CORALS, CONCH, TURTLES, AND FISH: RECONSTRUCTING PAST DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE, SAN SALVADOR, THE BAHAMAS (Invited Presentation)

A Marine Protected Area (MPA) will likely be established on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, in the near future. This is a great achievement, but there remains the problem of how to later judge the success of the MPA. Long term data on the health (as measured by abundance and diversity) of the marine environments surrounding San Salvador is lacking. The reefs and fisheries have undergone significant changes in the last 30 years, with anthropogenic drivers receiving much of the blame. Additionally, anthropogenic effects of unknown intensities and scales over even longer time spans have previously impacted these systems. With these changes in mind, what baseline should be used for measuring the success of the park? The conditions when the park opens? or some idea of a pristine marine environment? or the memories of an old scientist? What even were these conditions?

The Gerace Research Centre (GRC) has provided research and educational facilities on San Salvador for over 40 years. Annually, over 1,500 students and professionals make use of the GRC for classes and research. A wealth of data is available in the memories, notebooks, and photo albums of these users. Tapping into these resources can provide valuable insight into how these systems have changed over the last 40 years. Local ecological knowledge held by fishermen and others that use the marine resources on the island can further supplement the observations of students and researchers. Interviews with these persons provide valuable insight into the changes in marine environments on extended time scales compared to the occasional visitor. Additionally, many researchers have been involved with projects related to some of these issues. Archaeology field reports and paleontological studies can provide useful data about the sizes and general abundance of many of these organisms, though to this point they have been applied to different questions. Further working with available collections and new material can assist with filling in gaps.

Using all of these resources, along with newly collected data on fossil and sub-fossil assemblages, baselines of past conditions of coral reefs, Queen Conch, sea turtles, and other important fisheries can be established with which to compare the success of the MPA on San Salvador.