Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-k7p5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T20:14:16.132Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - Status of coral reefs of the world: summary of threats and remedial action

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Clive Wilkinson
Edited by
Isabelle M. Côté  and
John D. Reynolds
Clive Wilkinson
Affiliation:
Australian Institute of Marine Science
Isabelle M. Côté
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
John D. Reynolds
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

While the history of active coral reef research stretches back over 100 years, the concern for the declining status of coral reefs is relatively recent, probably less than 25 years. The first major attempt to alert the global coral reef science community to the threats posed to coral reefs was in 1981 by Edgardo Gomez, who subtitled the 4th International Coral Reef Symposium in Manila, May 1981, as The Reef and Man (Gomez, 1982). Similarly Bernard Salvat and David Stoddart raised the alarm in 1982 (Salvat, 1980, 1982; Stoddart, 1982). At this time, most coral reef researchers worked from field stations during vacations; field stations specifically chosen that were adjacent to healthy and flourishing coral reefs seemingly not affected by human impacts. There was a small group of coral reef scientists who were working in developing countries, however, who were aware of an impending crisis for coral reefs.

Since that 1981 Symposium, there has been a steady increase in the involvement of coral reef scientists in the applied aspects of coral reef management (summarized in Knowlton, this volume). A paper published by Don Kinsey in 1988succinctly summarized the stresses to coral reefs (Kinsey, 1988). Similarly there were other reports of localized damage to coral reefs by coral reef scientists (Brown, 1987; Gomez, 1988; Pauly and Chua, 1988; Grigg and Dollar, 1990), but it was not until 1992 that global attention was alerted to the threats facing coral reefs.

Type
Chapter
Information
Coral Reef Conservation , pp. 3 - 39
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahamada, S., Bijoux, J., Bigot, L. et al. (2004). Status of the coral reefs of the South West Indian Ocean island states. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 1, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 189–211. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Arrivillaga, A. and Garcia, M. A. (2004). Status of coral reefs of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Systems Project Region, and reefs of El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Pacific Coasts of Mesoamerica. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 473–91. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Barber, C. V. and Pratt, V. R. (1997). Sullied Seas: Strategies for Combating Cyanide Fishing in Southeast Asia and Beyond. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute and International Marinelife AllianceGoogle Scholar
Bellwood, D. R., Hughes, T. P., Folke, C. and Nystrom, M. (2004). Confronting the coral reef crisis. Nature, 429, 827–33CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birkeland, C. (1982). Terrestrial runoff as a cause of outbreaks of Acanthaster planci (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). Marine Biology, 69, 175–85CrossRef
Birkeland, C. (2004). Ratcheting down the coral reefs. BioScience, 54, 1021–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouchon, C., Miller, A., Bouchon-Navaro, Y., Portillo, P. and Louis, M. (2004). Status of coral reefs in the French Caribbean Islands and other islands of the Eastern Antilles. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 493–507. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Brown, B. B. (1987). Worldwide death of corals: natural cyclic events or man-made pollution?Marine Pollution Bulletin, 18, 9–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, D., Burke, L., McManus, J. and Spalding, M. (1998). Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Potential Threats to the World's Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: World Resources InstituteGoogle Scholar
Buddemeier, R. W. (1993). Corals, climate and conservation. Proceedings 7th International Coral Reef Symposium, 1, 3–10Google Scholar
Buddemeier R. W., Kleypas, J. A. and Aronson, R. (2004). Coral Reefs and Global Climate Change: Potential Contributions of Climate Change to Stresses on Coral Reef Ecosystems. Pew Center for Global Climate Change. Available online at http://www.pewclimate.org/docuplods/Coral_Reefs.pdf
Burke, L. and Maidens, J. (2004). Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean. Washington, DC: World Resources InstituteGoogle Scholar
Burke, L., Selig, E. and Spalding, M. (2002). Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia. Washington, DC: World Resources InstituteGoogle Scholar
Davis, J. B. (ed.) (2005). Invasive species: their threat to MPAs, and how practitioners are responding. MPA News: International News and Analysis on Marine Protected Areas, 6(6). Avilable online at http://depts.washington.edu/mpanews/MPAS9.htm
Fabricius, K. E. (2005). Effects of terrestrial runoff on the ecology of corals and coral reefs: review and synthesis. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 50, 125–46CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feely, R. A., Sabine, C. L., Lee, K.et al. (2004). Impact of anthropogenic CO2 on the CaCO3 system in the oceans. Science, 305, 362–6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friedlander, A., Aeby, G. and Brainard, R. (2004). Status of coral reefs in the Hawaiian Archipelago. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 411–30. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Gardner, T. A., Côté, I. M., Gill, J. A., Grant, A. and Watkinson, A. R. (2003). Long-term region-wide declines in Caribbean corals. Science, 301, 958–60CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garzón-Ferreira, J., Cortés, J., Croquer, A. (2004). Southern tropical America: coral reef status and consolidation as GCRMN Regional Node. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 509–22. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Ginsburg, R. N. (ed.) (1993). Global Aspects of Coral Reefs: Health Hazards and History, 7–11 June 1993, University of Miami, Miami, FLGoogle Scholar
