Monitoring Reef Resilience | Reef Resilience

Papua New Guinea – MPA Design

by reefres | Apr 7, 2014

Designing a Resilient MPA in Kimbe Bay

Mozambique – Monitoring Reef Resilience

by reefres | Apr 7, 2014

Using Reef Resilience Assessments to Inform Marine Reserve Design

Mass Coral Bleaching in 2010 in the Southern Caribbean

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

The authors, Alemu and Clement, monitored the bleaching response at 3 sites across Tobago during a bleaching event in 2010. The purpose was to find nodes of reef resilience in Tobago by identifying taxa resilient to bleaching. This will assist local coral reef...

Opposite Latitudinal Gradients in Projected Ocean Acidification and Bleaching Impacts on Coral Reefs

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

A new Google Earth tool contains the most recent projections of coral bleaching and ocean acidification for all coral reef areas. The projections are based on climate models from the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report. Using this tool, managers can go to areas of interest...

Global Assessment of the Status of Coral Reef Herbivorous Fishes: Evidence for Fishing Effects

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

The authors conducted a large-scale synthesis of data to assess the global status of herbivorous fish. They found much higher biomass (2 times higher) in un-fished areas, and also much higher biomass in certain regions (central Pacific) compared to the Caribbean. They...

The 2nd Annual Coral Reef Conservation and Management Conference

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

This document provides a written summary of the talks presented. The summaries are organized chronologically with a paragraph describing each speaker. Powerpoint slides of the presentations are not available to the general public. Please contact the speakers...

Monitoring Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

A practical guide on how monitoring can support effective management of MPAs. Produced by the Australian Institute of Marine Science and IUCN Global Marine Program, this publication provides seventeen case studies and information on monitoring methods. Author:...

Adaptive Comanagement of a Marine Protected Area Network in Fiji

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

Adaptive management is an iterative process by which management strategies are adjusted with new information. Although there are calls for adaptive management, few on-the-ground examples of success in conservation planning and MPA network design exist. This article...

Restrictions in Marine Protected Areas in the Coral Triangle – The coral reef crisis: The critical importance of <350 ppm CO2

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

The authors of this paper outline the grim state and future of coral reef ecosystems, and the consequential domino effects to follow for other systems associated with reefs. Mass bleaching and mortality are identified as the current crisis to corals, and based on the...

Heeding a Call to Action—US Coral Reefs: The Untapped Potential of the Clean Water Act

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

This editorial, by the US Environmental Protection Agency, calls attention to the Clean Water Act (CWA), which can provide an opportunity to incorporate scientific knowledge into the management of coral reefs in for US waters. While MPAs are the dominant approach to...

Do Some Corals Like It Hot?

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

The Adaptive Bleaching Hypothesis is a controversial theory that states that stress resistant coral-zooxanthellae associations can develop from frequent and severe environmental stress. This hypothesis is reviewed and future directions for research are suggested....

A Global Analysis of the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in Preventing Coral Loss

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

The authors of this paper compiled a global database of 8534 live coral surveys from 1969-2006 to compare annual changes in coral cover inside 310 MPAs to unprotected areas. The results showed that on average, coral cover within MPAs remained constant, while coral...

Global Disparity in the Resilience of Coral Reefs

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

The article reviews whether current knowledge of coral reef resilience, as it has historically been researched specifically in the Caribbean region, is transferrable to Indo-Pacific coral reefs. The authors hypothesize that the Caribbean may be predisposed to low...

Are U.S. Coral Reefs on the Slippery Slope to Slime?

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

This article has received significant attention from researchers, managers, and the public. It is a bit controversial and the doom and gloom picture presented may or may not most accurately describe the current state of affairs. Regardless, the paper draws attention...

Ecological Persistence Interrupted in Caribbean Coral Reefs

by reefres | Apr 2, 2014

Pandolfi and Jackson quantify the habitat stability in Caribbean coral communities during the Pleistocene, comparing records from several hundred thousand years ago to modern community structure. Pleistocene coral communities demonstrate persistence with similar...

Global Trajectories of the Long-Term Decline of Coral Reef Ecosystems

by reefres | Apr 1, 2014

This paper compiles historical records extending back several thousand years to construct a global summary (from 14 regions) of changes in seven major guilds of carnivores, herbivores, and architectural species. The time periods are divided up into cultural periods;...

Do Fluctuating Temperature Environments Elevate Coral Thermal Tolerance?

by reefres | Apr 1, 2014

While differences in thermal tolerance among regions with distinct annual mean temperatures were first recognized as evidence of coral thermal adaptation or acclimatization, thermal variation on much smaller spatial and temporal scales also appears to affect coral...

Relating Landscape Development Intensity to Coral Reef Condition in the Watersheds of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

by reefres | Apr 1, 2014

This study relates coral reef condition to human modifications of the landscape. Stony coral community richness, cover, colony size, and density were assessed along with 3-dimensional coral cover in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, in 2006 and 2007. Land use/land cover...

Community Change within a Caribbean Coral Reef Marine Protected Area following Two Decades of Local Management

by reefres | Apr 1, 2014

Authors of this study examine effects of spatial zoning and management of the Saba Marine Park (Netherlands Antilles, Caribbean) on coral reef communities over 21 years of MPA establishment. Results of the MPA are mixed for effects on fish density, biomass and species...

Coral Larvae Under Ocean Acidification: Survival, Metabolism, and Metamorphosis

by reefres | Apr 1, 2014

The authors examined the metabolism of coral larvae under different pH conditions to explain the observed, uniform, survival rate of coral larvae under different pH conditions: pH 8.0 (control), pH 7.6, and pH 7.3. Larvae of Acropora digitifera was used in the study...

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