COMBINING ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND THE FOSSIL RECORD TO SUPPORT CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT IN THE EAST PORTLAND SPECIAL FISHERY CONSERVATION AREA, JAMAICA

Caribbean coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots in the ocean. These diverse and beneficial ecosystems are facing global threats from both anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Within the Caribbean, Jamaican reefs have some of the poorest ratings of reef health. Despite the dire situation, with proper protection, algal-coral phase shifts can be reversed. Although reefs in some parts of Jamaica, such as Discovery Bay, are well studied, few ecological studies have been extended to other regions. One such locality is the East Portland Special Fishery Conservation Area (EPSFCA) in northeast Jamaica. The unique reefs lack critical data necessary for conservation efforts. Reef management and protection require information about reef responses to changes on short and geological time frames.

To obtain an ecological baseline, this project synthesizes environmental and water quality data (nutrient concentrations, alkalinity, pH, temperature, and light) with community assemblage data (fish counts, benthic community assessments, and invertebrate counts) from EPSFCA reefs. Sites in the EPSFCA are compared using ordinations, regressions, and analyses of variance. To address a longer timeframe, similar techniques are used on 130,000-year-old fossil reefs on the shores of the sanctuary.

Assessments of EPSFCA reefs monitored from 2017-2022 found that many sites are distinct, and all show signs of degradation (e.g., coral disease and high algal cover). Much of the variation between sites can be attributed to the abundance of algae and, until 2022, long-spined sea urchin populations. Although all sites are temperature stressed, some sites in the sanctuary are cooler than others due to varying depths and inflowing groundwater. In addition, some sites in the sanctuary experience periodic nutrient spikes linked to freshwater inputs. Preliminary results from the fossil reefs illustrate that 130,000 years ago, their composition was different from the reefs growing today. The fossil reefs had high coral cover with dominant compositions of Acropora palmata and Acropora cervicornis; however, the modern reefs of the EPSFCA have less than 10% coral cover and the most abundant coral species is Porites astreoides. The results of this study are being used by the EPSFCA to guide conservation efforts.