Download or read book Human Disturbance Alters Pacific Coral Reef Fish Beta diversity at Three Spatial Scales written by Logan Douglas Wiwchar and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coral reefs are the most diverse marine ecosystem, but are increasingly threatened by local and global anthropogenic changes. In this thesis, I examine the impact of local stressors on the spatial variability of coral reef fish community composition by modeling the !-diversity of 35 islands across the Pacific Ocean that are characterized by either low or high human disturbance. By examining !-diversity across three spatial scales (within island, within island group, and across island group), and using null models to control for differences in alpha-diversity or abundance, I reveal previously undocumented effects of human disturbance on coral reef fish assemblages. At all scales, human disturbances alter !-diversity. At the largest-scale, islands with high human disturbance have lower incidence- and abundance-based !-diversity, consistent with biotic homogenization. This pattern was driven by both species with high and low abundances that differed across islands. At the smaller two scales (within islands or island groups), the presence of low abundance species is more variable on islands with high human disturbance (manifest in greater incidence-based !-diversity), but these islands have lower abundance-based !- diversity driven by moderately abundant and widespread species. Multivariate techniques show that islands with high human disturbance have a weaker species-environment relationship, and as such, I suggest that homogenization of coral reef fish assemblages by human disturbances is resulting in greater stochasticity of species composition.

Download or read book YOUMARES 9 the Oceans Our Research Our Future written by Simon Jungblut and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book summarizes peer-reviewed articles and the abstracts of oral and poster presentations given during the YOUMARES 9 conference which took place in Oldenburg, Germany, in September 2018. The aims of this book are to summarize state-of-the-art knowledge in marine sciences and to inspire scientists of all career stages in the development of further research. These conferences are organized by and for young marine researchers. Qualified early-career researchers, who moderated topical sessions during the conference, contributed literature reviews on specific topics within their research field. .

Download or read book Human Impacts on Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems written by Marah Justine Hardt and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fishing is one of the oldest anthropogenic disturbances in the ocean, differing from other impacts in its direct removal of biomass from the ecosystem. Despite the centuries of fishing activities, there is much we still do not understand regarding the effects of fish removal on the benthic community. I use an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the affect of human disturbance, primarily the alteration of fish communities, on major functional groups of coral reefs, over extended temporal and spatial scales. In Chapter 2 , historical analyses reveal that relatively small human populations and simple fishing technologies can negatively impact reef fish communities. Significant declines are evident in Pre Columbian times and by the mid 19 th C. Declines were exacerbated by simple innovations of gear, such as chicken wire, and government subsidies, which expanded degradation to offshore and deeper reefs. In Chapter 3, I identify six major ecological guilds of common Caribbean coral species and show that changes in the abundance of these guilds from the Pleistocene to the present day can be understood in terms of recent human disturbance events. Formerly advantageous life history strategies no longer apply. Instead, guilds with the ability to withstand physical disturbance from storms, sedimentation, and pollution remain present on reefs, while strategies for high recruitment and rapid space colonization increase the relative abundance of another guild. Overall, no guild successfully competes with macroalgae for space and all corals have declined. In Chapter 4, I show that benthic and fish communities across the northwestern Caribbean are largely homogenized as a result of human disturbance. The exception is fish communities in large, no-take marine reserves, which resemble relatively healthy communities of low-impacted reefs in the Pacific. A negative correlation between fish and algal biomass indicate that reserves may facilitate coral recovery, although corals have not yet increased. Chapter 5 describes a novel method for calculating the wet and dry animal tissue mass per unit area of corals. Chapter 6 integrates these findings and demonstrates the importance of increased temporal, spatial, and ecosystem scale in effective research and management of degraded Caribbean coral reefs.

