Spatial and Temporal Effects of Port Facilities Expansion on the Surface Area of Shallow Coral Reefs

Abstract

There is a close relationship between ports and reef areas, mainly because reefs provide protection to vessels against extreme weather events like storms and hurricanes. This historical relationship has generated severe impacts on reef ecosystems. In order to identify the main impacts from the construction of port facilities in shallow coral reef areas, we analyzed and described the effects of land reclamation and coastal structure construction associated to port growth throughout a century in the Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Park, Mexico. We used aerial photographs and maps of the nineteenth and early twentieth century to assess the impacts caused by port expansion activities on shallow coral reefs. Three types of impacts were identified: (a) direct reef area loss caused by landfills and perpendicular coastal structures construction leading to the loss of nearly 50 % of the fringing reef near to the port; (b) fragmentation in short- and medium-term scale, which affects two fringing reefs, and (c) long-term modification of coastal dynamics leading to sedimentation and loss of a complete reef area. On the eve of a new expansion of Veracruz Port, we used the New Port Project Plan, long-shore net drift geomorphic indicators and the port impact typology from the 100-year period assessment to evaluate a possible future scenario. The scenario describes how the new expansion project will repeat the three types of impacts affecting a whole reef area, which is currently part of the National Park.

Plasticity in Three-Dimensional Geometry of Branching Corals Along a Cross-Shelf Gradient

“…Near shore marine environments are increasingly impacted by anthropogenic modification of coastal and catchment systems, resulting in widespread transformation and degradation of marine habitats [39][40][41]. For inner-shelf reefs, high levels of suspended sediments, nutrients and pollutants have resulted in localized coral loss in some cases [39,42,43], though direct effects of these environmental stressors on coral morphology are largely unknown. In this study, colonies of both Pocillopora spp.…”

Coral reefs are critical for our food supply, tourism, and ocean health. We can protect them from climate change

“…The construction of new resorts may involve overwater bungalows, built directly on reef structures, or the creation of artificial beaches that change coastline dynamics and increase sedimentation to nearby reefs. The expansion of ports to accommodate cruise liners or large container ships, often requires dredging of the surrounding reef flats in smaller tropical islands [51,52], or even larger cities like Miami [40]. On a more dramatic scale, territorial conflicts in Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, have led to land reclamation techniques by China in which reefs are filled to create land that can be claimed [53].…”

Anthropogenic pressure indicators associated with vessel groundings on coral reefs in a marine protected area

“…El Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano está compuesto por 27 estructuras arrecifales, de las cuales cuatro son de tipo bordeante y el resto son de plataforma. Es considerado como un proveedor importante de servicios ambientales, tales como la provisión de alimento, el alto valor cultural Of the 17 environmental problems recorded for the PNSAV (Ortiz-Lozano 2012), those associated with the Veracruz port activities, especially the expansion of its facilities and the construction of coastal protection infrastructure, are responsible for greater loss of surface area (Valadez-Rocha and Ortiz-Lozano 2013). The loss of coral cover and the rupture and fragmentation of corals in PNSAV has been linked to vessel groundings (Ortiz-Lozano 2012), which have occurred since the founding of the port city of Veracruz in the 16th century; however, indicators that can guide protective and restorative actions in PNSAV are lacking (Ortiz-Lozano 2012).…”