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  WWF 4 Jul 06
WWF and TNC assess climate change impacts on the Mesoamerican Reef

San José, Costa Rica: WWF and The Nature Conservancy are undertaking a major regional assessment of Central America's Mesoamerican Reef to determine the impacts of climate change on coral reefs.

"The purpose of the survey is to assess the extent to which global warming is impacting the reef, and whether the network of marine protected areas is adequately protecting the range of habitats that comprise the reef ecosystem," said Sylvia Marín, WWF Central America's Regional Representative.

Stretching from the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula to the Bay of Islands of Honduras, the Mesoamerican Reef is the second largest coral reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and is home to a network of marine habitats that support nearly 60 coral species, 350 mollusks and 500 fish species.

The WWF-TNC survey will evaluate more than 400 sites throughout the Mesoamerican reef system to see which reefs are resilient and which are resistant to coral bleaching--a stress response caused by high water temperatures that can lead to coral death. The assessment will help determine the status of the reef through the analysis of such factors as recent coral mortality, live coral cover, size and age of the coral colony, and abundance of species resistant to bleaching.

"Although it's still a bit early in the process to make any general conclusions, our research has showed so far that global warming and bleaching resilience during 2005 have not resulted in high disease or mortality levels of the reefs," said WWF Senior Fellow Melanie McField and leader of the Healthy Mesoamerican Reef Ecosystem Initiative.

Initial survey results already show that in-shore, darker, turbulent water reefs--which have a high degree of biodiversity--appear to have a higher resistance level to climate change and bleaching.

"These early observations could mean these reefs have a better chance of survival. They appear to have higher resistance to climate change disturbances and its consequences," McField added.

The consequences of global climate change include increased sea temperatures, increasing acidification levels in the oceans, and strength reduction in the main marine currents that distribute heat around the planet, resulting in disturbances to coral reefs.

"The analysis of climate change impact on reefs will not only contribute to reef conservation, but it will also favor education and protection of coastal communities that base their subsistence on sustainable activities that use marine ecosystems responsibly," said Marin.

WWF and TNC expect to complete the data gathering stage by the end of this year.
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