Environmental degradation of the Mexican Caribbean reef lagoons

Beyond the Beach: Multi-Parameter Interpretation of Shore Deterioration in a Caribbean Reef System

“…Caribbean coastal areas are amongst the most important global tourist destinations, mainly due to their good climate, white sandy beaches, and clear waters [1]. However, several disturbances, such as sea level rise, increase in water temperature, algal blooms, anthropogenic eutrophication, and the inadequate occupation and use of coastal areas, have caused environmental degradation, including shoreline erosion, decreased water transparency, and the deterioration or destruction of coastal ecosystems [2][3][4][5][6].…”

Variabilidad espacio-temporal del nitrógeno en hojas de Thalassia testudinum en el Caribe mexicano

“…Sin embargo, la condición oligotrófica del Caribe mexicano se ha ido perdiendo en las últimas décadas, debido a la presión antropogénica asociada principalmente con el desarrollo turístico y el crecimiento poblacional de la región que demandan cada vez más bienes y servicios (Guimarais et al, 2021). En algunas regiones costeras del Caribe mexicano, la concentración del NID es >1 μM, sobrepasando con mucho la naturaleza oligotrófica de las praderas de T. testudinum (Camacho-Cruz et al, 2020;Velázquez-Ochoa and Enríquez, 2023). Las únicas fuentes de NID son la fijación de nitrógeno y las descargas de aguas residuales domésticas y turísticas, siendo esta última fuente la responsable del incremento de NID (Sánchez et al, 2020).…”

A Shift in Communities of Conspicuous Macrocrustaceans Associated with Caribbean Coral Reefs following A Series of Environmental Stressors

“…Over the last few decades, the northern Mexican Caribbean coast (state of Quintana Roo) has been subjected to expansive coastal development, massive tourist visitation (~15 million/year), and an exponential increase in the local human populations. Despite the increase in wastewater concomitant with this growth, sewage management and control remain poor because wastewater plants are scarce and only apply primary treatments to wastewater [8][9][10][11]. Due to the karstic nature of the region, groundwater discharges into reef lagoons through sediments and submarine springs; therefore, eutrophication, pollution, and sedimentation resulting from the construction of infrastructure and inadequate wastewater treatment are considered a major driver of declining reef condition in the region [8][9][10][11].…”

“…Despite the increase in wastewater concomitant with this growth, sewage management and control remain poor because wastewater plants are scarce and only apply primary treatments to wastewater [8][9][10][11]. Due to the karstic nature of the region, groundwater discharges into reef lagoons through sediments and submarine springs; therefore, eutrophication, pollution, and sedimentation resulting from the construction of infrastructure and inadequate wastewater treatment are considered a major driver of declining reef condition in the region [8][9][10][11]. More recently, coral reefs in this region have been further affected by two unprecedented phenomena that appear to be related to large-scale ecological changes associated with global climate change: the massive influxes of floating Sargassum spp.…”

“…Nearshore seagrasses are replaced by faster-growing macroalgae and epiphytes, and nearshore corals can suffer total or partial mortality [12]. Although the effects are more pronounced in the reef lagoons [11,12,16], they can propagate toward and affect the coral reefs [8]. Sargassum brown tides may cause mass mortalities of marine biota due to the low pH and oxygen concentration and high ammonium levels [17,18].…”