BELIZE BARRIER REEF
2nd Largest Barrier Reef in the World!
BENEATH THE WAVES - An Underworld Paradise
The seward rim of Belize's Barrier Reef, referred to as the outer fore-reef, is a favorite locale for scuba divers. It's not hard to understand why. Imagine floating along an underwater mountain ridge. To the east stretches an abyss of nothing but deep blue. Below lies an 80-degree slope, covered by a quilt of magnificently colored coral plates and swaying fronds. A formation of eagle rays cruises past, their 10 feet wings lazily flapping; groupers lurk in the shadow of coral heads, their skins darkening to blend into the surroundings; tiny damsel fish defend their territories against all intruders (including divers); and parrotfish, the grazers of the sea, browse on algae while fluorescent blue chromis float above coral gardens.
UNDERSTANDING THE BARRIER REEF
Coral reefs, it has been said, are visual poems, filling a diver's sense of sight with form, color and patterns. If so, Belize is a master poet, and the Belize Barrier Reef is an epic of colossal proportions. At 190 miles in length, dotted with around 200 cayes, the Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef, while the variety of reef types and marine life within its borders is unequaled in the norther hemisphere.
Belizean waters are perfect for coral growth. Corals are surprisingly finicky, requiring warm, clear water, steady sunlight and a shallow, firm foundation to grown on. The vast mass of marine life now following the Belizean coast actually grows on a ancient reef. This thrived over thousands of years, when water was imprisioned in gigantic northern glaciers and sea levels were 300 feet lower than they are today. The underlying Pleistocene reef structure contains many of the same coral species divers still see, as scientists found from cores drilled 175 feet below the surface of present-day reefs.
Closer to the surface, at Reef Point on the northern shore of Ambergris Caye, lies further evidence of these ancient reefs. Here, portions of the Pleistocene coral reef intercept the shoreline in an area no larger than a football field. Sharp, skeletal remains of staghorn, elkhorn and brain corals lie exposed, cemented together in a matrix of coral stands. During the winter, heavy surf pounds this coast, fracturing the ancient reef and tossing limestone fragments upon a 15 foot rubble wall, but in calmer weather charter boats slip through a narrow channel from San Pedro. The eroding limestone and fossil corals conjure up images of prehistoric landscapes, but you don't have to go far to see the images come to life.
DIVING ON THE REEF
South of Reef Point, the "hard" coral begins to form a true barrier reef, snaking south into the Bay of Honduras. The reef is not one continuous wall of coral, but is splintered into segments separated by relatively deep channels. The oxygen and plankton carried by the Caribbean Sea flush the Belize coastal zone twice daily through these channels, feeding billions of hungry coral polyps and other reef creatures. Attracting large numbers of fish as a result, they are often excellent for diving and snorkeling (the most popular and accessible is Hol Chan Marine Reserve on Ambergris Caye).
There are over 460 species of fish that snorkeler or divers are likely to see while swimming over coral reefs. Though some look formidable, most fish are unconcerned by your presence. Barracudas for example, have a unnerving habit of approaching swimmers and following them about. This is pure curisoity - there has never been a report of an unprovoked attack by a barracuda, and they normally move away when approached. Eels have a nasty reputation, although they are generally non-aggressive. Alarmingly, they open and close their mouths as if preparing to bite, but they are merely pumping water through their gills. But be careful: eels can inflict a nasty bite if annoyed, especially the green moray eel.
Sharks are not commonly encountered in Belize, with the exception of the docile nurse shark. Chances are that sharks will sense you long before you see them, and move away. However, all sharks should be treated with caution. Even the normally docile nurse shark can become aggressive if molested.
Probably the most serious underwater hazzard is the long-spined urchin. Needlelike spines will pierce gloves or wet suits, and the tips easily break off. Fire coral is a danger in shallow water: with a smooth surface and a uniform mustard color, it grows in two distinct forms, platelike or encrusting. Though it looks like one, fire coral is not a true coral. This hydrozoan has tiny silica needles that break off on contact and can cause intense stinging. Some sponges cause irritation, as do bristle worms.
The best way to avoid any potential problems when exploring the coral reef is never to touch anything - for your own safety and the health of the reef.
RESEARCH ON THE REEF
The basic structure of the Barrier Reef is similar all along its 190 miles length. At Carrie Bow Caye, a marine lab perched atop the edge of the Barrier Reef, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History have divided the reef up into the basic zones, or habitats.
