Ecological and socioeconomic strategies to sustain Caribbean coral reefs in a high-CO2 world

Type Article
Date 2019-05
Language English
Author(s) Andersson Andreas J.1, Venn Alexander A.2, Pendleton Linwood3, 4, 5, 6, Brathwaite Angelique7, Camp Emma8, Cooley Sarah9, Gedhill Dwight10, Koch Marguerite11, Maliki Samir12, Manfrino Carrie13, 14
Affiliation(s) 1 : Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0244, USA
2 : Department of Marine Biology, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, MC-98000, Monaco
3 : World Wildlife Fund, Global Science, 1250 24th St., NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA
4 : University of Brest, Ifremer, CNRS, UMR 6308, AMURE, IUEM, 29280, Plouzane, France
5 : Duke University, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Durham, NC 90335, USA
6 : University of Queensland, Global Change Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
7 : Blue finance, Barbados W.I., Barbados
8 : Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia
9 : Ocean Conservancy, Washington, DC 20036, USA
10 : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
11 : Biological Sciences Department, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
12 : University of Tlemcen, Faculty of Economics and Management, Mecas laboratory, BP 226, Tlemcen, 13000, Algeria
13 : Central Caribbean Marine Institute, PO Box 1461, Princeton, NJ 08542, USA
14 : Little Cayman Research Centre, Little Cayman, KY3-2501, Cayman Island
Source Regional Studies In Marine Science (2352-4855) (Elsevier BV), 2019-05 , Vol. 29 , P. 100677 (13p.)
DOI 10.1016/j.rsma.2019.100677
WOS© Times Cited 13
Keyword(s) Caribbean, Coral reef, Restoration, Climate change, Ocean acidification, Ecosystem services
Abstract

The Caribbean and Western Atlantic region hosts one of the world’s most diverse geopolitical regions and a unique marine biota distinct from tropical seas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. While this region varies in human population density, GDP and wealth, coral reefs, and their associated ecosystem services, are central to people’s livelihoods. Unfortunately, the region’s reefs have experienced extensive degradation over the last several decades. This degradation has been attributed to a combination of disease, overfishing, and multiple pressures from other human activities. Furthermore, the Caribbean region has experienced rapid ocean warming and acidification as a result of climate change that will continue and accelerate throughout the 21st century. It is evident that these changes will pose increasing threats to Caribbean reefs unless imminent actions are taken at the local, regional and global scale. Active management is required to sustain Caribbean reefs and increase their resilience to recover from acute stress events. Here, we propose local and regional solutions to halt and reverse Caribbean coral reef degradation under ongoing ocean warming and acidification. Because the Caribbean has already experienced high coral reef degradation, we suggest that this region may be suitable for more aggressive interventions than might be suitable for other regions. Solutions with direct ecological benefits highlighted here build on existing knowledge of factors that can contribute to reef restoration and increased resilience in the Caribbean: (1) management of water quality, (2) reduction of unsustainable fishing practices, (3) application of ecological engineering, and (4) implementing marine spatial planning. Complementary socioeconomic and governance solutions include: (1) increasing communication and leveraging resources through the establishment of a regional reef secretariat, (2) incorporating reef health and sustainability goals into the blue economy plans for the region, and (3) initiating a reef labelling program to incentivize corporate partnerships for reef restoration and protection to sustain overall reef health in the region.

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Andersson Andreas J., Venn Alexander A., Pendleton Linwood, Brathwaite Angelique, Camp Emma, Cooley Sarah, Gedhill Dwight, Koch Marguerite, Maliki Samir, Manfrino Carrie (2019). Ecological and socioeconomic strategies to sustain Caribbean coral reefs in a high-CO2 world. Regional Studies In Marine Science, 29, 100677 (13p.). Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2019.100677 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00495/60684/