Gomez, E. D. (1982). Opening remarks. Proceedings 4th International Coral Reef Symposium, 1, 1Google Scholar
Gomez, E. D. (1988) Overview of environmental problems in the East Asian Seas region. Ambio, 17, 166–9Google Scholar
Goreau, T. F. (1959). The ecology of Jamaican coral reefs. I. Species composition and zonation. Ecology, 40, 67–90CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grigg, R. W. and Dollar, S. J. (1990). Natural and anthropogenic disturbances on coral reefs. In Ecosystems of the World, vol. 25, Coral Reefs, ed. Dubinsky, Z., pp. 439–52. New York: Academic PressGoogle Scholar
Harvell, C. D., Mitchell, C. E. and Ward, J. R. (2002). Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota. Science, 296, 2158–62CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haynes, D. and Schaffelke, B. (eds.) (2004). Catchment to Reef: Water Quality Issues in the Great Barrier Reef Region, CRC Reef Research Centre Technical Report No. 53. Townsville, QLD: CRC Reef Research Centre
Hodgson, G. (1999). A global assessment of human effects on coral reefs. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 38, 345–55CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodgson, G. and Liebeler, J. (2002). The Global Coral Reef Crisis: Trends and Solutions: 5-Year Reef Check Report. Los Angeles, CA: Reef Check Foundation. Institute of the Environment, University of California at Los AngelesGoogle Scholar
Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). Climate change, coral bleaching and the future of the world's coral reefs. Marine and Freshwater Research, 50, 839–66CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2004). Coral reefs in a century of rapid environmental change. Symbiosis, 37, 1–31Google Scholar
Hughes, T. P. (1989). Community structure and diversity of coral reefs: the role of history. Ecology, 70, 275–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, T. P. (1994). Catastrophes, phase shifts, and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef. Science, 265, 1547–51CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hunter, C. L. and Evans, C. W. (1995). Coral reefs in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii: two centuries of western influence and two decades of data. Bulletin of Marine Science, 57, 501–15Google Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group I (2001). Climate Change 2001: the Scientific Basis, contribution of Working Group I to the 3rd Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eds. J. T. Houghton, Y. Ding, D. J. Griggs et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available online at http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/index.htm
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II (2001). Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, contribution of Working Group II to the 3rd Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eds. J. J. McCarthy, O. F. Canziani, N. A. Leary, D. Dokken and K. S. White. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available online at http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg2/index.htm
International Society for Reef Studies (2004). Briefing Paper No. 4. Available online at http://www.fit.edu/isrs/
Jackson, J. B. C. (1997). Reefs since Columbus. Coral Reefs, 16 (Suppl.), S23–S32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, J. B. C., Kirby, M. X., Berger, W. H.et al. (2001). Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science, 293, 629–38CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johannes, R. E. and Riepen, M. (1995). Environmental, Economic and Social Implications of the Live Reef Fish Trade in Asia and the Western Pacific. Jakarta: The Nature ConservancyGoogle Scholar
Jones, L., Warner, G., Linton, D. et al. (2004). Status of coral reefs in the Northern Caribbean and Western Atlantic Node of the GCRMN. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 451–72. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Kelty, R. and Kuartei, J. (eds.) (2004). Status of the coral reefs in Micronesia and American Samoa. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 381–409. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Kelty, R., Andnrews, K., Wheaton, J., et al. (2004). Status of coral reefs in the US Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico: Florida, Flower Garden Banks, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Navassa. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 431–50. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Kimura, T., Dai, C. F. and Pae, S. (2004). Status of coral reefs in East and North Asia: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 1, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 277–301. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Kinsey, D. W. (1988). Coral reef response to some natural and anthropogenic stresses. Galaxea, 7, 113–28Google Scholar
Kleypas, J. A., Buddemeier, R. W. and Archer, D. (1999). Geochemical consequences of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on coral reefs. Science, 284, 118–20CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kotb, M., Abdulaziz, M. and Al-Agwan, Z. (2004). Status of coral reefs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in 2004. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 1, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 137–54. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Lessios, H. A. (1995). Diadema antillarum 10 years after mass mortality: still rare, despite help from a competitor. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 259, 331–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovell, E., Sykes, H., Deiye, M. et al. (2004). Status of coral reefs in the South West Pacific: Fiji, Nauru, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 337–61. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
McClanahan, T. R., Sheppard, C. R. and Obura, D. O. (eds.) (2000). Coral Reefs of the Indian Ocean: Their Ecology and Conservation. New York: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
