The massive scale of the 1997–1998 El Niño–associated coral bleaching event underscores the need for strategies to mitigate biodiversity losses resulting from temperature‐induced coral mortality. As baseline sea surface temperatures continue to rise, climate change may represent the single greatest threat to coral reefs worldwide. In response, one strategy might be to identify ( 1 ) specific reef areas where natural environmental conditions are likely to result in low or negligible temperature‐related bleaching and mortality ( i.e., areas of natural “resistance” to bleaching ) and ( 2 ) reef areas where environmental conditions are likely to result in maximum recovery of reef communities after bleaching mortality has occurred ( i.e., areas of natural community “resilience” ). These “target areas,” where environmental conditions appear to boost resistance and resilience during and after large‐scale bleaching events, could then be incorporated into strategic networks of marine protected areas designed to maximize conservation of global coral reef biodiversity. Based on evidence from the literature and systematically compiled observations from researchers in the field, this paper identifies likely environmental correlates of resistance and resilience to coral bleaching, including factors that reduce temperature stress, enhance water movement, decrease light stress, correlate with physiological tolerance, and provide physical or biological enhancement of recovery potential. As a tool for identifying reef areas that are likely to be most robust in the face of continuing climate change and for determining priority areas for reducing direct anthropogenic impacts, this information has important implications for coral reef conservation and management.

Worldwide, many species are responding to ongoing climate change with shifts in distribution, abundance, phenology, or behavior. Consequently, naturalresource managers face increasingly urgent conservation questions related to biodiversity loss, expansion of invasive species, and deteriorating ecosystem services. We argue that our ability to address these questions is hampered by the lack of explicit consideration of species' adaptive capacity (AC). AC is the ability of a species or population to cope with climatic changes and is characterized by three fundamental components: phenotypic plasticity, dispersal ability, and genetic diversity. However, few studies simultaneously address all elements; often, AC is confused with sensitivity or omitted altogether from climate-change vulnerability assessments. Improved understanding, consistent definition, and comprehensive evaluations of AC are needed. Using classic ecological-niche theory as an analogy, we propose a new paradigm that considers fundamental and realized AC: the former reflects aspects inherent to species, whereas the latter denotes how extrinsic factors constrain AC to what is actually expressed or observed. Through this conceptualization, we identify ecological attributes contributing to AC, outline areas of research necessary to advance understanding of AC, and provide examples demonstrating how the inclusion of AC can better inform conservation and natural-resource management.

Public lands and waters in the United States traditionally have been managed using frameworks and objectives that were established under an implicit assumption of stable climatic conditions. However, projected climatic changes render this assumption invalid. Here, we summarize general principles for management adaptations that have emerged from a major literature review. These general principles cover many topics including: (1) how to assess climate impacts to ecosystem processes that are key to management goals; (2) using management practices to support ecosystem resilience; (3) converting barriers that may inhibit management responses into opportunities for successful implementation; and (4) promoting flexible decision making that takes into account challenges of scale and thresholds. To date, the literature on management adaptations to climate change has mostly focused on strategies for bolstering the resilience of ecosystems to persist in their current states. Yet in the longer term, it is anticipated that climate change will push certain ecosystems and species beyond their capacity to recover. When managing to support resilience becomes infeasible, adaptation may require more than simply changing management practices-it may require changing management goals and managing transitions to new ecosystem states. After transitions have occurred, management will again support resilience-this time for a new ecosystem state. Thus, successful management of natural resources in the context of climate change will require recognition on the part of managers and decisions makers of the need to cycle between ''managing for resilience'' and ''managing for change.''

The gorgonian coral Briareum asbestinum contains skeletal elements (sclerites) that vary in length and density within and among local populations. Data from previous work suggested that the sclerite compositions of colonies may be altered in response to environmental cues such as predator damage, water motion, and light level. To test these hypotheses, colonies from shallow reefs were transplanted to racks at a single location where the three environmental factors of interest were artificially manipulated. After 9-14 weeks of growth, sclerite morphologies and densities had not changed in response to shading or to water-motion reductions that mimicked deep-water conditions. However, colonies did respond significantly to two types of simulated predator damage. Following tip amputation, sclerites in the regenerated tips of damaged colonies were shorter and more dense than in the controls. In contrast, mid-branch scarring caused colonies to produce longer sclerites at lower densities. Since long sclerites deter feeding by predatory snails, the increase in sclerite length in response to scarring of mid-branch regions may function as an inducible defense.