CARICOMP program: Long-term monitoring of marine ecosystems at Morrocoy National Park, Venezuela

The data collected during almost a decade by the CARICOMP (Caribbean Coasta l Marine Productivity) program at Morrocoy National Park are presented The aim of this program is to study the structure and function of the three pri ncipal Caribbean coastal ecosystems: man-groves, seagrass beds and coral re efs. Currently; more than 12 marine laboratories from 9 countries participa te in the network. Since 1992, the program has been executed in Venezuela b y Fundacion la Salle in Isla Margarita and INTECMAR (USB) in Parque Naciona l Morrocoy: In the latter, INTECMAR has carried out routine monitoring of e nvironmental and biological variables in several localities, in order to ch aracterize the structure, composition and productivity of these marine ecos ystems. The information aims to establish comparisons with the data collect ed by other laboratories, making possible to build a robust data base for u nderstanding long-term threshold responses of these ecosystems to global ch anges, human impacts and climate changes.