Content uploaded by Katie Reytar
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Katie Reytar on Aug 25, 2014
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Reefs at Risk Revisited
Figures
Figures - uploaded by Katie Reytar
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Katie Reytar
Content may be subject to copyright.
... Climate change causes coral bleaching (Petit and Prudent 2010), ocean acidification (Godbold and Calosi, 2013), and rising sea levels, accompanied by more frequent and severe storms (Sippo et al., 2018;Hughes et al., 2017). Further impacts occur through pollution from leakage of sediments, fertilisers and pesticides, and chemicals (Orth et al., 2006;Lovell et al., 2004;Silbiger et al., 2018;van Dam et al., 2011), as well as due to overfishing (Government of Fiji et al., 2017;Burke et al., 2011;Zaneveld et al., 2016), Impact of Marine Plastics in Fiji (2019) unsustainable tourism (Burke et al., 2011;Lamb et al., 2014), algal blooms (Franks et al., 2016), and invasive species (Biswas et al., 2018;Unsworth et al., 2018). ...
... Climate change causes coral bleaching (Petit and Prudent 2010), ocean acidification (Godbold and Calosi, 2013), and rising sea levels, accompanied by more frequent and severe storms (Sippo et al., 2018;Hughes et al., 2017). Further impacts occur through pollution from leakage of sediments, fertilisers and pesticides, and chemicals (Orth et al., 2006;Lovell et al., 2004;Silbiger et al., 2018;van Dam et al., 2011), as well as due to overfishing (Government of Fiji et al., 2017;Burke et al., 2011;Zaneveld et al., 2016), Impact of Marine Plastics in Fiji (2019) unsustainable tourism (Burke et al., 2011;Lamb et al., 2014), algal blooms (Franks et al., 2016), and invasive species (Biswas et al., 2018;Unsworth et al., 2018). ...
This report presents the findings of a study that aimed at estimating the impacts of plastics leaked into the marine environment from Fiji, and the costs and benefits of implementing a solution, a regional recycling system to reduce mismanaged plastic waste and its leakage into the marine environment.
Fiji’s fisheries sector and others fishing in the Southeast Pacific contribute to marine plastics through abandoned, discarded, or lost fishing gear or ALDFG, which in turn impacts the fishing industry. ALDFG can perform “ghost fishing,” which means that it can continue to trap fish and crustaceans, as well as ensnaring and capturing other species, given that this gear is no longer being controlled.
Among the recommendations for Fiji to improve its waste management system, research cited in this report states that “it is important to promote plastic reduction…it is equally important to recycle plastic waste that has already been produced”. Source separation is needed, while there is also a need to invest in infrastructure such as waste transfer stations and material recovery facilities to support the recycling sector and source separation. This goes in line with the new Fiji waste strategy, which promotes waste prevention and minimisation through reduction, reuse, and recycling.
... Gomez et al. (1994) also used a widely recognized classification system for assessing coral reef health, which is cited worldwide to compare reef conditions. Additionally, studies by Wilkinson (2004), Burke et al. (2011) and Hughes et al. (2017) emphasize the importance of coral cover as a key metric in evaluating the overall status of coral reefs and their ability to provide ecological services. ...
Chaetodon octofasciatus is a species of fish in the Chaetodontidae family, commonly known as an indicator fish in the reef ecosystem as the frequency of its appearance in the wild can interfere with the state of the coral reef ecosystem in the waters. Panjang Island is located in Jepara, Central Java, Indonesia, in which one method of coral reef ecosystem rehabilitation in a a form of Artificial Patch Reef (APR) has been implemented. This study aims to investigate the levels of C. octofasciatus predation on corals in the APR and Natural reef of Panjang Island. We used the LIT (Line Intercept Transect) to measure the density of coral reefs at both locations. The abundance of C. octofasciatus was calculated using the Belt Transect method, while selectivity and bite ratio was observed and counted every 5 minutes. The results shows that C. octofasciatus from natural reefs have the highest predation rate (185 bites/5 min) and mostly eat the coral with lifeform massive while the ones from APR shows 144 bites/5 min and mostly eat the coral with lifeform Acropora branching. This selectivity could be due to the availability of corals in both areas. While massive corals were highly available in the natural reefs, branchich corals esp. Acropora is mostly planted in the APR. A more diverse coral lifeform in the natural reef also showed the type of corals that are less selected by C. octofasciatus such as submassive corals and Acropora tabulate, as well as corals with the foliose life form.
