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Diagnose Causes of Degradation for Specific Sites & Implement Management Programs
- Classify coral reefs
- Develop testable hypotheses
- Define data collection protocols
- Biological sampling
- Screen attributes to define metrics
- Determine appropriate sampling effort
- Define data protocols
- Validate decision processes
- Define biocriteria
- Implement monitoring programs
- Diagnose causes of degradation
- Evaluate management effectiveness
- Communicate results
Preserve or protect exceptional waters.
Unique or exceptional coral reefs and coastal areas are worth protecting for their own intrinsic value; however, for coral reef management, reference sites may play a key role for setting expectations for coral reef indicators. Without a reference standard for comparison, changes in coral reefs due to global conditions may be mistaken for decline due to local human activities.
Manage to restore degraded resource systems.
A challenge for coral reef monitoring is to tease apart changes associated with global climate conditions or disturbance and decline associated with local activities. Local resource managers need to identify sources and causes of degradation that can be controlled through best management practices or other regulations. The relative risk to coral reef systems due to different types of disturbance, such as nutrients or toxics, is as yet unknown.
Manage to reduce effects of human actions.
Figure. Coral reef community in St. Croix, VI
In order to restore or reverse trends toward degradation we need to know which types of human activities are most damaging to coral reef systems. Biological endpoints provide standards that define expectations for coral reef condition in the absence of human influence. Careful monitoring of biological indicators can make the connection between human activities and changes in reef condition.