Hurricane impacts on coral reef ecology and tourist economies

Coral Reefs are within the most diverse ecosystems in the world providing a wide array of goods and services to people. However, climatic changes and anthropogenic pressures are expected to profoundly modify reef structure and functioning. The increase of cyclones as a consequence of global warming is one of the principal threats in the Western Atlantic, highlighting the necessity to evaluate the resistance and resilience of the coral reefs and the social communities that depend of them in this region. During 2005, Cozumel was hit by two of the strongest hurricanes of the season: Emily and Wilma. This work evaluates the damage that both hurricanes inflicted on the reefs inside the Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel, and the consequences of this damage for tourist income on the island. The amount of bare rock on reefs increased greatly post-impact, as a result of the loss of benthic organisms. In terms of the coral communities, the total cover decreased from 25% to 11% after the hurricanes. Physical damage was patchy, and most of the damage occurred to fragile species. From a social perspective, a sudden and severe reduction in tourist numbers had serious consequences for the local economy of the island, highlighting the delicate relationship between such natural systems and the people that depend on them. After six months there was slight evidence of recovery and coral recolonization. The Marine Park protection, the decrease in tourist pressure, and the lack of algae recuperation on the area may have facilitated this recovery.