Download or read book Effects of Heat Stress and Local Human Disturbance on the Structure of Coral Reef Ecosystems at Multiple Scales of Biological Organization written by Jennifer Magel and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world's coral reefs are being impacted by myriad disturbances, from localized overfishing and nutrient pollution to global climate change-induced temperature increases and ocean acidification. Conservation of coral reefs in the face of increasing variability and uncertainty requires an understanding of the interacting effects of multiple stressors on the diverse components of these vital ecosystems. In this thesis, I use data from reefs around Kiritimati atoll (Republic of Kiribati) in the central equatorial Pacific Ocean to examine the effects of a severe pulse heat stress event and local human disturbance on two important components of the coral reef ecosystem - three-dimensional (3D) structural complexity and reef fish assemblages. Using 3D reef models constructed through structure-from-motion photogrammetry, I examined changes in reef structural complexity in the year following the 2015-2016 El Niño and mass coral bleaching event. I found that exposure to prolonged thermal stress and subsequent coral mortality resulted in declines in reef structural complexity, particularly reef surface rugosity and terrain ruggedness. Baseline levels of structural complexity were also negatively influenced by local human disturbance, while complexity was positively related to the densities of branching and massive coral growth forms. These findings have important implications for the maintenance of healthy reef ecosystems, as high levels of structural complexity are important for supporting diverse reef-associated fish assemblages. Next, using underwater visual censuses of reef fish assemblages, I quantified fish abundance, biomass, species richness, and assemblage structure before, during, and after the 2015-2016 El Niño. Total reef fish abundance, biomass, and species richness declined during the El Niño, suggesting that pulse heat stress events may have short-term, negative consequences for reef fish. Although these metrics did not vary substantially across the local human disturbance gradient, recovery of assemblages following the heat stress event was impeded by higher levels of local human disturbance. Reef fish assemblage structure was influenced by a more diverse array of factors, showing significant shifts in response to heat stress, human disturbance, and net primary productivity. Given the many important roles that fish play on coral reefs, declines such as those observed here may impair the ecological functioning of these ecosystems. Together, my results highlight the negative impacts of heat stress and local human disturbance on coral reefs, demonstrating ways in which these stressors may interact to limit reef resilience in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures.

Download or read book Marine Animal Forests written by Sergio Rossi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the last decades there has been an increasing evidence of drastic changes in marine ecosystems due to human-induced impacts, especially on benthic ecosystems. The so called “animal forests” are currently showing a dramatic loss of biomass and biodiversity all over the world. These communities are dominated by sessile suspension feeder organisms (such as sponges, corals, gorgonians, bivalves, etc.) that generate three-dimensional structures, similar to the trees in the terrestrial forest. The animal forest provide several ecosystem services such as food, protection and nursery to the associated fauna, playing an important role in the local hydrodynamic and biogeochemical cycles near the sea floor and acting also as carbon sinks. The present book focus its attention on these three dimensional animal structures including, for the first time, all the different types of animal forests of the world in a single volume.

Download or read book Marine Ecosystems and Global Change written by John G. Field and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2010-02-11 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global changes, including climate change and intensive fishing, are having significant impacts on the world's oceans. This book advances knowledge of the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems and their major sub-systems, and how they respond to physical forcing.

Download or read book Coral Reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific written by Peter W. Glynn and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-08-12 with total page 666 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book documents and examines the state of health of coral reefs in the eastern tropical Pacific region. It touches on the occurrence of coral reefs in the waters of surrounding countries, and it explores their biogeography, biodiversity and condition relative to the El Niño southern oscillation and human impacts. Additionally contained within is a field that presents information on many of the species presented in the preceding chapters.

Download or read book Overfishing written by Ray Hilborn and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2012-04-06 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is roughly organized into three themes: what is overfishing, what kind of fisheries are there and what is the environmental impact. Chapters include Historical Overfishing, Recreational Fisheries and Marine Protected Areas, to name a few. Within each chapter a list of questions are posed and answered with a few paragraphs.

