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Coastal Water Quality Assessment of the Port Honduras Marine

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Coastal Water Quality Assessment of the Port Honduras Marine COASTAL WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE PORT HONDURAS MARINE RESERVE, BELIZE: A CASE STUDY OF HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS by BRENNA SWEETMAN MICHAEL K. STEINBERG, COMMITTEE CHAIR MATTHEW LAFEVOR JULIA CHERRY A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Geography in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2018 Copyright Brenna Sweetman 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This study examines temporal changes in water quality of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR), Belize. Trends in dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, temperature and pH were analyzed from ten sites throughout PHMR for statistically significant relationships from 1998– 2015. This information was complemented by field observations and an evaluation of human population changes at the local, regional and national level to gain a broad perspective of water resources. Maintaining satisfactory water quality is critical for sustaining healthy ecosystems and the communities and economies reliant upon them. PHMR represents a unique link between upland watersheds and marine ecosystems, which comprise important habitat for many aquatic species. Ecotourism activities in PHMR have become increasingly popular in recent decades and generate direct and indirect income opportunities for local communities. As a result, degradation of water quality of PHMR through human activities could have substantial ecological and economic consequences for southern Belize. Overall, the analysis of water quality revealed significant seasonal patterns, slight increasing trends in DO and salinity, but overall relatively stable water quality. These results are likely related to several factors including limited coastal development, the absence of coastal beaches and low population density in southern Belize. This study provides baseline information for future research opportunities and outlines recommendations for effective management strategies of PHMR to mitigate impacts from current and future threats to water quality. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my parents Christine and Harold Sweetman. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS CZMAI Coastal Zone Management Authority Institute DO Dissolved Oxygen IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature MPA Marine Protected Area NGO Non-governmental Organization PHMR Port Honduras Marine Reserve PPT Parts per Thousand TIDE Toledo Institute for Development and Environment °C Degrees Celsius Mg/l Milligram per Liter iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you, Dr. Steinberg, for sharing the beauty of Belize and providing me the opportunity to study there. Many thanks to my committee members Dr. Cherry and Dr. LaFevor, whose guidance and comments greatly improved the content of my thesis. Thank you to my parents, Christine and Harold Sweetman, for the many years of guidance and encouragement of my educational pursuits. Thank you to fellow graduate students Alysa Delgado and Jonathan Kleinman, who supported my thesis work both near and far. Much gratitude goes to the Yellow Dog Community Conservation Foundation and the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers that provided financial support for this project. Thank you to the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment in Punta Gorda, Belize; to Science Director James Foley; and to all of the community research assistants and marine biologists who collected the water quality data. v CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS .......................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................1 2. METHODS ..................................................................................................................................6 2.1 Study Area .............................................................................................................................6 2.2 Water Quality Data Collection ..............................................................................................9 2.3 Statistical Analyses ..............................................................................................................10 2.4 Human Population Data Collection and Field Observations ...............................................12 3. RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................14 4. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................24 4.1 Water Quality Discussion ....................................................................................................24 4.2 Human Population Discussion ............................................................................................25 4.3 Water Quality Field Observations .......................................................................................26 vi 4.4 Current and Future Water Quality Threats ..........................................................................29 4.5 Limitations ...........................................................................................................................32 4.6 Recommendations ...............................................................................................................33 4.7 Challenges and Opportunities .............................................................................................36 5. CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................41 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................43 viii LIST OF TABLES 1. Summary of mean value and standard deviation of wet, dry and annual seasonal variation in water quality of temperature, pH, DO, salinity for ten sites of Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR), Belize 1998–2015 ................................................. 16 2. Spearman’s rho correlation analysis of all water quality parameters and precipitation for Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR), Belize 1998–2015 .................................... 21 3. Monotonic trends in DO, temperature, salinity derived with the seasonal Kendall test for 10 sites of Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR), Belize 1998–2015. Slope significance is indicated with asterisks.. ............................................................................22 4. Summary of Belize human population change and population density in Belize, the six districts of Belize, and the town of Punta Gorda located within the Toledo District...23 ix LIST OF FIGURES 1. Map of study location in Belize illustrating ten water quality sampling locations, seven adjacent watersheds, the conservation and preservation zones of PHMR, the location of Punta Gorda Town and the municipal waste site. ................................................................7 2. Time series graphs of temperature at the ten water quality sampling sites in PHMR, Belize (January 1998–December 2015) .............................................................................17 3. Time series graphs of dissolved oxygen (DO) at the ten water quality sampling sites in PHMR, Belize (January 1998–December 2015) ...............................................................18 4. Time series graphs of salinity at the ten water quality sampling sites in PHMR, Belize (January 1998–December 2015) ........................................................................................19 5. Time series graphs of pH at the ten water quality sampling sites in PHMR, Belize (January 1998–December 2015) ........................................................................................20 6. Photo of flat stones user for domestic use along the Rio Grande River by the San Pedro de Colombia Mayan village .....................................................................................27 7. Photo of the Punta Gorda unregulated municipal waste site, “the dump,” located less than 1 km from the Rio Grande River ...............................................................................29 8. Photo of waters surrounding West Snake Caye, the location of proposed tourism infrastructure ......................................................................................................................31 x 1. INTRODUCTION Marine and coastal ecosystems are considered some of the most biodiverse and highly vulnerable ecosystems globally (Gray 1997; Roberts et al. 2002; Worm et al. 2006). Marine protected areas (MPAs), such as the Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR) in southern Belize, are commonly used to maintain marine biological diversity and
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