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A cocktail of land-based sources of pollution threatens coral reef ecosystems, and addressing these has become a key management and policy challenge in the State of Hawaii, other US territories, and globally. In West Maui, Hawai'i, nearly one quarter of all living corals were lost between 1995 and 2008. Onsite disposal systems (OSDS) for sewage leak contaminants into drinking water sources and nearshore waters. In recognition of this risk, the Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) is prioritizing areas for cesspool upgrades. Independently, we applied a decision analysis process to identify priority areas to address sewage pollution from OSDS in West Maui, with the objective of reducing nearshore coral reef exposure...
Reducing coral reef vulnerability to climate change requires that managers understand and support the natural resilience of coral reefs. We define coral reef resilience as: the capacity of a reef to resist and/or recover from disturbance given its probable exposure regime, and maintain provision of ecosystem goods and services. Spatial variation in exposure to disturbance and the resilience of reefs in the face of those disturbances will determine the fate of coral reefs within management jurisdictions. This project sought to: (1) undertake ecological resilience assessments in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), which is in the west Pacific near Guam, and (2) collaboratively develop a decision-support...
This Project Snapshot provides a brief overview of the project "Coral reef resilience to climate change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands".
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Ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves provide an effective first line of defense against coastal hazards and represent a promising nature-based solution to adapt to sea-level rise. In many areas, coral reefs cause waves to break and lose energy, allowing for sediment to accumulate on the inshore portion of reef flats (i.e. the shallowest, flattest part of a reef) and mangroves to establish. Mangroves cause further attenuation (i.e. energy loss) waves and storm surge as water moves through roots and trunks of the trees. Together, these ecosystems provide valuable protection from coastal flooding, but is unclear how this protection may be affected by sea-level rise. An assessment of future sea-level rise vulnerability...
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The conditions of coral reefs in the Hawaiian Islands are predicted to decline significantly from climate change over the next 100 years. To better prepare for the impacts of climate change on Hawaiian reefs, the research team uses a system of models to simulate ocean waves and circulation, rainfall and storm run-off, and coral reef community dynamics through the year 2100. These models will identify reef areas that are either vulnerable or resilient to the many stressors that the future may hold for reefs. The team’s hope is that this work can identify areas that might benefit from management actions to minimize local stressors such as land-based pollution. Through a collaborative partnership with state and federal...
Abstract: To design effective marine reserves and support fisheries, more information on fishing patterns and impacts for targeted species is needed, as well as better understanding of their key habitats. However, fishing impacts vary geographically and are difficult to disentangle from other factors that influence targeted fish distributions. We developed a set of fishing effort and habitat layers at high resolution and employed machine learning techniques to create regional‐scale seascape models and predictive maps of biomass and body length of targeted reef fishes for the main Hawaiian Islands. Spatial patterns of fishing effort were shown to be highly variable and seascape models indicated a low threshold beyond...
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This project was designed to use climate models to produce projections of changes in sea temperatures and ocean chemistry for coastal marine areas in Micronesia as well as reports that describe the outlook of culturally important marine sites in Guam and CNMI. The projections and maps were expected show what the current state of climate science suggests the future holds for marine areas in Micronesia if we continue to use fossil fuels aggressively. These projections of sea conditions will become the foundation of outlook reports for Tumon Bay in Guam, Lao Lao Bay and Saipan Lagoon in Saipan, and northern Tinian Island. The selected areas are among the most important sites for recreation in Guam and CNMI and, as...
This webinar was conducted on April 16, 2015. Reducing coral reef vulnerability to climate change requires that managers understand and support the natural resilience of coral reefs. To assist these managers, a team of researchers, supported by the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center (PI CSC) undertook a project to: 1) assess ecological resilience in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), which is in the west Pacific near Guam, and 2) collaboratively develop a decision-support framework with local management partners for resilience-based management. The team used an approach that included surveys of 78 sites along reefs surrounding the most populated islands in CNMI (Saipan, Tinian/Aguijan,...
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Coral reefs provide numerous ecosystem goods and services critical to human well-being (e.g., protection from storms and floods, food, income, recreation, and cultural practices), but they are threatened by growing human pressures and climate change. Resource managers must make complex decisions when developing adaptation plans that are cost-effective and maintain coral reef functions while still allowing for human use and development. Through this project, scientists developed a decision-support tool for managers to (1) identify the areas that provide the most critical coral reef services (i.e., supply the most value to humans) as well as the areas of reef most threatened, and (2) compare the effects of reef management...
Abstract (from PLOS One): Declining natural resources have led to a cultural renaissance across the Pacific that seeks to revive customary ridge-to-reef management approaches to protect freshwater and restore abundant coral reef fisheries. Effective ridge-to-reef management requires improved understanding of land-sea linkages and decision-support tools to simultaneously evaluate the effects of terrestrial and marine drivers on coral reefs, mediated by anthropogenic activities. Although a few applications have linked the effects of land cover to coral reefs, these are too coarse in resolution to inform watershed-scale management for Pacific Islands. To address this gap, we developed a novel linked land-sea modeling...
Episodic runoff carries suspended sediment to the nearshore, where it blocks light used for photosynthesis, smothers corals, inhibits coral recruitment, and triggers increases in macroalgae. Even small rainfalls create visible plumes over a few hours. Sediment affects coastal user enjoyment by deteriorating both ecosystem quality and visibility. Sources of erosion include unimproved roads, fallow and active agricultural fields, disturbed forests, local development, and streambanks. In this project, USGS used mapping, field experiments and monitoring, and analysis of recent (July 19–20, 2014) and historic rainfall to estimate sources of land-based pollution for watersheds in West Maui, Hawaii. USGS constructed an...