Download or read book Coral Reef Remote Sensing written by James A. Goodman and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-18 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Remote sensing stands as the defining technology in our ability to monitor coral reefs, as well as their biophysical properties and associated processes, at regional to global scales. With overwhelming evidence that much of Earth’s reefs are in decline, our need for large-scale, repeatable assessments of reefs has never been so great. Fortunately, the last two decades have seen a rapid expansion in the ability for remote sensing to map and monitor the coral reef ecosystem, its overlying water column, and surrounding environment. Remote sensing is now a fundamental tool for the mapping, monitoring and management of coral reef ecosystems. Remote sensing offers repeatable, quantitative assessments of habitat and environmental characteristics over spatially extensive areas. As the multi-disciplinary field of coral reef remote sensing continues to mature, results demonstrate that the techniques and capabilities continue to improve. New developments allow reef assessments and mapping to be performed with higher accuracy, across greater spatial areas, and with greater temporal frequency. The increased level of information that remote sensing now makes available also allows more complex scientific questions to be addressed. As defined for this book, remote sensing includes the vast array of geospatial data collected from land, water, ship, airborne and satellite platforms. The book is organized by technology, including: visible and infrared sensing using photographic, multispectral and hyperspectral instruments; active sensing using light detection and ranging (LiDAR); acoustic sensing using ship, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and in-water platforms; and thermal and radar instruments. Emphasis and Audience This book serves multiple roles. It offers an overview of the current state-of-the-art technologies for reef mapping, provides detailed technical information for coral reef remote sensing specialists, imparts insight on the scientific questions that can be tackled using this technology, and also includes a foundation for those new to reef remote sensing. The individual sections of the book include introductory overviews of four main types of remotely sensed data used to study coral reefs, followed by specific examples demonstrating practical applications of the different technologies being discussed. Guidelines for selecting the most appropriate sensor for particular applications are provided, including an overview of how to utilize remote sensing data as an effective tool in science and management. The text is richly illustrated with examples of each sensing technology applied to a range of scientific, monitoring and management questions in reefs around the world. As such, the book is broadly accessible to a general audience, as well as students, managers, remote sensing specialists and anyone else working with coral reef ecosystems.

Download or read book Conservation Biogeography written by Richard J. Ladle and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-01-11 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CONSERVATION BIOGEOGRAPHY The Earth’s ecosystems are in the midst of an unprecedented period of change as a result of human action. Many habitats have been completely destroyed or divided into tiny fragments, others have been transformed through the introduction of new species, or the extinction of native plants and animals, while anthropogenic climate change now threatens to completely redraw the geographic map of life on this planet. The urgent need to understand and prescribe solutions to this complicated and interlinked set of pressing conservation issues has lead to the transformation of the venerable academic discipline of biogeography – the study of the geographic distribution of animals and plants. The newly emerged sub-discipline of conservation biogeography uses the conceptual tools and methods of biogeography to address real world conservation problems and to provide predictions about the fate of key species and ecosystems over the next century. This book provides the first comprehensive review of the field in a series of closely interlinked chapters addressing the central issues within this exciting and important subject.

Download or read book Freshwater Fisheries Ecology written by John F. Craig and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-01-12 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inland fisheries are vital for the livelihoods and food resources of humans worldwide but their importance is underestimated, probably because large numbers of small, local operators are involved. Freshwater Fisheries Ecology defines what we have globally, what we are going to lose and mitigate for, and what, given the right tools, we can save. To estimate potential production, the dynamics of freshwater ecosystems (rivers, lakes and estuaries) need to be understood. These dynamics are diverse, as are the earths freshwater fisheries resources (from boreal to tropical regions), and these influence how fisheries are both utilized and abused. Three main types of fisheries are illustrated within the book: artisanal, commercial and recreational, and the tools which have evolved for fisheries governance and management, including assessment methods, are described. The book also covers in detail fisheries development, providing information on improving fisheries through environmental and habitat evaluation, enhancement and rehabilitation, aquaculture, genetically modified fishes and sustainability. The book thoroughly reviews the negative impacts on fisheries including excessive harvesting, climate change, toxicology, impoundments, barriers and abstractions, non-native species and eutrophication. Finally, key areas of future research are outlined. Freshwater Fisheries Ecology is truly a landmark publication, containing contributions from over 100 leading experts and supported by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. The global approach makes this book essential reading for fish biologists, fisheries scientists and ecologists and upper level students in these disciplines. Libraries in all universities and research establishments where biological and fisheries sciences are studied and taught should have multiple copies of this hugely valuable resource. About the Editor John Craig is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Fish Biology and has an enormous range of expertise and a wealth of knowledge of freshwater fishes and their ecology, having studied them around the globe, including in Asia, North America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. His particular interests have been in population dynamics and life history strategies. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and the Royal Society of Biology.

