SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Fall 2016 Live and dead coral cover on three reefs and public perceptions of degradation around Almirante Bay, Bocas del Toro Phoebe Thompson SIT Graduate Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Environmental Health Commons, Laboratory and Basic Science Research Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Recommended Citation Thompson, Phoebe, "Live and dead coral cover on three reefs and public perceptions of degradation around Almirante Bay, Bocas del Toro" (2016). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2488. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2488 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Live and dead coral cover on three reefs and public perceptions of degradation around Almirante Bay, Bocas del Toro Independent Study Project SIT Panama: Tropical Ecology, Marine Ecosystems, and Biodiversity Conservation Fall 2016 Phoebe Thompson Bowdoin College, Class of 2018 i Abstract Almirante Bay is a lagoonal body of water off the western Caribbean coast of Panama. The islands within the bay are popular tourist destinations, drawing visitors from around the world to explore beaches and coral reefs. However, the reefs in Almirante Bay are continually exposed to both natural and anthropogenic stressors, such as temperature inversions, boat pollution, sedimentation from dredging, and chemical runoff from coastal banana plantations. Because the economy of the area is heavily dependent on tourism, this creates an interesting dynamic in that the main source of income (tourism) could be detrimental to a main attraction of the area (coral reefs). In order to grasp this dynamic as well as to determine the condition of coral reefs in Almirante Bay, three reefs (Hospital Point, Coral Cay, and Piña Cay) were studied and twenty people were interviewed. Using a 1x1 m quadrat with crosshairs, a total of 135 m2 was studied across the three sites, which varied in proximity to the heavily trafficked Colon Island as well as in level of use by tourists. Ten local people and ten tourists participated in unstructured interviews in order to gauge general perceptions and knowledge of coral reefs between the two groups. The study found that live hard coral cover was significantly higher at a slightly impacted site than it was at a moderately impacted, heavily trafficked site. While no statistical significance was found regarding the differences in dead coral cover between the sites, the location closest to Colon Island featured diseased massive starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) as well as the largest percentage of dead coral cover among the three sites. Interviews with locals and tourists showed that 60% of respondents believed corals in Almirante Bay to be in poor condition for various reasons such as boat traffic and trash deposition, while just 50% of respondents were able to correctly identify live versus dead hard coral in photographs. In order to effectively plan for the future of the region—both environmental and touristic—further research should involve long-term monitoring of numerous coral reefs in the bay as well as an increased number of interviews to evaluate the ever-changing levels of public understanding. ii Acknowledgements With the completion of this project, I have many people to thank for the unlimited support and guidance I received over the semester. To begin, I would like to thank Director Aly Dagang for her advice, ideas, and support in many forms—tangible and otherwise. SIT Panama orbits around her calming force, and this project would not have come together without her help. Next, I thank Professor Gabriel Jácome for his guidance throughout the decision-making process of this project, and for his inexhaustible knowledge about Bocas del Toro. I am also very grateful to Dr. Juan Maté for teaching me all about coral reefs, and for being able to answer any question I had about corals. I also owe a tremendous “thank you” to Elaine Shen, my swim partner and extremely patient friend. I could not have done this project without her for innumerable reasons. Of course, gratitude is owed to every interviewee who graciously and honestly answered my questions. For transportation to study sites, I am grateful to Geraldo and Chris of Boteros de Bastimentos, and the other boteros who patiently waited as we collected our data. I am especially thankful for the friendship of Hannah Simmons, Roger Schafer, Mariana, and Cacki Simmons, who allowed us to sail with them to Piña Cay one beautiful day. For lodging, I must thank Calipso Hostel for their excellent hospitality, and of course Carlos Bethancourt and all of the staff at Canopy Tower for giving me the best place imaginable to write my paper. Muchas gracias to Julio for his unwavering support, protection, and sense of humor, and to Yari for her impeccable planning and problem solving. Thank you to my parents in the United States for their support, love, and knowledge about traveling in Central America. I am also very grateful to the Herrera/De La Rosa family for their cariño and for the way they welcomed me into their home as their daughter. Finally, I will be forever grateful to the 10 women on this trip with me who taught me so much about life and friendship, making a foreign country feel like home. iii Table of Contents Abstract..............................................................................................................i Acknowledgments.............................................................................................ii I. Introduction...................................................................................................1 Study location—natural characteristics.................................................1 Thermal stress and coral response.........................................................1 Anthropogenic impacts...........................................................................2 Coral disease..........................................................................................3 Thermal stress—El Niño Southern Oscillation......................................3 Public perceptions..................................................................................4 II. Research Question.......................................................................................4 III. Methods.......................................................................................................4 Gauging reef condition...........................................................................4 Statistical analysis...................................................................................6 Ascertaining public perceptions..............................................................7 IV. Results..........................................................................................................8 Coral composition—Site 1......................................................................8 Coral composition—Site 2......................................................................9 Coral composition—Site 3....................................................................10 Public perceptions.................................................................................11 V. Discussion....................................................................................................12 Site 1 analysis........................................................................................12 Site 2 analysis........................................................................................13 Site 3 analysis.......................................................................................15 General reef patterns............................................................................15 Interview analysis—Perceived awareness...........................................15 Anthropogenic causes of coral deterioration.......................................16 Potential sources of error.....................................................................17 VI. Conclusions...............................................................................................17 References........................................................................................................19 Appendix 1: Interview Guide.........................................................................23 Thompson 1 I. Introduction Study location—natural characteristics The Isthmus of Panama, widely known for its high biodiversity and status as a land bridge, created a barrier and changed ocean circulation dramatically around 3 million years ago. While the Pacific Ocean near Panama became productive due to upwelling of nutrient-rich deep waters, the Western Atlantic/Caribbean waters became oligotrophic, tending to better support coral reef ecosystems due to deeper light penetration (Leigh et al. 2014). The Bocas del Toro province of Panama, located in the westernmost reaches of the country, is home to many Caribbean coral reefs that draw tourists and