TABLE A1.
Time bins included in the analysis of long‐term change in Caribbean coral communities and significant events affecting reef environments and detection of ecological change by researchers. Timeline sourced from Jackson et al. (2014) and Cramer, Jackson et al. (2020)
| Time bin | Significant events |
|---|---|
| Pleistocene (131,000–12,000 years ago) | Period prior to human settlement in Caribbean; high‐magnitude fluctuations in sea level and climate with transitions from glacial to interglacial periods |
| Holocene (9,100 years ago–1500 AD) | Humans settle in Caribbean; sea‐level rise (following last glacial period) slows and sea level begins to stabilize; first European contact in Caribbean |
| 1500–1959 | Increasing utilization of reef resources by European colonizers; decline of indigenous populations from genocide and disease; first application of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in Caribbean watersheds in 1950s; first widespread application of synthetic pesticides on agricultural crops in the Caribbean in 1950s |
| 1960–1969 | Increase in fertilizer use and pesticide imports in Caribbean region |
| 1970–1979 | First recorded incidence of White Band Disease in Caribbean Acropora corals; first signal of anthropogenic ocean warming in Caribbean; first systematic monitoring of Caribbean reefs |
| 1980–1984 | Mass die‐off of urchin Diadema antillarum due to disease in 1982–1983; increase in macroalgae on many Caribbean reefs |
| 1985–1989 | First warming‐related coral bleaching outbreaks |
| 1990–1994 | First regional‐scale coral bleaching in Caribbean; increase in coral disease outbreaks; intensification of region‐wide reef monitoring programs |
| 1995–1999 | Extreme heating event resulting in mass coral bleaching in 1998 |
| 2000–2004 | Massive loss of reef architectural complexity following coral bleaching in 1999 |
| 2005–2011 | Extreme heating events and coral bleaching outbreaks in 2005 and 2010 |