Northern Caribbean
95
Chapter U
Northern Caribbean
The
northernmost reefs of the Wider
Caribbean region lie outside the true
Caribbean Basin, stretching in a broad
sweep from the Turks and Caicos Islands in
the south to Florida and the northern
Bahamas. Far out into the Atlantic, the island of
Bermuda forms an outlier to this group, connected to
the region by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
This is an area of great biological interest.
Because of its northerly location it encompasses the
outer limits of the distribution range of many coral
reef species. There are clear decreases in biodiversity
with latitude and oceanographic processes probably
play an important role in these biodiversity patterns.
The general northward flow of currents maintains a
supply of warm waters to latitudes even quite far
outside the tropics, and supports the active growth of
the most northerly reefs in the world, in Bermuda.
These same currents may further maintain biodiversity
on some reefs by transporting new larvae of coral reef
organisms from reefs "upstream". Reef development
in the region has built up complex reef systems around
older carbonate structures and islands, and the overall
extent of reefal shelf is really very large indeed.
In human terms, this is a region of great contrasts.
The reefs of the Florida Reef Tract are among the most
intensively studied in the world, but they are also
among the most heavily utilized and have become
highly degraded. By contrast, the vast extent of reefs of
the Bahamas are, for the most part, poorly described,
and human impacts (other than fishing! are concentrated in a few locations, leaving much of the rest
relatively undisturbed.
The legal protection of reefs, through the designation of protected areas or the implementation of other
strict management controls, is well established in the
region. However, the condition of Florida's reefs, where
human-induced stresses have been apparent for many
decades, suggest that such protection may not be
enough. Though they have been "protected" for some
years, there remain considerable conflicts in the "user"
demands of those living beside and visiting the reefs.
In contrast to the Florida reefs, the Flower Garden
Banks off Texas (Map Sal, as well as Bermuda and
the Turks and Caicos Islands, provide examples of
relatively well protected reefs. In the case of Bermuda,
this protection comes in spite of high population densities and fairly heavy use of reef resources.
/.eft; Broad wew of the Florida peninsula, with some of the reefs of the northern Bahamas visible to the right ISTS095-74333, 19981. Right: Blue chromis Chromis cyanea hovering above the branches of the increasingly rare staghorn coral
Acropora cervicornis.
95
Chapter U
Northern Caribbean
The
northernmost reefs of the Wider
Caribbean region lie outside the true
Caribbean Basin, stretching in a broad
sweep from the Turks and Caicos Islands in
the south to Florida and the northern
Bahamas. Far out into the Atlantic, the island of
Bermuda forms an outlier to this group, connected to
the region by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
This is an area of great biological interest.
Because of its northerly location it encompasses the
outer limits of the distribution range of many coral
reef species. There are clear decreases in biodiversity
with latitude and oceanographic processes probably
play an important role in these biodiversity patterns.
The general northward flow of currents maintains a
supply of warm waters to latitudes even quite far
outside the tropics, and supports the active growth of
the most northerly reefs in the world, in Bermuda.
These same currents may further maintain biodiversity
on some reefs by transporting new larvae of coral reef
organisms from reefs "upstream". Reef development
in the region has built up complex reef systems around
older carbonate structures and islands, and the overall
extent of reefal shelf is really very large indeed.
In human terms, this is a region of great contrasts.
The reefs of the Florida Reef Tract are among the most
intensively studied in the world, but they are also
among the most heavily utilized and have become
highly degraded. By contrast, the vast extent of reefs of
the Bahamas are, for the most part, poorly described,
and human impacts (other than fishing! are concentrated in a few locations, leaving much of the rest
relatively undisturbed.
The legal protection of reefs, through the designation of protected areas or the implementation of other
strict management controls, is well established in the
region. However, the condition of Florida's reefs, where
human-induced stresses have been apparent for many
decades, suggest that such protection may not be
enough. Though they have been "protected" for some
years, there remain considerable conflicts in the "user"
demands of those living beside and visiting the reefs.
In contrast to the Florida reefs, the Flower Garden
Banks off Texas (Map Sal, as well as Bermuda and
the Turks and Caicos Islands, provide examples of
relatively well protected reefs. In the case of Bermuda,
this protection comes in spite of high population densities and fairly heavy use of reef resources.
/.eft; Broad wew of the Florida peninsula, with some of the reefs of the northern Bahamas visible to the right ISTS095-74333, 19981. Right: Blue chromis Chromis cyanea hovering above the branches of the increasingly rare staghorn coral
Acropora cervicornis.