Tag: coral reefs
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Bruno et al. 2019 ARMS review: Supplemental info on MPA enforcement
One question I’ve gotten recently after presenting the results of the primary meta-analysis in this paper is whether the MPAs (most of which are fully protected marine reserves) were effective in protecting fish populations. Are they well-designed, well-enforced, etc. and are there more fishes, particularly herbivorous fishes, inside them than in neighboring unprotected sites? It’s…
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Coral reef resilience: a biogeographic perspective
Coral reefs are affected by a large range of disturbances including disease, bleaching, storms, and Acanthaster planci, also known as crown of thorn starfish (COTS) outbreaks. There appears to be a lot of variation of how much coral cover is affected by physical and biological disturbances and in how quickly coral communities recover from it. Those two…
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Graph of the day: projected coral bleaching under different RCPs
From van Hooidonk et al. 2013 PDF. Learn about RCPs here.
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Mapping projected ocean acidification
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Continued coral reef accretion requires vastly reduced CO2 emissions
An important new modeling study (Kennedy et al 2013 download PDF) forecasts the structural decay of Caribbean reefs based on emission scenarios from the new ‘representative concentration pathways’ (RCPs). Excerpted Authors Summary: Coral reefs face multiple anthropogenic threats, from pollution and overfishing to the dual effects of greenhouse gas emissions: rising sea temperature and ocean…
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The coral reef baselines survey
“The tragedy of recent coral reef decline is that too few people actually know what coral reefs are supposed to be like, and too few of those who now study reefs witnessed what coral reefs used to be like decades ago.” (Peter Sale and Alina Szmant from the Reef Reminiscences Report) I am fascinated by…
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Are unreasonably harsh reviewers retarding the pace of coral reef science?
I just published my first PeerJ Preprint here! Abstract: Identifying the baseline or natural state of an ecosystem is a critical step in effective conservation and restoration. Like most marine ecosystems, coral reefs are being degraded by human activities: corals and fish have declined in abundance and seaweeds, or macroalgae, have become more prevalent. The challenge…
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A glass half full view of coral reef conservation
A glass half full view of coral reef conservation from Dr Tim McClanahan, a field ecologist for WCS. As we mark Earth Day this year with a recognition of “the face of climate change,” it is clear that the greatest threat to coral reef ecosystems is rising sea temperatures. With corals across the globe bleaching…
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Call me coral
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Mikono ya Wavuvi (In Fishermen’s Hands)
This excellent video is by Austin Humphries, a PhD student working with Tim McClanahan in Kenya on coral reef ecology and conservation. It recently won the People’s Choice Award at the Beneath the Waves Film Festival! Check it out.