Data collected from CARICOMP sites are sent to a Data Management Centre (DMC) for collation, storage and redistribution. The DMC was established in 1992, with grant funds from UNESCO, at the Centre for Marine Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica. It became fully operational when a full-time Data Manager was employed in November 1994, thanks to grant support from the MacArthur Foundation. Its agreed functions are as follows:
- To receive and store all CARICOMP data in a relational database.
- To prepare regular summaries of the data and distribute them to the contributing sites.
- To prepare annual data reports, for publication not less than two years after the data have been collected.
- To perform analyses and summaries, as requested by the network.
- To be a focal point of communication between CARICOMP sites, relaying ideas and information on issues of concern to the network.
At CARICOMP sites, data are collected using 14 methods, described in the CARICOMP Methods Manual, Level 1. In 1994, spreadsheet templates were designed for each of the above methods, and distributed on disk to all sites for entry of their data. The data are then sent to the DMC for error checking and entry into a relational database created in Microsoft Access in 1998. From this database data summaries are generated by the use of queries. These summaries are distributed to site directors and to anyone interested in accessing CARICOMP data (Note: For non-CARICOMP persons, only data older than 2-years from the present can be accessed. This allows CARICOMP researchers some time to use their own data before it is made available to others).
All but a few of the 29 CARICOMP sites are linked to the DMC by electronic mail. This allows quick and reliable contact between members and facilitates "virtual meetings" of the network, allowing for the exchange of ideas and interactions on issues of interest.
The DMC, along with input from some CARICOMP researchers, conducts statistical analyses of data and attempts to initiate more detailed analyses that would encourage the publication of papers from CARICOMP datasets.
In 1995-96, the DMC organized a Caribbean-wide survey of coral bleaching and subsequent mortality, which was reported on at the 8th ICRS. It also played a role in the Caribbean-wide survey of a seafan sickness, the subject of another paper in Panama. Reports of other mortality events, notably that in the CARICOMP coral reef site at Moroccoy, Venezuela, were also distributed. In addition the DMC has facilitated discussions on the CARICOMP Methods Manual, and on future CARICOMP programmes.
The DMC is also a focal point for communication with other individuals and agencies. Queries from institutions wishing to join the CARICOMP network are acknowledged by the DMC and such requests discussed between the Site Directors and the Steering Committee for final decisions.
The Data Management Centre (DMC) was renamed the Caribbean
Coastal Data Centre (CCDC) in 2000 to reflect the broader focus
and involvement of the Centre in coral reef monitoring both regionally and internationally. In 1998 the DMC
established links with the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change Project (CPACC) - in
particular Component 5 - which focuses on assessing the impacts of global warming on coral reefs. The Centre archives
coral reef video transect data collected through the Project during 2000 in the three pilot countries - Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica in a relational database.
In addition the centre stores data from The
Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) Program. AGRRA is an international collaboration of scientists
and mangers aimed at determining the regional condition of reefs in the Western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The rapid
assessment protocol is a one-time assessment to evaluate the condition of a reef which takes into account the dynamic
relationship between corals, algae and fishes. CCDC has developed a database in Microsoft Access to house the coral reef
substrate and fish dataset collected from Jamaica's northcoast.
The Centre is the northern Caribbean node of the Global Coral Reef
Monitoring Network (GCRMN). The GCRMN is an international coral reef monitoring program that aims to monitor the
status of coral reefs worldwide with a view to improving the management of the world's reef resource.
GCRMN was formed by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) which was launched at the United Nations Global
Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Islands Developing States in Barbados in 1994. In 1995 ICRI called
on many nations to commit themselves towards increasing research and monitoring of reefs to provide the data for
effective management.
GCRMN is hosted by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and International Centre for Living Aquatic
Resources Management (ICLARM). The GCRMN functions through fifteen independent networks, or sub-nodes,
in six regions around the world. These networks contain many different groups of people, all collaborating to
monitor coral reefs and share data.
In addition, it is envisioned that data from similar programs will be stored and analysed, increasing the CCDC's function as a regional archiving and disseminating centre.
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