Rebuilding Coral Reefs: A Decadal Grand Challenge

Abstract

This document is the work of a team assembled by the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS). The mission of ICRS is to promote the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge to secure the future of coral reefs, including via relevant policy frameworks and decision-making processes. This document seeks to highlight the urgency of taking action to conserve and restore reefs through protection and management measures, to provide a summary of the most relevant and recent natural and social science that provides guidance on these tasks, and to highlight implications of these findings for the numerous discussions and negotiations taking place at the global level.

Exploring the Diversity and Biotechnological Potential of Cultured and Uncultured Coral-Associated Bacteria

“…Although microbes isolated from corals have been reported to produce seco metabolites that could be of technological interest [54][55][56], there is still very l information about the biotechnological enzymatic potential of CAM [55,[57][58][59][60][61]. He screened the bacteria associated with three different coral species from the same and evaluated how the isolated obtained might have different biotechnology pot Investigation of new bioactive compounds is essential not only for industry, but increase even more the economic value of coral reefs, which can eventually contrib enhance policies for their preservation and recovery [62].…”

“…Here, we screened the bacteria associated with three different coral species from the same region and evaluated how the isolated obtained might have different biotechnology potential. Investigation of new bioactive compounds is essential not only for industry, but also to increase even more the economic value of coral reefs, which can eventually contribute to enhance policies for their preservation and recovery [62].…”

Extending the natural adaptive capacity of coral holobionts

“…Rather, enhancing current functional and/or genetic diversity through environmental rehabilitation to allow reefs to thrive under the new set of conditions should be aimed for. Embedding this central philosophy is critical as reef conditions are likely to worsen before they improve, even if the Paris Agreement goals are achieved 30,32,220 . Intervention measures aimed at increasing coral resilience will hopefully retain enough functional coral reefs to assist in long-term recovery.…”

“…Combined with local factors such as overfishing, coastal development, disturbance of the nutrient environment (water quality), and disease or predator outbreaks, the interrelated cumulative impacts all contribute to reduction in coral cover and declining reef ecosystem health [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] .Given the rate and extent at which climate change unfolds 28 , a widespread and shared concern is that the rate of environmental change could outpace the ability of coral holobionts to adapt to the changing environment 29 , concomitant with the increasing loss of coral reef cover 30 . Global mitigation of CO 2 emissions is unquestionably needed to stem the rate of declining reef health [30][31][32] . However, biological, ecological and socio-economic adaptations are critical partners to preserve reefs and delay the loss of coral populations until carbon mitigation is effectively implemented 30 .…”

“…Given the rate and extent at which climate change unfolds 28 , a widespread and shared concern is that the rate of environmental change could outpace the ability of coral holobionts to adapt to the changing environment 29 , concomitant with the increasing loss of coral reef cover 30 . Global mitigation of CO 2 emissions is unquestionably needed to stem the rate of declining reef health [30][31][32] . However, biological, ecological and socio-economic adaptations are critical partners to preserve reefs and delay the loss of coral populations until carbon mitigation is effectively implemented 30 .…”