Background A number of factors have recently caused mass coral mortality events in all of the world’s tropical oceans. km2 per year). The annual loss based on Rabbit Polyclonal to RPL26L repeated measures regression analysis of a subset of reefs that were monitored for multiple years from 1997 to 2004 was 0.72 % (n?=?476 reefs, 95% CI: 0.36, 1.08). Conclusions/Significance The rate and extent of coral loss in the Indo-Pacific are greater than expected. Coral cover was also surprisingly uniform among subregions and declined decades earlier than previously assumed, even on some of the Pacific’s most intensely managed reefs. These results have significant implications for policy makers and resource managers as they search for successful models to reverse coral loss. Introduction There is growing scientific and public awareness of the widespread depletion of marine habitat-forming species, such as mangroves, seagrasses, oysters, and corals [e.g., 1,2,3]. This loss inevitably leads to the decline of the plants and animals that live in the biogenic structures created by such foundation species, and contributes to the overall degradation of marine ecosystems [4]. For example, the reduction of coral cover on tropical coral reefs directly and rapidly causes a decline in the abundance and diversity of reef fish through the loss of structural heterogeneity [5], [6]. Scientists have recognized the ecological and economic value of coral reefs and the threats to reef-building corals for decades [7]-[9] and there is broad scientific consensus that coral reef ecosystems are being rapidly degraded [10], [11]. Yet there is little published empirical information on regional and global patterns of coral loss [12] or the current state of reefs in the Indo-Pacific (Fig. 1)[13]. This region encompasses approximately 891494-63-6 IC50 75% of the world’s coral reefs (Text S1) and includes the center of global marine diversity for several major taxa including corals, fish, and crustaceans [14]. Many previous studies have documented mass coral mortality events and ecologically significant reductions in coral cover on particular reefs [15]-[19], throughout the Caribbean [12], and across the Great Barrier Reef [20], [21]. However, the inference that this decline is a general, global phenomenon is based largely on qualitative assessments [e.g., 22,23]. The absence of regional-scale quantitative analyses of 891494-63-6 IC50 reef health 891494-63-6 IC50 in general and coral cover in particular has led to substantial confusion and disagreement about the patterns and causes of coral decline [24], [25]. This shortcoming has also greatly limited our ability to measure the efficacy of 891494-63-6 IC50 different management practices designed to mitigate and reverse reef degradation [12], [26]. Figure 1 Map of study region, sub-regions, and the 2667 surveyed reefs (green dots). Here we describe a comprehensive analysis of the timing, rate, and geographic extent of the loss of coral cover across the Indo-Pacific (Fig. 1). For the purposes of this study, the Indo-Pacific region is defined by the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the west (95E) and by French Polynesia in the east (145.5W) 891494-63-6 IC50 (Fig. 1). We compiled a coral cover database that included 6001 quantitative surveys of 2667 subtidal coral reefs (Fig. 1, Map S1, Tables S1 and S2, Text S2) performed between 1968 and 2004. The surveys were performed by scientists or trained volunteers using either or photographic/video-based measurements. Because corals facilitate so many reef inhabitants [5], [6], [27], living coral cover is a key measure of reef habitat quality and quantity, analogous to the coverage of trees as a measure of tropical forest loss. This study provides the first regional scale and long-term analysis of coral cover in the Indo-Pacific. Our results indicate that the loss of coral cover began earlier than assumed and that coral cover is currently very similar across the Indo-Pacific, suggesting that coral decline is a general global phenomenon. Methods Data sources Our analyses were based on quantitative surveys that measured the percentage of the bottom covered by living scleractinian corals on subtidal coral reefs (1C15 m depth, mean survey depth was 6.2 m) within ten subregions of the Indo-Pacific (Fig. 1, Table S1). We included data from several sources including the published results of academic, governmental, and non-governmental organization (NGO) scientists and, for one source (Reef Check), volunteers trained and supervised by professional scientists (Table S2). We used a number of online literature search tools.