Scientific articles
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2010
In June 2007, the US government proposed Corallium (pink and red corals) for listing on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The proposal was adopted and later overturned due to perceived difficulties in implementing and enforcing a CITES listing and uncertainties on population status. An expert review (Food and Agriculture Organization) questioned whether populations had declined to 20–30% of the historic baseline, the level required for a CITES Appendix II listing. This review used colony abundance and density as surrogates of decline, which may be high (200 to 1300 colonies m–2) in the Mediterranean....
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2010
Implications of Coral Harvest and Transplantation on Reefs in Northwestern Dominica
In June, 2002, the government of Dominica requested assistance in evaluating the coral culture and transplantation activities being undertaken by Oceanographic Institute of Dominica (OID), a coral farm culturing both western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific corals for restoration and commercial sales. We assessed the culture facilities of OID, the condition of reefs, potential impacts of coral collection and benefits of coral transplantation. Coral reefs (9 reefs, 3-20m depth) were characterized by 35 species of scleractinian corals and a live coral cover of 8-35%. Early colonizing, brooders such as Porites astreoides (14.8% of all corals), P. porites (14.8%), Meandrina meandrites (14.7%) and Agaricia agaricites (9.1%)...
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2009
Development of an Island Habitat Classification Scheme for the Amirante Islands, Seychelles
A collaborative expedition between Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Cambridge Coastal Research Unit and Seychelles Centre for Marine Research and Technology – Marine Parks Authority (SCMRT-MPA) was conducted to the southern Seychelles, western Indian Ocean, in January 2005. This resulted in a series of habitat maps of the reefs and reef islands of the Amirantes Archipelago, derived from remotely-sensed Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) data. The procedures used in map development, image processing techniques and field survey methods are outlined. Habitat classification, and regional-scale comparisons of relative habitat composition are described. The study demonstrates the use of remote sensing data to construct digital habitat maps for the comparison of regional habitat coverage, a key function for coastal management.
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2009
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2009
Coral Reefs: Threats and Conservation in an Era of Global Change
Coral reefs are iconic, threatened ecosystems that have been in existence for ∼500 million years, yet their continued ecological persistence seems doubtful at present. Anthropogenic modification of chemical and physical atmospheric dynamics that cause coral death by bleaching and newly emergent diseases due to increased heat and irradiation, as well as decline in calcification caused by ocean acidification due to increased CO2, are the most important large-scale threats. On more local scales, overfishing and destructive fisheries, coastal construction, nutrient enrichment, increased runoff and sedimentation, and the introduction of nonindigenous invasive species have caused phase shifts away from corals....
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2009
Crawling to Collapse: Ecologically Unsound Ornamental Invertebrate Fisheries
Background: Fishery management has historically been an inexact and reactionary discipline, often taking action only after a critical stock suffers overfishing or collapse. The invertebrate ornamental fishery in the State of Florida, with increasing catches over a more diverse array of species, is poised for collapse. Current management is static and the lack of an adaptive strategy will not allow for adequate responses associated with managing this multi-species fishery. The last decade has seen aquarium hobbyists shift their display preference from fish-only tanks to miniature reef ecosystems that include many invertebrate species, creating increased demand without proper oversight....
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2009
Coral Health and Disease in the Pacific: Vision for Action
Coral Health and Disease in the Pacific: Vision for Action
