The Turneffe Atoll was declared a national marine reserve by the government of Belize on 22 November 2012. At 30 miles (48 km) long and 10 miles (16 km) wide, this is the largest true atoll in Belize and the Mesoamerican Reef System. Turneffe Atoll is a chain of small Caribbean cayes (islands) due southeast of Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye, 20 miles (32 km) off the coast of Belize City, Central America. World-class saltwater anglers extol the adventure of stalking the difficult-to-achieve, prestigious, “Grand Slam” that is, catching a bone-fish, permit and tarpon all in one day. The Turneffe Atoll in Belize has been recognized for more than forty years (1970s) as one of the Caribbean’s top destinations for bonefish, tarpon and permit. The presence of widely distributed Indo-Pacific zooxanthellate corals at Clipperton and the Revillagigedo Islands indicates that these NE Pacific Islands probably serve as a stepping stone for dispersal into the far eastern Pacific region.The Beach at Turneffe Atoll. demonstrated high and similar skeletal growth rates at both shallow (25.4 mm yr -1) and intermediate (26.5 mm yr -1) depths. lobata was depressed during the 1987 El Nifio event at Clipperton. Massive skeletal growth is significantly higher at intermediate (16 17 m) than shallow (6 8 m) depths with mean extension rates of 1.5 mm yr -1 in P. lobata, determined by sclerochronologic analysis, indicated a period of stress during 1987. The lengths of regenerating knobs and the rates of linear skeletal growth in P. lobata, 60 70% maximum of all colonies sampled) or total ( Pocillopora sp., 80% maximum) mortality. Large numbers of corals on the 15 18 m terrace had recently suffered partial ( P. The grazing of large diadematid sea urchins, (2 species each of Diadema and Echinothrix) on dead corals cause extensive erosion in some areas. Frequent grazing by the pufferfish Arothron meleagris results in the removal of large amounts of live tissue and skeleton from Porites lobata. Although crustose coralline algae predominate in the breaker zone (with up to 100% cover), a prominent algal ridge is absent with only a slight buildup (ca. Spur and groove features, constructed of alternating frameworks of Pocillopora and Porites, and veneered with crustose coralline algae, are generally well developed around most atoll exposures. Scleractinian corals predominate (10 100% cover) over insular shelf depths of 8 to 60m, and crustose coralline algae are dominant (5 40% cover) from 0.5 to 7m. Two of the remaining scleractinians ( Pavona minuta, Leptoseris scabra) and the hydrocoral ( Millepora exaesa), all formerly known from central and western Pacific localities, represent new eastern Pacific records. The identities of the one Pocilpopora species and one of the two Porites species are still unknown. Although Clipperton is a well developed atoll with high coral cover, the reef-building fauna is depauperate, consisting of only 7 species of scleractinian corals belonging to the genera Pocillopora, Porites, Pavona and Leptoseris, and 1 species of hydrocoral in the genus Millepora. Shallow (15 18 m)and deep (50 58 m) terraces are present around most of Clipperton, probably representing Modern and late Pleistocene sea level stands. SST anomalies at Clipperton occur during ENSO events and were greater at Clipperton in 1987 than during 1982 1983. Maximum NECC flow rates indicate that the eastern Pacific barrier can be bridged in 60 to 120 days. The northernmost latitude reached by the NECC is not influenced by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, but easterly flow velocity evidently is accelerated at such times. Satellite-tracked drifter buoys from 1979 1993 demonstrated complex patterns of surface circulation with dominantly easterly flow (North Equatorial Counter Current, NECC), but also westerly currents (South Equatorial Current, SEC) that could transport propagules to Clipperton from both central and eastern Pacific regions. Three areas were surveyed in the Revillagigedo Islands (Mexico), and an intensive study was conducted on Clipperton Atoll (1,300 km SW of Acapulco), including macro-scale surface circulation, sea surface temperature (SST) climatology, geomorphology, coral community structure, zonation, and biogeography. Coral reef geomorphology and community composition were investigated in the tropical northeastern Pacific during April 1994.
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