Coastal marine fisheries are under an ever-increasing risk of collapse due to over-exploitation and human-caused degradation of coastal marine habitats and ecosystems. No-take fishery reserves can be an effective management tool to mitigate these problems. This...
The authors examine fish replenishment areas (FRAs) in the context of Hawaii’s MPA system. Because the FRAs (which restrict aquarium fishing for one target species, yellow tang fish) on 35% of West Hawaii’s coastline) are often highlighted as an example of a...
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...
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...
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...
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;...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The results of this study demonstrate that reserves can enhance coral recovery. In this study, the authors evaluated coral population dynamics to determine if reductions in macroalgal cover, caused by recovery of herbivorous parrotfishes in a reserve result in a...
This study examined whether or not grazing by fishes determined macroalgal cover, which in turn influences the recruitment of coral species on Caribbean reefs. The authors based their study in the Bahamas and included the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP). The...
Mumby and others examine the critical question, “How does predation impact herbivorous fish populations and subsequent grazing intensity within non-fished marine reserves?” Using the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, with a fishing ban enforced since 1986, the authors...
Mora et al. provide a critique of MPA networks globally. Based on prior work that suggests MPAs be at least 10km2 in area and 15km apart, we need 2559 additional MPAs. These results demonstrate the need for more MPAs of quality that can help protect species within...
In this study of benthic invertebrates in Baja California, Mexico, the authors examined the effects of marine reserves on the population of an abalone after a mass mortality event. After widespread death of the economically valuable pink abalone, Haliotis corrugata...
This study seeks to investigate three IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) representative pathways (RCP) and their differing impacts of environmental stressors to coral reefs including rising sea surface temperatures and changes in seawater aragonite...
The authors examine the lessons learned from the implementation of management strategies to address the impacts of coral reef bleaching and how these strategies may be modified to address the impacts of ocean acidification. Because stabilizing CO2 emissions is the...
An objective look at different types of MPAs and their effectiveness in conserving reef resources, the results reveal that three of the four sites that demonstrated greater average size and biomass of fishes within managed areas than outside of MPAs were...
The authors of this study ranked coral reef resilience factors based on their perceived importance by 28 coral reef experts and based on scientific evidence from a literature review. The top 11 factors for resilience management were determined to be: resistant coral...
402 people (including 19 managers) from 22 landing sites were surveyed in Coastal Kenya about their views of management regulations of fishing and perceived personal costs versus benefits from management actions. The more frequent significant factor was the perceived...
