Coral reef resilience through biodiversity
ISRN Oceanography
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Abstract
Irrefutable evidence of coral reef degradation worldwide and increasing pressure from rising seawater temperatures and ocean acidification associated with climate change have led to a focus on reef resilience and a call to “manage” coral reefs for resilience. Ideally, global action to reduce emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will be accompanied by local action. Effective management requires reduction of local stressors, identification of the characteristics of resilient reefs, and design of marine protected area networks that include potentially resilient reefs. Future research is needed on how stressors interact, on how climate change will affect corals, fish, and other reef organisms as well as overall biodiversity, and on basic ecological processes such as connectivity. Not all reef species and reefs will respond similarly to local and global stressors. Because reef-building corals and other organisms have some potential to adapt to environmental changes, coral reefs will likely persist in spite of the unprecedented combination of stressors currently affecting them. The biodiversity of coral reefs is the basis for their remarkable beauty and for the benefits they provide to society. The extraordinary complexity of these ecosystems makes it both more difficult to predict their future and more likely they will have a future.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Coral reef resilience through biodiversity |
| Series title | ISRN Oceanography |
| DOI | 10.5402/2013/739034 |
| Volume | 2013 |
| Year Published | 2013 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Hindawi Publishing Corporation |
| Publisher location | New York, New York |
| Contributing office(s) | Southeast Ecological Science Center |
| Description | 18 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | ISRN Oceanography |
| First page | 739034 |
| Other Geospatial | Coral Reefs |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |