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STATE OF THE CORAL REEFS IN TOBAGO
By Rachael Amoroso Junior Research Fellow INSTITUTE OF MARINE AFFAIRS
WHAT ARE CORAL REEFS
Corals Corals are animals Polyps contain zooxanthellae Hard corals Soft corals Slow growing
STATE OF THE CORAL REEFS IN TOBAGO By Rachael Amoroso Junior - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
STATE OF THE CORAL REEFS IN TOBAGO By Rachael Amoroso Junior - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
STATE OF THE CORAL REEFS IN TOBAGO By Rachael Amoroso Junior Research Fellow INSTITUTE OF MARINE AFFAIRS WHAT ARE CORAL REEFS Polyps contain zooxanthellae Corals are animals Hard Corals corals Slow growing Soft corals IMPORTANCE OF
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IMPORTANCE OF CORAL REEFS
- Essential source of food to coastal
communities
- Source of income through
- Direct tourism –diving tours, hotels,
restaurants, transportation, retail etc
- Indirect tourism – services
provided to those involved in direct tourism
- Buffer shorelines from erosion
- Source of potential medicines
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THREATS TO CORAL REEFS
Man-made threats
- Climate change
- Sea temperature rise
- Ocean acidification
(lowered pH)
- Sea level rise
- Pollution
- Sedimentation
- Runaway tourism
- Overfishing
- Invasive species
- Lionfish
Natural threats
- Weather events
- Coral disease
- Human activities exacerbating
natural occurring disease
Flickr.com
Photolib.NOAA.gov
Flickr.com
SLIDE 5
STATUS OF THE REEFS
Healthy reef with high coral cover, Culloden Tobago Low coral cover, Outer reef Buccoo
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 OR WR CUE CUW
Mean % cover
Hard coral cover at 4 reefs in Tobago
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
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Sponge eroding coral
POTENTIAL CHANGES TO REEFS
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CORAL DISEASES
Black-band disease Aspergillosis in soft corals Yellow-band disease Dark spot disease
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CORAL DISEASES
Pifs.NOAA.gov
Underwater transects MSC colony infected with yellow-band disease Healthy mountainous star coral
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- THANK YOU•
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