2005 was one of the two hottest years since records started in 1880, and was the most
damaging for coral reefs in the Caribbean. Abnormally high sea surface temperatures resulted
in coral bleaching and mortality throughout the region, and there was record hurricane
activity, including some particularly damaging storms.
Produced by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), this is a report from 70
coral reef scientists and managers documenting what happened to their coral reefs due to
the warming and storms of 2005. This book documents the devastating effects on coral reefs
of the Caribbean and Atlantic basins during the hottest year on record for the Northern
Hemisphere.
At many locations, over 90% of the coral reefs died, and at many 20-50% of the corals died.
The same year set records for hurricanes, which damaged reefs at many locations across the
Caribbean. These reports also illustrate the value of early predictions of possible bleaching:
products delivered in near-real-time by NOAA.
The History of Massive Coral Bleaching and other Perturbations in the Florida Keys, by Billy Causey
Coral Bleaching in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2005 and 2006, by Kimberly Woody, Andrea Atkinson, Randy Clark, Chris Jeffrey, Ian Lundgren, Jeff Miller, Mark Monaco, Erinn Muller, Matt Patterson, Caroline Rogers, Tyler Smith, Tony Spitzak, Rob Waara, Kevin Whelan, Brian Witcher and Alexandra Wright
9.The Effects of Coral Bleaching in Southern Tropical America : Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, by Alberto Rodriguez-Ramirez, Carolina Bastidas, Sebastian Rodriguez, Zelinda Leao, Ruy Kikuchi, Marília Oliveira, Diego Gil, Jaime Garzon-Ferreira, Maria Catalina Reyes-Nivia, Raul Navas-Camacho, Nadiezhda Santodomingo, Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Dagoberto Venera-Ponton, Lenin Florez-Leiva, Alejandro Rangel-Campo, Carlos Orozco, Juan Carlos Marquez, Sven Zea, Mateo Lopez-Victoria, Juan Armando Sanchez and Maria Clara Hurtado ( pdf, 441KB)
Citation:
Wilkinson, C., Souter, D. (2008). Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, and Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, Townsville, 152 p. (ISSN 1447 6185)
