Help Rebuild the Gulf of Mexico Barrier Reef

Merry Christmas from GVI Mexico!

This month we have implemented the Synoptic Monitoring Program (SMP) in order to complete the data for one of our monitoring sites; Pedro Paila 5m. The execution of the SMP not only contributes to our base goal of continuing to gather data in a standardized format over a continuous period of time, but the data itself highlights the presence of key fish species present in the reef ecosystem. The presence of these fish species indicates the overall healthiness of the reef, and their attendance is a good sign. The most common species recorded such as the surgeonfish, are of great importance as they feed from algae, large numbers of surgeonfish on the reef help controlling the algae which are competing with the coral for space.

Report

A healthy reef is made up of many components that work together to create a complicated and delicate balance.  When monitoring the sites at Pez Maya, we study four main groups that highlight target species that are directly affecting how healthy a reef is. These groups are: adult fish species, juvenile fish species, coral species and coral diseases, and the composition and sessile invertebrates of the benthic zone.  The data gathered about these four modules help us see a window into the reef life and health. 

These species are very important in a reef system. They have many roles, like the surgeonfish which are herbivores and planktivores.  This means they keep the thick filaments and leafy algae from overgrowing the corals. Surgeonfish are also fast growing, so they can reproduce quickly and thus are often large populations. They tend to deposit feces in the nooks and crannies where they hide which helps coral diversity and growth.  

Another species, the wrasse, feeds on the parasites found on other fish as well as purifying the wounds of injured ones. Initial phase blue head wrasses are responsible for 10% of the cleaning activities on Caribbean reefs. Through their feeding, wrasse help the fish stock stay healthy. The large number of juvenile damselfish recorded is very encouraging as it means that there are many fish to clean.

Damselfish, on the other hand, encourage algae growth through the gardens they grow in the coral. They are also popular aquarium fish due to their bright colors, and often times the fishing methods used to extract them is quite harmful to the reef.  There were also a high number of parrotfish juveniles recorded at Pedro Paila 5m.

Parrotfish have very strong teeth that they use to grasp algae from dead coral, ingesting both dead coral skeleton and the algae. Their strong stomach then grinds the reef structure, or calcium carbonate, into a fine dust, which settles as sediment. On the other hand, the Butterflyfishes have a very diverse food range. They eat anthozoids, zooanthids, tubeworms, small crustaceans and shrimp.  Such a large sampling of prey means the Butterflyfishes can survive and thrive in many different environments.

All in all, the fish on the reef at Pedro Paila 5m are a complicated network of predator, grazers, cleaner fish and omnivores. Each species affects the health of the reef in different ways, and we are happy to add this phases completed data to all of the past years information in order to show the condition of the reef. Our continuous data entry also helps fulfill the Millennium Goal of environmental sustainability because it can be used to show why the reef is healthy at certain times and what effect the outside environment is having on the reef.  This information can lead groups to make changes about the management of the reserve, the reef, and it helps to ensure humans have as little negative effect on the reefs as possible.

Thank you for continuing to support this project in 2013 and we hope to see you next year! 

GVI Mexico

Links:

• http://www.gvi.org

Dear Supporter,

For the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal cleanup day, Pez Maya cleaned a ninety meter stretch of the San Juan Beach. The San Juan Beach is an important turtle nesting site and we collected 329kgs of debris. This achievement contributed to our base’s long term goal of raising awareness about environmental issues and our more localised goal of continuing to undertake beach cleans, helping to create to a healthier ocean.

One of the most important objectives of GVI is to create long term sustainable conservation within our own sphere of influence and within the local community. We at Pez Maya do this through many avenues, one of which is conducting weekly beach cleans and when the International Coastal Cleanup took place, it was the perfect opportunity to expand our work. Gathering together volunteers and staff, everyone traveled to the San Juan Beach, located inside the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, and collected litter and debris for two and a half hours.

The San Juan beach is an important turtle nesting beach located an hour south of Pez Maya, in Tulum, Q. Roo Mexico. This four and a half kilometer stretch of beach is where we do our main turtle research and so far this year, we have protected 550 nests. The turtle is not only an integral part of the Meso-American Barrier Reef ecosystem, but it is also a crucial part of the local culture and tourism. For example, each year in Tulum they have a turtle festival in order to educate people on the importance of turtles and celebrate these ancient reptiles. This not only raises awareness but also brings in visitors and thus revenue for the locals. In the two and a half hours that we worked at San Juan, we amassed 329kgs of rubbish, which filled fifty bags and this was only over a 90 meter area. The waste collected was also very diverse. It ranged from toothbrushes to fishing line and we collected over fifteen hundred bottle caps (Figure below). According to the Ocean Conservancy most common item found in the International Beach Clean Up Day last year was cigarettes/cigarettes filters 1, however, we only found 1 at our beach this year. 

In 2012, more than half a million volunteers participated, collecting more than 10 million pounds of trash and covering a distance of nearly 18,000 miles.Therefore, for us at Pez Maya, this beach clean was very rewarding. Not only were we able to clean a portion of an important turtle nesting beach and accomplish satisfying and productive work, but also participated in a worldwide initiative that has been running for the last 25 years, and more importantly, it helped us contribute to the world’s Millennium Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability.

Thank you for continuing to support this project, the above could not be achieved without people like you!

All the best

Sophie Birkett

Links:

• http://www.gvi.org