... Unfortunately, this economic service is challenged by the cascading effects of climate change, like global warming and ocean acidification, inflicting fatal stress on coral colonies (Guest et al. 2016). Stress on coral colonies can make them forcibly expel their symbiotic algae, leading to coral bleaching (Burke et al. 2011). This condition can make coral colonies vulnerable to diseases, and if conditions worsen, it can lead to their death (Lesser et al. 2010). ...
Decentralized management of marine resources by local governments yields an enhanced opportunity to protect, restore, and create sustainable marine biodiversity in the provision of ecosystem services. However, due to the complexities associated with designing a level of protection for a specific marine resource, local stakeholders may find the process challenging, which may have adverse effects resulting from delayed conservation initiatives. Thus, under various criteria, a systematic approach that assigns a level of protection to marine resources is critical in managing these resources. Despite this criticality, such an agenda gains limited attention from the domain literature. This work advances this gap by proposing a multiple criteria sorting (MCS) method that comprehensively assigns marine resources to a pre-defined set of protection categories under the evaluation of several criteria. It utilizes (1) the entropy method in obtaining the priority weights of the identified criteria associated with evaluating the reef status of marine sites and (2) an extension of the combined compromise solution sorting method, termed CoCoSort, in evaluating marine sites to a pre-determined set of categories (i.e., Category 1, Category 2, Category 3), arranged in increasing order of protection. With the available indicators in the literature, the proposed CoCoSort was implemented in an actual case study of eight marine sites in an eastern Philippine municipality. Findings reveal that feather stars density, giant clams density, and butterfly abundance comprise the top priority criteria in evaluating the case sites. On the other hand, five identified sites are found to be under the maximum protection category, while three sites should be given moderate protection. Both sensitivity and comparative analyses show the efficacy of the proposed CoCoSort. The insights would help local governments manage the biodiversity protection of their marine environments.
... For example, in Malaysia alone, the value of ecosystem services provided by its coral reefs has been estimated to be more than USD 45 billion annually (Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment 2015). Unfortunately, like many other diverse marine areas around the world, Southeast Asia is under severe threat from local anthropogenic stressors and global climate change (Burke et al. 2011). ...
Aim
As climate change increasingly threatens the world's coral reefs, enhancing their resilience by improving population connectivity for key reef species is crucial for ensuring their persistence. Here, we evaluate the population genomic structure of two common coral species, Pocillopora acuta and Porites sp., chosen due to their divergent life histories. Thousands of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were sequenced and analysed to infer regional connectivity patterns in Southeast Asia, a region that harbours a tremendous diversity of marine life.
Location
Coasts of the Malay Peninsula and northern Borneo, covering ~1 million km².
Method
NextRAD genotyping‐by‐sequencing of 185 Porites sp. and 221 Pocillopora acuta colonies. Libraries were prepared and sequenced on Illumina NovaSeq 6000. Genotyping involved initial quality controls, allele frequency filtering and checks for contamination. Genetic structure was assessed with Bayesian clustering, and relationships between genetic variation and environmental factors were studied through redundancy analysis. Contemporary gene flow was estimated using BayesAss.
Results
We observed panmixia among the broadcasting Porites sp. populations, while for the brooding Pocillopora acuta, the Malay Peninsula acts a strong barrier to dispersal between the Malacca Strait and the southern South China Sea. Moreover, its genomic structure seems to follow current marine ecoregion delineation. By analysing contemporary migrant movement, we can prioritise reef localities for conservation. In particular, localities at the Andaman Coral Coast are contemporarily isolated from the other localities, and Tioman is identified as a major larval source for both species.
