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Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CRES)
Issue
When compared to other marine systems, coral reefs may be particularly vulnerable to watershed-based stresses related to coastal development, since coral reefs are usually best developed near areas with low sediment and nutrient input. Over-harvesting can also be particularly hazardous since coral reefs are highly dependent upon complex biological interactions involving predation, herbivory, and competition. In addition to the separate effects of various stressors, synergistic interactions among stressors can further degrade coral reef health. For instance, overharvesting of the grazers that control algae might allow increased algal cover on the reef, which may compromise the resiliency of some reefs to increased nutrient inputs. Further, the degradation of coral reef ecosystems has progressed to the point where two key reef-building species of coral, Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis, are being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
Approach
Coral reef ecosystems face a suite of common threats, and some of these threats are region-specific. Through the Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CRES) program, CSCOR will fill information gaps on the underlying processes that regulate the health of coral reef ecosystems, including human dimensions and will provide resource managers with tools such as models to evaluate alternative management strategies to protect healthy reefs and reverse the decline of degraded ones. Specific programs have more focused goals, performing ecological studies on coral reefs such as studying coastal water characteristics of flow, residence time and spatial extent of watershed discharge; quantifying the societal costs to island communities resulting from watershed and related reef degradation; and testing reef restoration techniques coupled with established MPA's and land-based remediation.
CSCOR-sponsored CRES research integrates ecological studies, physical oceanographic research and social science to deal with problems identified as priorities by NOAA and the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. It focuses on the anthropogenic disturbances of greatest impact to coral reefs and translates this information for managers and for the general public through regional educational outreach. The unifying theme of CSCOR projects is prediction of coral reef ecosystem conditions, along with a significant emphasis in all programs towards the transfer of research to applications. Since CSCOR’s suite of coral programs have already addressed many of the critical issues facing shallow water coral reef environments, new efforts will focus on using the scientific information to effect real change to improve the condition of coral reefs, and less of an emphasis on the underlying processes that regulate these systems or contribute to their degradation. Another significant emphasis will be to address processes in deeper reefs that are poorly understood relative to their shallow water counterparts.
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Note: HCRI-RP is a CSCOR coral reef core program contributing to the mission of NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program.