Author Archives: admin

Causative agent for die-off of long-spined sea urchin in 2022 identified 2May2023

The long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) is an important herbivore on Caribbean reefs. In 2022, there was a mass die-off of this sea urchin all over the Caribbean, echoing a similar die-off in the early 1980s. A paper reporting on … Continue reading

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Sargassum blooms are here for the foreseeable future 15Mar2023

UPDATE May 3, 2023 Strange sighting among sargassum seaweed YouTube Video uploaded May 2, 2023. by Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation ——- ORIGINAL POST “A blob twice the width of the US is heading towards Florida’s coast”  So reads the title of … Continue reading

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Presumptive Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease on Vauxhall Reef & Environs (Barbados) 25Jan2023

UPDATE Feb 16, 2023: SCTLD or White Plague Disease? – we don’t yet know. Based on some discussion I had recently with an authority on this disease, it’s not clear right now whether SCTLD is present in Barbados or whether what … Continue reading

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Disturbing news about cruise ships’ damage to coral reefs 23May2021

From Barbados Today, for May 21, 2021

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Coral Reef Report Card issued for Barbados 16Mar2021

CERMES, the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies at Cave Hill, Barbados has issued a “Report Card” for the coral reefs of Barbados. From the publication (JA Irvine et al., 2021) reporting on how it was developed: The 2020 … Continue reading

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“CORALL GETS GREEN LIGHT TO BUILD MARINE NURSERY” 16Jun2020

BARBADOS TODAY: CORALL GETS GREEN LIGHT TO BUILD MARINE NURSERY VIDEO FROM CORALL ON FACEBOOK

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Spectacular A. prolifera in Belize 16Apr2020

Photo and more to be viewed on Fragments of Hope, Belize From About for Fragments of Hope, Belize Mission To re-seed devastated reefs with genetically robust, diverse and resilient corals that will mature to spawning age/size, and at the same … Continue reading

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Stony coral tissue loss disease heading towards Antilles 9Jul2019

Stony coral tissue loss disease, first reported in Florida in 2014, is moving quickly according to a report in Science News and has reached the US Virgin Islands; view: A mysterious coral disease is ravaging Caribbean reef BY CASSIE MARTIN … Continue reading

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Good News 1Feb2019: Staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis in Reef Front of Vauxhall Reef, Barbados 1Feb2019

In March of 2015 I observed Acropora cervicornis in a small area on the Reef Front of the Vauxhall Reef. According to a report by R. MacLean and H.A. Oxenford on surveys of Acroporoids on the west coast of Barbados … Continue reading

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Good News 1Feb2019: Clusters of Diadema on reef front, Barbados 1Feb2019

Yesterday, I snorkelled the reef front area off of Holetown. As well as funding some quite healthy coral communities at about 15-20 ft depth, I found clusters of the black sea urchin Diadema antillarum at one spot. The GPS on … Continue reading

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