Abstract
Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) was a basin-wide cooperative, international network of marine laboratories established in 1985. Recognizing major trends of change in coastal ecosystems and the importance of the linkages among them, our goal was to monitor synoptically with standardized methods the physical environment and to document trends in measures of the structure and functioning of coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves. Between 1985 and 1993, the CARICOMP Steering Committee established a data management center and wrote a methods manual. Marine laboratories joined the program by appointing a Site Director and signing an agreement specifying the cost sharing and responsibilities of the laboratory. With significant outside funding in 1993, the program became fully functional and ultimately more than 30 institutions in 21 Caribbean countries participated. Monitoring lasted from 1992 to 2007, spanning many technological advances including the internet, automated in situ data logging and remote sensing. Annual CARICOMP meetings, organized at a different laboratory each year, were essential in standardization of methods and maintaining interest. Open access to the data was a goal from the start, although the members imposed an embargo to allow time to publish major results. At some of the sites, monitoring continues to this day, generating among the longest coastal monitoring data sets in the Caribbean, and possibly in the world. Over time, multi-authored papers were prepared for the Proceedings of the International Coral Reef Symposia and other journals, and independent scientists drew on the open database for regional analyses of ecosystem trends. Recently, active members have written summary papers based on the monitoring data covering physical parameters, coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves. Overall, the data reveal major differences across the region and changing rates and trends showing the dynamism and vulnerability of coastal ecosystems. The longer the monitoring continues, the more valuable the dataset becomes as a tool to discern the underlying factors driving the structure and functioning of Caribbean coastal ecosystems. Several recent workshops have concluded that the need for regionally cooperative monitoring and research has never been greater.
Highlights
In the lifetime of the oldest co-author of this paper, the human population of the world has increased more than three times from 2.3 billion and it has more than doubled from 3.7 to almost 8 billion in the last 50 years since we first noted disturbing evidence of decline of Caribbean coastal ecosystems
Cooperative monitoring of Caribbean coastal ecosystems as reported by CARICOMP and as well as other organizations have documented the impact of these human disturbances and helped to identify the drivers
The organization of Caribbean marine laboratories developed by CARICOMP over many years is a major resource to facilitate this outreach
Summary
Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) was a regional cooperative scientific network of Caribbean marine laboratories, best known for its long-term monitoring program of coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves (CARICOMP, 1997a) (Figure 1). A United States Congressional hearing emphasized the need for Caribbean seawater temperature data and participants at the Fifth International Coral Reef Symposium in Tahiti in 1985 started the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, urging that all research institutions near coral reefs establish, at the very least, water temperature monitoring programs Encouraged by these events, the SC met with UNESCO to solicit support at different marine labs and worked on a CARICOMP administrative structure and research design, outlined a standardized methods manual, and planned for data management. As the internet became more widespread, communications and exchange improved greatly and in 1990, 1992, and 1993 workshops drafted and tested the CARICOMP Level I Methods Manual (CARICOMP, 2001) designed to allow all member institutions to participate in simultaneous, standardized sampling of all three critical coastal ecosystems: coral reefs, FIGURE 1 | Caribbean map showing the main CARICOMP sampling sites where mid- to long-term series where obtained. The FIO assembled and sent, by freight, wooden boxes containing the Level I equipment to all participating institutions
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