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"Coral reef ecosystems"
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Biodiversity of coral reefs
\"Discusses the variety of living things in a coral reef's ecosystem\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Socio-ecological dynamics of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems and conservation opinion propagation
The Caribbean coral reef ecosystem has experienced a long history of deterioration due to various stressors. For instance, over-fishing of parrotfish – an important grazer of macroalgae that can prevent destructive overgrowth of macroalgae – has threatened reef ecosystems in recent decades and stimulated conservation efforts such as the formation of marine protected areas. Here we develop a mathematical model of coupled socio-ecological interactions between reef dynamics and conservation opinion dynamics to better understand how natural and human factors interact individually and in combination to determine coral reef cover. We find that the coupling opinion and reef systems generates complex dynamics that are difficult to anticipate without use of a model. For instance, instead of converging to a stable state of constant coral cover and conservationist opinion, the system can oscillate between low and high live coral cover as human opinion oscillates in a boom-bust cycle between complacency and concern. Out of various possible parameter manipulations, we also find that raising awareness of coral reef endangerment best avoids counter-productive nonlinear feedbacks and always increases and stabilizes live coral reef cover. In conclusion, an improved understanding of coupled opinion-reef dynamics under anthrogenic stressors is possible using coupled socio-ecological models, and such models should be further researched.
Journal Article
Who needs a reef? : a coral reef ecosystem
In this book, we discover, the plants and animals that flourish in its tropical conditions -- from coralline algae, phytoplankton, and sea grasses to hermit crabs, moon jellies, whale sharks, and porcupinefish.
Book
Applying three distinct metrics to measure people's perceptions of resilience
Resilience management is gaining support as resilience studies proliferate. Quantification of resilience could help decision makers understand the complex dynamics of resilience and adopt resilience management. However, most quantifications have focused on resilience as an attribute of social-ecological systems, such as thresholds and safe operating spaces. Although informative for planning and implementing effective resilience management, they do not inform decision makers if people accept and support this management. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how people perceive resilience. We applied three metrics to measure how people perceive resilience: (1) an economic valuation of resilience, (2) motivations behind valuing resilience, and (3) the relative importance of resilience compared with other ecosystem services. We adopted coral reef ecosystems in Okinawa, Japan for our analysis. Coral reef ecosystems, which are rich in marine genetic resources (hotspots), have become endangered because of increasing anthropocentric pressures, and resilience is becoming an accepted method in coral reef ecosystem management. Our study revealed that an ex-ante willingness to pay (WTP) for expected benefits from a resilience management program ranged from 3439 to 5663 JPY for mean WTP and from 1615 to 2579 JPY for median WTP (cf. 100 JPY = 0.891 USD in 2017). Primary motivations, i.e., human values, underlying the valuation of resilience were conservation and self-transcendence, which overlap with some ecosystem services such as culture, bequest, education, coastal protection, sanitation, and habitat. Resilience is highly important compared with the other 10 coral reef ecosystem services. These findings could help decision makers plan and implement an effective, acceptable, and supported resilience management program.
Journal Article
Coral reefs
A brief introduction to coral reefs, including where they are found, how they grow, what lives in them, their importance, and efforts being made to protect and restore them.
Book
High-frequency dynamics of pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature in the coastal ecosystems of the Tanga-Pemba Seascape: implications for upwelling-enhanced ocean acidification and deoxygenation
Ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and warming are three interconnected global change challenges caused by increased anthropogenic carbon emissions. These issues present substantial threats to marine organisms, ecosystems, and the survival of coastal communities depending on these ecosystems. Coastal upwelling areas may experience significant declines in pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and temperature levels during upwelling events, making marine organisms and ecosystems in these areas more susceptible to ocean acidification and deoxygenation. Understanding the dynamics of pH, DO, and temperature in coastal upwelling areas is essential for evaluating the susceptibility of resident organisms and ecosystems to lower pH and DO conditions occurring during upwelling events. To accomplish this, we used the pH and the DO loggers to measure high-frequency data for pH and DO, respectively, over six months in the open ocean and for a 24-hour cycle within the mangrove, seagrass, and coral reef ecosystems of the Tanga-Pemba Seascape (T-PS) during the northeast monsoon season. Our findings revealed the occurrence of multiple upwelling events, with varying durations, that result in significant declines in pH, DO, and temperature within the seascape. This is the first study to confirm the occurrence of multiple upwelling events in the T-PS. Moreover, the study has revealed a pH threshold value of 7.43 for ocean acidification in the T-PS. This is the first study to report a threshold value for ocean acidification in coastal upwelling areas of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Furthermore, it revealed that the extremely low levels of pH that occurred during upwelling events were above the pH threshold value of 7.43 for ocean acidification, while the extremely low levels of DO fell below the oxygen threshold value of 4.6 mg/L for deoxygenation. During upwelling events, seagrass and coral reef ecosystems, but not mangrove ecosystems, demonstrated elevated mean hourly values of pH and DO compared to those of the open ocean. These findings show that marine organisms and ecosystems in the T-PS are frequently exposed to lower pH and DO conditions due multiple upwelling events. However, their susceptibility to these conditions is reduced to some extent by the presence of seagrass meadows within these interconnected systems.
