Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity - CARICOMP:
A Research and Monitoring Network
of Marine Laboratories, Parks, and Reserves.
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
1:641-646.
The network was established in 1990 through a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with 25 institutions in 16 countries. Since 1993, the network has made a standardized, synoptic set of
measurements of the structure, productivity, and associated physical parameters at selected sites with
relatively undisturbed coral reefs, seagrasses, and mangroves over the full regional range of their
development. The preliminary analysis of the first 2-3 years of data was carried out in 1995-96 and is
reported herein. The principal goals of the program are to determine the dominant influences on
coastal productivity and to discriminate human disturbance from long-term natural variation in coastal
systems. In addition, the network provides a rapid response capability for regional phenomena such as
coral bleaching, mass mortalities and diseases, and periodic oceanographic phenomena. The program
maintains a data management and communications center at the University of the West Indies,
Jamaica and regularly organizes workshops and training sessions.
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Meteorological and Oceanographic Characterization of
Coral Reef, Seagrass and
Mangrove Habitats in the Wider Caribbean.
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
1:657-662.
Meteorological and physical oceanographic conditions have been monitored since 1993
at 12 CARICOMP sites. At each site, maximum and minimum air temperatures and rainfall are
collected daily, while physical conditions are recorded weekly at a coral reef habitat (surface water
temperature, salinity and vertical Secchi disk depth), seagrass habitat (surface water temperature,
salinity and horizontal Secchi disk), and mangrove habitat [interstitial salinity (since 1994)]. Bottom
temperatures are recorded continuously with remote data loggers in all three habitats. CARICOMP
records of temperature and rainfall are compared to 30-year normals across the Caribbean. Surface
water temperature, salinity and Secchi disk measurements from August and February are compared
among the sites. The results illustrate regional patterns of seasonal variability and annual extremes.
The data form the baseline for evaluating biological responses to physical conditions for these three
habitats at CARICOMP sites.
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Physiography and Setting of CARICOMP Sites,
A Pattern Analysis.
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
1:647-650.
The structural variability of the dominant ecosystems of
the Caribbean region
(mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs) was analyzed by means of physiographic and biological
indicators obtained from characterizations of the CARICOMP sampling sites. The sites cover a wide
range of settings from the continent to small islands, volcanic to carbonate substrates, each with a
wide range of oceanic exposures. The land surrounding the sites varies from urban to non-perturbed,
while land influence on the coastal ecosystems ranges from nil to heavy. The types of continental or
island shelves range from extensive and shallow to non-existent. The three coastal ecosystems are
coexistent in 10 out of 17 cases, but not one site has coral reefs adjacent to mangroves without
intervening seagrasses. Ecological indicators also show a large range, e.g. average number of trees per
100m2/yr in mangrove forests varies from 10.3 to 110; seagrass biomass ranged from 200 to >4000
g/m2/yr; while stony coral cover in the fore reef (-10m) ranged from 6 to almost 42%.
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Variation in Ecological Parameters of Thalassia testudinum
Across the CARICOMP Network.
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
1:663-668.
Seagrass sampling across the CARICOMP network began in 1993 and currently is
being carried out at 12 sites. Biomass, productivity, and other related ecological parameters of the
seagrasses are measured at the sites using the same techniques. To eliminate the difficulty of
determining a typical seagrass meadow, the sites were chosen to represent the locally best-developed
and most-pristine site. In general seagrasses at these sites were best developed in the vicinity of
mainland or large island areas and least near small or low islands. Total biomass, above and below
ground was highest (>4000 g dw/m2/yr) in Belize, lowest in Tobago and Curacao (200-500 g/m2/yr), and
intermediate to high (750-1500 g/m2/yr) at all other sites (Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico,
Venezuela). Leaf productivity followed the same general pattern, varying from <0.5 g/m2/d (Bahamas)
to >5 g/m2/d (Venezuela).
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Structure and Productivity of Mangrove Forests in the Greater Caribbean Region.
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
1:669-672.
