Hurricane Matthew impacts to marine and coastal biodiversity on southern coast of Dominican Republic

Abstract

A rapid environmental assessment was conducted by the staff of Marine Biology Research Center (CIBIMA), Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, to evaluate the effects of the hurricane Matthew on October 3, being the 14th storm of the year 2016 for the Caribbean region. The observations were carried out two weeks after the storm hit. These observations included coastal ecosystems, such as marshes, beaches, lagoons, wetlands, mangrove forests, nearshore sea grasses and coral reefs. The evaluation included observations on the magnitude of the distresses and levels of destruction—changes, produced by the intense weather and upset climate from the storm. The data gathered were recorded following a categorization of impacts. It also included a description of the different coastal communities after being impacted and affected by the storm.