The development of a global system of marine protected areas (MPAs) lags far behind that of the terrestrial biosphere in both the extent and the effectiveness of its coverage.
An ideal assessment would examine conservation importance at both the species level (examining endemics and total species) and the ecosystem level (examining unique habitats).
When corals undergo certain kinds of stress, much of the zooxanthellae – the symbiotic algae that provide coral polyps with nutrients – are expelled from the coral tissue.
The use of cyanide to stun and capture live coral reef fish began in the 1960s in the Philippines to supply the growing market for aquarium fish in Europe and North America, a market now worth more th
About 9 percent of the world’s mapped reefs are found in this region, most of which are located along the Central American coast and off the Caribbean islands.
The Reefs at Risk Threat Index identified about one-tenth of Caribbean coral reefs at very high levels of threat, one-third at high threat, one-fifth at medium threat, and one-third at low threat.
The Caribbean region, as defined by this analysis, encompasses 35 countries and territories bordering the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sea, including the oceanic island of Bermuda.
Threats to reefs from coastal development were estimated based on distance from cities, ports, airports, and dive tourism centers, as well as population density, population growth, and tourism growth
Agriculture, though important to economic development and food security, is a source of increased sediment, nutrient, and pesticide runoff. This map shows agricultural lands by slope category.