Mangrove forests constitute the major coastal shoreline community in many parts of the
Caribbean region. While there is debate about their role in the coastal landscape (exporters of nutrients or traps
for terrigenous materials), there is no doubt that their removal adversely affects coastal water quality. Forest
structure varies greatly, from scrub forests on small oceanic islands to extensive, massive forests along
continents and some high islands. Of the 10 sites currently reporting data, biomass varies from approximately
2 to 50 kg/m2/yr, a 25-fold difference. In contrast, the maximum monthly productivity, as measured by litterfall,
varies by only 4-fold. Differences between minimum and maximum monthly productivity appear greatest at high
altitudes (e.g. a 10-fold difference for Bermuda and 7-fold for the Bahamas), while lower altitudes show a 2- to
3-fold range. Minimum litterfall at all sites is in winter, while maximum values occur from mid-summer to fall.
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CARICOMP Monitoring of Caribbean Coral Reefs.
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
1:651-656.
Permanent chain transects have been established since 1993 at 15 sites around the Caribbean,
according to the CARICOMP Level One protocol, at 10 + 3m depth, to assess benthic community composition
and, later, productivity. The sites differ in geographical situation and recent history. While they were located
away from obvious point sources of pollution, some are known to have changed significantly prior to initiation
of the survey. In 1995, major space occupants were algae (13-59% total cover, 16-74% live cover) and hard
corals (6-42% total cover, 9-63% live cover). Minor components were soft corals (0.2-26% total cover, 0.5-50%
live cover) and sponges (0-10% total cover, 0-16% live cover). Diadema antillarum was present at four sites
(Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Puerto Rico) but absent from the others. In 1993-94, no major changes in coral
cover were observed, except in Jamaica (17.7% to 9.5%). Within the limitations of the method, the data will
serve as a baseline reference for monitoring further change in benthic community composition.
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Studies on Caribbean Coastal Bleaching, 1995-1996.
CARICOMP and R. Grueber-Dunsmore (St. John, USVI),
M. McField (Cstl. Manag. Unit, Belize), J. Mendes (UWI, Jamaica).
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
1:673-678.
Coral bleaching occurred throughout the Caribbean in late 1995. It was most extensive in the
center and west of the region, only slight in Bermuda and the Lesser Antilles. Bleaching had been observed
before at most sites in recent years, but not at Quintana Roo (Mexico) and not since 1983 in Costa Rica. Sea-temperature
records for many of the affected sites were usually high in late summer. Shallow site often showed
more bleaching than deeper ones, except below 30m depth where Agaricia lamarcki was often strongly affected.
Detailed surveys were made at 8 sites, of which Grand Cayman showed the most severe bleaching. Agaricia,
Diploria, Montastraea, Millepora, Porites and Siderastrea spp. were especially affected, but there was variability
in the ranking of species responses. The extent of bleaching and subsequent mortality in common species were
estimated at intervals into 1996.
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Widespread Tissue Mortality of Sea Fans in the Caribbean.
I. Nagelkerken, K. Buchan,
G.W. Smith, K. Bonair, P. Bush, J. Garzon-Ferreira,
L. Botero, P. Gayle, C. Petrovic, L. Pors,
and P. Yoshioka. Curacao Underwater Park/Carmabi Foundation.
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
1:679-682.
At the beginning of 1995, partial mortalities were reported in the sea fans Gorgonia ventalina and
G. flabellum L. from several Caribbean islands. Affected colonies typically had lesions of various sizes distributed
throughout the blade of the sea fan. Through the CARICOMP network, quantitative data were collected by means
of belt transects in 9 localities throughout the Caribbean. In addition, qualitative data were obtained from another
13 localities. The percentage of colonies affected per site ranges form 10.0% to 90.6%, while the percentage
of tissue surface affected per site ranged from 3.8% to 45.3%. The mortality extended at least from Trinidad
westwards to Curacao and northwards to the Bahamas.
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Use of spreadsheet templates for data entry and their
subsequent integration into the Database System.
Proceedings of the 8th ICRS, Panama, Panama, 1997
2:1565-1568.
The Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) network of marine laboratories, parks and reserves seeks to address the question "How does the productivity of important coastal habitats vary across the region?" 25 monitoring sites are
involved. Spreadsheet templates have been designed in Quattro Pro for entry of data from mangrove, seagrass and coral reef habitats. The relatively simple templates are easy to use, help reduce entry errors, and automatically produce simple summaries.
Data can be transferred to a database management system (DBMS) using a conversion programme which reads the spreadsheet definitions and with the aid of the ODBC manager and general SQL commands, transfers data to any appropriate relational database.
