|
Description:
Author(s):
Miller, M. W.
Title:
The importance of evaluation, experimentation, and ecological process in advancing reef restoration success
Publication Date:
2000
Proceedings Title:
Proceedings of the 9th International coral Reef Symposium
Volume:
2
Page(s):
977-981
Abstract:
The practice of coral reef restoration in the past has been largely confined to replacement of habitat with artificial structures and the transplant of coral colonies or fragments, either borrowed from nearby populations or rescued from the disturbance. Despite lip-service paid to 'monitoring' in most restoration plans, the rigorous evaluation of these efforts has been, often, lacking completely and the declaration of success is often based on the most rudimentary criteria (stability of artificial structures or survival of X% of coral transplants). In very few cases, restoration projects have been designed to test the effectiveness of different restoration approaches (e.g., structure designs) in enhancing the biological performance (e.g., recruitment, growth, disease susceptibility) of key organisms and, in even fewer cases, in enhancing community function. However, these studies demonstrate the power of an adaptive management approach to restoration; that is, rigorously evaluating the ecological performance of alternative restoration approaches in order to do better in the future. Specific evaluative examples from other shallow coastal systems suggest that ecological success can be enhanced by simple and inexpensive restoration approaches. If coral reef restoration is to advance beyond its current 'build it and they will come' paradigm, an experimental approach and the evaluation and implementation of ecological restoration measures built upon our understanding of reef community process and function must be pursued.
Keywords:
habitat improvement; evaluation; coral reefs; transplantation community composition; restoration; ecosystem disturbance; ecosystem resilience; coral reef conservation; recruitment; growth; environmental monitoring; disease resistance; ecosystem management; environment management; habitat_restoration
Notes:
FY2002 CRCP Project ID 1066; Project Title: Ecological Approach to Coral Reef Restoration; Principal Investigator: Margaret Miller
|
