Environmental state and tendencies of the Puerto Morelos CARICOMP site, Mexico

The CARICOMP site at Puerto Morelos, Mexico was monitored from 1993 to 2005. No significant changes in air temperature, wind patterns, periodicity and quantity of rainfall, sea-surface temperature and water transparency were observed between sampling years. During the study four hurricane impacts were registered. At the coral reef site overall mean cover of fleshy algae (47%) and turf algae (36%) were high, whereas cover of corals (2%) and sponges (3%), and abundance of sea-urchins (0.04 org m-2) were consistently low. Gorgonians were dominant and showed changes in their community structure; the number of species increased from 1993 to 1995, their abundance decreased after Hurricane Roxanne (1995) and recovered by 2001. At four seagrass sites total community biomass remained constant (707.1-929.6 g dry m-2) but the above-ground biomass of the seagrass Syringodium filiforme and fleshy algae increased gradually. Total biomass (531-699 g dry m-2) and leaf productivity (0.89-1.56 g dry m-2 d-1) of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum remained constant, but the species invested proportionally more biomass in above-ground leaf tissues at the end of the study. The minor hurricanes from 1993 until 2005 had no detectable impacts on the seagrass beds, however, the major Hurricane Wilma (October 2005) changed the community composition at three stations and caused complete burial of the vegetation at a coastal station. The gradual changes in the seagrass and reef communities recorded in the 12 years of continuous monitoring of the CARICOMP site may reflect the increased pollution caused by the rapid augment in urban and tourist developments along the coasts and inland from Puerto Morelos, coupled with poor water management practices. Rev. Biol. Trop. 58 (Suppl. 3): 23-43. Epub 2010 October 01.El sitio CARICOMP en Puerto Morelos, México, se monitoreo de 1993 a 2005. No se registraron cambios significativos en la temperatura del aire, los patrones de viento, la periodicidad y cantidad de lluvia, la temperatura superficial del mar y la transparencia del agua entre los años de muestreo. Durante el estudio se registraron cuatro huracanes menores. En el sitio del arrecife coralino la cobertura global promedio de algas carnosas (47%) y de algas tipo tapete (36%) fue elevada, mientras que la cobertura de corales (2%), esponjas (3%) y la abundancia de erizos (0.04 m-2) fue consistentemente baja. Los gorgonáceos fueron dominantes y mostraron cambios en su estructura comunitaria; el número de especies aumentó de 1993 a 1995, su abundancia disminuyó después del Huracán Roxanne (1995) y se recuperó en el 2001. En cuatro estaciones de pastos marinos la biomasa total de la comunidad permaneció constante (707.1-929.6 gps m-2) pero la biomasa sobre el sustrato del pasto Syringodium filiforme y de algas carnosas aumentó gradualmente. La biomasa total (531-699 gps m-2) y productividad de hojas (0.89-1.56 gps m-2 d-1) del pasto Thalassia testudinum permaneció constante, pero la especie invirtió proporcionalmente más biomasa en el tejido de hojas sobre el sustrato al final del estudio. Los huracanes menores entre 1993 y 2005 no produjeron impactos detectables en las camas de pastos, sin embargo, el huracán mayor Wilma (Octubre 2005) cambió la composición de la comunidad en tres estaciones y causó el enterramiento completo de la vegetación en la estación costera. El cambio gradual en las comunidades de pastos marinos y arrecife registrado en 12 años de monitoreo continuo en el sitio CARICOMP puede reflejar un aumento en la contaminación causada por el rápido incremento en desarrollo urbano y turístico a lo largo de la costa y tierra adentro de Puerto Morelos, acompañado por malas prácticas de manejo del agua

