CCC Science Team to Research Tobago Bleaching
Added to website: 24 October 2005
The coral reefs of the Caribbean are currently experiencing what may be the worst ‘bleaching’ recorded since the 1997/1998 El Nino-induced event. When corals become ‘stressed’ by adverse environmental conditions (such as increased sea-surface temperatures), they expel the microscopic coloured algae which inhabit their tissue, giving the coral the appearance of being ‘bleached’ white. Why precisely they have evolved to do this is the source of much scientific debate, but what is established is that unless the corals are re-colonised by other symbiotic algae from the surrounding water within a matter of weeks, they will die.
As corals are not just the dominant life-form on reefs but actually build the reefs, the death of the corals will lead to a consequent decline in the overall reef system and in the human communities that depend on them for their livelihoods. Worldwide, this is estimated at around 500 million people (source: World Resources Institute), equivalent to the entire population of the African continent. In Trinidad and Tobago, the reefs are currently subject to the worst bleaching in 20 years (according to local dive shops). In order to minimise the damage caused by this event, appropriate and timely management action will be required.
CCC has been requested by the Buccoo Reef Trust to send a team of four coral reef biologists out to Tobago in order to assess the situation, to make management recommendations and to install an appropriate monitoring protocol to provide progress information for the in-country managers. The four biologists have all agreed to give their time and expertise free of charge to the initiative and the Buccoo Reef Trust will provide all in-country logistics for the survey effort.
The campaign will last for three weeks, wherein the reefs will be surveyed at spatially representative sites to determine both the extent of the bleaching and the particular effects on various species of corals. Oceanographic and impacts data will also be recorded in order to highlight any other possible stressors that may subsequently affect the recovery rate of the reefs. All of these data will be incorporated into the existing Geographic Information System which has been created in Tobago to provide a platform for the inclusion of the data from the subsequent monitoring programme which will be undertaken by the divers of Tobago themselves. Upon completion of the campaign, a full report on the findings will be available at www.coralcay.org.
- Shay O’Farrell, Chief Technical Advisor
