Multiple Stressors and Ecological Complexity Require a New Approach to Coral Reef Research

• Main Authors: Pendleton, Linwood H., Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove, Langdon, Chris, Comte, Adrien
• Other Authors: Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer (AMURE), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Durham, University of Queensland Brisbane, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), University of Miami Coral Gables, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, "Laboratoire d'Excellence" LabexMER ANR-10-LABX-19, Region of Brittany - French government under the program "Investissements d'Avenir, Australian Research Council, Nature Conservancy's Mapping Ocean Wealth Project
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: coral reefs; multiple stressors; mesocosm-level research; climate change; ocean acidification; envir; hisphilso; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3339/fmars.2016.00036; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02152550/file/fmars-03-00036.pdf; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02152550

International audience Ocean acidification, climate change, and other environmental stressors threaten coral reef ecosystems and the people who depend upon them. New science reveals that these multiple stressors interact and may affect a multitude of physiological and ecological processes in complex ways. The interaction of multiple stressors and ecological complexity may mean that the negative effects on coral reef ecosystems will happen sooner and be more severe than previously thought. Yet, most research on the effects of global change on coral reefs focus on one or few stressors, pathways or outcomes (e.g., bleaching). Based on a critical review of the literature, we call for a regionally targeted strategy of mesocosm-level research that addresses this complexity and provides more realistic projections about coral reef impacts in the face of global environmental change. We believe similar approaches are needed for other ecosystems that face global environmental change.