Environmental state and tendencies of the Puerto Morelos CARICOMP site, Mexico

The CARICOMP site at Puerto Morelos, Mexico was monitored from 1993 to 2005. No significant changes in air temperature, wind patterns, periodicity and quantity of rainfall, sea-surface temperature and water transparency were observed between sampling years. During the study four hurricane impacts were registered. At the coral reef site overall mean cover of fleshy algae (47%) and turf algae (36%) were high, whereas cover of corals (2%) and sponges (3%), and abundance of sea-urchins (0.04 org m-2) were consistently low. Gorgonians were dominant and showed changes in their community structure; the number of species increased from 1993 to 1995, their abundance decreased after Hurricane Roxanne (1995) and recovered by 2001. At four seagrass sites total community biomass remained constant (707.1-929.6 g dry m-2) but the above-ground biomass of the seagrass Syringodium filiforme and fleshy algae increased gradually. Total biomass (531-699 g dry m-2) and leaf productivity (0.89-1.56 g dry m-2 d-1) of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum remained constant, but the species invested proportionally more biomass in above-ground leaf tissues at the end of the study. The minor hurricanes from 1993 until 2005 had no detectable impacts on the seagrass beds, however, the major Hurricane Wilma (October 2005) changed the community composition at three stations and caused complete burial of the vegetation at a coastal station. The gradual changes in the seagrass and reef communities recorded in the 12 years of continuous monitoring of the CARICOMP site may reflect the increased pollution caused by the rapid augment in urban and tourist developments along the coasts and inland from Puerto Morelos, coupled with poor water management practices.El sitio CARICOMP en Puerto Morelos, México, se monitoreo de 1993 a 2005. No se registraron cambios significativos en la temperatura del aire, los patrones de viento, la periodicidad y cantidad de lluvia, la temperatura superficial del mar y la transparencia del agua entre los años de muestreo. Durante el estudio se registraron cuatro huracanes menores. En el sitio del arrecife coralino la cobertura global promedio de algas carnosas (47%) y de algas tipo tapete (36%) fue elevada, mientras que la cobertura de corales (2%), esponjas (3%) y la abundancia de erizos (0.04 m-2) fue consistentemente baja. Los gorgonáceos fueron dominantes y mostraron cambios en su estructura comunitaria; el número de especies aumentó de 1993 a 1995, su abundancia disminuyó después del Huracán Roxanne (1995) y se recuperó en el 2001. En cuatro estaciones de pastos marinos la biomasa total de la comunidad permaneció constante (707.1-929.6 gps m-2) pero la biomasa sobre el sustrato del pasto Syringodium filiforme y de algas carnosas aumentó gradualmente. La biomasa total (531-699 gps m-2) y productividad de hojas (0.89-1.56 gps m-2 d-1) del pasto Thalassia testudinum permaneció constante, pero la especie invirtió proporcionalmente más biomasa en el tejido de hojas sobre el sustrato al final del estudio. Los huracanes menores entre 1993 y 2005 no produjeron impactos detectables en las camas de pastos, sin embargo, el huracán mayor Wilma (Octubre 2005) cambió la composición de la comunidad en tres estaciones y causó el enterramiento completo de la vegetación en la estación costera. El cambio gradual en las comunidades de pastos marinos y arrecife registrado en 12 años de monitoreo continuo en el sitio CARICOMP puede reflejar un aumento en la contaminación causada por el rápido incremento en desarrollo urbano y turístico a lo largo de la costa y tierra adentro de Puerto Morelos, acompañado por malas prácticas de manejo del agua

Widespread local chronic stressors in Caribbean coastal habitats

Coastal ecosystems and the livelihoods they support are threatened by stressors acting at global and local scales. Here we used the data produced by the Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity program (CARICOMP), the longest, largest monitoring program in the wider Caribbean, to evidence local-scale (decreases in water quality) and global-scale (increases in temperature) stressors across the basin. Trend analyses showed that visibility decreased at 42% of the stations, indicating that local-scale chronic stressors are widespread. On the other hand, only 18% of the stations showed increases in water temperature that would be expected from global warming, partially reflecting the limits in detecting trends due to inherent natural variability of temperature data. Decreases in visibility were associated with increased human density. However, this link can be decoupled by environmental factors, with conditions that increase the flush of water, dampening the effects of human influence. Besides documenting environmental stressors throughout the basin, our results can be used to inform future monitoring programs, if the desire is to identify stations that provide early warning signals of anthropogenic impacts. All CARICOMP environmental data are now available, providing an invaluable baseline that can be used to strengthen research, conservation, and management of coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean basin.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR

Sea temperature throughout the CARICOMP network.

<p>Sea temperature in each site and habitat in the CARICOMP network, all data are presented, including all years (i.e. since 1992) and all stations, with and without long-term (> 3 years) data: (A) coral reefs; (B) seagrass meadows; and (C) mangroves. In boxplots, lines represent means, boxes 25 and 75% quantiles, whiskers 1.5 inter-quartile ranges and dots outliers. Sites are: Costa Rica (CRI), Panama (PAN), western Venezuela (VEN), eastern Venezuela (VEN2), Colombia (COL), Trinidad y Tobago (TAT), Bonaire (BON), northern Colombia (COL2), Curaçao (CUR), Barbados (BAR), Belize (BEL), Puerto Rico (PUR), Saba (SAB), Dominican Republic (DRE), Jamaica (JAM), Mexico (MEX), Cuba (CUB), the Bahamas (BAH), United States (USA), and Bermuda (BER). Sites with an asterisk were included in subsequent analyses.</p

Time series example.

<p>Time series for sea temperature (A) and visibility (B) for the reef at Chengue Bay (Colombia), showing significant increases in temperature and significant decreases in visibility. For temperature, the model fit takes into account both seasonality (sinusoidal line) and a linear trend (straight line).</p

Explaining trends in visibility.

<p>Predicted probability of decreases and increases in visibility (as per right-hand labels of the top and bottom panels, respectively) against changes in human population (A), wave exposure (B), current speed (C), and trend in rainfall (D).</p

Changes in temperature and visibility throughout the CARICOMP network.

<p>Map of CARICOMP stations showing significant increases, decreases, or non-significant trends for temperature (A) and visibility (B). Labels as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0188564#pone.0188564.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>, with upper case letters indicating the location and lower case the habitat.</p