Marine Studies on the North Coast of Jamaica

Bakus, Gerald

During July and August of 1970 a group of 12 students and several instructors participated in research and teaching in the second Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) course in Tropical Marine Biology. The primary site was the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory and immediate environs on the north coast of Jamaica. The laboratory provided facilities for maintaining live marine organisms, under the direction of Mr. Norman Copland, Manager. Discovery Bay consists of a variety of marine communities, particularly sandy bottoms, Thalassia beds, and coral patch reefs. Among the most striking communities is an exceptional sponge bed located at a depth of 50-75 feet (15-23 m) just off Colombus Park, with certain specimens approaching the size of a washtub. The bay is contained by a reef crest of zoanthids, scleractinian corals, sea urchins, and numerous associated organisms. Beyond the reef crest, scleractinian corals slope gently seaward before the island shelf plunges into the depths. Underwater visibility on the outside of the reef crest often approaches 150 feet (46 m). Scleractinian corals are magnificently developed along this narrow shelf. Sclerosponges occur as cavernicolous cryptofauna in waters 8 to 92 meters deep (Hartman and Goreau, 1970). Goreau (1959) presented a detailed report on the ecology of coral reefs on the north coast of Jamaica. The low incjdence of exposed soft-bodied invertebrates and the low standing crops of exposed fleshy algae on the reef slope are in part interpreted as the evolutionary product of tropical predator-prey and grazer-plant interactions (Bakus, 1969). The abstracts presented below summarize studies conducted during the OTS program. A complete report of our research activities is on file in the OTS North American Office.