Climate Action Mexico Project #5928

Help Rebuild the Gulf of Mexico Barrier Reef

by Action Change (Formerly GVI Trust)

Project Report | Sep 6, 2013
Increase in coral cover at monitoring site

By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust manager

Dear supporter,

I am excited to share with you some scientific research that has come out of this project. Pedro Paila is a spur and groove reef exhibiting an average depth of 10m located 3.94km north of Pez maya. Volunteers have been conducting surveys for the last eight years, providing information on coral species, diseases, benthic composition, presence of adult fish species and juvenile recruitment at the site. Pedro Paila has proven to be a favorite with many of our volunteers due to the beautiful corals and numerous fish species often seen here. Data collected by volunteers has shown that over the past eight years the percentage cover of hermatypic corals is increasing, with a noted increase present over the past three years

Whilst instances of dark spot have increased over time, predominately recorded on Siderastrea siderea, a coral that appears to be increasingly susceptible to pathogenic diseases, records of fast spreading diseases such as Black Band, Red Band and white plague have dramatically decreased.

There has also been an increase in the number of Acanthuridae recorded at the site, which includes fish species such as the Blue Tang (the above figure), ocean surgeon fish and Doctor fish, which feed on macro-algae, this helps to increase the percentage cover of coral as the percentage cover of macro algae is reduced, thus reducing competition for space. Nutrients from fish excretion can also facilitate coral growth, which reduces the space for algae colonization, again leading to a shift towards a healthier coral reef

We are very pleased to see these results and hope that continued research on this reef will lead to further insight into the future health of our reefs.

Thank you as always for your support for this project

Kind regards

Sophie Birkett

Links:

http://www.gvi.org

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Jun 12, 2013
The local protection of Least Terns

By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust manager

Least terns (Sternula antillarum) are a small migratory bird approximately 22 -24 cm long with a wing span of around 50cm. Least terns arrive to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere reserve in early April and spend 3-5 months on the breeding grounds. The terns nest on open sandy or gravely areas near water, producing small burrows in the sand where they will lay a clutch of 1-3 eggs, the sight chosen for nesting must be of low vegetation and at a vantage point where it is possible to see the approach of oncoming predators, after 21-24 days the eggs hatch and in the following four weeks the chick will be able to fly .

The least tern is currently described as ´of least concern’ by the IUCN Red list (2013), however it has been noted that the population is in decrease due to an increase in development and storm surges destroying important nesting habitats (Birdlife international,Species factsheet: Sternula antillarum, 2013).

Due to the remote setting, the limited human disturbances and the plentiful food source the Pez Maya beach provides, the area has become an ideal breeding ground for the Least tern. In 2012 approximately 65 nests with a colony population of around 100 mature individuals were recorded. Last week volunteers and staff headed to the beach with painted signs, shovels and a lot of rope to mark and protect the Least tern nesting grounds. We hope that this season’s breeding will be a success with the help of the Pez Maya staff and volunteers and the Least Tern will return for many years to come.

Thank you again for supporting this project. Did you know about GlobalGiving's Bonus Day ? Today, on June 12th 2013 from 9am EST till funds run out, GlobalGiving will be matching all donations to this project at 50%. Please consider sharing our story and helping us to make an additional difference today.

All the best

Sophie Birkett

GVI Charitable Trust manager

Links:

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Mar 27, 2013
Mesoamerica Barrier synoptic monitoring program

By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust manager

The Mesoamerican barrier reef system (MBRS) extends over four countries, from the tip of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico down to Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala. It is the second largest barrier reef in the world and the home to over 500 fish species as well as numerous endangered species such as the Loggerhead turtle, Nassau and goliath groupers and black coral. There are an estimated 2 million people directly linked to the MBRS coastal environments, depending on the health of the ecosystem for food, water, livelihoods and income. Its marine and coastal ecosystem provides the foundation for the Yucatan peninsulas multi-billion dollar tourism industry. These activities are continuing to increase in the area, placing varying degrees of pressure on the natural ecosystems of the MBRS.

Due to its importance, a program known as the synoptic monitoring program (SMP) was developed to assess the health of the reef. The MBRS SMP was designed as a standardized methodology to monitor changes in ecosystem health with the aim of improving the management of the coastal and marine resources.The Marine Conservation Expedition run by GVI in collaboration with Amigos de Sian Ka’an, is located in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve,Tulum, Mexico, in a place called Pez Maya.This programme trains volunteers on the SMP methodology in order to monitor fish, coral, algae and other sessile organisms in the reef .

Following learning a list of target species and the SMP methodology, volunteers are able to monitor within 100m of GPS marked sites. The SMP method Pez Maya uses involves belt transects. It is designed to measure the density and sizes of selected Caribbean key fish species, such as predators, herbivores, and “indicator” species, many of which are commercially exploited. For each transect, volunteers record the following information: recorder’s name, date, time of start of transect, Site name and GPS location, transect number

Links:

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