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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

A RESEARCH REVIEW OF
INTERVENTIONS TO INCREASE
THE PERSISTENCE AND
RESILIENCE OF CORAL REEFS

Committee on Interventions to Increase the Resilience of Coral Reefs

Ocean Studies Board

Board on Life Sciences

Division on Earth and Life Studies

A Consensus Study Report of

images

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Award Number WC133R17CQ0031 and Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-48535-7
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-48535-5
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25279.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

Image

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

COMMITTEE ON INTERVENTIONS TO INCREASE THE RESILIENCE OF CORAL REEFS

STEPHEN R. PALUMBI, Chair, Stanford University, California

KENNETH R. N. ANTHONY, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Queensland

ANDREW C. BAKER, University of Miami, Florida

MARISSA L. BASKETT, University of California, Davis

DEBASHISH BHATTACHARYA, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

DAVID G. BOURNE, James Cook University and Australian Institute of Maine Science, Queensland

NANCY KNOWLTON, Smithsonian Institution (retired), Washington, District of Columbia

CHERYL A. LOGAN, California State University, Monterey Bay

KERRY A. NAISH, University of Washington, Seattle

ROBERT H. RICHMOND, University of Hawaii at Manoa

TYLER B. SMITH, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas

KATHERINE VON STACKELBERG, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Staff

SUSAN ROBERTS, Director, Ocean Studies Board

EMILY TWIGG, Program Officer, Ocean Studies Board

ANDREA HODGSON, Program Officer, Board on Life Sciences

LIANA VACCARI, Mirzayan Fellow (through April 2018)

TRENT CUMMINGS, Senior Program Assistant, Ocean Studies Board

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

OCEAN STUDIES BOARD

LARRY A. MAYER, Chair, University of New Hampshire, Durham

KEVIN R. ARRIGO, Stanford University, California

CLAUDIA BENITEZ-NELSON, University of South Carolina, Columbia

THOMAS R. CHANCE, ASV Global, LLC, Broussard, Louisiana

RITA R. COLWELL, University of Maryland, College Park

SARAH W. COOKSEY, State of Delaware, Dover

JAMES A. ESTES, University of California, Santa Cruz

DAVID HALPERN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

PATRICK HEIMBACH, The University of Texas at Austin

SUSAN E. HUMPHRIS, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

S. BRADLEY MORAN, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

STEVEN A. MURAWSKI, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

JOHN A. ORCUTT, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

H. TUBA ÖZKAN-HALLER, Oregon State University, Corvallis

RUTH M. PERRY, Shell Exploration & Production Company, Houston, Texas

MARTIN D. SMITH, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

MARK H. SPALDING, The Ocean Foundation, Washington, District of Columbia

MARGARET SPRING, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California

DOUGLAS WARTZOK, Florida International University, Miami

LISA D. WHITE, University of California, Berkeley, and San Francisco State University

ROBERT S. WINOKUR, Michigan Tech Research Institute, Silver Spring, Maryland

Staff

SUSAN ROBERTS, Director

STACEE KARRAS, Program Officer

EMILY TWIGG, Program Officer

TRENT CUMMINGS, Senior Program Assistant

SHELLY FREELAND, Financial Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES

JAMES P. COLLINS, Chair, Arizona State University, Tempe

A. ALONSO AGUIRRE, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

ENRIQUETA C. BOND, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Marshall, Virginia

DOMINIQUE BROSSARD, University of Wisconsin–Madison

ROGER D. CONE, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

NANCY D. CONNELL, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Baltimore, Maryland

SEAN M. DECATUR, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio

JOSEPH R. ECKER, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California

SCOTT V. EDWARDS, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

GERALD EPSTEIN, National Defense University, Washington, District of Columbia

ROBERT J. FULL, University of California, Berkeley

ELIZABETH HEITMAN, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

MARY E. MAXON, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, California

ROBERT NEWMAN, Independent Consultant, Washington, District of Columbia

STEPHEN J. O’BRIEN, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

CLAIRE POMEROY, Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, New York, New York

MARY E. POWER, University of California, Berkeley

SUSAN RUNDELL SINGER, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida

LANA SKIRBOLL, Sanofi, Baltimore, Maryland

DAVID R. WALT, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Staff

FRANCES SHARPLES, Director

KATIE BOWMAN, Senior Program Officer

ANDREA HODGSON, Program Officer

JO HUSBANDS, Senior Scholar

KEEGAN SAWYER, Senior Program Officer

AUDREY THEVENON, Program Officer

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

Acknowledgments

This Consensus Study Report was greatly enhanced by discussions with participants at the committee’s meetings and workshops as part of this study. The committee would like to acknowledge, especially, the efforts of those who gave presentations at the committee workshops, who are listed in Appendix B. The committee would also like to thank David Mead, Australian Institute of Marine Science; Jorge Mendoza-Torres, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Britta Schaffelke, Australian Institute of Marine Science; and Joanna Walczak, Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by David Karl, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Holly Greening, CoastWise Partners. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25279.
×
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Coral reef declines have been recorded for all major tropical ocean basins since the 1980s, averaging approximately 30-50% reductions in reef cover globally. These losses are a result of numerous problems, including habitat destruction, pollution, overfishing, disease, and climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions and the associated increases in ocean temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations have been implicated in increased reports of coral bleaching, disease outbreaks, and ocean acidification (OA). For the hundreds of millions of people who depend on reefs for food or livelihoods, the thousands of communities that depend on reefs for wave protection, the people whose cultural practices are tied to reef resources, and the many economies that depend on reefs for fisheries or tourism, the health and maintenance of this major global ecosystem is crucial.

A growing body of research on coral physiology, ecology, molecular biology, and responses to stress has revealed potential tools to increase coral resilience. Some of this knowledge is poised to provide practical interventions in the short-term, whereas other discoveries are poised to facilitate research that may later open the doors to additional interventions. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs reviews the state of science on genetic, ecological, and environmental interventions meant to enhance the persistence and resilience of coral reefs. The complex nature of corals and their associated microbiome lends itself to a wide range of possible approaches. This first report provides a summary of currently available information on the range of interventions present in the scientific literature and provides a basis for the forthcoming final report.

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