By: Natasha Grech
FACTS
 The Mesoamerican reef spans over 900 kilometers
 It is home to over 65 species of stony coral and over
500 species of fish
 The reef gives protection from storms and costal
erosion
 Costal societies depend on it for economic support,
such as the tourism industry and fishing
 It is under extreme threat
SO WHAT ARE THE SEVERE
THREATS TO THE CORAL OF THE
MESOAMERICAN REEF AND WHAT
CAN BE DONE TO SAVE THIS GIANT
HABITAT?
Global warming
 Global Warming: “an increase in the earth's average
atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding
changes in climate and that may result from the
greenhouse effect.” – Dictionary.com
 Global warming also causes more severe storms and a rise
in water temperatures in oceans around the world
 This can be a major threat to the Mesoamerican barrier reef
because higher water temperatures cause coral bleaching
What is Coral Bleaching?
 Coral bleaching: “Coral bleaching results when the symbiotic
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zooxanthellae (single-celled algae) are released from the original
host coral organism due to stress” -Sciencedaily.com
It is basically the loss of algae (zooxanthellae) that exists with the
coral and provides it with food
Without these essential zooxanthellae, the coral becomes a
bleached or white colour because they are what provide the coral
with much of their colour
This occurs when ocean temperatures rise 2 – 3 degrees F in a
shorter amount of time, because of global warming
Once the coral expels the zooxanthellae, it will start to die from
lack of nourishment if high temperatures continue
Impacts of Coral Bleaching
 Coral bleaching threatens all the organisms that depend on the reef:
 Species that use corals as a habitat and food (fish, mammoth whale shark,
endangered salt water crocodile)
 Local communities that depend on the reef for food, income, and tourist
businesses
 As well as, it weakens the reef, meaning less shoreline protection from
storms and erosion
 Other impacts of coral bleaching are; a loss of coral islands, a decline in
species diversity and changes in the overall reef communities
Fishing
 More aggressive fishing methods such as overfishing
and cyanide fishing can harm coral reefs
 Fishermen use dynamite and inject cyanide into water
because this is a simpler method of catching fish, but
also severely damages coral
 A less obvious harmful fishing method is overfishing
Overfishing
 Overfishing: To much fishing resulting in the
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depletion of certain species in an area
This can effect the reefs species biodiversity and
ecological balance
It causes a disruption in the natural underwater food
chain. Taking one part out will effect all the other
species as well
In the Mesoamerican barrier reef, overfishing is
depleting populations of lobster, conch, and finfish
A possible solution for this is stricter control of fishing
regulations in off-seasons and illegal fishing
Conservation - WWF
 Has worked with the Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras
governments since the mid-1980’s to create marine reserves,
protect and preserve the Mesoamerican reef system
 WWF has also implemented several public awareness campaigns
 Sea turtle conservation, fisheries management and marine
protected areas
 WWF is researching the impact of climate change, altered
rainfall and coral bleaching
 Has implemented the Mesoamerican Reef’s Marine Protected
Areas Program
 Helps to protect the region’s resources for wildlife and local
communities
 WWF collaborates with local fishermen to wipe out destructive
fishing practices and implement sustainable ones
WWF – The Lobster Expedition
 One of the current conservation measures WWF is
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implementing is the Lobster Expedition
This is to prevent the overfishing of lobsters – one of the
most serious threats is the catch of juvenile lobsters which
are illegal to catch under Honduran law
WWF and Darden Restaurants worked together to test a
more environmentally friendly lobster trap that lets the
juvenile lobsters escape but catch the ones used in
restaurants
They conducted an experiment of 5 different fishing boats
with 7 different trap designs
The lobster trap they tested and perfected is now required
for all lobster fishermen
References
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"The Atlantic Ocean's largest coral reef." WWF. Web. 7 July 2011.
<www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/mesoamericanreef/ >.
"WWF - Mesoamerican Reef - Surveying climate change impacts on Central America's coral reefs."
World Wildlife Fund - Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. Web. 7 July 2011.
<http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/mesoamericanreef/surveyingclimatechangeimpa
cts.html>
"Coral Reefs: Bleaching Impacts." Reef Resilience: Building Resilience into Coral Reef Conservation.
Web. 7 July 2011. <http://www.reefresilience.org/Toolkit_Coral/C2c0_BleachImpacts.html>
"Global warming | Define Global warming at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings
and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 7 July 2011.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/global+warming>
"Coral bleaching." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology.
Web. 7 July 2011. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/c/coral_bleaching.htm>
"Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority :: What is Coral Bleaching." Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority :: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). Web. 7 July 2011.
<http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/climate_change/climate_change_and_the_great_b
arrier_reef/what_is_coral_bleaching>
"Coral Reefs." Exploring the Environment. Web. 7 July 2011.
<http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/coralreef/CRanthro.html>
"WWF - Mesoamerican Reef > The Lobster Expedition - The Lobster Expedition - Roatan, Bay
Islands, Honduras." World Wildlife Fund - Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation.
Web. 7 July 2011.
<http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/mesoamericanreef/lobsterexpedition1.html>