Barbados Fringing Reefs & Seagrass Beds

The “Coral Rubble Flats” of the east coast of Barbados 4Mar2026

Posted on March 4, 2026 by admin

Coral Rubble Flats at Martin’s Bay, Mar 1, 2025

“Coral Rubble Flats” occurred in shallow water areas exposed on the lowest tides at Bath in 1969, and were still present in, superficially at least, the same condition and location in subsequent years up to my last visit to Barbados in 2025.

These flats have irregular, hard, surfaces in which the rubble constituents are firmly bound/cemented together.

I remember them in the late 1960s as sites where the seaweed Gracilaria deblis was harvested to make “seamoss jelly” – Mel Goldstein, my PhD co-supervisor (with John Lewis) wrote a paper on the topic.

Coral Rubble Flats similar to those at Bath occur elsewhere on the east coast of Barbados: Lewis (1960) referred to them as “extensive reef flats”: Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, East Coast | Comments Off

The Bath Rhodoliths 3Mar2026

Posted on March 3, 2026 by admin

Pic I. Algal Ball, better descibed as a “Rhodolith” on hard bottom/loose, coarse sand just inside “The Platform” at Bath, Mar 28, 2024. View iNat Record

Early on in my studies of seagrass beds at Bath on the east, windward coast of Barbados in the years 1967-1970, I encountered and was fascinated by what I called “Algal Balls”: golf-ball- to cricket ball- and softball-sized spherical structures with a bumpy surface.

They were pink to reddish color, which I recognized as coralline algae; when I broke them apart on shore using a hammer and chisel, there was always a core of a coral fragment with the coralline algae in layers around it.

Clusters of these algal balls occurred in depressions on hard surface (formed largely by coralline algae) seaward of the seagrass beds in an area subject to constant heavy wave action. I speculated that the spherical shape was due to regular disturbance and movement of the algal balls by the wave action.

I am glad to say that though much else has been lost at Bath, most notably the once flourishing seagrass beds, I still observed these Algal Balls in my recent ventures to Bath (2024 and 2025). Read more

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“Coral species from another ocean may be the only way to save Caribbean reefs” Alejandro E. Camacho, et al., 2026 in PNAS

Posted on February 5, 2026 by admin

“Recent changes in reef zonation of western Atlantic coral reefs, brought about by lack of recruitment of elkhorn (orange), staghorn (yellow), and massive boulder corals. Without these key reef builders, the reefs have already measurably eroded. Image credit: Rashpal Dhilon. Adapted from ref. 6, which is licensed under CC BY 4.0.” (Fig 1 in PNAS paper)

From the Introduction to this paper in PNAS, published January 22, 2026:
“At a conservation meeting in Miami, Florida, last month aimed at discussing the plight of local coral reefs, a previously unthinkable idea was on the agenda. Scientists, legal scholars, policymakers, ethicists, and coral conservation practitioners explored whether the situation is now so dire that we should consider shipping coral species from the Indo-Pacific region thousands of miles away to be planted in western Atlantic waters. Based on the best available information, we believe the answer is yes: Western Atlantic reefs are in terminal decline, and we must be open to researching even the most radical solutions to save them.”

COMMENT (david p).

Wow, def. something in the back of many expert’s minds, ‘first serious proposal. I think the controversial word is “only”, Continue reading →

Posted in Reef restoration | Comments Off

Making it easier to navigate the Observation Pages on this website 4Feb2026

Posted on February 4, 2026 by admin

Navigating “Observations” on this website 4Feb2026

Content-wise this website consists of
(i) Info. about or related to Barbados Fringing Reefs & Seagrass Beds compiled under the top level menu items circled below:

(ii) Reports on my observations of Barbados Fringing Reefs & Seagrass Beds compiled under top-level menu items ObsI, ObsII and Obs Bath: Continue reading →

Posted in About this Website | Comments Off

“Snapshot 2025” of the Vauxhall Fringing Reef in Barbados 15Dec2025

Posted on December 16, 2025 by David Patriquin

Top: Tip of spur at Vauxhall Reef in early 2023 >85% living coral. Bottom: Tip of spur in early 2025: living coral cover <10%

I have observed, by snorkelling, the Vauxhall Fringing Reef in the MPA (Marine Protected Area) on the west coast of Barbados in the early months of each year from 2015 to 2020, and subsequently in the early months of 2023, 2024 and 2025.

In these “snapshot views”, recorded in photos and videos, Vauxhall reef over the period 2015 to early 2023 was seen as very healthy, in marked contrast to other Fringing Reefs in the MPA.

Significant deterioration of Vauxhall Reef began in early 2023 and continued through 2024 and 2025 – “The Years of Vicissitudes” – due to factors of external origin.

In early 2023, I observed the initial spread of SCTLD (Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease) on the reef.

In 2024, I viewed the effects of extreme warming events in fall of 2023, those mostly on Acroporoid corals and on Millepora complanata (a “Stinging Coral”).

