Belize participates in Global Warming Study

Belize has been selected to participate in a study to monitor the effects of global warming and rising seas on the coral reef. To learn about the study and how it will be carried out, Dylan Gomez of the Bacalar Chico Marine reserve off San Pedro attended a seminar in the Bahamas. The CBU has provided the following report of the training session and the role Belize and several other Caribbean countries have to play in collecting the research data.

Coral Reefs are of vital economic importance to Caribbean countries for a number of reasons. They generate sand for our beaches and protect our shoreline from storms and wave erosion. Coral reefs also provide employment and food in fisheries. Recently the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climatic Change, CEPACC conducted a one-week seminar on coral reef monitoring for climatic change impacts in the Nassau Bahamas at the Clarion South Ocean Hotel. The seminar was hosted by the Bahamas environment science and technology commission/ Attended by marine biologists and data management specialists from the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, Barbados and Belize. It was officially opened by Bahamian Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Honorable Earl Deveaux.

Earl Deveaux, Bahamian Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries

“The Bahamas along with other CARICOM member states have accepted the fact that global warming is a reality and that rising sea levels will fundamentally impact our countries. The OAS assisted Caribbean planning for adoption to climate change project is a necessary first step in enabling us to adapt to climate change and quantify the impact on the wider Caribbean region.”

During the next five days the participants discussed and developed methodologies for CPACC’s pilot component: Coral reef monitoring for climatic change impact. Over time this program is expected to determine the effects of global reef on coral reefs in the pilot countries of the Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica. Dr. Jeremy Woodley of the University of the West Indies Center for Marine research led a discourse about the various types of coral reefs and procedures for establishing monitoring sites.

Dr. Jeremy Woodley, UWI Marine Research Center

“We had a little problem in deciding what we call the target habitat. But we’ve selected shallow reefs in about five to eight meters and deeper reefs on the shelf edge. Secondly we had to discuss how to actually select monitoring sites. The key thing there is that they should be randomly selected.”

Jeff Miller, a marine biologist, with the U.S. geological survey showed the participants how to use a digital video camera and housing to record coral reef information.

Jeff Miller, Marine Biologist

“We are using transects, essentially a line on the bottom, we take a video camera and take pictures, film of the video camera oriented down, and we do that along a twenty meter line. That video image that line, is taken back to the laboratory where unique images are captured or frozen. And then a series of random dots is superimposed at the top of that image, the category or structure underneath those random dots are analyzed and tabulated.”

After five days of intense discussions, field work and data analysis participants and coordinators assessed the usefulness of the seminar.

Dylan Gomez,

“We got a group of people who would be doing the survey work together to actually practice using the equipment, help in the design of the protocol and that would help to standardize how the protocol is executed.”

Phillips

“So from here I think what we need to do is practice a lot on how to acquire our data, perfect the way we do that and also move on and try and select other sites in the Bahamas for monitoring.”