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Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Reefs of Barbareta Island (Honduras) and Proposed Boundaries for a Marine Reserve

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Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Reefs of Barbareta Island (Honduras) and Proposed Boundaries for a Marine Reserve Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Reefs of Barbareta Island (Honduras) and Proposed Boundaries for a Marine Reserve By Ana Fonseca (Lead Consultant) With Odalisca Breedy (Octocorals) Carlos Gamboa (Fish) Rita Vargas (Mollusks & Crustaceans) and Marcio Aronne (Lobsters) 2004 for a Marine Reserve Edited by Carlos Saavedra Financial support provided by: The Summit Foundation and Reviewed by Melanie Mc Field, Kristoffer World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Layton and Sandra Andraka Translated, Edited and Abridged from the March 2001 Draft Report in Spanish Design: Sandra Andraka Photos: Authors and WWF Centroamérica Ilustrations: Rafael Esquivel Production of Maps: Ábner Jiménez and Pablo Imbach Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Reefs of Barbareta Island 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to recognize the following individuals: • Sylvia Marín and Arturo Izurieta of WWF-Central America for their support and professionalism throughout this assignment; • Adoni Cubas, Elías Aguilar, Francisco Solís, Alex Solís, Henry Arzú and all other staff members of the Honduras Coral Reef Fund and the Biological Research Station at Cayos Cochinos; • Pepper Tonsmeire and his brothers for permission to dock on Barbareta and for their logistical support while on the island; • Celín Ordóñez for his reliability as a pilot flying us over Barbareta; • Captain Hubbert McNab, Luis Lobo, and all the crew of the Old Salt Yacht for their services and kind support; • Abner Jiménez for his excellent work in producing the maps; and • Jorge Cortés and Melanie McField for reviewing early drafts of the research plan. Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Reefs of Barbareta Island 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................... 9 2 PURPOSE ................................................................................................................................................... 9 3 LOCATION AND GENERAL FEATURES................................................................................................. 10 4 PREVIOUS STUDIES................................................................................................................................ 11 5 METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................................................... 11 Habitat Description and Site Selection for Transects........................................................................... 11 Ecological Assessment of the Reef ..................................................................................................... 14 Surveys of Finfish................................................................................................................................ 14 Surveys of Hard Corals, Algae, Encrusting Sponges, and Anemones................................................. 15 Surveys of Octocorals and Black Corals, and Sponges....................................................................... 15 Surveys of Lobster and Sea Urchin ..................................................................................................... 15 Surveys of Queen Conch..................................................................................................................... 16 Surveys of Other Crustaceans and Mollusks....................................................................................... 16 Determination of Suggested Boundaries for a Proposed Marine Reserve........................................... 16 6 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 19 Visibility and Temperature ................................................................................................................... 19 Marine Currents................................................................................................................................... 19 Marine Habitat Diversity....................................................................................................................... 19 Coral Reef Structure and Types .......................................................................................................... 20 Relative Coverage of the Substratum.................................................................................................. 21 Species Inventories ............................................................................................................................. 23 7 SUMMARY OF THREATS......................................................................................................................... 36 Fishing................................................................................................................................................. 36 Tourism................................................................................................................................................ 36 Diseases.............................................................................................................................................. 37 Hurricanes ........................................................................................................................................... 37 Sedimentation...................................................................................................................................... 38 Global Climate Change........................................................................................................................ 38 8 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................... 39 Recommendations for a Marine Reserve ............................................................................................ 40 Inclusion of Morat Island in the Proposed Marine Reserve.................................................................. 41 Recommended Reserve Zoning .......................................................................................................... 44 Other Management Recommendations............................................................................................... 44 Recommendations for Future Research.............................................................................................. 45 9 GLOSSARY............................................................................................................................................... 46 10 LITERATURA CITED AND CONSULTED................................................................................................. 48 APPENDIX A.................................................................................................................................................... 53 APPENDIX B.................................................................................................................................................... 55 APPENDIX C.................................................................................................................................................... 56 APPENDIX D.................................................................................................................................................... 65 Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Reefs of Barbareta Island 4 TABLES AND FIGURES List of Figures Figure 1. Subregion of Northern Honduras Coast, including the Bay Island Figure 2. Map of Transects, Diving and Other Sites of Barbareta Island. Figure 3. Map of Marine Habitats of Barbareta Island. Figure 4. Batimetric Map of Barbareta Island. Figure 5. Methodology for the Proposed Boundaries for a Future Marine Reserve, Barbareta Island. Figure 6. Map of Proposed Marine Reserve, Barbareta Island List of Tables Table1. Location of Transects Sites in Barbareta Island. Table 2. Relative Coverage of Marine Habitats around Barbareta Island. Table 3. Length of the Crests, and Average Width and Surface Area of the Platforms and Reef Lagoons around Barbareta. Table 4. Relative coverage by geomorphological categories. Table 5. Coverage related to the reef substrate by site Table 6. Overall and site-specific density of octocorals. Table 7. Regional comparison of living coral and algae in selected locations in Mesoamerica. Table 8. Average fish density (individuals per square meter) in selected Sites. Table 9. Queen conch densities in selected sampling sites. Rapid Ecological Assessment of the Reefs of Barbareta Island 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and its partner organizations Average horizontal visibility was 40 meters. The average in the field have identified the Mesoamerican Caribbean bottom temperature ranged from 26° to 27° C. The Reef Ecoregion Complex (MAR) as a conservation prevailing water current had a west to northwest (290º) priority, because of its biological importance and the direction. Seven sites were selected to layout the intensity of the threats facing it. The MAR extends from sampling transects, making sure they were the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico through the representative of species richness and relative coverage Belize Barrier Reef Complex, to the Caribbean Coast of of the substratum. The sampling transects followed the Guatemala and into the Bay Islands and Cayos depth contour at various levels (i.e., shallow platforms Cochinos off the Northern Honduran coast. Within the between one and eight meters; deep
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