Coral reef monitoring programmes are implemented around the world to detect the impacts of both natural and human-induced stressors.
A Tool for understanding the future of global coral reefs
Researchers at the University of Exeter, as part of a global collaborative research programme, have produced a guide to help coral reef managers understand the impacts of stressors on coral reef ecosystems.
Coral reef monitoring programmes are implemented around the world to detect the impacts of both natural and human-induced stressors. Given the increasing level of stress that reefs are being subjected to, as well as the associated costs of these monitoring programmes, it is important to understand how the data from monitoring programmes can be used effectively to influence management decisions.
The international research project ‘Future of Reefs in a Changing Environment’ (FORCE) brings together a broad range of researchers from across the natural and social sciences from Europe, Australia, the US, and the Caribbean. FORCE was established to aid coral reef managers in decision making for the protection of coral reefs. In the present study, the team developed a system which identifies the key coral reef characteristics which can be used to assess the relative health of coral reefs and to identify reef recovery over time. This system can be used by reef managers to guide management actions.
Lead author Jason Flower said “the paper is intended as a practical tool for reef managers. We wanted to provide some relatively simple tools for helping managers understand what is happening on their reefs and how those reefs might look in the future, using data they hopefully already have.”
Using data collated from the seven internationally recognised coral reef assessment programmes, the authors diagnosed the main stressors affecting a reef and identified the key indicators of reef recovery. Currently, there are 41 commonly used reef monitoring characteristics for assessing overall reef health, such as coral cover and fish biomass. The current study suggests that only a small number of these are necessary to identify reef stressors and to estimate reef recovery. Two of the most useful indicators of reef health (algal canopy height and coral colony growth rate) are not currently commonly measured in reef monitoring programmes and the authors therefore strongly recommend their future inclusion.
The study has already received support from reef managers and the authors are optimistic that the method will be applied practically to help guide management decisions for the future protection of global coral reefs.
Written by Katie Mintram
Date: 24 February 2017