"During June 2010, a team of 5-7 marine scientists surveyed 41 shallow reefs off Little Cayman, Cayman Brac and Grand Cayman. These surveys assessed benthic cover, population dynamics (size structure and condition) of reef building corals, and community structure of about 100 species of reef fishes, along with a number of factors that confer resilience. At the time of these surveys, the reefs were recovering from a recent (2009) bleaching event and an ongoing outbreak of white plague was threatening the vitality of these communities. In addition, an infestation by a pest species of macroalgae (Microdictyon spp.) carpeted northern Cayman Brac reefs and the algae was overgrowing many of the corals"--Summary.

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