TIDE Develops Seagrass Monitoring Skills

Carlos Ramirez. PHMR Head Ranger

During the first two weeks of April, TIDE’s Senior Marine Biologist, Renata Ferrari and Head Ranger for the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, Carlos Ramirez, attended a training workshop on seagrass monitoring conducted by SeagrassNet and the Marine Program of the University of New Hampshire. 

The purpose of the workshop, which was held at the Wildlife Conservation Society Research Station at Glover’s Reef, was to train technical and field staff to fully execute SeagrassNet monitoring on a quarterly basis, and to provide each monitoring team with a copy of the updated manual (2008) and the needed/missing materials.

This was the first time Carlos Ramirez attended a 

Carlos Ramirez - second from the left observe during one on the practial sessions on selecting transects

workshop of this kind, and with the experience gained he hopes to help TIDE with its monitoring.  He got an opportunity to learn all the field, lab and office protocols needed to fully execute the seagrass monitoring.  

The knowledge Carlos gained during this workshop will be put to very good use as he now understands the importance of this marine ecosystem in the protection of endangered species like the West Indian Manatee, which feed on the seagrass growing near the coast.

TIDE’s new Senior Marine Biologist had previous training in seagrass monitoring, and saw the course as a helpful refresher.  According to Renata, the workshop was well conducted by the facilitators and well attended by the participants.  SeagrassNet executes these kinds of workshops all over the world in at least 72 sites per year including Belize.

Snr. Marine Biologist Renata Ferrari take photos during seagrass monitoring workshop

She commented that the instructors, Tino Chi and Aaren Freeman, were very knowledgeable about seagrass and very capable of transmitting their knowledge.

Renata added that in the future she would like to monitor an additional seagrass transect by SCUBA diving.  The skills needed in order to execute this monitoring while diving differ from those required to execute monitoring in shallow water transects/ sites.

Seagrass monitoring is very important for TIDE since this particular resource serves not only as food and shelter for many important marine species, some of which are endangered like sea turtles but they also stabilize bottom sediments and prevents erosion along Belize’s coastline in addition to taking up nutrients and the trapping of sediments in the water – resulting in high water clarity.  

TIDE invites the public to become more involved the resource management and biodiversity conservation in Toledo.  If you would like to help us at TIDE visit our home page or contact Jonathan Labozzetta to find out how to become a member of TIDE or to make a donation. 

All photos in this article courtesy Renata Ferrari - TIDE Senior Marine Biologist