In 2025, I viewed the massive physical disruption of the outer spurs which had been 80-95% covered with living corals, this attributable to swells associated with Hurricane Beryl of June 30/July 1, 2024.
Read More

Posted in Barbados, Extreme Warming/Coral Bleaching, extreme weather, hurricanes, SCTLD, Vauxhall Reef | Comments Off

GCRMN issues “Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs: 1970-2024” 9Dec 2025

Posted on December 9, 2025 by admin

“9^th December 2025, Wider Caribbean Region – Coral cover in the Caribbean has declined by 48% since 1980 while macroalgae cover has risen 85% in the same time, according to a major new report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCMRN). The GCMRN, an operational network of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), found that these changes are largely driven by climate change-induced heat stress, overfishing, and diseases.”

Posted in Barbados, exotic species, Extreme Warming/Coral Bleaching, extreme weather, hurricanes, Invasive Species, Reef Health, Reef restoration, SCTLD | Comments Off

Extreme Weather cont’d in BIM 20Nov2025

Posted on November 20, 2025 by admin

From Barbados Today, Just rain? We still ain’t ready yet posted Nov 20, 2025:

This past weekend offered Barbados a harsh and necessary wake-up call. A few intense hours of rainfall – focused largely on one side of the island – were enough to overwhelm roads, trap residents, claim the life of one man, and stretch our emergency services to the limit. It wasn’t a tropical storm. It wasn’t Hurricane Melissa. It wasn’t a system with a name.

…Sunday’s flood didn’t just expose weak infrastructure. It exposed a national mindset that remains dangerously reactive. Too many people still treat preparedness as optional, inconvenient, or something reserved for named storms. But climate change has removed the luxury of predictability. Extreme weather no longer waits for hurricane season, and danger no longer announces itself days in advance. Continue reading →

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Warm-water coral reefs are crossing their thermal tipping point 15oct2025

Posted on October 15, 2025 by admin

Diagram illustrates that warm water coral reefs are the first of the global tipping points to be reaching tipping point temperatures. The authors comment that “Every tipping point of danger can be mirrored by a tipping point of opportunity. If coral reefs are dying back, restoration of coastal ecosystems can still drive
resilience and livelihoods.”
Click on image for larger version

From the Global Tipping Points Report 2025 issued at www.global-tipping-points.org, Oct 13, 2025:

“The world has entered a new reality. Global warming will soon exceed 1.5°C. This puts humanity in the danger zone where multiple climate tipping points pose catastrophic risks to billions of people. Already warm-water coral reefs are crossing their thermal tipping point and experiencing unprecedented dieback, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of millions who depend on them. Polar ice sheets are approaching tipping points, committing the world to several metres of irreversible sea-level rise that will affect hundreds of millions.”

Posted in Extreme Warming/Coral Bleaching, Reef restoration | Comments Off

“Gar” and “Garfish” in Barbados 4Oct2025

Posted on October 4, 2025 by admin

My curiosity about these fish began with a question about “houndfish”

Observed Mar 5, 2025 near Reef Crest, in Barbados MPA. View iNaturalist record. iNaturalist member sue1001 disagreed with my ID of it as a redfin needlefish (Strongylura notata), commenting “[it’s a]” Houndfish Tylosurus crocodilus – [note] Shorter, thicker beak. No red/yellow fins. Nice find!”
Now I’m not so sure, only that it is a needlefish – or what Bajans call “gar” or “garfish”.
Click on images for larger versions

My interest in the category of fish caught in Barbados that are commonly called “gar fish” or “garfish” arose from a fish I had photographed and posted on iNaturalist, suggesting it was a redfin needlefish; a more knowledgeable iNat. member identified it as a houndfish (see pic at right). I have often seen groups of this fish – or a very similar species – near the reef crest of fringing reefs in the Barbados MPA, but could not get close enough to them to get a really good image.

I was curious as to how common houndfish might be in Barbados. I could find no references to “Houndfish, Barbados” on social media, so I sent this message to spearfishingbarbados.com on Aug 31, 2025… Read More

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Videos of healthy fringing reef at Vauxhall, Barbados 2015 to early 2023

Posted on August 19, 2025 by admin

In the early months of 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024 and 2025, I had the good fortune to spend a lot of time snorkelling on the fringing reef at Vauxhall, Barbados, camera in hand.

Up until early 2023, it was a healthy reef with overall high % coral cover and high coral diversity and an abundance and diversity of fish. As such, it stood out from other fringing reefs in the Marine Protected Area which were (and still are) highly degraded.

Beginning in early 2023, Vauxhall Fringing Reef degraded significantly due to the arrival of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, extreme warming/coral bleaching events, and extreme physical disturbance associated with Hurricane Beryl.

I have put together a set of videos to illustrate the overall healthy state of the Vauxhall Fringing Reef 2015 to early 2023.

View Healthy Fringing Reef Videos.

Posted in Barbados, Extreme Warming/Coral Bleaching, hurricanes, SCTLD, Vauxhall Reef | Comments Off