Main Conclusion
Our analyses highlight contrasting population differentiation patterns between the two species that can be explained by the disparity in their reproductive strategies. These findings are important for biodiversity managers in Southeast Asia; incorporation of regional connectivity considerations into conservation planning can help safeguard ecosystem resilience and persistence.
... Roatán, situated in one of Latin America's most ecologically diverse regions, is surrounded by the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the secondlargest coral reef system in the world. 64 Recognized as a sensitive biosphere, Roatán rightfully calls for extensive protection and conservation efforts. However, the rise of conservation initiatives on the island in the early 2000s has often come at the expense of the Garifuna Peoples' rights to their Ancestral territory and Traditional practices. ...
... Coral reef restoration holds particular significance and promise in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia has a very high proportion of people living on the coasts near coral reefs, with Indonesia and the Philippines having the two largest such populations of any countries in the world (Burke et al. 2011). These populations include high numbers of relatively marginalized groups, including low-income small-scale fishers, and maritime Indigenous groups such as the Moken, Orang-Laut and Sama-Bajau (Nimmo 1999;Stacey & Allison 2019). ...
Coral reefs directly support the well‐being of millions of people across Southeast Asia, however, these critical ecosystems are also under immense pressure, threatening their sustainability. Coral reef restoration has emerged as a promising strategy to contribute to safeguarding these critical ecosystems and securing the socioeconomic benefits they provide to local communities across the region. In this paper, we present the outcomes of a week‐long of deliberations between policymakers, research funders, practitioners and scientists from Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Australia, which identified four strategies for building improved capacity for coral reef restoration in Southeast Asia; (i) the creation of a learning network, (ii) addressing critical research needs, (iii) improved approaches to communication and engagement to diverse audiences and (iv) the establishment of sustainable funding mechanisms. These strategies are discussed in detail with a view of providing a roadmap to help support coral reef restoration processes across Southeast Asia.
... Their complex structures and high biodiversity provide critical ecosystem services, including the protection of coastal human communities from storm surges, support for tourism, and fisheries (Woodhead et al. 2019). However, coral reefs worldwide face multiple threats, including climate change, typhoons, as well as anthropogenic pressures such as overexploitation, coastal development, urbanization, and other land use-related issues (Burke et al. 2011). These disturbances have led to significant changes in coral reefs, including phase shifts in benthic community structure. ...
Shallow water coral reefs in many parts of the world are experiencing phase shifts due to various disturbances, resulting in increases in the abundance of algal assemblages and non-scleractinian taxa, including soft corals (Octocorallia). However, the effects of these changes on reef-associated macrofauna are still not fully understood. In this study, (1) structures of fish assemblages in shallow coral reefs with varying degrees of soft coral and hard coral dominance in Okinawa Island (Japan) were characterized, and (2) the influences of hard and soft coral cover on fish species richness, abundances, and patterns in community composition at the species and trophic group levels were examined. Tests revealed that fish species richness and abundance were significantly lower at soft coral-dominated sites compared to hard coral-dominated sites. Interestingly, these variables did not differ between soft coral- and turf algae-dominated sites. Hard coral cover had a positive relationship with fish species richness and abundance, and although nonsignificant, soft coral cover showed a negative trend in terms of its relationship with those two fish assemblage variables. Both hard coral and soft coral covers significantly influenced patterns of fish community composition among the sites, but not turf algae. Generally, this study shows that the loss of hard coral cover and increase in soft coral cover may lead to changes in community structure and potentially decreased abundance and diversity of reef fishes. The results of this study should be useful in predicting the future state of fish assemblages in the coral reefs of Okinawa Island, which are continuously threatened by various disturbances that may lead to major changes in the structure of benthic communities.
