Climate Change, Coral Reef Ecosystems, and Management Options for Marine Protected Areas

• Main Authors: Johanna E. Johnson, Æ Steven, L. Miller, Æ Robert, S. Steneck, D. F. Gleason, E. Mcleod, C. M. Woodley, S. Airamé, B. D. Causey
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ocean acidification
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.356.124

Ó The Author(s) 2009. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Marine protected areas (MPAs) provide placebased management of marine ecosystems through various degrees and types of protective actions. Habitats such as coral reefs are especially susceptible to degradation resulting from climate change, as evidenced by mass bleaching events over the past two decades. Marine ecosystems are being altered by direct effects of climate change including ocean warming, ocean acidification, rising sea level, changing circulation patterns, increasing severity of storms, and changing freshwater influxes. As impacts of climate change strengthen they may exacerbate effects of existing stressors and require new or modified management approaches; MPA networks are generally accepted as an improvement over individual MPAs to address multiple