Scientific articles
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2021
Revisiting the paradigm of shark‐driven trophic cascades in coral reef ecosystems
Desbiens, Amelia A., Roff, George, et al. 2021. Revisiting the paradigm of shark‐driven trophic cascades in coral reef ecosystems. Ecology. doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3303
A paper in the journal Ecology, based off research conducted on the Global Reef Expedition, suggests that reef sharks exert weak control over coral reef food webs, and that environmental features play a more definitive role.
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2020
Tongan socio-environmental spatial layers for marine ecosystem management
Smallhorn-West, Patrick F., Sophie E. Gordon, Alexandra C. Dempsey, Sam J. Purkis, Siola’a Malimali, Tu’ikolongahau Halafihi, Paul C. Southgate, Tom C. L. Bridge, Robert L. Pressey, and Geoffrey P. Jones. Tongan socio-environmental spatial layers for marine. ecosystem management. Pacific Conservation Biology. 26, 1–7.
In order to help Tonga manage their marine resources, scientists used data compiled on the Global Reef Expedition to assemble a marine socio-environmental dataset covering Tonga’s near-shore marine ecosystem. The dataset consists of 11 environmental and 6 anthropogenic map layers overlaid across the near-shore marine ecosystem of Tonga.
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2019
National-scale marine bioregions for the Southwest Pacific
This scientific paper, by KSLOF scientists Alex Dempsey and Sam Purkis, shows how they used data-based methods to develop the first comprehensive oceanic and marine bioregions for the South Pacific. These marine bioregions enable the design of ecologically representative national marine protected areas in Pacific nations.
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2019
High-resolution habitat and bathymetry maps for 65,000 sq. km of Earth’s remotest coral reefs
A study from scientists at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation and the University of Miami offers a new way to accurately map coral reefs using a combination of Earth-orbiting satellites and field observations. Using this new method, the scientists mapped over 65,000 km2 of coral reefs and surrounding habitats--by far the largest collection of high-resolution coral reef maps ever made.
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2019
Diversity and Structure of Parrotfish Assemblages across the Northern Great Barrier Reef
A study of the structure and diversity of parrotfish assemblages across the Northern Great Barrier Reef.
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2019
Modeling environmentally-mediated variation in reef coral physiology
Increases in seawater temperature associated with global climate change are breaking down the mutualistic relationship between reef-building corals and the symbiotic dinoflagellates that reside within their cells. This work sought to uncover the environmental factors that contribute most to observed spatio-temporal variation in coral physiology and devise means of detecting anomalous behavior in field corals.
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2018
A statistical platform for evaluating coral health in an era of changing global climate
Given the significant threats against coral reef ecosystems, there is an urgent need to develop the capacity to make predictions as to which coral reefs are most stress-susceptible, as well as which are most resilient.