... The serious decline in coral cover was exacerbated by "bleaching during the hottest summer on record" in the Persian Gulf in 2017, which resulted in the region losing "40.1% of the living coral cover between 1996 and 2019"(Souter et al. 2021, 62) and the average cover of algae increasing from a "low of 13.0% in 2003 to a peak of 37.3% in 2018"(Souter et al. 2021, 63). Today, over half the coral reefs in Oman are at high to severe risk from a variety of natural and man-made threats and more than 75 percent of the coral reefs in Oman are "projected to be under high threat levels by 2030, and virtually all reefs in Oman under critical threat by 2050"(Burke et al. 2011). The coral reefs in the Persian Gulf have proven less likely to return to pre-disturbance assemblages than those in the Gulf of Oman.Just as Kumzari has historically been conceptualised as a bridge between two language families (or ecologies), so, too, does the aqua-lifestyle of the Musandam Peninsula straddle two different coral ecosystems-the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. ...
This edited volume brings together a diverse and rich set of contributions on the Arabian Peninsula. Ranging from history, field linguistics, and cultural studies these essays address the diversity of languages, ways of life, and natural environments that have marked the region throughout its history.
The book stems from the intellectual exchange and collaboration fostered by a virtual workshop that met regularly in 2020-21 and which drew participants from within and beyond the academy. The contributions gathered in this volume highlight the need for a better understanding of a region that hosts a vast amount of culturally and linguistically diverse material, often in a precarious state of conservation.
Diversity Across the Arabian Peninsula argues for the importance of holistic, community-based, and interdisciplinary approaches to linguistic endangerment and deep social and cultural changes: there is no documentation of language without attention to language use, the material lifeworld and its ecology, and social and cultural setting. Such research is enriched and made more impactful through collaboration with communities and scholars from the Global South. The essays in this volume thus spearhead a contextualized study of South Arabian linguistic varieties and their connection with the natural and cultural world they inhabit.
This study develops an integrated framework for sustainable municipal solid waste management in developing countries, focusing on Indonesia. Introducing system dynamics, it analyzes the interactions among environmental, economic, and social factors. The environmental analysis highlights the importance of community-based recycling systems in reducing pollution. The economic analysis reveals the potential of the recycling industry and the need for government support. The social analysis emphasizes public awareness, collaborative governance, and addressing inequalities. Integrating these findings, the study proposes a holistic framework engaging diverse stakeholders and promoting a circular economy. It also explores cooperation strategies between Indonesia and South Korea, focusing on technology transfer, infrastructure support, and policy consultation. South Korea’s expertise can significantly contribute to capacity building in Indonesia. The findings offer insights for developing countries, providing a comprehensive approach to sustainable waste management and highlighting the potential for strategic partnerships between developing and developed nations.
The key stakeholders in green finance encompass both financiers and beneficiaries of funds allocated toward environmentally sustainable endeavors. Other stakeholders include local community groups as well as global communities impacted by the continuous degradation of the natural environment due to human activities, particularly those of commercial organizations driven by instrumental motives and lacking empathy for the detrimental effects of their activities on the natural environment. The underlying motivations of the stakeholders, particularly providers and users of funds, dictate their involvement in green finance. While the preservation of the natural environment stands as the primary altruistic motivation behind green finance, stakeholders are often influenced by factors beyond altruism. Stakeholders may prioritize instrumental objectives such as profit maximization or the execution of projects with high positive net present value. Consequently, conflicting interests among stakeholders may arise during the process of financing and utilizing green finance, contingent upon whether their motivations are driven by altruism or instrumentality. This chapter engages in a critical analysis of the motives and interests represented by the diverse stakeholders engaged in green finance. This chapter provides insights in relation to the motives of stakeholders involved in green finance. The chapter suggests that stakeholders reassess their interests and make concessions to reconcile their conflicting interest for the betterment of the common good, the natural environment that affects the well-being of communities around the globe.
