BackgroundThe rising temperature of the world's oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin.Methodology/Principal FindingsSatellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers' field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior efforts in detail and extent, and provided a new standard for documenting the effects of bleaching and for testing nowcast and forecast products. Collaborators from 22 countries undertook the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date and found that over 80% of corals bleached and over 40% died at many sites. The most severe bleaching coincided with waters nearest a western Atlantic warm pool that was centered off the northern end of the Lesser Antilles.Conclusions/SignificanceThermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and regionally-averaged temperatures were the warmest in over 150 years. Comparison of satellite data against field surveys demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between accumulated heat stress (measured using NOAA Coral Reef Watch's Degree Heating Weeks) and bleaching intensity. This severe, widespread bleaching and mortality will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for reef ecosystems and suggests a troubled future for tropical marine ecosystems under a warming climate.

1. During the 2009-2010 overwintering season and following a 15-year downward trend, the total area in Mexico occupied by the eastern North American population of overwintering monarch butterflies reached an all-time low. Despite an increase, it remained low in 2010-2011.2. Although the data set is small, the decline in abundance is statistically significant using both linear and exponential regression models.3. Three factors appear to have contributed to reduce monarch abundance: degradation of the forest in the overwintering areas; the loss of breeding habitat in the United States due to the expansion of GM herbicide-resistant crops, with consequent loss of milkweed host plants, as well as continued land development; and severe weather.4. This decline calls into question the long-term survival of the monarchs' migratory phenomenon.Resú men. 1. Durante la temporada invernal 2009-2010, y siguiendo una tendencia a la baja de 15 an˜os, la superficie total ocupada por mariposas monarca en Me´xico, provenientes del este Ame´rica del Norte, llego´a su punto ma´s bajo. A pesar de su incremento, dicha superficie siguio´siendo baja en 2010-2011.2. Aunque que el conjunto de datos disponibles es au´n pequen˜o, esta disminucio´n de la abundancia de mariposas es estadı´sticamente significativa, tanto si se usan modelos de regresio´n lineales como exponenciales.3. Hay tres factores que parecen haber contribuido con esta tendencia de reduc-cio´n del nu´mero de mariposas: la degradacio´n de bosque en las a´reas de invernacio´n en Me´xico; la pe´rdida de ha´bitat de reproduccio´n en los Estados Unidos, debido a la expansio´n de cultivos gene´ticamente modificados resistentes a herbicidas, con la consiguiente pe´rdida de las plantas hospederas de algodoncillo, y por continuos cambios en el uso del suelo no favorables para ellas; y, las recientes condiciones cli-ma´ticas severas.4. Esta disminucio´n hace que nos cuestionemos sobre la posibilidad de supervivencia a largo plazo del feno´meno migratorio de las mariposas monarca.

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Aim We used data from the annual Fourth of July Butterfly Count for the years 1989-97 to examine patterns of species richness and total butterfly abundance across North America and within topographically diverse and disturbed landscapes.Location We analysed counts from 514 different locations in North America. The counts represent all areas of the USA and southern Canada, with a few Mexican sites as well, although most counts were in the eastern USA.Methods First, we standardized published count data according to the effort expended per count (total party-hours). Using regression analysis and analysis of variance, we then examined the impact of latitude, longitude, topographical relief, habitat disturbance and different climatic measures on the species richness and total abundance of butterflies per count. We also examined the abundance of exotic species in disturbed landscapes. ResultsOur analyses suggest that: (1) species richness is highest at low latitudes and near Rocky Mountain longitudes; (2) the total abundance of individuals is highest in northern US latitudes and Great Plains longitudes; (3) species richness but not total abundance increases with greater topographical relief; (4) species richness and diversity indices are lower in more disturbed habitats; and (5) the abundance of the introduced Pieris rapae (L.) is greater in more disturbed habitats.Main conclusions Different factors control the abundance and species richness of North American butterflies. Along with geographical location, habitat disturbance and topographical variability affect species richness. Our analysis also shows the value of broad-based monitoring regimes, such as the North American Fourth of July Butterfly Count.

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/ The most pressing problem in the effective management of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) in Puerto Rico is mortality due to human activities. We assessed 90 cases of manatee strandings in Puerto Rico based on historical data and a coordinated carcass salvage effort from 1990 through 1995. We determined patterns of mortality, including type of event, condition of carcasses, spatial and temporal distribution, gender, size/age class, and the cause of death. The spatial distribution of stranding events was not uniform, with the north, northeast, and south coasts having the highest numbers. Six clusters representing the highest incidence included the areas of Fajardo and Ceiba, Bahía de Jobos, Toa Baja, Guayanilla, Cabo Rojo, and Rio Grande to Luquillo. The number of reported cases has increased at an average rate of 9.6%/yr since 1990. The seasonality of stranding events showed a bimodal pattern, from February through April and in August and September. Most identified causes of death were due to human interaction, especially captures and watercraft collisions. Natural causes usually involved dependent calves. From 1990 through 1995, most deaths were attributed to watercraft collisions. A reduction in anthropogenic mortality of this endangered species can be accomplished only through education and a proactive management and conservation plan that includes law enforcement, mortality assessment, scientific research, rescue and rehabilitation, and inter- and intraagency cooperation.

An epizootic of fibropapillomas in green turtles Chelonia mydas (Reptilia: Testudines: Cheloniidae) has occurred throughout the Caribbean since the mid‐1980s. Similar epizootics in Hawaii and Florida began 5 years earlier. All may be part of a panzootic. The 125 Caribbean cases greatly expand the known range of these epizootics. All the tumors we examined had spirorchiid (Digenea) eggs. Few turtles we examined with tumors were emaciated. Additional tumors quickly erupted in some captive turtles, whereas tumors of others remained unchanged for 1 year. The turtle leech Ozobranchus branchiatus (Hirudinea: Ozobranchidae) was associated with only three green turtles with fibropapillomas.