Effects of Hurricanes Emily and Wilma on coral reefs in Cozumel, Mexico

Abstract

. The island was subsequently hit byWilma, the strongest hurricane ever registered in the Caribbean,between 21 and 24 October.After the passage of both hurricanes, there was extensive damagein the barrier reefs, with a large quantity of broken branches andplates from the coral dominant genera Agaricia and Porites (Fig. 1).Some coral heads were overturned (mainly Montastraea spp.), andthere were large numbers of sponges detached from the substrata.After Emily, sponges could be seen in aptly named ‘‘sponge-cemeteries’’ adjacent to the reefs (Fig. 2). On the shelf-edge reefs,there was less damage, but there had been extensive movement ofaccumulated sediment from between reef structures, and in someplaces more than 2 m depth of sand were removed (Fig. 3).Throughout the area surveyed, the damage was patchy with muchlive coral still remaining, particularly on the better developed reefs inthe south of the island. Most of the species suffering the greatestdamage were those with the highest growth rates (Fenner 1991;Bythell et al. 1993).Acknowledgments We thank G. Nava and M. Millet for their invaluablesupport. The Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel provided logisticalsupport and several volunteers helped in the reef surveys.