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Pacific Island societies value, depend on, and actively manage terrestrial and marine ecosystems for the multiple benefits they provide, including those associated with plant and animal abundance, resilience to natural disasters, and the flow of water, soil, and nutrients. New ecosystem service models developed for Pacific Island landscapes now integrate land-to-sea connections, allowing us to assess how land-based management actions and threats (e.g. changes to climate and land cover) affect ecosystem benefits, from ridge to reef. Affecting actual change on the ground, however, depends on how scientific information is accessed and used by managers and other decision makers who have the capacity to influence ecosystem...
This Project Snapshot provides an overview of the project "Valuing Climate Change Impacts on Coral Reef Ecosystem Services".
Coral reefs provide numerous ecosystem goods and services critical to human well-being (e.g., protection from storms and floods, food, income, recreation, and cultural practices), but those ecosystems are under serious threat due to growing human pressures, including overfishing, land-based pollution, and global climate change. Managers facing complex problems require decision-support tools that can guide costeffective action across the entire watershed, from ridge to reef. This project built a pilot tool for coral reef management that can map, assess, and value key goods and services from the reef environment. It provides important information to managers on the areas supplying the most value to humans, as well...
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Coral reefs are threatened by climate change because warming ocean temperatures are causing corals to bleach (i.e. lose the algae that provides them with the majority of their energy) which can lead to coral starvation and death. Local environmental conditions can contribute to either the resilience or susceptibility of corals to the global stress of climate change. One such factor is the local nutrient input from terrestrial sources. Corals near remote islands with abundant seabird populations have been found to have increased growth rates and are more resilient to bleaching events than corals near islands without seabirds. Seabirds supply the reef with ample nutrients via their guano (seabird excreted waste) and...
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Assessments that incorporate areas from land-to-ocean, or “ridge-to-reef", are critical to examine how land-use practices are altering stream discharge and nearshore marine health and productivity. Stream systems in both Alaska and Hawaiʻi are expected to experience changes in water quality associated with changing environmental conditions and increased human-use. Watershed systems throughout the Hawaiian Islands are currently experiencing impacts from climate change that affect groundwater recharge and surface runoff, erosion, and total streamflow, and cause degradation of nearshore marine habitats. This study can provide useful insight for both Alaska and Hawaiʻi by providing resources on how patterns in stream...
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Coral reefs are declining worldwide due to a combination of stressors, but climate induced ocean warming is the biggest threat. Warming oceans lead to ‘coral bleaching’ and frequent death, compromising the structure and function of reefs. The increasing frequency and severity of bleaching means that human intervention is needed to support the adaptive capacity of reefs. Most proposed interventions involve the movement of corals, but the outcomes of these strategies are almost completely unknown. To bridge this knowledge gap, this project aims to assess how restoration to enhance resilience within coral reefs can effectively reduce climate change threats while also gaining a better understanding of socio-cultural...
Abstract (from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320715300926): Ecological resilience assessments are an important part of resilience-based management (RBM) and can help prioritize and target management actions. Use of such assessments has been limited due to a lack of clear guidance on the assessment process. This study builds on the latest scientific advances in RBM to provide that guidance from a resilience assessment undertaken in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). We assessed spatial variation in ecological resilience potential at 78 forereef sites near the populated islands of the CNMI: Saipan, Tinian/Aguijan, and Rota. The assessments are based on measuring indicators...
This Project Snapshot provides a brief summary overview of the project "Assessing the Sustainability of Culturally Important Marine Sites in Guam and CNMI".
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Coral reef ecosystems serve as natural coastal defenses, support local island economies, and are important sources of food for coastal communities. However, an increase in coral bleaching events, and the associated declines of coral cover and diversity, are highly likely as sea surface temperatures continue to rise. Multiple coral bleaching events between 2013 and 2017 have already impacted the reefs of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, resulting in the loss of more than a third of shallow living-coral cover, with some species groups experiencing greater than 90% mortality. This devastating series of bleaching events strengthened existing partnerships between federal and local agencies and...
map background search result map search result map Projections of Future Coral Reef Communities in DOI-Managed Coastal Areas in the Hawaiian Islands Valuing Climate Change Impacts on Coral Reef Ecosystem Services Assessing the Sustainability of Culturally Important Marine Sites in Guam and CNMI Using Cutting-Edge Technology to Assess Coral Reef Bleaching Events and Recovery Rates in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Linking Models to Outcomes – How do Hawaiʻi Stakeholders Use and Contribute to Land-to-Sea Ecosystem Service Analyses Ecological and Socio-Cultural Responses to Transplanting Corals to Enhance Reef Resilience Near Oʻahu The Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Coral Reef and Mangrove Interactions and the Resulting Coastal Flooding Hazards Coral Response to Land-to-Ocean Freshwater Flux: A Ridge-to-Reef Perspective Unlocking Resilience Drivers to Inform Pacific Coral Reef Management Ecological and Socio-Cultural Responses to Transplanting Corals to Enhance Reef Resilience Near Oʻahu The Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Coral Reef and Mangrove Interactions and the Resulting Coastal Flooding Hazards Assessing the Sustainability of Culturally Important Marine Sites in Guam and CNMI Using Cutting-Edge Technology to Assess Coral Reef Bleaching Events and Recovery Rates in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Projections of Future Coral Reef Communities in DOI-Managed Coastal Areas in the Hawaiian Islands Coral Response to Land-to-Ocean Freshwater Flux: A Ridge-to-Reef Perspective Linking Models to Outcomes – How do Hawaiʻi Stakeholders Use and Contribute to Land-to-Sea Ecosystem Service Analyses Unlocking Resilience Drivers to Inform Pacific Coral Reef Management