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STATUS: |
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Completed
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FELLOWSHIP DETAILS: |
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2006 Fellow
Pacific Islands
North Pacific
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION |
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Coral reefs are robust biological communities that have survived a variety of acute natural disturbances over geological time but the magnitude of chronic human-induced disturbances are not only killing many reefs, but preventing opportunities for natural recovery. Particular stressors, such as overfishing, sedimentation, eutrophication, pollution and bleaching events tied to global climate change, have been identified as the causes of global coral reef decline, however, the linkages between cause and effect and the relative contributions of individual stressors remain uncertain. Resource managers and policy makers are often required to make key decisions in the face of uncertainty and while being besieged by individuals with conflicting interests. Traditional coral reef monitoring techniques using mortality as the metric (loss of coral cover or species) often do little more than document coral reef destruction and provide few opportunities for initiating proactive intervention measures. Molecular biomarkers in corals are proving effective in identifying physiological and cellular stress at sublethal levels, when management efforts have the greatest chance of effectiveness.
Richmond will use his Pew Fellowship to further develop biomarkers as a forensic tool to identify which particular stressors are affecting corals, their relative contributions to reductions in coral health and their application as a means to establish meaningful environmental standards and to measure the efficacy of mitigation efforts. He will do field work in Guam, Palau, Yap Island, the Marshall Islands and Hawaii. Richmond will develop techniques allowing managers to identify "the smoking gun" when coral reef loss occurs, quantify the relative contributions of multiple stressors to coral reef loss and measure the effectiveness of mitigation measures. Developing data robust enough to stand up in court will enable these techniques to be used to support voluntary compliance or provide for enforcement through the judicial process.
The biomarker research will provide a valuable tool for coral reef conservation efforts by providing data that demonstrate cause and effect as well as the underlying mechanism for damage to corals. Using these techniques, stress can be detected at sublethal levels, which is critical if outright mortality of corals and other reef organisms is to be prevented. This knowledge puts the manager in a position to prioritize management of stressors while also measuring the effectiveness of mitigation programs. As part of his project, Richmond plans to develop a guide on how to collect, analyze and apply the data in a management context; to develop training for managers and policy makers; to develop a series of values of biologically relevant thresholds of exposure in corals and propose regulations and legislation that could be adopted by local, regional and national government agencies. |
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