Jackson Podis, Westminster College
In the Guna Yala archipelago, PanamÌÁ, the removal of coral species for construction of coral walls has been a common practice for the Guna Yala indigenous group. This practice has the potential to drastically alter the community structure of offshore reefs. This study analyzed three reefs offshore of islands with varying coral wall volumes to quantify macroalgae and scleractinian coral cover, diversity of scleractinian coral species, and correlation between macroalgae and scleractinian coral cover. All three study sites exhibited significant differences in scleractinian coral coverage; a significant negative correlation was shown between scleractinian coral cover and macroalgal cover, and the site with the largest coral wall volume showed the lowest rates of coral species commonly used for mining. These results are telling of the potential effects coral mining can have on coral reefs in the Guna Yala archipelago, and aim to inform the development of marine resource management plans in the future.