Journal Article
A carbon cycling model shows strong control of seasonality and importance of sponges on the functioning of a northern Red Sea coral reef
Coral reefs in the northern Red Sea experience strong seasonality. This affects reef carbon (C) cycling, but ecosystem-wide quantification of C fluxes in such reefs is limited. This study quantified seasonal reef community C fluxes with incubations. Resulting data were then incorporated into seasonal linear inverse models (LIM). For spring, additional sponge incubation results allowed for unique assessment of the contribution of sponges to C cycling. The coral reef ecosystem was heterotrophic throughout all seasons as gross community primary production (GPP; 136–200, range of seasonal means in mmol C m−2 d−1) was less than community respiration (R; 192–279), and balanced by import of organic carbon (52–100), 88‒92% of which being dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Hard coral GPP (74–110) and R (100–137), as well as pelagic bacteria DOC uptake (58–101) and R (42–86), were the largest C fluxes across seasons. The ecosystem was least heterotrophic in spring (highest irradiance) (GPP:R 0.81), but most heterotrophic in summer and fall with higher water temperatures (0.68 and 0.60, respectively). Adding the sponge community to the model increased community R (247 ± 8 without to 353 ± 13 with sponges (mean ± SD)). Sponges balanced this demand primarily with DOC uptake (105 ± 6, 97% by cryptic sponges). This rate is comparable to the uptake of DOC by pelagic bacteria (104 ± 5) placing the cryptic sponges among the dominant C cycling groups in the reef.
Journal Article
Economic and institutional analysis for the sustainable management of Marine Protected Areas in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia
The marine protected area of Ujung Kulon National Park, in addition to having a critical role as a buffer area for the terrestrial area of Ujung Kulon National Park, also has economic value. However, to optimize its function and its economic value, it is necessary to formulate an institutional model that not only influences aspects of efficiency and effectiveness, but also aspects of sustainability. The purpose of this study is to analyze the total economic value, the economic feasibility, and the institutional aspects of the Marine Protected Area through the Interpretative Structural Modelling (ISM) analysis. The results showed that: 1) the total economic value of the Marine Protected Area of Ujung Kulon National Park is 179690454.49 USD, consisting of mangrove ecosystems (83800377.28 USD per year), and coral reef ecosystems (95890077.21 USD per year); 2) the economic feasibility analysis shows that the net present value (NPV) is 132923470.05 USD, higher than 0, the net benefit cost ratio (Net B/C) is 19.3, higher than 1, the internal rate of return (IRR) is 39.43%, higher than 20% and higher than the minimum attractive rate of return (MARR); and 3) the ISM analysis shows that the main actors are Ujung Kulon National Park Office, the Development Planning Agency at the sub-national level of Banten Province, society, and entrepreneurs.
Journal Article
Global warming impairs stock–recruitment dynamics of corals
Changes in disturbance regimes due to climate change are increasingly challenging the capacity of ecosystems to absorb recurrent shocks and reassemble afterwards, escalating the risk of widespread ecological collapse of current ecosystems and the emergence of novel assemblages
1
–
3
. In marine systems, the production of larvae and recruitment of functionally important species are fundamental processes for rebuilding depleted adult populations, maintaining resilience and avoiding regime shifts in the face of rising environmental pressures
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,
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. Here we document a regional-scale shift in stock–recruitment relationships of corals along the Great Barrier Reef—the world’s largest coral reef system—following unprecedented back-to-back mass bleaching events caused by global warming. As a consequence of mass mortality of adult brood stock in 2016 and 2017 owing to heat stress
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, the amount of larval recruitment declined in 2018 by 89% compared to historical levels. For the first time, brooding pocilloporids replaced spawning acroporids as the dominant taxon in the depleted recruitment pool. The collapse in stock–recruitment relationships indicates that the low resistance of adult brood stocks to repeated episodes of coral bleaching is inexorably tied to an impaired capacity for recovery, which highlights the multifaceted processes that underlie the global decline of coral reefs. The extent to which the Great Barrier Reef will be able to recover from the collapse in stock–recruitment relationships remains uncertain, given the projected increased frequency of extreme climate events over the next two decades
7
.
A regional-scale shift in the relationships between adult stock and recruitment of corals occurred along the Great Barrier Reef, following mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 caused by global warming.
Journal Article
Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages
Global warming is rapidly emerging as a universal threat to ecological integrity and function, highlighting the urgent need for a better understanding of the impact of heat exposure on the resilience of ecosystems and the people who depend on them
1
. Here we show that in the aftermath of the record-breaking marine heatwave on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016
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, corals began to die immediately on reefs where the accumulated heat exposure exceeded a critical threshold of degree heating weeks, which was 3–4 °C-weeks. After eight months, an exposure of 6 °C-weeks or more drove an unprecedented, regional-scale shift in the composition of coral assemblages, reflecting markedly divergent responses to heat stress by different taxa. Fast-growing staghorn and tabular corals suffered a catastrophic die-off, transforming the three-dimensionality and ecological functioning of 29% of the 3,863 reefs comprising the world’s largest coral reef system. Our study bridges the gap between the theory and practice of assessing the risk of ecosystem collapse, under the emerging framework for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems
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, by rigorously defining both the initial and collapsed states, identifying the major driver of change, and establishing quantitative collapse thresholds. The increasing prevalence of post-bleaching mass mortality of corals represents a radical shift in the disturbance regimes of tropical reefs, both adding to and far exceeding the influence of recurrent cyclones and other local pulse events, presenting a fundamental challenge to the long-term future of these iconic ecosystems.
Acute heat stress from the extended marine heatwave of 2016 is a potent driver of the transformation of coral assemblages, which affects even the most remote and well-protected reefs of the Great Barrier Reef.
Journal Article