"Jewel Of The Caribbean"- The Mesoamerican Reef

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Found in shallow coastal waters and islands, brown pelicans are famous for their spectacular headfirst plunges. From as high up as 33 feet (10 meters), the pelicans dive straight for the water, opening their bill as they hit the surface and trapping fish in their huge pouches. After these dives, air sacs under the pelican's skin and in its skeleton help the large bird bob back up to the surface.

The brown pelican has had a dramatic past. In the middle of 20th century, its numbers dropped drastically as a result of pesticides, which harmed the birds' eggshells and caused problems with reproduction. Today they are common in the Mesoamerican Reef ecosystem, although threats do remain, including pollution, fishing lines, and human disturbance of nesting colonies.

Like its name says, the red-footed booby sports shocking red feet, which stand out against a less distinctive body of dark brown or white. When gathering food for themselves or their offspring, red-footed boobies dive vertically into the water to snatch flying fish or squid in their mouths.

At breeding time these birds nest in trees on oceanic islands. They rarely raise more than one chick at a time. The coastal forests of the ecoregion where the red-footed boobies nest are threatened by habitat destruction and development.

Sergeant majors

Sergeant majors are usually found above shallow reefs, often form feeding groups of up to several hundred fish. They feed on algae, small crustaceans and fish, and larvae. Sergeant majors also form colonies to breed. The males of the species guard the eggs and aggressively chase off any potential threat. Though sergeant majors are found in abundance today, conservationists worry that the current trend of coral-reef destruction could threaten the fish's habitats and mean trouble for its future.

The spiny lobster

Not a true lobster… the misnamed spiny lobster is a member of the crayfish family and is sometimes called rock lobster or marine crayfish. Spiny lobsters stay in rock or coral crevices during the day, emerging at night to scavenge for invertebrates, such as mussels or crabs.

Many spiny lobsters undertake huge mass migrations every year. A popular catch for commercial fishers, the spiny lobster's numbers have been reduced in most areas of the Mesoamerican Reef ecoregion.

The sea urchin

Like other echinoderms, such as sea stars (starfish) and sea cucumbers, the long-spined sea urchin has no head - just a mouth surrounded by a body. As its name suggests, this sea urchin is covered in sharp spines.
The long-spined sea urchin plays an important role in the health of coral reefs. This urchin feeds on algae that compete with corals for the limited space on the reef surface. By keeping down the algae, the sea urchins help give corals room to grow.

In the 1980s disease wiped out most of the long-spined sea urchins in the Caribbean, and the reefs were largely taken over by algae. The sea urchins have just recently begun to repopulate some reefs in the Caribbean.

The queen triggerfish

The queen triggerfish, found in the shallow waters of the Caribbean, stands out for its eating abilities. It has large, incisor like teeth that enable it to feed on crustaceans, mollusks, and echinoderms, such as sea stars (starfish). Queen triggerfish are also able to eat the spiny sea urchin, using a unique trick. They blow a stream of water at the urchin until it overturns, exposing its less spiny underside.

The lemon shark

The lemon shark, unlike some other sharks, doesn't have to swim constantly in order to breathe, so it often spends the day lying on the sandy seafloor. Since it is fairly common, easy to find, and not aggressive, the lemon shark is a popular research subject for scientists.

Other animals in the Mesoamerican Reef include several dolphin species, like the bottlenosed dolphin, the spotted dolphin and the rough-toothed dolphin that are found in the reef's coastal waters.

The reef's outer edges are characterized by deep water corals, sponges and soft corals, above which grow the more delicate finger and palmate corals. Marine grasses flourish on the sheltered side of the reef with their roots in broken corals and accumulated sediments. Its massive structure provides an important defense against storms and coastal erosion, while the living reef and associated ecosystems support recreation and commercial fishing.

If you have the chance, don't hesitate and explore this paradise!