JOURDAN, M.C.*; GILCHRIST, S.L.; New College of Florida, Sarasota; New College of Florida, Sarasota: Transects indicating living and dead coral species on two shallow coral reefs (Bailey’s Cay and Anthony’s Key, Roatan, Honduras)

An assessment of coral coverage on two small reefs was made during July and August 2003. Both Bailey�s Cay and Anthony�s Key are part of a series of small islands formed from a collapsed volcanic rim. Bailey�s Cay reef is oriented from northwest to southeast and is sheltered from the east by Anthony�s Cay and from the south by Roatan. Parallel to Bailey�s Cay is a major boat channel through the islands. Anthony�s Key reef is oriented from east to west and faces direct exposure to wave action. Both sampling areas were heavily impacted Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and they are both subject to damage from snorklers and divers. Transects from two points at each site, beginning at the shore line and extending approximately three meters past the crest, revealed that only an average of about 10% of the corals on Anthony�s Key were alive while an average of 31% were live on Bailey�s Cay. At the reef crest for both sites, unidentifiable dead coral and coral rubble predominated. Both reefs had similar species diversity.