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Coral Reef Resilience Annotated Bibliography

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Coral Reef Resilience Annotated Bibliography Coral reef resilience annotated bibliography Abelson, A, Olinky, R and Gaines, S. (2005) Coral recruitment to the reefs of Eilat, Red Sea: Temporal and spatial variation, and possible effects of anthropogenic disturbances. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50, 576-582. The accelerating deterioration of the coral reefs of Eilat has raised debate over the exact causes and how they affect the reefs. The hypothesis of the present study was that a low recruitment rate of reef-building coral species may play an important role in the decline of the Eilat reefs. Our goal was to assess spatial and temporal recruitment patterns in Eilat, focusing on examining the possible impact of human activities. The results of coral recruitment to 10 series of ceramic tiles on metal racks, revealed very low overall recruitment relative to other geographical regions. In addition, we found that recruitment rates and recruit survival were lowest at sites closest to the major eutrophication sources in Eilat. The low recruitment rates may be chronically too low to compensate for the elevated coral mortality rates of recent years. The significant differences between the present study and a similar study carried out during the same period using a different method, emphasize the crucial need for a standardized method for recruitment assessment in coral reefs worldwide. Abramovitch-Gottlib, L, Katoshevski, D and Vago, R. (2002) A computerized tank system for studying the effect of temperature on calcification of reef organisms. Journal of Biochemical and Biophysical Methods 50, 245-252. Mediated by algal symbionts, calcification in reef building corals is one of the important processes, which enable coral’s growth. In the present study, we used a buoyant weighing technique to study calcification of two coralline species, Stylophora pistillata and the hydrocoral Millepora dichotoma . The colonies were grown in a tank system, in which light, nutrition and water motion were kept constant and temperature was elevated by means of a computerized controlled apparatus. An almost constant rate of calcification was observed in the two species at 22–28°C. Elevation of the temperature above this range to 29–31°C caused a slow down in calcification in both species. A grater number of S. pistillata colonies became bleached at temperatures of ≥29°C, whereas M. dichotoma colonies suffered from bleaching only after three days at 31°C. For both species, control groups, remained viable during the experimental period. The differences in responses to changes in temperature of the two species may be as a consequence of different adaptive mechanisms or to different susceptibilities of the corals to elevated temperatures. We have shown that elevating temperatures above annual maximal ranges have a significant effect on coral calcification. We also demonstrated that sessile calcified marine organisms having ecological and biomedical significance could be cultured and manipulated under laboratory conditions. Adger, WN, Hughes, TP, Folke, C, Carpenter, SR and Rockström, J. (2005) Social- ecological resilience to coastal disasters. Science 309, 1036-1039. Social and ecological vulnerability to disasters and outcomes of any particular extreme event are influenced by buildup or erosion of resilience both before and after disasters occur. Resilient social-ecological systems incorporate diverse mechanisms for living with, and learning from, change and unexpected shocks. Disaster management requires multilevel governance systems that can enhance the capacity to cope with uncertainty and surprise by mobilizing diverse sources of resilience. Adjeroud, M, Penin, L and Carroll, A. (2007) Spatio-temporal heterogeneity in coral recruitment around Moorea, French Polynesia: Implications for population maintenance. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 341, 204–218. The spatio-temporal variability of scleractinian coral recruitment was investigated from December 2000 to December 2003 around Moorea Island (French Polynesia). Nine stations, each with 20 terracotta tiles, were placed on the outer reef slope, at 3 sites (Vaipahu, Tiahura, Haapiti), and at 3 depths (6, 12 and 18 m). The relative contribution of the different families of recruits (Pocilloporidae: 60.4%, Poritidae: 18.8%, Acroporidae: 11.2%) and the very low recruitment rates (maximum: 35 recruits per tile, higher mean densities of 10.8 recruits per tile, average 40.77 recruits m−2 year−1) recorded at Moorea are similar to recruitment patterns recorded on sub-tropical reefs. Over the duration of the study period, we detected a marked seasonal variability in recruitment rates, with the peak recruitment for all families recorded in