Impacts of Hurricane Mitch on Seagrass Beds and Associated Shallow Reef Communities along the Caribbean Coast of Honduras and Guatemala
Michot TC, Burch JN, Arrivillaga A, Rafferty PS, Doyle TW, Kemmerer RS. 2002. Impacts of Hurricane Mitch on Seagrass Beds and Associated Shallow Reef Communities along the Caribbean Coast of Honduras and Guatemala. USGS Activity B6. Lafayette, Louisianna
Seagrass meadows and shallow reef communities in the Caribbean Sea were evaluated to assess impacts from Hurricane Mitch (October 26 through November 5, 1998). Sites in Honduras and Guatemala were established along an impact gradient (hi~ medium and low) for each of two disturbance types (wind and sediment). At each of the six sites, two transects were established perpendicular to the shoreline to determine vegetation cover and community composition. Duplicate cores were collected along each transect to determine sediment stratigraphy and aboveground and belowground biomass. In addition, short shoots of Thalassia testudinum, the dominant seagrass species at all sites, were collected and the distance between leaf scars (plastochrone interval, or PI) was measured to reconstruct the growth history and shoot chronology at each site. Study sites were selected based on initial aerial and ground surveys conducted in December 1998, July 1999, and December 1999. Factors considered in site selection included geographical proximity to known storm track and associated areas of high winds, rainfall, and runoff; presence of seagrass beds; and observed damages to adjacent mangrove or other forested communities. The six sites, and their associated predicted impact types and levels, were distributed as follows: Guanaja, Honduras, north shore (wind, high impact); Roatan, Honduras, north shore (wind, intermediate impact); Roatan, Honduras, south shore (wind, low impact); Punta Manabique, Guatemala (sediment, high impact); Cayos Cochinos, Honduras (sediment, intermediate impact); and Bahia Ia Graciosa (sediment, low impact). Field data collection for the six sites was conducted in January 2001 and August 2001.