A zone is an area where local environmental conditions - temperature, sunlight, water movement - allow certain groups of animals and plants to exist together. Usually one or two species in the group are more abundant than the rest and are used to characterize a habitat. Starting from the shoreward, or western side of the Barrer Reef, four major and 12 minor zones have been established along an east-west line north of Carrie Bow Caye. These zones include grass beds, where conch and striped grunts feed; reef flats, where crabs, small corals and anemones lie concealed among the rubble and sand; and spur and groove formations, where the coral grows in long linear mounds separated by coral sand gullies.
Moored as close as 10 miles off the Western Caribbean Barrier Reef lie three of the four coral atolls in the Caribbean: Turneffe Island, Glover's Reef and Lighthouse Reef. The origin of these atolls - shaped like underwater table top mountains, with gardens of corals on the summit - is still a matter of speculation. Most geologists agree that the atolls grown over protrusions created by the movement of the tectonic plates of the region. The sequence of uplifting and sinking of the land masses has created magnificent underwater drop offs, some plunging to depths of 10,000 feet to the east of Lighthouse Reef.
The reef systems surrounding these atolls rival the Western Caribbean Barrier Reef in length, with almost 140 miles of lush coral growth. Within the coral barrier surrounding the atolls lie thousands of patch reefs; in the case of Turneffe, the largest of Belize atolls with an area of over 200 square miles, there are hundreds of small mangrove covered islands. Together, these three atolls provide some of the finest wall diving in the world.
THE MANGROVE COASTLINE
Coral reefs do not exist in isolation. Mangroves line much of the Belizean coastline, the cayes and lower reaches of the rivers. Seagrass may not look as spectacular as coral reefs but, as giant marine nurseries, they form the foundation of the continuing long-term health of the Belize coastal zone. The quiet, protected water of the mangrove roots and grass blades provides plentiful food and shelter for countless juvenile marine organisms. In fact, most of the shellfish and the fish caught for food or sport off the Belize coast rely on mangroves for at least part of their lives.
Four different species of mangrove thrive in Belize - red, white, and black mangrove and buttonwood. As well as stabilizing the coastline against erosion and presenting a natural buffer against destructive hurricanes, mangroves link the rich nutrients on land with the billions of hungry mouths at sea. Every year Belizean rivers transport tons of sediment to the sea from deep within the interior. The nutrients in these loads, deposited along the coast are often in forms unavailable to marine life. But mangroves thrive on the frequent deposits, producing branches, leaves and seeds.
When a mangrove leaf drops into the waters below, the process of decomposition begins. The leaf slowly releases thousands of minute particles, each coated with millions of voracious micro-organisms. Small invertebrates like worms, shrimp and crabs begin to feed on the microbes; these small invertebrates are in turn eaten by larger creatures, until the nutrients in river silt are passed on through the food chain.
Many of these smaller fish also become prey for flocks of wading birds combing the surf line for food. Belize's coast has an abundance of water birds and nesting colonies, with over 50 mangrove-covered cayes reported to have nesting sites on them. Roseate spoonbills, ibis, herons, and cormorants nest on many of the small mangrove islands in Chetumal Bay to the north. The magnificent frigate bird and brown boobies have established large nesting colonies on many cayes to the south. Man-O-War Caye, east of Dangriga, has one of the largest colonies of frigate birds in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, ospreys locate the highest trees on the cyaes, usually black mangroves, to build their nests on top from piles of loose sticks.
A LIVING TREASURE
The entire coastal zone of Belize is a treasure of sea life, pristine and as yet mostly unexploited. Every day, new jewels of marine life are discovered by scientists. For example, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution's marine lab on Carrie Bow Caye, recently stumbled upon a tiny bay that may be unique in the Caribbean - if not the world. A quirk of nature allows mangrove to grow on the edge of a series of deep sink holes. Healthy colonies of lettuce coral carpet the steep slopes of the depressions. As the slopes rise into shallow water, the scene explodes into activity, with bright orange and reds, deep purples and blues streaming past; crinoid arms perform silent ballets between 3 feet high loggerhead sponges; star and brain corals flourish among seagrasses and mangrove trunks. Sponge, anemones and tiny, barrel-shaped sea squirts cling to the prop roots, competing for the limited amount of space.
Smithsonian researchers have identified 43 different sea squirts in this one location, more than was previously known throughout the entire Caribbean. The fish are so abundant that they form layers, with the smaller fry near the surface, the larger ones a level down, and the fat-bodied berrings blanketing the carpet of lettuce coral. The location of this bay will stay a secret until scientists, the government and the conservation groups within Belize can agree on the proper management of the area. The risk to any pristine environment can not be overestimated. After all, these marine organisms have grown over thousands of years in a stable or gradually changing environment. Any sudden stress, whether from pollution, siltation, overfishing or inquires from a careless diver - can be devastating. For a visitor, kicking a piece of coral is hardly noticed; for the coral it is a matter of life and death; for Belizeans it is slow destruction of a priceless resource.