Download or read book Ecological Assembly Rules written by Evan Weiher and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001-08-16 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Considers the evidence for the existence of unifying rules controlling the formation and maintenance of ecological communities.

Download or read book Coral Reefs at the Crossroads written by Dennis K. Hubbard and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-27 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, contributors from diverse backgrounds take a first step toward an integrated view of reefs and the significance of their recent decline. More than any other earth system, coral reefs sit at a disciplinary crossroads. Most recently, they have reached another crossroads - fundamental changes in their bio-physical structure greater than those of previous centuries or even millennia. Effective strategies to mitigate recent trends will require an approach that embraces the myriad perspectives from across the scientific landscape, but will also need a mechanism to transform scientific understanding into social will and political implementation.

Download or read book Thriving on Our Changing Planet written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-01-20 with total page 717 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live on a dynamic Earth shaped by both natural processes and the impacts of humans on their environment. It is in our collective interest to observe and understand our planet, and to predict future behavior to the extent possible, in order to effectively manage resources, successfully respond to threats from natural and human-induced environmental change, and capitalize on the opportunities â€" social, economic, security, and more â€" that such knowledge can bring. By continuously monitoring and exploring Earth, developing a deep understanding of its evolving behavior, and characterizing the processes that shape and reshape the environment in which we live, we not only advance knowledge and basic discovery about our planet, but we further develop the foundation upon which benefits to society are built. Thriving on Our Changing Planet presents prioritized science, applications, and observations, along with related strategic and programmatic guidance, to support the U.S. civil space Earth observation program over the coming decade.

Download or read book Conservation Biology for All written by Navjot S. Sodhi and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-01-08 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation Biology for All provides cutting-edge but basic conservation science to a global readership. A series of authoritative chapters have been written by the top names in conservation biology with the principal aim of disseminating cutting-edge conservation knowledge as widely as possible. Important topics such as balancing conversion and human needs, climate change, conservation planning, designing and analyzing conservation research, ecosystem services, endangered species management, extinctions, fire, habitat loss, and invasive species are covered. Numerous textboxes describing additional relevant material or case studies are also included. The global biodiversity crisis is now unstoppable; what can be saved in the developing world will require an educated constituency in both the developing and developed world. Habitat loss is particularly acute in developing countries, which is of special concern because it tends to be these locations where the greatest species diversity and richest centres of endemism are to be found. Sadly, developing world conservation scientists have found it difficult to access an authoritative textbook, which is particularly ironic since it is these countries where the potential benefits of knowledge application are greatest. There is now an urgent need to educate the next generation of scientists in developing countries, so that they are in a better position to protect their natural resources.

Download or read book Echinoderm Research and Diversity in Latin America written by Juan José Alvarado and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-08-07 with total page 665 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book compiles for the first time the development of echinoderm research in Latin America. The book contains 17 chapters, one introductory, 15 country chapters, and a final biogeographic analysis. It compiles all the investigations published in international and local journals, reports, theses and other gray literature. Each chapter is composed of 7 sections: introduction describes the marine environments, and main oceanographic characteristics, followed by a history of research account divided by specific subjects. The next section addresses patterns of distribution and diversity. A specific section would explain fishery or aquaculture activities. The next sections deal with environmental and anthropogenic threats that are affecting echinoderm, and any conservation or management action. Finally, a section with conclusions, needs and new lines of research. The book will include two appendixes with species lists of all echinoderms with bathimetric data, habitat and distribution.

Download or read book Remote Sensing and Modeling written by Charles W. Finkl and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-09-01 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is geared for advanced level research in the general subject area of remote sensing and modeling as they apply to the coastal marine environment. The various chapters focus on the latest scientific and technical advances in the service of better understanding coastal marine environments for their care, conservation and management. Chapters specifically deal with advances in remote sensing coastal classifications, environmental monitoring, digital ocean technological advances, geophysical methods, geoacoustics, X-band radar, risk assessment models, GIS applications, real-time modeling systems, and spatial modeling. Readers will find this book useful because it summarizes applications of new research methods in one of the world’s most dynamic and complicated environments. Chapters in this book will be of interest to specialists in the coastal marine environment who deals with aspects of environmental monitoring and assessment via remote sensing techniques and numerical modeling.