It begins near Isla Contoy on the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula and continues south alongside the Riviera Maya including areas like Cozumel and Banco Chinchorro. It then continues south along the eastern coast of Belize including many cayes and atolls. It extends to the north-east corner of Honduras. It is the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere.[1]
The reef system is suffering an invasion by the red lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles), which is native to the Indo-Pacific region. Lionfish severely damage the reef ecosystem by eating nearly every reef-tending species, such as cleaner shrimp and other species that eat algae. These animals keep the corals clean, alive, and disease-free. Lionfish eat up to 90% of the reef-tending species in a given area within just a few months, which can result in a quick death for a reef. Valuable commercial species, such as lobster, are being negatively affected by the spread of the lionfish due to their enormous appetite.[4]
The reef system is home to one of the world's largest populations of manatees, with an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 of them.[3]
Some northern areas of the reef system near Isla Contoy are home to the largest fish on the planet, the whale shark.[3] The normally solitary whale sharks congregate there in social groups to eat and to mate.
^Bland, L.; Regan, T.; Ngoc Dinh, M.; Ferrari, R.; Keith, D.; Lester, R.; Mouillot, D.; Murray, N.; Anh Nguyen, H.; Nicholson, E. (2017). "Meso-American Reef: Using multiple lines of evidence to assess the risk of ecosystem collapse". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 284 (1863): 20170660. doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.0660. PMC5627190. PMID 28931744. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
External linksedit
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Project
Mesoamerican Reef Alliance (MAR), a collaborative project for the management and conservation of the reef system, coordinated by the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN)
April 26, 2024
mesoamerican, barrier, reef, system, other, uses, mesoamerica, disambiguation, mbrs, also, popularly, known, great, mayan, reef, great, maya, reef, marine, region, that, stretches, over, kilometres, along, coasts, four, countries, mexico, belize, guatemala, ho. For other uses see Mesoamerica disambiguation The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System MBRS also popularly known as the Great Mayan Reef or Great Maya Reef is a marine region that stretches over 1 126 kilometres 700 mi along the coasts of four countries Mexico Belize Guatemala and Honduras from Isla Contoy at the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula south to Belize Guatemala and the Bay Islands of Honduras The reef system includes various protected areas and parks including the Belize Barrier Reef Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park Hol Chan Marine Reserve Belize Sian Ka an biosphere reserve and the Cayos Cochinos Marine Park Belize s coastline including the Belize Barrier Reef is home to approximately 30 of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System A coral skeleton from the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Quintana Roo Mexico Aerial view of Caye Caulker in Belize It begins near Isla Contoy on the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula and continues south alongside the Riviera Maya including areas like Cozumel and Banco Chinchorro It then continues south along the eastern coast of Belize including many cayes and atolls It extends to the north east corner of Honduras It is the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere 1 Contents 1 Biodiversity 2 Conservation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksBiodiversity edit nbsp Coral reef and marine life in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park The reef system is home to more than 65 species of stony coral 350 species of mollusk and more than 500 species of fish 2 3 There are numerous species that live in or around the reef system that are endangered or under some degree of protection including the following sea turtles green sea turtle loggerhead sea turtle leatherback turtle and the hawksbill turtle the queen conch the West Indian manatee the splendid toadfish the American crocodile the Morelet s crocodile the Nassau grouper elkhorn coral and black coral The reef system is suffering an invasion by the red lionfish Pterois volitans and Pterois miles which is native to the Indo Pacific region Lionfish severely damage the reef ecosystem by eating nearly every reef tending species such as cleaner shrimp and other species that eat algae These animals keep the corals clean alive and disease free Lionfish eat up to 90 of the reef tending species in a given area within just a few months which can result in a quick death for a reef Valuable commercial species such as lobster are being negatively affected by the spread of the lionfish due to their enormous appetite 4 The reef system is home to one of the world s largest populations of manatees with an estimated 1 000 to 1 500 of them 3 Some northern areas of the reef system near Isla Contoy are home to the largest fish on the planet the whale shark 3 The normally solitary whale sharks congregate there in social groups to eat and to mate Conservation editThe Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System is considered critically endangered according to the criteria of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems 5 See also editList of reefs Assisted evolution Coral Reef AllianceReferences edit Mesoamerican Reef World Wildlife Fund Retrieved April 11 2024 Mesoamerican Reef Missionblue Archived from the original on 2010 04 12 Retrieved 2010 04 11 a b c Mesoamerican Reef Species World Wildlife Fund Retrieved 2010 04 11 Albins Ma Hixon Ma 2008 09 11 Invasive Indo Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans reduce recruitment of Atlantic coral reef fishes Marine Ecology Progress Series 367 233 238 Bibcode 2008MEPS 367 233A doi 10 3354 meps07620 hdl 1834 5350 ISSN 0171 8630 Bland L Regan T Ngoc Dinh M Ferrari R Keith D Lester R Mouillot D Murray N Anh Nguyen H Nicholson E 2017 Meso American Reef Using multiple lines of evidence to assess the risk of ecosystem collapse Proceedings of the Royal Society B 284 1863 20170660 doi 10 1098 rspb 2017 0660 PMC 5627190 PMID 28931744 Retrieved 9 September 2018 External links edit nbsp Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Project Mesoamerican Reef Alliance MAR a collaborative project for the management and conservation of the reef system coordinated by the International Coral Reef Action Network ICRAN Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System amp oldid 1218419384, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
