Abstract
Both ecological and anthropogenic changes constantly shape the form, function, and longevity of tropical marine ecosystems. With emerging technologies in remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis, these changes can be accurately and efficiently monitored to provide actionable information to help shape the future of marine protected areas (MPAs). The South Water Caye Marine Reserve (SWCMR), an MPA in southern Belize, contains the largest unbroken stretch of the Belize Barrier Reef as well as many small mangrove islands, patch reefs, and seagrass beds that sustain myriad threatened and economically important fisheries. While this is an important marine reserve, no study has documented change within it. This study fills this knowledge gap by applying land use and land cover (LULC) change analysis methods to 3- and 5-m resolution satellite images from Planet taken in 2010 and 2019 to measure changes in open water, seagrass, terrestrial vegetation, and developed and barren land cover within the SWCMR. The results of this study have an accuracy of at least 80%. They reveal decreases in seagrass cover and increases in the developed and barren areas in and around the SWCMR. While greater amounts of change are found outside the marine reserve boundaries, within the SWCMR, the total area of developed and barren land cover increased by 203.77% and 70.97%, respectively, from 2010 to 2019. Documenting these changes in the SWCMR establishes the reserve as a model for understanding the tropical marine environments throughout Belize and provides valuable data for management decision-making.
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Data availability
The datasets analyzed during the current study are available in Planet’s satellite image repository at https://www.planet.com/get-started/ or from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank our partners in Belize, who helped make this project possible. To the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment, the crew at Blue Marlin Beach Resort, the Garbutt family, and the people of South Water Caye and Lime Caye, thank you. Many thanks also go to the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers for fieldwork funding assistance as well as the University of Alabama Department of Geography for their support.
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Williams, S.C., Steinberg, M.K. & Cissell, J.R. Monitoring reef flat habitat change in South Water Caye Marine Reserve, Belize. Environ Biol Fish 106, 209–220 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01382-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01382-x