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Abstract CARIBBEAN CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS: 35-YEARS OF SMITHSONIAN MARINE SCIENCE IN BELIZE. Klaus Ruetzler In the late 1960s, a group of marine scientists from the Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, founded a long-term
Caribbean coral-reef field program, now known as Caribbean Coral
Reef Ecosystems (CCRE). The core group consisted of botanists, zoologists,
paleobiologists, and geologists. We were looking for a study location
of high geological and biological diversity and minimal anthropogenic
disturbance, suitable for long-term research. We settled on the
tiny island Carrie Bow Cay on the barrier reef off Southern Belize
and established a field station there in February 1972. A great
variety of richly populated habitats, from mangrove to fore-reef,
occurs within a distance of less than one mile. The Belize mainland
coast and three off-shore atolls are in easy reach by small boats.
Each year, up to 120 Smithsonian staff and associated scientists,
with assisting students and technicians, engage in the study of
reefs and nearby mangroves and seagrass meadows. Our expertise is
“whole-organism” biology, involving systematics, evolution,
paleobiology, ecology, and ecophysiology. Field research is complemented
by use of the rich resources of the Smithsonian home base. Today,
the CCRE program is member of the Smithsonian's Marine Science Network,
which includes costal laboratories in Panama, Florida, and Maryland.
Field studies are mainly conducted by diving or wading and observations
documented by samples, experimentation, and photography. Three small
boats provide transportation to research sites. An oceanographic-meteorological
monitoring station on Carrie Bow Cay records parameters such as
tide, temperature, radiation, wind, and precipitation; data are
made accessible through the Web. Additional sensors and recorders
are applied in situ where required. We are also following the CARICOMP
protocol for monitoring reef, mangrove, and seagrass communities.
The decline of reefs worldwide is accelerating and focus and resources
are urgently needed to improve our understanding of biodiversity,
community structure and dynamics, and environmental processes that
control the ecosystem. The Caribbean is “our” American
tropical sea, to which we are connected by weather, ocean currents,
and marine resources, as well as by cultural and economic exchange.
Fortunately, we were able to document the diversity and complexity
of the originally pristine barrier reef complex near Carrie Bow
Cay for more than 35 years and in over 800 publications. Despite
considerable progress made by the CCRE and other research groups
in the Caribbean, there are still many gaps in understanding the
components and processes of coral reefs and related systems. Newly
advanced methods, such as molecular techniques, will have to be
applied and focus put on climate change and other stress factors
responsible for the increasingly common occurrence of algal blooms
and devastating invertebrate diseases. These topics and more need
our full attention to help guide resource management and conservation
efforts and preserve the esthetical and economic value of our reefs.
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