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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
Bright spots among the world's coral reefs
Nature, Volume 535, No. 7612, Year 2016
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Description
Ongoing declines in the structure and function of the world's coral reefs require novel approaches to sustain these ecosystems and the millions of people who depend on them. A presently unexplored approach that draws on theory and practice in human health and rural development is to systematically identify and learn from the 'outliers' - places where ecosystems are substantially better ('bright spots') or worse ('dark spots') than expected, given the environmental conditions and socioeconomic drivers they are exposed to. Here we compile data from more than 2,500 reefs worldwide and develop a Bayesian hierarchical model to generate expectations of how standing stocks of reef fish biomass are related to 18 socioeconomic drivers and environmental conditions. We identify 15 bright spots and 35 dark spots among our global survey of coral reefs, defined as sites that have biomass levels more than two standard deviations from expectations. Importantly, bright spots are not simply comprised of remote areas with low fishing pressure; they include localities where human populations and use of ecosystem resources is high, potentially providing insights into how communities have successfully confronted strong drivers of change. Conversely, dark spots are not necessarily the sites with the lowest absolute biomass and even include some remote, uninhabited locations often considered near pristine. We surveyed local experts about social, institutional, and environmental conditions at these sites to reveal that bright spots are characterized by strong sociocultural institutions such as customary taboos and marine tenure, high levels of local engagement in management, high dependence on marine resources, and beneficial environmental conditions such as deep-water refuges. Alternatively, dark spots are characterized by intensive capture and storage technology and a recent history of environmental shocks. Our results suggest that investments in strengthening fisheries governance, particularly aspects such as participation and property rights, could facilitate innovative conservation actions that help communities defy expectations of global reef degradation. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Cinner, Joshua E.
Australia, Townsville
Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Huchery, Cindy
Australia, Townsville
Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
MacNeil, M. Aaron
Australia, Townsville
Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Australia, Townsville
Australian Institute of Marine Science
Canada, Halifax
Dalhousie University
Graham, Nicholas Anthony James
Australia, Townsville
Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
United Kingdom, Lancaster
Lancaster University
McClanahan, Tim R.
United States, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society
Maina, Joseph M.
United States, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society
Australia, Sydney
Macquarie University
Maire, Eva
Australia, Townsville
Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
France, Sete
Marbec Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation
Kittinger, John N.
United States, Palo Alto
Stanford University
United States, Honolulu
Conservation International
Hicks, Christina C.
Australia, Townsville
Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
United Kingdom, Lancaster
Lancaster University
United States, Palo Alto
Stanford University
Mora, Camilo
United States, Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Allison, Edward Hugh
United States, Seattle
University of Washington
D'agata, Stéphanie
United States, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society
Australia, Sydney
Macquarie University
New Caledonia, Noumea
Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement Noumea
Hoey, Andrew S.
Australia, Townsville
Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Feary, David A.
United Kingdom, Nottingham
University of Nottingham
Crowder, Larry B.
United States, Palo Alto
Stanford University
Williams, Ivor D.
United States, Honolulu
Noaa Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Kulbicki, Michel L.
France, Perpignan
Labex Corail
Vigliola, Laurent
New Caledonia, Noumea
Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement Noumea
Wantiez, L.
New Caledonia, Noumea
Universite de la Nouvelle-caledonie
Edgar, Graham J.
Australia, Hobart
University of Tasmania
Stuart-Smith, Rick D.
Australia, Hobart
University of Tasmania
Sandin, Stuart Adrian
United States, La Jolla
University of California, San Diego
Green, Alison L.
United States, Arlington
Nature Conservancy
Beger, M.
Unknown Affiliation
Friedlander, Alan Marc
United States, Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
United States, Washington, D.c.
National Geographic Society
Campbell, Stuart J.
United States, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society
Wilson, Shaun K.
Australia, Perth
The University of Western Australia
Brooks, Andrew J.
United States, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
Cruz-Motta, Juan José
Puerto Rico, San Juan
Universidad de Puerto Rico
Booth, David J.
Australia, Sydney
University of Technology Sydney
Chabanet, Pascale
France, Marseille
Ird Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement
Gough, Charlotte L.A.
United Kingdom, London
Blue Ventures Conservation
Tupper, Mark H.
Unknown Affiliation
Ferse, Sebastian C.A.
Germany, Bremen
Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research
Sumaila, Ussif Rashid
Canada, Vancouver
The University of British Columbia
Mouillot, David
Australia, Townsville
Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
France, Sete
Marbec Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation
Statistics
Citations: 355
Authors: 36
Affiliations: 29
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature18607
ISSN:
00280836
Research Areas
Environmental
Health System And Policy
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative