A National Status Report on United States Coral Reefs Based on 2012–2018 Data From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program

Frontiers in Marine Science

Nathan Miller¹  Bernardo Vargas-Ángel²  Peter E. T. Edwards³  Ian C. Enochs⁴  Ivor D. Williams⁵  Erick F. Geiger⁶  Laura Jay Grove⁷  Matthew W. Johnson⁷  Matthew Gorstein⁸  Adel Heenan⁹  Justine Kimball^1,10  Jennifer L. Koss^1,11  Arielle Levine^1,12  Derek P. Manzello^1,13  Kimberly Edwards^1,14  Sarah H. Groves^1,14  Chloe S. Fleming^1,14  T. Shay Viehman^1,15  Courtney S. Couch^1,15  Jeremiah Blondeau^1,16  C. Mark Eakin^1,17  Erica K. Towle^1,18  Mary E. Allen^1,18  Maria K. Dillard^1,19  Hannah Barkley^2,20  Jennifer C. Samson^2,20  Tye Kindinger^2,20  Dione Swanson^2,20  Russell E. Brainard^2,21  Thomas Oliver^2,22  E. Caroline Donovan^2,22  Heath Kelsey^2,22  Alexandra S. Fries^2,22  Annie Carew^2,22 

[1] Climate Division, Center for Satellite Applications and Research, Coral Reef Watch, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, College Park, MD, United States;0Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States;0Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, DC, United States;1Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL, United States;1National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Beaufort, NC, United States;2Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center/Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies Under National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NESDIS/STAR Contract, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States;3Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL, United States;4South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, Charleston, SC, United States;5School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Anglesey, United Kingdom;6California Ocean Protection Council, Sacramento, CA, United States;7Coral Reef Conservation Program, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, United States;8Department of Geography, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States;;9Satellite Oceanography &CSS, Inc. Under National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Contract, Fairfax, VA, United States;Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Under National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ecosystem Sciences Division Contract, Honolulu, HI, United States;Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies Under National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Population and Ecosystems Monitoring Division Contract, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, VI, United States;Corals and Climate, Silver Spring, MD, United States;Lynker, Inc. Under National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Conservation Program Contract, Leesburg, VA, United States;National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, United States;Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, HI, United States;Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia;University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD, United States;

关键词: coral reefs;    monitoring;    climate change;    fisheries;    socioeconomics;    science communication;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmars.2021.812216

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Conservation Program supports the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) in the United States Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. NCRMP conducts standardized observations of biological, climatic, and socioeconomic indicators across American Samoa, Guam, the Main Hawaiian Islands, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Pacific Remote Islands, Florida, the Flower Garden Banks, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. NCRMP provides periodic, national-level assessments of the status of United States coral reef ecosystems and communities connected to them. In 2014, NCRMP partnered with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science on an unprecedented collaboration between federal and jurisdictional/state agencies, academia, and non-governmental organizations to synthesize NCRMP data into a reporting format designed to be accessible and relevant to the public and policy makers. The process involved multi-year data analyses of key benthic, fish, and climate indicators. In populated jurisdictions, socioeconomic data were integrated to assess public support for management actions, participation in pro-environmental behaviors, and awareness of threats to coral reefs. Jurisdictions were scored using a report-card scale (0–100%) by establishing references for each indicator using best-available historical data or expert opinion where historical data did not exist or were not statistically comparable. Despite overall ecosystem scores of Fair for all combined Atlantic (70%) and Pacific (74%) jurisdictions, the current trend is downward with a majority of United States coral reefs declining and vulnerable to further degradation. Remote, uninhabited reefs had an advantage with respect to reef fish population scores, i.e., Flower Garden Banks (85%) and Pacific Remote Islands (93%), when compared to populated location scores, i.e., Puerto Rico (63%) and Main Hawaiian Islands (66%). All coral reefs are highly impacted by climate change, and climate impacts were more pronounced than expected on remote reefs, i.e., the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (58%). Presenting results in a report-card style facilitates communication to the public and policy makers, and provides a useful mechanism to garner support for management actions such as expanding protected areas; enforcing existing regulations; increasing climate change education; reducing land-based sources of pollution; and other actions to improve the trajectory of coral reef ecosystem conditions.

【 授权许可】

Unknown