Outlook Online 2009

Catastrophies, phase shifts and large scale degradation of a Carribean reef

Hughes,1994:

"Many coral reefs have been degraded over the past two to three decades due to a combination of human and natural disturbances. In Jamaica, the effects of overfishing, hurricane damage and disease have combined to destroy most corals,  whose abundance has declined more than 50 percent in the late 1970s to less than 5 percent today. A dramatic phase shift has occurred, producing a system dominated by fleshy macroalgae (more than 90 percent cover). Immediate implementation of management procedures in necessary to avoid further catastrophic damage."

 Hughes_Carribean

Citation and/or URL

Hughes, T.P., 1994, Catastrophies, phase shifts, and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef. Science, 265: (5178) 1547-1551

Spatial Coverage

 Carribean

Temporal Coverage

 1975-1994

Update Frequency

 Not applicable 

Other Information

 None 

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