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Last Login: 6/10/2008 1:39:08 PM
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Since I have been diving (last 2 1/2 years), it was not been until recently that I have started seeing staghorn (Eric, help me out with the scientific name here) corals. I have seen old pictures from dive buddies of forests of staghorns that stretched for ever (I'm sure Eric could attest to this also). I even remember seeing them maybe 15 years ago while snorkling. Now i have noticed that areas I have started seeing them is also where I have started seeing an increase of long spiny urchins. To me this made some sense as the presence of these urchins resulted in sometimes large areas of freshly 'scraped' reef, so I would guess the conditions would be more favourable. Now while swimming through what seems like endless reef covered in algae (as the background suggest), the this little 'trying' one caught the corner of my eye. There is litterally no staghorn anywhere near by. A small miracle perhaps? I just take it as a sign of hope. 
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| Hi Marc, Always a hopefull joy isn't it? I also have an area here that at one time must have been a huge acropora (very "staghorn" like) field evident by the massive rubble pile that it is now. But... there is a single lone piece much like your photo that appears to be the sole survivor and like you, I am hoping that it too will gain some ground. I also know what you mean about the caribbean corals years ago, I spent a lot of time in Puerto Rico and am glad I did not have to witness the losses. Just seems like that area got hit with not just one but quite a few issues, including the loss of the sea urchins. Nice to hear they are making a comeback. Thanks for sharing. Chuck
___________________________________________________________ "My life is free now, my life is dear" - Black Sabbath
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| Hi. Thanks for the comment. Forgot to mention in the original post, but this was on the north coast of Jamaica, Pt. Maria. The increase of urchins from that mysterious epidemic years ago is encouraging, but we still have lots of issues here, so it might not be enough. This year my dive buddy & I have come across a few dive sites that are promising. Hopefully the summer will be kind to them.
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>>Since I have been diving (last 2 1/2 years), it was not been until recently that I have started seeing staghorn (Eric, help me out with the scientific name here) corals. I have seen old pictures from dive buddies of forests of staghorns that stretched for ever (I'm sure Eric could attest to this also). I even remember seeing them maybe 15 years ago while snorkling.<<
Hi Marc: Acropora cervicornis. Yes, we are seeing small patches recovering in many areas and that is a good sign. The problem is, as you note, the vast thickets that used to exist. These are favored habitat for many fishes, including the bastard threespot damsels that come in and nip the base tissue to create algal lawns - often means death for these small colonies. Also, fireworms can swallow and kill whole branches, and there are several corallivorous snails that like them. I always hope and pray for their survival becuase until there are many, it is not easy for these small individual colonies to make it until they get larger and start fragmenting and increasing their spatial area.
>>Now i have noticed that areas I have started seeing them is also where I have started seeing an increase of long spiny urchins. To me this made some sense as the presence of these urchins resulted in sometimes large areas of freshly 'scraped' reef, so I would guess the conditions would be more favourable.<<
Absolutely right on, and Jamaica was one of the first to report some increases in urchins and the concomitant increase in coral recruitment and including Acropora. Without the nice clean substrate, coral larvae have little area to settle, and even if settled are too often overgrown or smothered until they become large enough to stand on their own - and then they face the damsels, snails and worms. But, its a good sign.
>>Now while swimming through what seems like endless reef covered in algae (as the background suggest), the this little 'trying' one caught the corner of my eye. There is litterally no staghorn anywhere near by.
A small miracle perhaps?
I just take it as a sign of hope.<<
Yes, a little miracle and a little hope. It's exactly how I feel.
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| I've also been hearing reports of these. I've also seen photos of new colonies that look ca. 3 years old in the upper Keys. I'll be in the Dry Tortugas for a while in August, and though I'm not optimistic that I'll spot many Acropora recruits, it would be nice. Two years ago, I saw several cervicornis babies growing immediately behind a wall of dead, in place palmata thickets in a very shallow, relatively unpopular section of the Grecian Rocks. I wonder whether any of them have pulled through.
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