Effects of Climate Change and Local-Scale Stressors of Coral Reefs
Gurney, G.G., Melbourne-Thomas, J., Geronimo, R.C., Aliņo, P.M. and Johnson, C.R. 2013. Modelling coral reef futures to inform management: Can reducing local-scale stressors conserve reefs under climate change? PLOS ONE 8: e80137.
Results indicated the "management of water quality, and to a lesser extent fishing, can have a significant impact on future reef state, including coral recovery following bleaching-induced mortality." They authors further note the stressors they examined "interacted antagonistically to affect reef state, highlighting the importance of considering the combined impact of multiple stressors rather than considering them individually."
Gurney et al. conclude their study stating, "by providing explicit guidance for management of Bolinao's reef system, such as which course of management action will most likely be effective over what time scales and at which sites, we demonstrated the utility of simulation models for supporting management," while additionally noting that "aside from providing explicit guidance for management of Bolinao's reef system, our study offers insights which could inform reef management more broadly." And that insight includes the fact that reducing local-scale stressors can indeed "conserve reefs under climate change."
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