Revisiting these reefs to assess coral recovery will help us learn about the long-term impacts of ghost nets and increase our understanding of coral resilience. If you would like to be a part of protecting this special place, visit our partner organization’s website, the … The change in state of Caribbean coral reefs over the last 40 years has been characterized by phase shifts from scleractinian coral cover to macroalgal cover, the loss of structural complexity and a decline in biodiversity. CALL FOR PAPERS: Coral Reefs Special Issue: Coral Reef Biodiversity and History: Insights from molecular phylogenetics, biogeography and population genetics.Submit your paper before 15 January 2021.See Journal Updates for more information.. Coral reefs globally have to contend with increasing environmental impacts and rapid climate change (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2014). The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) provides grant funding and private capital to support sustainable interventions to save coral reefs and the communities that rely on them. South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China. Reefs are subject to many of the same processes that affect other human-dominated ecosystems, but some special features merit emphasis: ( i ) Many dominant reef builders spawn eggs and sperm into the water column, where … On July 25, 2016, recreational divers at coral reefs near buoy 2 at the East Bank of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 115 miles off the coast of Texas and Louisiana, noticed something strange. Coral reefs, with their millions of species, have changed profoundly because of the effects of people, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Y-G. Hong. Coral reefs provide unique contributions to both biodiversity and human wellbeing. Marine biodiversity, tropical marine biota, coral reefs, species interdependencies, taxonomy. The coral, usually glowing with bright yellows and oranges, were pale. Understanding if, and how, coral reefs and their associated biodiversity will persist is a central question for scientists, reef managers, and policy makers worldwide. Some were pure white. Coral reefs are facing unprecedented threats from a combination of local and global stressors.At the same time, coral reefs are increasingly recognized as a vital foundation for economic development, community wellbeing, and social resilience.. Officially announced in September of 2020, we are now actively and urgently seeking additional partners and investors for greater finance and engagement! Not only do scientists want to understand these changes, but also predict the future of coral reefs and their capacity for resilience. Colors were muted. While the fate of coral reefs will be determined by a variety of stressors including the rate and extent of climate change, the new report “A Reef Manager’s Guide to Coral Bleaching” concludes that reef managers have a critical role to play in maximising the resilience of reefs to coral bleaching. Human-caused climate change is causing an "utter tragedy" to one of the world's largest coral reef systems, according to Australian researchers.