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ITMEMS 3
Global Problems, Local Solutions
Cozumel, Mexico
16-20 October 2006
2005 Caribbean Bleaching Event: Response and Assessment
Sunday, October 15, 2006, 13:00-17:00
Donatello Room, El Cozumeleno Hotel
A Workshop for Caribbean Coral Reef or MPA Managers, Enforcement Officers, Field Biologists & Interested Parties
This half-day workshop is being offered as a Pre-ITMEMS activity, and is designed for coral reef and MPA resource managers, environmental assessment specialists, marine field investigators, advanced students and litigators. Participants will report on the 2005 Caribbean Bleaching Event (CBE) and discuss needs for further response and assessment. It will occur the afternoon of Sunday, October 15, 2006.
The workshop will involve presentations from researchers and managers in the Caribbean region, and discussions on (1) the total extent of bleaching, mortality, recovery, and survival of affected corals, (2) next steps in the response and assessment effort, and (3) planning for future events in this region.
In 2005, coral reefs in the wider Caribbean suffered a widespread and severe bleaching event that has resulted in extensive coral death in much of the region. NOAA's Coral Reef Watch first alerted managers and scientists about bleaching conditions in the Florida Keys in August 2005, and issued alerts for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (USVI) in September 2005. Thermal stress measured from NOAA Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) satellites exceeded values that trigger mass bleaching throughout most of the Caribbean and reached nearly twice that value around the northern Lesser Antilles near the USVI. Corresponding with these alerts, coral bleaching has been reported in much of the Caribbean. The US Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) and the International Coral Reef Initiative both passed resolutions in November 2005 to mobilize efforts across the Caribbean to monitor, assess, and research short- and long-term impacts of the 2005 warming and bleaching event.
The half day workshop is to be held immediately before the ITMEMS meeting and would be organized as outlined below:
- Presentations from Caribbean researchers and managers on the 2005 Caribbean Bleaching Event.
- Discussion: next steps in the response and assessment effort.
- Discussion: planning for future events in the Caribbean.
Preliminary Workshop Plan
Organizers: Dr. Mark Eakin (Mark.Eakin@noaa.gov) and Jessica Morgan (Jessica.Morgan@noaa.gov).
Presentations are 15 minutes long, with 5 additional minutes for questions.
| 12:00 | Caribbean 2005 Bleaching Response - Introduction - Mark Eakin
Description of the event and NOAA's involvement, SST records from the Coral Reef Watch Program, Regional patterns of bleaching (e.g., summary of data so far), ICRI and USCRTF Resolutions on bleaching, Regional surveys (AGRRA, ReefCheck) |
| 13:00-15:00 | Presentations |
| 15:00-15:20 | Break |
| 15:20 | Future Plans |
| 16:00 | Open Discussion
Research priorities, Manager's needs, Gaps in spatial coverage, Monitoring approaches, Ways to improve collaboration |
| 17:00 | Discussion: Where to go from here?
Documenting the event, How do we prepare for next time?, Resource needs, Rapid response teams, Interactions with managers, GCRMN Special Report, Coral Reefs special issue |
Both the length of presentations and the length of the workshop will be determined by the number of registrants. If there are a sufficient number of presentations, we will begin in the morning. Please register soon to indicate your participation.
Cost per person: Free
Deadline for registration: September 15, 2006. To register, please copy the form below into an email, fill it out, and send to coralreefwatch@noaa.gov. The workshop will have a limited number of participants and registrations will be evaluated in the order received.
For more information, please contact Mark Eakin (mark.eakin@noaa.gov) or Jessica Morgan (jessica.morgan@noaa.gov).
Workshop Registration Information:
Copy the form below into an email, or download it, fill it out, and email to coralreefwatch@noaa.gov. The deadline for registration is September 15, 2006.
Participant information:
Name:
Organization:
Position Title:
Email:
I have formal background, or am directly involved, in the following:
- Coral Reef Resource Management
- Coral Reef Monitoring
- Natural Resource Enforcement
- MPA Management
- Government Agency
- University
- NGO
- Private Company
Why do want to participate in this Caribbean Bleaching Event Workshop?
What do you bring to the workshop that will contribute to its success?
If you would like to report on field data, please indicate which region/ country/ jurisdiction:
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