STATE OF THE CORAL REEFS IN TOBAGO By Rachael Amoroso Junior Research Fellow INSTITUTE OF MARINE AFFAIRS
WHAT ARE CORAL REEFS Polyps contain zooxanthellae Corals are animals Hard Corals corals Slow growing Soft corals
IMPORTANCE OF CORAL REEFS • Essential source of food to coastal communities • Source of income through • Direct tourism – diving tours, hotels, restaurants, transportation, retail etc • Indirect tourism – services provided to those involved in direct tourism • Buffer shorelines from erosion • Source of potential medicines
THREATS TO CORAL REEFS Man-made threats Natural threats • Climate change • Weather events • Sea temperature rise • Coral disease • Ocean acidification • Human activities exacerbating (lowered pH) natural occurring disease • Sea level rise • Pollution • Sedimentation • Runaway tourism • Overfishing Flickr.com • Invasive species • Lionfish Photolib.NOAA.gov Flickr.com
STATUS OF THE REEFS Hard coral cover at 4 reefs in Tobago 45 40 35 Mean % cover 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 OR WR CUE CUW 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Low coral cover, Healthy Outer reef reef with Buccoo high coral cover, Culloden Tobago
POTENTIAL CHANGES TO REEFS Sponge eroding coral
CORAL DISEASES Black-band disease Yellow-band disease Dark spot disease Aspergillosis in soft corals
CORAL DISEASES Underwater transects MSC colony infected with yellow-band disease Healthy mountainous star coral Pifs.NOAA .gov
•THANK YOU•
INFORMATION CENTRE Tel: 634-4291 ext. 2406 or 2408 E-Mail: library@ima.gov.tt or icsec@ima.gov.tt ima.gov.tt @IMACHAG
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