Overview
Many of the world's coral reefs are at risk, with nearly two thirds of the reefs in the Caribbean threatened by human activities. Across the Caribbean the loss of hard corals and the increase in abundance of fleshy macroalgae is now a common phenomenon and one of increasing concern, since algal reefs do not support the wealth of life that a coral dominated ecosystem can.

Factors that are exacerbating this shift from coral to algae include; the loss of important hard coral species due to epidemics of coral disease, coral bleaching and hurricanes; loss of important herbivores from reefs such as long spine sea urchins, parrotfish and surgeon fish; continuing conditions that stress corals such as coastal pollution , nutrification and sedimentation.

The coral reefs of Utila are likely some of the best remaining reefs in the Caribbean, but they were badly affected by a major bleaching event and subsequent hurricane in 1998. Whilst these large scale problems are unlikely to be effectively combated at a local level, the ability of corals to resist and recover from large scale impacts like mass bleaching is linked in part to the overall fitness of corals and the ecological balance of the reef system.

In addition the presence of healthy populations of large predatory fish provides an important role in the balance of reef ecosystems. Larger predators like groupers provide an important role in regulating reef ecosystems from the top down. With 60% of Caribbean coral reefs threatened by over fishing the importance of assessing and preserving populations is key to the preservation of reef systems. On a local scale, large predators such as groupers and snappers are commonly targeted by fishermen. Assessing the status of these groups is important to determine how this links in to the overall health of the reef.

Monitoring Coral Reef Health
On the reefs we are assessing a number of parameters that relate to the overall health of a reef. The assessment of the cover of live hard corals and macroalgae provides information on the relationship between these two groups of benthic organisms and helps to track phaseshifts from coral to algae dominated reefs. We are also monitoring and compiling data on coral bleaching from sites around Utila. This provides us with a mechanism to monitor the spread and subsequent recovery of bleaching around the island in case of large scale bleaching events. Monitoring the prevalence and severity of coral diseases in combination with looking for links with possible sources, reservoirs and vectors for the coral pathogens is also undertaken. In addition our programme records data on other reef organisms such as long spined sea urchin, queen conch and spiny lobster abundance, which are also essential for a healthy reef.

We work in combination with Healthyreefs.org as well as sharing information on reef health parameters with other local NGOs.