Importantly, use of the spreadsheet templates allows new protocols to be added and changes to be made to existing ones without the need for complex programmes. This significantly reduces database development time and cost.
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Status and temporal trends at CARICOMP coral reef sites.
Paper presented at the 9th ICRS, Bali, Indonesia
Twenty-one forereef (10m deep) sites in the Caribbean region, with a wide variety of relief and morphology, have been monitored by the CARICOMP protocol since 1993. Mean percent hard coral covers
at 20 sites have shown only slight changes. Of sites reporting data spanning at least three years,
five sites showed slight upward trends, six downward and four no change. High coral mortality
occurred at Morrocoy, Venezuela, in 1996. Recent mean coral cover varied from 44.79% at La Parguera, Puerto Rico,
to 5.77% at Cayo Coco, Cuba, and only 1.12% at the hardground site of Puerto Morelos, Mexico.
With few exceptions, sites with relatively high coral cover (>20%) lie east of a line from Panama through the Windward
Passage and south of latitude 15o N. Sites differed in coral community composition, but overall the five most
abundant species (mean % cover) were Montastraea annularis sensu lato (8.23%), Agaricia agaricites (1.38%), Porites asteroides (1.25%),
Colpophyllia natans (1.24%) and Diploria strigosa (1.23%). Using all stations
and years, within-station coral cover showed no relationship with either algal cover or numbers of urchins (all species),
and algae were not correlated with urchins. However, at stations with >2 Diadema m-2,
fleshy algae were virtually absent. Nine sites reported the presence of Diadema, compared with three in 1995, but many sites are
still dominated by algae rather than by corals. No widespread reductions in coral cover have occurred
during the 1990s even though it has been a period of intense hurricane activity
and bleaching events.
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The Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity Program
(CARICOMP) Database.
Paper presented at the 9th ICRS, Bali, Indonesia
The Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity Program (CARICOMP) is a regional,
cooperative project monitoring attributes of the three main ecosystems, coral reefs,
seagrass beds and mangrove forests. Since 1993 twenty-two marine laboratories, parks
and reserves in 14 islands and 8 mainland countries have collected data according to
the protocols outlined in CARICOMP Level 1 Methods Manual (1994, 1998). The data are
stored in a relational database allowing correlation between data parameters to be
explored through the use of queries. Example query outputs include the effect of the
presence of one benthic organism on the abundance of another, e.g the density of urchins
on fleshy algae or hard coral % cover. CARICOMP data showed generally that high urchin
density was not correlated with low % cover by fleshy algae or high % cover by hard corals,
though at the Discovery Bay site (Jamaica) there was some correlation between high urchin
density and low % cover by fleshy algae. Physical data queries can highlight coral reef
stations with high seawater temperatures allowing prediction of future bleaching events.
Other queries can explore possible relationships between particular coral species and
high seawater turbidity, indicating tolerance of species to high sediment load.
Extracting data by coral species gives information on the relative abundance and
regional distribution, dominant and rare species and temporal patterns of change
in species abundance, suggesting possible tolerance to anthropogenic stresses by
species. This database is an invaluable regional marine resource.
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Variations in seagrass parameters across the Caribbean: The CARICOMP network stations
Paper presented at the 9th ICRS, Bali, Indonesia
The CARICOMP program has been collecting
seagrass data on biomass and productivity since 1993 at up to 19 institutions across the
greater Caribbean using standardized protocols and methodologies. The stations monitored
at each site were selected as representative of lush well-developed Thalassia testudinum
beds with minimal disturbance. The mean productivities across the region were
2.7 g m-2 d and turnover rates averages 3.9%d-1. The high turnover rates are a function of the
tropical latitudes of the stations. Shoot densities averages 725 shoots m2, and total above and below
ground biomass averaged 1507 g m2. Average leaf length and width were 14.4 cm and 10.6 mm, respectively,
and leaf area index average 3.4 m2m-2. Maximal values were typically 2-3 times greater than
the means, although maximal biomass was five times the mean. On a regional basis, seagrass biomass showed varying
patterns in the interval 1993-1999 with some stations increasing by a factor of 2 (Jamaica), decreasing precipitously
(Bermuda), maintaining a value with little variation (Mexico), and showing wide variation about
a mean (Belize). C:N:P ratios of the Thalassia leaves were determined to determine
localized nutrient excesses and deficiences.
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