130
WORLD ATLAS OF CORAL REEFS
Colombia and Ecuador
MAPsf
Colombia enjoys 1 700 kilometers of Caribbean
coastline, but coral reefs are restricted to less than
150 kilometers, located away from major estuaries
and sediment plumes. The Caribbean Current forms a gyre
in the Colombian Basin, moving water in a north to
northeasterly direction off the Colombian coast. This
creates localized upwellings, brmging cold water to the
surface and further curtailing the distribution of coral
reefs. Reefs occur off Acandi in the far west and Punto
Lopez in the east, but the most extensive structures are
those off Santa Marta (at Punta Betin, Isla Morro Grande.
Bahia Granate, Bahia Chengue and Bahia Gayraca) and
Cartagena (at Islas de San Bernardo and Islas del
Rosario). Several hundred kilometers northwest of
Colombia there are a number of islands and reefs which
also form part of Colombia (although they actually lie
closer to Nicaragua! on the Nicaraguan Rise. These
include the larger populated islands of San Andres and
Providencia, but also a number of shallow reefs including
those on the banks of Quitasuefio, Serrana and Roncador,
and the atolls of Courtown and Albuquerque.
All the reefs off Santa Marta and Cartagena have
experienced great changes in the last 20 years. The live
coral cover at the Islas del Rosario declined from 41
percent in 1983 to 21 percent in 1990, concomitant with a
threefold rise in algae cover. Similar though less severe
changes have occurred in the Islas de San Bernardo. The
most affected species were the acroporids which lost
about 80 percent of their live cover, then Agaricia
tenuifolia and Porites porites which suffered 30-40
percent mortality. Between 6 and 12 percent of Diploria
sthgosa. Montastrea annularis and Siderastrea siderea
also died over the same period. This change has been
attributed to a combination of bleaching, coral disease and
pollution from the area's major cities and ports. There
appears to be a gradient in reef state moving eastwards
from Santa Marta, with 19 percent live coral cover at
Punta Betin, 37 percent at Bahia Granate and 49 percent at
Bahia Gayraca in 1993.
The offshore reefs, coral banks and atolls on the
Nicaraguan Rise are well developed and diverse, with 44
scleractinian corals recorded off San Andres. But unfortunately these complexes, which represent about 75 percent
of the total coral reef area in Colombia, also appear to be
in decline. San Andres is a densely populated island with
80 000 people living on less than 25 square kilometers, and
a major tourist destination. Here coral cover has declined
by about half - mortality in excess of 50 percent from
Broad view of the Galapagos Islands, with Fernandina and Isabels in the fore. Coral reef development in these islands is
restricted to very sma// structures ISTS068- 168-28, 199il.
WORLD ATLAS OF CORAL REEFS
Colombia and Ecuador
MAPsf
Colombia enjoys 1 700 kilometers of Caribbean
coastline, but coral reefs are restricted to less than
150 kilometers, located away from major estuaries
and sediment plumes. The Caribbean Current forms a gyre
in the Colombian Basin, moving water in a north to
northeasterly direction off the Colombian coast. This
creates localized upwellings, brmging cold water to the
surface and further curtailing the distribution of coral
reefs. Reefs occur off Acandi in the far west and Punto
Lopez in the east, but the most extensive structures are
those off Santa Marta (at Punta Betin, Isla Morro Grande.
Bahia Granate, Bahia Chengue and Bahia Gayraca) and
Cartagena (at Islas de San Bernardo and Islas del
Rosario). Several hundred kilometers northwest of
Colombia there are a number of islands and reefs which
also form part of Colombia (although they actually lie
closer to Nicaragua! on the Nicaraguan Rise. These
include the larger populated islands of San Andres and
Providencia, but also a number of shallow reefs including
those on the banks of Quitasuefio, Serrana and Roncador,
and the atolls of Courtown and Albuquerque.
All the reefs off Santa Marta and Cartagena have
experienced great changes in the last 20 years. The live
coral cover at the Islas del Rosario declined from 41
percent in 1983 to 21 percent in 1990, concomitant with a
threefold rise in algae cover. Similar though less severe
changes have occurred in the Islas de San Bernardo. The
most affected species were the acroporids which lost
about 80 percent of their live cover, then Agaricia
tenuifolia and Porites porites which suffered 30-40
percent mortality. Between 6 and 12 percent of Diploria
sthgosa. Montastrea annularis and Siderastrea siderea
also died over the same period. This change has been
attributed to a combination of bleaching, coral disease and
pollution from the area's major cities and ports. There
appears to be a gradient in reef state moving eastwards
from Santa Marta, with 19 percent live coral cover at
Punta Betin, 37 percent at Bahia Granate and 49 percent at
Bahia Gayraca in 1993.
The offshore reefs, coral banks and atolls on the
Nicaraguan Rise are well developed and diverse, with 44
scleractinian corals recorded off San Andres. But unfortunately these complexes, which represent about 75 percent
of the total coral reef area in Colombia, also appear to be
in decline. San Andres is a densely populated island with
80 000 people living on less than 25 square kilometers, and
a major tourist destination. Here coral cover has declined
by about half - mortality in excess of 50 percent from
Broad view of the Galapagos Islands, with Fernandina and Isabels in the fore. Coral reef development in these islands is
restricted to very sma// structures ISTS068- 168-28, 199il.