Bonaire National Marine Park - RESEARCH AND MONITORING

As you might expect, the Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) is involved in a great deal of research.

Bonaire is on its way to capturing information needed to evaluate the health of the reef. On Wednesday August 22, 2007 Ramon de Leon, Bonaire National Marine Park Manager, introduced American Professor Dr. Burton Jones, creator of the “Light and Motion” system. This innovative process measures changes in light and absorbed color to determine ocean water quality in the Bonaire National Marine Park. Read more…

The preliminary results of one year nutrient monitoring are ready.
The nutrient monitoring project is an initiative of the NACRI, or Netherlands Antilles Coral Reef Initiative, and organized by the department of Nature and Environment of the Netherlands Antilles (MINA), and STINAPA Bonaire, together with Reef Care Curaçao, the Section Environmental Management in Bonaire (DROB-MNB), and the Agriculture and Fisheries Service (LVV) in Curaçao.
The results presented still need further analysis. However, it is clear that on average Curaçao has up to five times more seaweeds on the reef than Bonaire as well as having more phytoplankton (algae suspended in the water). Read more…

The BNMP has also been involved with reef surveys through the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) program.  This program is used to monitor stony coral, other invertebrates, and fish. Bonaire’s living coral coverage is currently well above average, in the 49-52% range.  BNMP Volunteer Susan Porter completed training in AGRRA protocols. She is training and leading BNMP Volunteers in AGRRA surveys.

Since the inception of the Reef Environmental Education Foundation’s Fish Surveys, Bonaire’s fish have been well represented.  Bonaire scuba instructor Linda Baker was honored by REEF in 2005 with their first-ever “Golden Hamlet” award for having submitted 1000 surveys. In December 2005 the number of Bonaire fish surveys sent to REEF reached 10,000.  REEF fish watchers have recorded 469 species of fishes on Bonaire’s reefs; of those, more than 400 species have been recorded more than once.  You can access all this information at www.reef.org, where you can see exactly which species of fishes have been surveyed on Bonaire.  You can also learn about joining REEF and taking fish surveys yourself.  It’s a great way to help science, and it may even revitalize and refocus your diving.

Also guiding programs, which monitor Bonaire’s coral reefs, is Kalli de Meyer, who is remarkably prepared for this duty since she was the BMP/BNMP Manager for the decade from 1991 to 2001.  Kalli is currently the Executive Director of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), supporting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management in the 10 terrestrial and marine parks of the Dutch Caribbean.

Another BNMP “alumnus” whose current work effects us here is Tom van ‘t Hof.  Tom guided the establishment, then the revitalization, of the Marine Park.  BNMP plans for dive site use will take into account Tom’s research on diver impact on reefs.

In addition to locally focused research, BNMP sites are often used by visiting scientists for other research.  Dr. Eugenie Clark and others studied our razor fish in the mid-1980’s. Our squid were studied by Dr. Lynn Mather in the mid 1990’s. Our fish stocks are currently the subject of a study by the University of Maine’s Dr. Robert Stenneck. 

Research papers have been posted with permission of the scientists on the link of publications.

All researchers need a permit to do any research in the Marine Park.