Publisher : Bulletin of Marine Science
Place of publication :
Publication year : 2001
Thematic : Coral Reef
Language : English
Note
The non-diagnostic nature of most coral reef monitoring programs limits the ability of
scientists, managers, and agency staff to communicate trends in the condition of coral
reef systems to the public or politicians. Moreover, monitoring programs have neither
been designed to identify the specific causes of coral reef decline nor to formulate or
evaluate the effectiveness of conservation or remediation plans. Efforts to protect and
restore coral reef resources should explicitly track the biological condition of these ecosystems
the way we track local and national economies or diagnose personal health through
the application of appropriately defined indicators. The use of calibrated metrics that
integrate the influence of all forms of degradation caused by human actions can improve
diagnostic, curative, restorative and preventive actions. To improve this situation, we propose
a framework for the definition of coral reef multimetric indexes of biotic integrity
(IBI), including a discussion of how existing research advances this framework. Our research
strategy recognizes the value of looking at six components of regional biotas:
sessile epibenthos, benthic macroinvertebrates, fish, macrophytes, phytoplankton, and
zooplankton. Understanding the tolerance and intolerance of coral reef taxa to chemical
contaminants or other human influences (habitat destruction, overharvest), singly or in
combination, is crucial to creation of an effective IBI. The research strategy outlined
here provides a starting point based on successful efforts in other environments (e.g.,
streams, wetlands). The biological attributes selected as metrics in an IBI as well as their
specific responses to the many effects of human actions must be specified by pilot program
research. Additional steps to be accomplished include development of a coral reef
classification system, definition of reference condition (regional ecological expectations),
and documentation of sample effort and analytical procedures needed for handling coral
reef data.
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Keywords : coral reef
Encoded by : Pauline Carmel Joy Eje
