Fernández Vázquez, Iremar

Profile Picture

Filters

20231
Reset filters

Settings

Citations

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Spatial and temporal patterns of recreational boating use and associated impact on seagrass meadows in La Parguera, Puerto Rico
    (2023-12-11) Fernández Vázquez, Iremar; Cruz Motta, Juan J.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Hernández López, William J.; López Ocasio, Darien; López Marrero , Tania del Mar; Department of Marine Sciences; Sánchez de León, Yaniria
    Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) defined by The International Union for Conservation of Nature as areas of Ocean set aside for long-term conservation aims are a growing management resource in the world. But their expansion along with the rising population and growing access to goods and services means the number of users within MPAs is increasing. With more people using MPAs, new impacts and pressures are being introduced to marine ecosystems. An important pressure is that of recreational boating which can incur in chemical and mechanical impacts to the marine environment. Particularly in seagrass meadows, an ecosystem that plays a crucial role in marine ecosystems providing a variety of ecosystem services, boating related activities can be a driver of decline via anchoring and propeller scarring. We looked at the potential impact (Boating) and its consequences (declining seagrass cover) within La Parguera Natural Reserve, an MPA in the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. We described spatial and temporal patterns of recreational boating. In addition, we calculated the optimal boating use and calculated the percentage of use at peak usage. We determined the optimal number of boats for 6 cays in the reserve and found most of the cays (Caracoles, Mata la Gata, Enrique, and Collado) are being subjected to a high intensity of use, experiencing up to 857% of their optimal capacity during peak usage. These findings underscore the urgency of implementing management measures to minimize the environmental impacts of recreational boating while still allowing for sustainable social use within the system. To work out the consequences of boating related activities on seagrass meadows we examined changes in their cover over the past decade. Satellite image analysis revealed declining seagrass cover in the cays of the reserve. Loss in cover ranges from 2-15%. In Enrique, in particular, we studied the impact of anchoring in seagrass cover, and we found that a high number of boats anchor on seagrasses (32.68% of anchored boats). In general, anchored sites had approximately 30% less cover than reference and control sites, and no recovery was seen in a period of 6 months. Seagrass recovery is slow, emphasizing the importance of immediate management and conservation efforts. Such efforts must include regulating anchoring practices and enforcing buoys to protect these vital seagrass meadows. Furthermore, the impacts of boating and anchoring extend beyond mere seagrass cover, and studies looking into water quality, noise pollution, and overall biodiversity must be done as part of long-term monitoring of the system's state.