This latest series of Darwin blogs has been focused on Sustainable Development Goal 14 – “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. In the first blog of the series, we looked at the incredible work by Darwin projects in the Coral Triangle of the Pacific Ocean. The next blog focused on marine reserves and protected areas, particularly around coral reefs in Central America and the Southern Atlantic. Now, in our final post of the series, we look at a project in the Caribbean, promoting and celebrating the International Year of the Reef and striving to change international perceptions and approaches.

In order to achieve SDG14, global leaders and scientists must provide and communicate a deeper understanding of the complex interspecies dynamics that determine the balance of life under the sea.

In response to this, the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) has developed a range of impactful outreach activities to support stronger action on coral reefs during this third International Year of the Reef (IYOR). IYOR 2018 is an excellent opportunity to boost public, private, and governmental efforts to ensure that our seas and especially coral reefs are protected via sustainable efforts and regulations which benefit our society on numerous levels.

CCMI’s IYOR outreach in January 2018 engaged local stakeholders in protecting Coral Reefs, Credit – Maggie Jackson

One area of CCMI’s research, funded through Darwin Plus, is examining which key herbivorous fish species on Caribbean coral reefs are consuming the most problematic species of algae. Careful evaluations of 11 dominant fish species have led to a new discovery that both chubs and certain species of parrotfish are eating the largest volumes of algae over large areas. At a time when climate change is pushing competitive interactions to a tipping point, protecting these species provides additional resilience to the coral reef ecosystem as a whole. CCMI is also working with local fishermen and stakeholders to engage the community in a dialogue that hopes to find new solutions to age old problems.

Tangs eating algae from the trial rope, Credit – Claire Dell

In addition to maintaining over 25% of all marine species, healthy coral reefs provide a powerful physical barrier that shields coastal communities from over 90% of the wave energy generated by storms. Corals create the framework and calcareous algae that cements reefs together. As the reef structure degrades, lagoon habitats become open to ocean waves, and mangroves and shorelines erode. In the end, protecting key species on the reef relies on our community of stakeholders making informed decisions based on good data. CCMI are asking citizen scientists and tourists to join their “IYOR – Zero Impact” campaign which describes how we as individuals can help protect coral reefs for the future.

To find out more about the IYOR, visit https://www.reefresearch.org/get-involved/iyor2018/. To find out more about their Darwin Plus project, see here.

For the complete article on these projects, and a variety of other interesting updates from Darwin coastal and marine projects, see the latest Darwin Newsletter themed on “Life Below Water”.