At present, the bay and countless others like it, are a gauge of the environmental health of Belize's marine systems. Areas such as these expose Belize as a wilderness country, below the waves no less than in the rainforest.
UNDERSTANDING THE BARRIER REEF
Coral reefs, it has been said, are visual poems, filling a diver's sense of sight with form, color and patterns. If so, Belize is a master poet, and the Belize Barrier Reef is an epic of colossal proportions. At 190 miles in length, dotted with around 200 cayes, the Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef, while the variety of reef types and marine life within its borders is unequaled in the norther hemisphere.
Belizean waters are perfect for coral growth. Corals are surprisingly finicky, requiring warm, clear water, steady sunlight and a shallow, firm foundation to grown on. The vast mass of marine life now following the Belizean coast actually grows on a ancient reef. This thrived over thousands of years, when water was imprisioned in gigantic northern glaciers and sea levels were 300 feet lower than they are today. The underlying Pleistocene reef structure contains many of the same coral species divers still see, as scientists found from cores drilled 175 feet below the surface of present-day reefs.
Closer to the surface, at Reef Point on the northern shore of Ambergris Caye, lies further evidence of these ancient reefs. Here, portions of the Pleistocene coral reef intercept the shoreline in an area no larger than a football field. Sharp, skeletal remains of staghorn, elkhorn and brain corals lie exposed, cemented together in a matrix of coral stands. During the winter, heavy surf pounds this coast, fracturing the ancient reef and tossing limestone fragments upon a 15 foot rubble wall, but in calmer weather charter boats slip through a narrow channel from San Pedro. The eroding limestone and fossil corals conjure up images of prehistoric landscapes, but you don't have to go far to see the images come to life.
DIVING ON THE REEF
South of Reef Point, the "hard" coral begins to form a true barrier reef, snaking south into the Bay of Honduras. The reef is not one continuous wall of coral, but is splintered into segments separated by relatively deep channels. The oxygen and plankton carried by the Caribbean Sea flush the Belize coastal zone twice daily through these channels, feeding billions of hungry coral polyps and other reef creatures. Attracting large numbers of fish as a result, they are often excellent for diving and snorkeling (the most popular and accessible is Hol Chan Marine Reserve on Ambergris Caye).
There are over 460 species of fish that snorkeler or divers are likely to see while swimming over coral reefs. Though some look formidable, most fish are unconcerned by your presence. Barracudas for example, have a unnerving habit of approaching swimmers and following them about. This is pure curisoity - there has never been a report of an unprovoked attack by a barracuda, and they normally move away when approached. Eels have a nasty reputation, although they are generally non-aggressive. Alarmingly, they open and close their mouths as if preparing to bite, but they are merely pumping water through their gills. But be careful: eels can inflict a nasty bite if annoyed, especially the green moray eel.
Sharks are not commonly encountered in Belize, with the exception of the docile nurse shark. Chances are that sharks will sense you long before you see them, and move away. However, all sharks should be treated with caution. Even the normally docile nurse shark can become aggressive if molested.
Probably the most serious underwater hazzard is the long-spined urchin. Needlelike spines will pierce gloves or wet suits, and the tips easily break off. Fire coral is a danger in shallow water: with a smooth surface and a uniform mustard color, it grows in two distinct forms, platelike or encrusting. Though it looks like one, fire coral is not a true coral. This hydrozoan has tiny silica needles that break off on contact and can cause intense stinging. Some sponges cause irritation, as do bristle worms.
The best way to avoid any potential problems when exploring the coral reef is never to touch anything - for your own safety and the health of the reef.
RESEARCH ON THE REEF
The basic structure of the Barrier Reef is similar all along its 190 miles length. At Carrie Bow Caye, a marine lab perched atop the edge of the Barrier Reef, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History have divided the reef up into the basic zones, or habitats.
A zone is an area where local environmental conditions - temperature, sunlight, water movement - allow certain groups of animals and plants to exist together. Usually one or two species in the group are more abundant than the rest and are used to characterize a habitat. Starting from the shoreward, or western side of the Barrer Reef, four major and 12 minor zones have been established along an east-west line north of Carrie Bow Caye. These zones include grass beds, where conch and striped grunts feed; reef flats, where crabs, small corals and anemones lie concealed among the rubble and sand; and spur and groove formations, where the coral grows in long linear mounds separated by coral sand gullies.
