Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs after Bleaching and Hurricanes in 2005Wh at Do e s it Me a n to Ma n a g e f o r So c i o-Ec o l o g i c a l Resilience?Resilience comes from the Latin, ‘resilere’, which means ‘to spring back’. Managing forsocio-ecological resilience recognizes that a process of uncertain change is underway, and itaims to support the ability of the environment and dependent human communities to absorbshocks, regenerate, and reorganize to maintain vital functions and processes. Importantly,socio-ecological resilience explicitly considers that social and ecological systems are intrinsicallylinked and that the resilience of each component of the system is related to its linkages to othercomponents.For ecosystems, resilience can be characterized as the capacity to maintain the provision ofecosystem goods and services. For coral reefs, this may mean the capacity of the ecosystem tomaintain a dominance of hard corals, adequate structural (habitat) complexity, and positiverates of reef growth. A reef system with low resilience would readily lose coral cover, potentiallybecome dominated by algae, provide reduced habitat, and have a net erosion of reef material.The factors that support coral reef ecosystems’ resilience to mass bleaching events can bebroadly grouped into 4 categories: ecosystem condition; biological diversity; connectivitybetween areas; and local environmental conditions.For social systems associated with coral reefs, resilience is determined by the ability to cope withchanges in the availability or quality of the goods and services provided by coral reefs. Resilientsocial systems have the capacity to anticipate, prepare, and adapt to change to minimizethe effects on social and economic well-being. The factors that determine the resilience ofdependent human communities when coral reefs degrade include people’s skills, resources,attitudes, resource dependency, and attributes of their broader socio-ecological context (4).Managing for resilience differs from traditional coral reef management in 2 ways. Rather thanhaving a goal to maintain circumstances as they are today, managing for resilience emphasizesprotecting the factors that allow the socio-ecological system to respond successfully todisturbance events. Managing for resilience also recognizes that the future may well bedetermined by unexpected changes, and emphasizes the ability to respond to surprises. Weexplore how resilience principles can be integrated into coral reef management.Opportunities to Support So c i o-Ec o l o g i c a l Resilience to Ma s s Bl e a c h i n gFour successive conditions determine the ultimate impacts of mass coral bleaching followinga regional heat stress event, and each can be a potential focus for management action; asillustrated in the figure below: 1) ‘bleaching resistance’ determines how corals within the areaof a regional heat stress event are bleached; 2) if corals do bleach, ‘coral tolerance’ determineshow corals either die or regain their zooxanthellae and survive; 3) if there is widespread coralmortality, ‘reef recovery’ determines how the coral reef ecosystem can recover and maintainthe characteristics of a coral-dominated ecosystem; and 4) if the coral reef ecosystem remainsdegraded, ‘human adaptive capacity’ determines how human communities will experiencenegative socioeconomic consequences.Each condition is influenced by a suite of factors that combine to determine the resilienceor vulnerability of the system. Factors vary in how much they can be changed throughmanagement interventions, their relative influence, and the scale (coral colony, ecosystem,or human community) at which they are expressed. The following sections discuss theseopportunities for management.116
Managing for Mass Coral Bleaching: Strategies for Supporting Socio–ecological ResilienceStrong reef-based economy and societyHealthy coralHeatNo bleachingOpportunities formanagementBleachingProtect resistencedetermined byEnvironmental factorsIntrinsic factorsSurvivalMortalityUnhealthyecosystemBuild tolerancedetermined byCoral healthExposureIntrinsic factorsPromote recoverydetermined byHerbivoryWater qualityBiological diversityConnectivityRecoveringecosystemSocioecomomicdeclineSupport human adaptive capacitydetermined byEconomic diversitySupportive policyCapital and technologyHuman resource skillsTime/effort/resources for recoverySocioecomomicadaptationThis diagram illustrates the possible opportunities for management intervention in coral reefs thatare stressed by a coral bleaching event. Four conditions determine the final outcome: bleachingresistance; coral tolerance; reef recovery; and human adaptive capacity. Each is influenced by factorsthat can determine the resilience or vulnerability of the system. Factors that can be influenced bylocal management actions are colored blue. Factors that cannot be influenced are colored black,although these should be considered in the design and placement of management actions to enhanceecosystem resilience (adapted from 6).117
Page 1 and 2:
Stat u s o fCa r i b b e a nCo r a
Page 3 and 4:
Dedication: This book is dedicated
Page 5 and 6:
Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs aft
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Status of Coral Reefs in the Caribb
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
3. Hu r r i ca n e s a n d t h e i
Page 37 and 38:
Hurricanes and their Effect on Cora
Page 39 and 40:
Hurricanes and their Effect on Cora
Page 41 and 42:
4. Th e 2005 Bl e a c h i n g Ev e
Page 43 and 44:
The 2005 Bleaching Event: Coral-Lis
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
5. Stat u s o f t h e Mesoamerican
Page 51 and 52:
Status of the Mesoamerican Reef aft
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
6. Co r a l Reefs o f t h e U.S. Ca
Page 67 and 68: Coral Reefs of the U.S. Caribbean19
Page 69 and 70: Coral Reefs of the U.S. CaribbeanMe
Page 71 and 72: Coral Reefs of the U.S. Caribbeanwe
Page 73 and 74: Coral Reefs of the U.S. CaribbeanSe
Page 75 and 76: Coral Reefs of the U.S. CaribbeanBl
Page 77 and 78: 7. Th e Effects o f Co r a l Bl e a
Page 79 and 80: The Effects of Coral Bleaching in t
Page 89 and 90: Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs aft
Page 107 and 108: 9. Th e Effects o f Co r a l Bl e a
Page 109 and 110: The Effects of Coral Bleaching in S
Page 117: 10. Ma n ag i n g f o r Ma s s Co r
Page 121 and 122: Managing for Mass Coral Bleaching:
show all

Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?