Strategies for the development and implementation of Marine Protected Areas in Puerto Rico

Conservation, Habitat, Management, Marine Protected Area

Author: Manuel Valdes Pizzini, Ph.D. Institution: University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Year: 2006 This project allowed us to understand the legal, social, economic and policy processes and framework that configure the process of marine protected area (MPA) design, development and implementation in Puerto Rico. The analysis led to the construction of a set of guidelines (in progress) for…

Mona reef community structure and function for MPA design

Benthic, Conservation, Ecology, Fish, Habitat, Management, Marine Protected Area, Monitoring, Ontogeny, Spawning

Author: Michelle T. Schärer, Ph.D. Institution: HJR Reefscaping Year: 2006 The Mona Island Natural Reserve (MINR) was designated in 1986 and is managed by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER). As an isolated island in the middle of a partial biogeographic boundary, healthy coral reef fish communities at Mona are essential both for population…

Development of software applications for assessing the effects of land disturbance on sediment yields

Benthic, Coastal, Conservation, Erosion, Geology, Management, Sediment

Author: Carlos E. Ramos-Scharrón, Ph.D. Institution: University of Texas, Austin Year: 2006 Many coral reef systems within the U.S. Caribbean are at risk from land-based sources of sediment and this has prompted the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to encourage local governments to develop erosion control strategies to mitigate the impacts. The lack of quantitative information and proper…

Selective monitoring of Puerto Rican coral reefs

Benthic, Bleaching, Coral, Ecology, Fish, Invertebrates, Management, Monitoring

Author: Edwin A. Hernandez, Ph.D. Institution: University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras – Biology Department Year: 2006 This project is aimed at obtaining the spatial and temporal synoptic understanding of coral reef health and the factors affecting it through repeated assessments at a subset of previously characterized permanent transects using standardized techniques. In contrast to previous assessments, however,…

Reef fish spawning aggregations of the Puerto Rican shelf

Conservation, Ecology, Fish, Habitat, Management, Reef, Snapper, Spawning

Author: Edgardo Ojeda, Ph.D. Institution: University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Year: 2007 Known spawning aggregation sites (SPAG’s) for reef fishes from Puerto Rico consisted only of several red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) sites and one each for tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris) and mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis). This project initiated an interview-based survey as a first step to identify additional…

Mapping red hind groupers at spawning aggregation sites with an AUV and long-term acoustic recorders in Puerto Rico

Acoustic, Ecology, Fish, Grouper, Habitat, Management, Mapping, Remote sensing, Spawning

Author: David Mann, Ph.D. Institution: University of South Florida Year: 2008 Field trips to Mona Island and the West Coast of Puerto Rico and subsequent data analysis have revealed a unique sound associated with male red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) territoriality, which has been identified and characterized. Data corresponds to two months of recordings from long-term acoustic recorders (LARS)…