McWilliams, J. P., Côté, I. M., Gill, J. A., Sutherland, W. J. and Watkinson, A. R. (2005). Accelerating impacts of temperature-induced coral bleaching in the Caribbean. Ecology, 86, 2055–66CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, I. and Sweatman, H. (2004). Status of coral reefs in Australia and Papua New Guinea in 2004. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 303–35. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Obura, D., Church, J., Daniels, C. et al. (2004). Status of coral reefs in East Africa 2004: Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 1, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 171–88. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Pandolfi, J. M., Bradbury, R. H., Sala, E. (2003). Global trajectories of the long-term decline of coral reef ecosystems. Science, 301, 955–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pauly, D. and Chua, T.-E. (1988). The overfishing of marine resources: socioeconomic background in southeast Asia. Ambio, 17, 200–6Google Scholar
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R. and Torres, F. Jr (1998). Fishing down marine food webs. Science, 279, 860–3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Guénette, S.et al. (2002). Towards sustainability in world fisheries. Nature, 418, 689–95CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rajasuriya, A., Zahir, H., Venkataraman, K., Islam, Z. and Tamelander, J. (2004). Status of coral reefs in South Asia: Bangladesh, Chagos, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 1, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 213–33. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Rezai, H., Wilson, S., Claereboudt, M. and Riegl, B. (2004). Coral reef status in the ROPME Sea Area: Arabian/Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 1, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 155–70. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Rosenberg, E. and Ben-Haim, Y. (2002) Mini-review: microbial diseases of corals and global warming. Environmental Microbiology, 4, 318–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sadovy, Y. J. and Vincent, A. C. J. (2002). Ecological issues and the trades in live reef fishes. In Coral Reef Fishes: Dynamics and Diversity in a Complex Ecosystem, ed. Sale, P. F., pp. 391–420. San Diego, CA: Academic PressGoogle Scholar
Salvat, B. (1980). Death for the coral reefs. Oryx, 15, 341–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salvat, B. (1982). Preservation of coral reefs: scientific whim or economic necessity? Past, present and future. Proceedings 4th International Coral Reef Symposium, 1, 225–9Google Scholar
Skirving, W., Strong, A., Heron, S., Liu, G. and Arzayus, F. (2004). Coral bleaching: was 1998 a portent of the future or a 1-in-a-1000 year event? Satellite-derived data. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2004, vol. 1, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 22–3. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Smith, S. V. and Buddemeier, R. W. (1992). Global change and coral reef ecosystems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 23, 89–118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spalding, M., Ravilious, C. and Green, E. (2001). World Atlas of Coral Reefs. Berkeley, CA: UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre and University of California Press.Google Scholar
Stoddart, D. R. (1982). Coral reefs: the coming crisis. Proceedings 4th International Coral Reef Symposium, 1, 33–6Google Scholar
Timmermann, A., Oberhuber, J., Bacher, A.et al. (1999). Increased El Niño frequency in a climate model forced by future greenhouse warming. Nature, 398, 694–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tun, K., Chou, L. M. and Cabanban, A. (2004). Status of coral reefs, coral reef monitoring and management in Southeast Asia, 2004. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 1, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 235–75. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Vieux, C., Aubanel, A. and Axford, J. (2004). A century of change in coral reef status in Southeast and Central Pacific: Polynesia Mana Node, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna. In Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, vol. 2, ed. Wilkinson, C., pp. 363–80. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Wells, S. M. (ed.) (1988). Coral Reefs of the World: vol. 1, Atlantic and Eastern Pacific; vol. 2, Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Gulf; vol. 3, Central and Western Pacific. Nairobi: UNEP/Gland, Switzerland: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Wilkinson, C. R. (1993). Coral reefs of the world are facing widespread devastation: can we prevent this through sustainable management practices?Proceedings 7th International Coral Reef Symposium, 1, 11–21Google Scholar
Wilkinson, C. R. (ed.) (1998). Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 1998. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, C. R. (1999). Global and local threats to coral reef functioning and existence: review and predictions. Marine Freshwater Research, 50, 867–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, C. R. (ed.) (2000). Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, C. R. (ed.) (2002). Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, C. R. (ed.) (2004). Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004. Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine ScienceGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, C. R. and Buddemeier, R. W. (1994). Global Climate Change and Coral Reefs: Implications for People and Reefs, Report of the UNEP–IOC–ASPEI–IUCN Global Task Team on Coral Reefs. Gland, Switzerland: International Union for Conservation of Nature
Wilkinson, C. R., Linden, O., Cesar, H.et al. (1999). Ecological and socioeconomic impacts of 1998 coral mortality in the Indian Ocean: An ENSO impact and a warning of future change?Ambio, 28, 188–96Google Scholar
Willis, B. L., Page, C. and Dinsdale, E. (2004). Coral diseases on the Great Barrier Reef. In Coral Health and Disease, eds. Rosenberg, E. and Loya, Y., pp. 69–104. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×