The Mesoamerican Reef And the Threats it Faces Today

Threat 1 Global Warming Effects Coral Bleaching Severe Storms Erosion Rising Sea temperatures/levels

Coral Bleaching Coral Bleaching is when the coral expels or kills their zooanthellae and symbiotic protozoa. It can also be cause by the protozoa’s loss of pigmentation. Coral Bleaching is caused when the coral becomes stressed. This can happen due to el Niño, where sea temperatures rise and put stress on the coral.

Coral Bleaching When Coral Bleaching occurs over a prolonged amount of time, the system is unable to regain equilibrium and will die. This effects the Reef’s health as well as becoming an unsuitable habitat for local marine life. The picture shows Coral before and after the effects of Coral Bleaching take place

Severe Storms and Erosion Severe Storms and Erosion pose threats the the Mesoamerican reef as they can result in Coral bleaching and a loss in habitat for marine life. Storm systems such as el Niño raise the temperate and stress levels on the reef as well as speed up erosion.

Rising Sea Temperature/Levels Rising sea temperature and sea levels pose dangerous threats to the reef because of the severe implications they may cause such as killing of local marine life through loss of habitat or lack of nutrients available. Charts showing increased sea levels (left) and increased temperature resulting in higher glacier melts (right)

Protective Measure To halt the progression of Global Warming and nullify the effects on the Mesoamerican Reef, a protective measure proposed is cutting down Greenhouse Gases’ emissions by reducing our dependence on Fossil fuels. There have been many global debates about this topic and with agreements in place such as the Kyoto Protocol and Carbon Emission Trading, the world is collectively fighting against Global Warming.

Threat 2 Over Fishing Effects Decrease in marine population Destroys food chains/webs by removing a prey/predator from the system Removes food source for Reef

Overfishing Over fishing is the practice of fishing species in a non sustainable way, with no regards to population control or environmental impacts. Because of this practice, many marine species are endangered, extirpated or are at a very large risk of Extinction.

Effects on an Ecosystem Because of the large fishing industry, profit is sometimes put ahead of sustainability and this mindset is causing disturbances in ecosystems that they cannot adapt to. When large amounts of one species in overfished, the whole system is affected because it is either a loss of food source or results in an increase of population in the species that are usually prey for the overfished population. In the case of the Mesoamerican Reef, overfishing removes a food source for the reef and are depleting its habitant’s populations, specifically the lobster, conch, and finfish.

Protective Measure In the Mesoamerican Reef, illegal fishing of undersized lobster is a large problem as it depletes the species stock as well as capturing them before they are mature enough to reproduce and replenish their population. Modified Lobster traps are now being used that let smaller non developed lobsters escape and mature to allow the species to reproduce. Although lobsters are not the only species at risk from overfishing, it is a good sustainable start to combat the problem while protecting the livelihoods of those that depend on the fishing industry.

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