Moored as close as 10 miles off the Western Caribbean Barrier Reef lie three of the four coral atolls in the Caribbean: Turneffe Island, Glover's Reef and Lighthouse Reef. The origin of these atolls - shaped like underwater table top mountains, with gardens of corals on the summit - is still a matter of speculation. Most geologists agree that the atolls grown over protrusions created by the movement of the tectonic plates of the region. The sequence of uplifting and sinking of the land masses has created magnificent underwater drop offs, some plunging to depths of 10,000 feet to the east of Lighthouse Reef.
The reef systems surrounding these atolls rival the Western Caribbean Barrier Reef in length, with almost 140 miles of lush coral growth. Within the coral barrier surrounding the atolls lie thousands of patch reefs; in the case of Turneffe, the largest of Belize atolls with an area of over 200 square miles, there are hundreds of small mangrove covered islands. Together, these three atolls provide some of the finest wall diving in the world.
THE MANGROVE COASTLINE
Coral reefs do not exist in isolation. Mangroves line much of the Belizean coastline, the cayes and lower reaches of the rivers. Seagrass may not look as spectacular as coral reefs but, as giant marine nurseries, they form the foundation of the continuing long-term health of the Belize coastal zone. The quiet, protected water of the mangrove roots and grass blades provides plentiful food and shelter for countless juvenile marine organisms. In fact, most of the shellfish and the fish caught for food or sport off the Belize coast rely on mangroves for at least part of their lives.
Four different species of mangrove thrive in Belize - red, white, and black mangrove and buttonwood. As well as stabilizing the coastline against erosion and presenting a natural buffer against destructive hurricanes, mangroves link the rich nutrients on land with the billions of hungry mouths at sea. Every year Belizean rivers transport tons of sediment to the sea from deep within the interior. The nutrients in these loads, deposited along the coast are often in forms unavailable to marine life. But mangroves thrive on the frequent deposits, producing branches, leaves and seeds.
When a mangrove leaf drops into the waters below, the process of decomposition begins. The leaf slowly releases thousands of minute particles, each coated with millions of voracious micro-organisms. Small invertebrates like worms, shrimp and crabs begin to feed on the microbes; these small invertebrates are in turn eaten by larger creatures, until the nutrients in river silt are passed on through the food chain.
Many of these smaller fish also become prey for flocks of wading birds combing the surf line for food. Belize's coast has an abundance of water birds and nesting colonies, with over 50 mangrove-covered cayes reported to have nesting sites on them. Roseate spoonbills, ibis, herons, and cormorants nest on many of the small mangrove islands in Chetumal Bay to the north. The magnificent frigate bird and brown boobies have established large nesting colonies on many cayes to the south. Man-O-War Caye, east of Dangriga, has one of the largest colonies of frigate birds in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, ospreys locate the highest trees on the cyaes, usually black mangroves, to build their nests on top from piles of loose sticks.
A LIVING TREASURE
The entire coastal zone of Belize is a treasure of sea life, pristine and as yet mostly unexploited. Every day, new jewels of marine life are discovered by scientists. For example, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution's marine lab on Carrie Bow Caye, recently stumbled upon a tiny bay that may be unique in the Caribbean - if not the world. A quirk of nature allows mangrove to grow on the edge of a series of deep sink holes. Healthy colonies of lettuce coral carpet the steep slopes of the depressions. As the slopes rise into shallow water, the scene explodes into activity, with bright orange and reds, deep purples and blues streaming past; crinoid arms perform silent ballets between 3 feet high loggerhead sponges; star and brain corals flourish among seagrasses and mangrove trunks. Sponge, anemones and tiny, barrel-shaped sea squirts cling to the prop roots, competing for the limited amount of space.
Smithsonian researchers have identified 43 different sea squirts in this one location, more than was previously known throughout the entire Caribbean. The fish are so abundant that they form layers, with the smaller fry near the surface, the larger ones a level down, and the fat-bodied berrings blanketing the carpet of lettuce coral. The location of this bay will stay a secret until scientists, the government and the conservation groups within Belize can agree on the proper management of the area. The risk to any pristine environment can not be overestimated. After all, these marine organisms have grown over thousands of years in a stable or gradually changing environment. Any sudden stress, whether from pollution, siltation, overfishing or inquires from a careless diver - can be devastating. For a visitor, kicking a piece of coral is hardly noticed; for the coral it is a matter of life and death; for Belizeans it is slow destruction of a priceless resource.
At present, the bay and countless others like it, are a gauge of the environmental health of Belize's marine systems. Areas such as these expose Belize as a wilderness country, below the waves no less than in the rainforest.