Coral reef ecosystem services in the Anthropocene

Abstract

Coral reefs underpin a range of ecosystem goods and services that contribute to the well‐being of millions of people. However, tropical coral reefs in the Anthropocene are likely to be functionally different from reefs in the past. In this perspective piece, we ask, what does the Anthropocene mean for the provision of ecosystem services from coral reefs? First, we provide examples of the provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services underpinned by coral reef ecosystems. We conclude that coral reef ecosystem service research has lagged behind multidisciplinary advances in broader ecosystem services science, such as an explicit recognition that interactions between social and ecological systems underpin ecosystem services. Second, drawing on tools from functional ecology, we outline how these social–ecological relationships can be incorporated into a mechanistic understanding of service provision and how this might be used to anticipate future changes in coral reef ecosystem services. Finally, we explore the emergence of novel reef ecosystem services, for example from tropicalized coastlines, or through changing technological connections to coral reefs. Indeed, when services are conceived as coming from social–ecological system dynamics, novelty in services can emerge from elements of the interactions between people and the ecosystem. This synthesis of the coral reef ecosystem services literature suggests the field is poorly prepared to understand the changing service provision anticipated in the Anthropocene. A new research agenda is needed that better connects reef functional ecology to ecosystem service provision. This research agenda should embrace more holistic approaches to ecosystem service research, recognizing them as co‐produced by ecosystems and society. Importantly, the likelihood of novel ecosystem service configurations requires further conceptualization and empirical assessment. As with current ecosystem services, the loss or gain of services will not affect all people equally and must be understood in the context in which they occur. With the uncertainty surrounding the future of coral reefs in the Anthropocene, research exploring how the benefits to people change will be of great importance. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.13318/suppinfo is available for this article.

Morphological traits can track coral reef responses to the Anthropocene

“…As autogenic engineers, their morphology directly or indirectly modulates ecosystem function. Corals are also susceptible to disturbances associated with the Anthropocene, such as cyclones and thermal anomalies (Hughes, Anderson, et al, ; Loya et al, ; Madin & Connolly, ; Marshall & Baird, ; Massel & Done, ), in addition to longer term changes such as ocean acidification (Chan & Connolly, ), that threaten to compromise their capacity to build and maintain the reef framework (Perry & Alvarez‐Filip, ), as well as many other ecosystem functions (Woodhead, Hicks, Norström, Williams, & Graham, ). In many cases, morphology covaries with susceptibility to disturbances.…”

Synchronous biological feedbacks in parrotfishes associated with pantropical coral bleaching

“…Furthermore, a mode of life that benefits from successional change implies a fundamentally different and more nuanced set of ecological feedbacks between parrotfishes and benthic substrates than previously considered-one where disturbance plays a key role in mediating parrotfish-benthos interactions. The temporal synchronization of a biological process as intricate as individual fish growth across ocean basins represents a troubling signal of the scale of climate change impacts in the Anthropocene.Many studies have shown positive short-term responses of parrotfish demography (notably abundance) to a variety of disturbances on coral reefs (e.g.,Adam et al, 2011;Gilmour, Smith, Heyward, Baird, & Pratchett, 2013;Lamy, Legendre, Chancerelle, Siu, & Claudet, 2015;Lindahl, Öhman, & Schelten, 2001;Russ et al, 2015;Wilson, Graham, Pratchett, Jones, & Polunin, 2006), including coral bleaching events, destructive blast fishing, storms, cyclones, and predation by F I G U R E 3 Post-bleaching growth response in the context of thermal performance.…”

Rethinking coral reef functional futures

“…The greater the evidence for a given trait or trait combination capturing an ecosystem function, the more likely a trait-based approach will yield insights into the behaviour of that ecosystem. In some locations, coral reefs as we know them are transitioning to novel configurations with novel functions (Fulton et al, 2019) that provide us with new opportunities to derive benefits from ecosystem services (Woodhead, Hicks, Norström, Williams, & Graham, 2019) (Figure 2). For example, fleshy macroalgae are classically viewed as the functional endpoint to the coral-algal regime shift that results from cumulative human stressors (Hughes, 1994).…”

“…Some of these fishes, such as the rabbitfish Siganus sutor, are fast-growing and sustain fisheries production where tropical macroalgae have replaced reef-building corals as the dominant habitat former (Robinson et al, 2019). Such provision of ecosystem services through novel means (Woodhead et al, 2019) challenges some existing coral reef paradigms and requires we reappraise how we might manage tropical macroalgal reefs (Fulton et al, 2019).…”

“…Future reef configurations and the continued adaptation of society will likely result in functions we have not yet seen or recognised as important services to be drawn from coral reefs. These changes to the ecosystem and society will not benefit all user groups equally, and winners and losers will emerge (Vergés et al, 2019;Woodhead et al, 2019). Moving forwards, therefore, how we decide and manage for a particular functional outcome requires careful thought and a strong inclusion of social science in ecosystem management (Hicks, Levine, et al, 2016).…”