December–March periods, corresponding to periods of warmest SSTs. However, recruits of Acroporidae were also relatively abundant in the September–December period in some years, which coincides with the known spawning periods of some Acropora species. Total recruitment rate decreased after the first year of the survey, and was probably the result of the bleaching event that occurred in early 2002, which may have reduced fecundity of some coral populations. A lower proportion of recruits were found on the upper surface of the tiles (14.5%), compared to the lower surfaces (57.1%) and sides (28.4%), which is likely the result of intense grazing by herbivorous fish and urchins.We detected a patchy distribution at the station scale, and a significant variation in recruitment patterns among depths and sites. Pocilloporidae recruited more abundantly at 6 and 18 m, whereas Poritidae were generally more abundant at 12mdepth. In contrast, Acroporidae showed no clear depth pattern during the study period. Recruitment was lowest at the most exposed site (Haapiti), especially for Acroporidae, and probably reflects lower settlement rates and/or higher early post-settlement mortality caused by frequent high swells and their associated strong currents. These distinctive characteristics in recruitment patterns of the 3 dominant families of recruits underline the important role of life history strategies in understanding the spatial patterns, dynamics and maintenance processes of coral populations. The relatively low coral recruitment rates recorded from this study indicate that recovery from severe or frequent perturbations will be slow. Ahmed, M, Chong, CK and Cesar, H (eds.) (2004) Economic valuation and policy priorities for sustainable management of coral reefs. WorldFish Centre: Penang (Malaysia), 222 pp. Having been brought more closely to the attention of researchers worldwide by the International Year of the Reef (1997), the issue of conservation of coral reefs has intensified. Stresses on coral reefs created by increased development and population adjacent to the coast call for relevant authorities to take immediate action to prevent additional irrecoverable damage occurring worldwide. As of 2001 it was estimated that 11 per cent of all coral reefs had been totally destroyed or damaged beyond recovery, another 16 per cent had been severely damaged in 1998 by coral bleaching related to climate change.1 Since the workshop that formed the basis of these proceedings, the Climate Prediction Center of the United States has reported that warmer than normal sea surface and subsurface temperatures were observed throughout most of the equatorial Pacific during April 2002. Sea surface temperature anomalies were up to 2°C warmer than average in the region between the Galapagos Islands and the South American coast, and more than 1°C warmer than average immediately to the west of 180°W. The Climate Prediction Center also forecast a slow evolution towards El Niño conditions throughout the remainder of 2002.2 The Australian Bureau of Meteorology, in a comparison study, reported that seven out of 12 reputable ocean or coupled ocean/atmosphere forecast models predicted “warm” temperatures from April to September 2002.3 Such climate change would result in more coral reefs being destroyed. Furthermore, Talbot and Wilkinson (2001) concluded that, largely as a result of locally based rather than natural global stresses, a further 30 per cent of the world’s reefs will be seriously damaged in the next 20 to 40 years. Papers from the WorldFish workshop published in this report suggest that reef damage caused by human impacts needs to be addressed at local, national, regional and global levels. Coral reefs can be sustainably managed if reef uses are optimized and good policies are in place. This volume is the outcome of the “International Consultative Workshop for Economic Valuation and Policy Priorities for Sustainable Management of Coral Reefs” held at the WorldFish Center’s Headquarters, Penang, Malaysia, 8-10 December 2001. The overall goal of the workshop was to identify future economic and policy research directions relevant to the sustainable management of coral reefs. The directions were to be identified through review and discussion of the effectiveness of policy instruments; analysis of past research findings; and analysis of the interdependency of community livelihood, coral reefs and their resources. For more effective policy instruments to be introduced by any government, we believe that economic valuation and cost benefit analysis are important processes. They will provide information on the various values of coral reefs, which could allow decision-makers to devise policies that optimize the services and functions provided by the reef ecosystems and their capacity to support the livelihood of coastal communities. The workshop
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