribbean and killed nearly all of the sea urchins. This loss of the urchins, combined with continued heavy exploitation pressure on fish populations and subsequent new disease outbreaks (this time in corals), drove many reef ecosystems in the Caribbean to the brink of collapse. Determined actions by governments, organizations and individuals since the 1980's have focus attention on the plight of the region's reefs and on the adoption of restoration methods to help bring the ecosystems back to health. While these efforts have improved the condition of many reefs, Reef Check surveys in 2003 gave coral reefs in the Caribbean overall poor marks. This does not mean that healthy, beautiful coral reefs do not exist in the Caribbean , they do. However, it does mean reefs in this region are particularly vulnerable to further declines. One encouraging sign is the reappearance of sea urchins in some locations and a rapid parallel recovery of coral populations where urchins occur in large numbers. If this trend continues, Caribbean coral reefs may be given a reprieve, as long as we maintain our stewardship of these, as well as all the world's coral reefs.
Reef Check is a global network of dedicated and enthusiastic individuals who give their time and effort because they are committed to helping the plight of coral reefs. Those taking part in and supporting the Quiksilver Crossing are vital elements in this network. Reef Check and coral reefs thank them all. Go to Reef Check's website ( www.ReefCheck.org ) and the organizations online newsletter, The Transect Line , to see and read more about Reef Check's recent accomplishments and upcoming events. |
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