Overview

The Belize Coral Reef Watch Program is part of the Meso-American Coral Reef Watch Program and is an “Early Warning Alert System” for coral bleaching. The goals of the Program are to:

1. establish an “Early Warning Alert System” for coral bleaching,  
2. report other changes in the reef ecosystem that divers and snorkelers may notice, and
3. identify and protect "resilient reefs" or those areas of the reef that bleach but recover.

To achieve these goals the program relies on volunteers to monitor the reef and submit monthly reports, and more frequently during peak coral bleaching events.

Coral Watch Volunteers learn about coral reef ecology and how to identify coral bleaching and coral disease.  Monitoring the reefs is easy once you know what to look for and only requires that you take a slate with you on your dive or snorkel trip and record the number of coral colonies you see bleaching.  If no bleaching is observed we need to know this as well since this helps identify resilient reef sites.

The reports submitted by volunteers form the first step in the Belize National Coral Bleaching Response Plan  and are monitored by members of the Belize National Coral Reef Monitoring Network.  When these reports indicate that there are bleaching coral colonies, scientific monitoring is conducted by the Coral Network members at more than 50 sites throughout Belize. 

Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching is the whitening of corals, due to the loss of color from a coral as it expels its zooxanthellae in response to stress. The obvious sign of coral bleaching is that the coral will be white. If tissue is present then it is bleaching. If no tissue is present then it is disease or animal predation.

Corals turn pale before they bleach and different corals bleach differently though most turn white.  The massive starlet coral turns light blue when it bleaches and some corals fluoresce bright orange/red. 

Paling is the initial response when corals bleach and parts of the colony will be lighter in color than normal. Part bleached is when part of the coral colony becomes bright white and whole bleached is when 90% or more of the coral colony is bright white.

"When corals bleach they first lighten in color, or pale, then begin to whiten.  While both hard and softcorals and even sponges can exhibit signs of coral bleaching, the Coral Watch Program monitors the level of bleaching in stony corals."

Prolonged bleaching can lead to invasion by algae and coral diseases, and death.  One colony is not a problem, but this can happen over very large scale and lead to the collapse of the whole reef structure, i.e. loss of habitat for fishes and other reef organisms. When this happens, it has a great impact on ecosystem services and the people that rely on these habitats for their livelihood, such as persons in the fishing and tourism industries. 

By volunteering with the Coral Watch Program you can help conserve reefs for future generations by helping to identify resilient reefs.

Since 2008 ECOMAR has been coordinating the Mesoamerican Coral Reef Watch Program in Belize, or the Belize Coral Watch Program.  The Belize Coral Watch Program has develeped three interelated programs which aim to involve marine guides and visitors, and members of the Belize National Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

For an overview of the programs spearheaded under the Belize Coral Watch Program, and the importance of volunteers, we are pleased to share with you the Belize Coral Watch Program mini-documentary!

In 2011 the Belize Coral Watch Program is pleased to announce the launch of a new program that will promote the adoption of your favorite dive or snorkel site through ECOMAR’s Adopt a Reef Program.  Sign up today and begin making a difference and become a Coral Watch Volunteer and monitor one reef at a time!