During the late 1960s and 1970s, massive herds of poisonous crown-of-thorns starfish suddenly began to infest coral reef communities around the world, leaving in their wake devastation comparable to a burnt-out rainforest. In What is Natural?, Jan Sapp both examines this ecological catastrophe and captures the intense debate among scientists about what caused the crisis, and how it should be handled. The crown-of-thorns story takes readers on tropical expeditions around the world, and into both marine laboratories and government committees, where scientists rigorously search for answers to the many profound questions surrounding this event. Were these fierce starfish outbreaks the kind of manmade disaster heralded by such environmentalists as Rachel Carson in Silent Spring? Indeed, discussions of the cause of the starfish plagues have involved virtually every environmental issue of our time -- over-fishing, pesticide use, atomic testing, rain forest depletion, and over-population -- but many marine biologists maintain that the epidemic is a natural feature of coral-reef life, an ecological "balance of nature" that should not to be tampered with until we know the scientific truth of the crisis. But should we search for the scientific truth before taking action? And what if an environmental emergency cannot wait for a rigorous scientific search for "the truth?" The starfish plagues are arguably one of most mysterious ecological phenomena of this century. Through the window of this singlular event, What is Natural lucidly illustrates the complexity of environmental issues while probing the most fundamental questions about the relationship between man and nature.
In global coastal zones, the major fabric of goods and services for human welfare as well as global changes are extraordinarily visible. They are shaped by natural Earth systems processes on a planetary scale, which are reflected in a continuously adapting coastal environment. Now, in the "Anthropocene", human society is a greater catalyst for change - impacting and modifying coastal processes. This book synthesizes knowledge on coastal and riverine material fluxes, biogeochemical processes and indications of change, and the human influence, before looking at future research and management needs. It is a milestone rather than a destination on the journey which continues under the new International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) and the LOICZ II (Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone) Project.
This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.
The East Indian region (Indonesia, New Guinea, and the Philippines), with perhaps as many as 2800 species of shore fishes, has the richest marine fish fauna of the world. The numbers of species of fishes decline, in general, with distance to the east of the East Indies, ending with 566 species in Hawaii and 126 at Easier Island. The richness of the marine fauna of the East Indies is explained in terms of its relatively stable sea temperature during ice ages, its large size and high diversity of habitat, in having many families of shore fishes adapted to the nutrient-rich waters of continental and large island shelves that are lacking around oceanic islands, in having many species with larvae unable to survive in plankton-poor oceanic seas or having too short a life span in the pelagic realm for long transport in ocean currents, and in being the recipient of immigrating larvae of species that evolved peripherally. It is also a place where speciation may have occurred because of a barrier to east-west dispersal of marine fishes resulting from sea-level lowering during glacial periods (of which there have been at least 3 and perhaps as many as 6 during the last 700 000 years), combined with low salinity in the area from river discharge and cooling from upwelling. There could also have been speciation in embayments or small seas isolated in the East Indian region from sea-level lowering. Sixty-five examples are given of possible geminate pairs of fishes from such a barrier, judging from their similarity in color and morphology. Undoubtedly many more remain to be elucidated, some so similar that they remain undetected today. Fifteen examples are listed of possible geminate species of the western Indian Ocean and western Pacific that are not known to overlap in the East Indies, and 8 examples of color variants in the 2 oceans that are not currently regarded as different enough to be treated as species. Five examples of species pairs are cited for the Andaman Sea and western Indonesia that may be the result of near-isolation of the Andaman Sea during the Neogene. Explanation is given for distributions of fishes occurring only to the east and west of the East Indies in terms of extinction there during sea-level lows. The causes of antitropical distributions are discussed. The level of endemism of fishes for islands in the Pacific has been diminishing as a result of endemics being found extralimitally, as well as the discovery of new records of Indo-Pacific fishes for the areas. Hawaii still has the highest, with 23.1% endemism, and Easter Island is a close second with 22.2%. The use of subspecies is encouraged for geographically isolated populations that exhibit consistent differences but at a level notably less than that of similar sympatric species of the genus. In order to ensure continuing stability in our classification of fishes, a plea is given not to rank characters obtained from molecular and biochemical analyses higher than the basic morphological characters that are fundamental to systematics.