Human populations near ecosystems are used as both a proxy for dependency on ecosystems, and conversely to estimate threats. Consequently, the number of people living near coral reefs is often used in regional coral reef management, evaluation of risk at regional and global scales, and even considerations of funding needs. Human populations and their statistics, are ever‐changing and data relating to coral reefs have not been updated regularly. Here, we present an up‐to‐date analysis of the abundance, and density of people living within 5–100 km of coral reef ecosystems along with population proportion, using freely available data sets and replicable methods. We present trends of changes in human populations living near coral reefs over a 20‐year time period (2000–2020), divided by region and country, along with socio‐economic denominations such as country income category and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). We find that across 117 coral reef countries there are currently close to a billion people living within 100 km of a coral reef (~13% of the global population) compared with 762 million people in 2000. Population growth by coral reefs is higher than global averages. The Indian Ocean saw a 33% increase in populations within 100 km of a coral reef and 71% at 5 km. There are 60 countries with 100% of their population within 100 km of coral reefs. In SIDS, the proportion of the total population within 100 km of a coral reef is extremely high: 94% in 2020. Population density 5–10 km from coral reefs is 4× the global average. From 5 to 100 km, more people from lower‐middle‐income countries live by coral reefs than any other income category. Our findings provide the most up‐to‐date and extensive statistics on the regional and nation‐level differences in population trends that play a large role in coral reef health and survival.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/gcb.16391

An assessment of people living by coral reefs over space and time

Global warming and other anthropogenic impacts have driven coral reef degradation on a global scale to unprecedented levels of decline, with further dramatic deterioration predicted by the end of this century. Along with a drastic reduction in carbon emissions, we face an imperative to restore and maintain marine habitats to secure the ecosystem services they provide. While terrestrial systems have benefited from the agricultural revolution that provided industrial tools for effective habitat restoration, limited access to marine environments has inhibited similar levels of innovation resulting in a lack of cost-effective and scalable solutions. Commercial off-the-shelf technologies to cater to this growing industry are still absent. Here we conducted a systematic analysis of patent and scientific literature data as indicators of research and development (R&D) output in the field of coral restoration. We identify technology growth trends, key areas of technological development, and their geographical distribution. While the number of inventions filed for coral restoration is on the rise, similar to the published academic literature, the stakeholders leading both fields are unrelated. Academic research appears to lack translation into inventions for commercialization. Intellectual property protection further seems to be spearheaded by a few countries and is often limited in its application to national jurisdictions, with China dominating this sector. This does not mirror the distribution of current and need for coral restoration efforts globally. Here we discuss potential differences in cultural, socio-economic, and philosophical ideologies that drive these divergences and their impact as inhibitors or promoters of innovations targeting coral restoration solutions.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1093808/pdf

Coral restoration patents are disconnected from academic research and restoration practitioners

Abstract. Understanding event-driven sediment transport in coral reef environments is essential to assessing impacts to reef species, habitats, restoration, and mitigation, yet there remains a global knowledge gap due to limited quantitative studies. Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Lower Florida Keys with sustained 209 km h-1 winds and greater than 8 m waves on 10 September 2017, directly impacting the Florida Reef Tract (FRT), and providing an opportunity to perform a unique comprehensive, quantitative assessment of its impact on coral reef structure and sediment redistribution. We used lidar and multibeam derived digital elevation models (DEMs) collected before and after the passing of Hurricane Irma over a 15.98 km2 area along the Lower FRT including Looe Key Reef to quantify changes in seafloor elevation, volume, and structure due to storm impacts. Elevation change was calculated at over 4-million point-locations across 10 habitat types within this study area for two time periods using data collected from 1) approximately one year before the passing of Irma and three to six months following the storm&rsquo;s impact, and 2) from three to six months after, and up to 16.5 months after, the storm. Elevation-change data were then used to generate Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) models in ArcMap to calculate changes in seafloor volume during each time-period. Our results indicate that Hurricane Irma was primarily a depositional event that increased mean seafloor elevation and volume at this study site by 0.34 m and up to 5.4 Mm3, respectively. Sediment was transported primarily west-southwest (WSW) and downslope modifying geomorphic seafloor features including the migration of sand waves and rubble fields, formation of scour marks in shallow seagrass habitat, and burial of seagrass and coral-dominated habitat. Approximately 16.5 months after Hurricane Irma (during a 13-month period between 2017 and 2019), net erosion was observed across all habitats with mean elevation-change of -0.15 m and net volume change up to -2.46 Mm3. Rates of elevation change during this post-storm period were one to two orders of magnitude greater than decadal and multi-decadal rates of change in the same location, and changes showed erosion of approximately 50 % of sediment deposited during the storm event as seafloor sediment distribution began to re-equilibrate to non-storm sea state conditions. Our results suggest higher resolution elevation-change data collected over seasonal and annual time periods could enhance characterization and understanding of short-term and long-term rates and processes of seafloor change and help guide post-storm recovery and restoration of benthic habitats in topographically complex coral reef systems.

pdf/comment-on-egusphere-2023-3000-47zucdvjv2.pdf

Comment on egusphere-2023-3000

Abstract. Understanding event-driven sediment transport in coral reef environments is essential to assessing impacts to reef species, habitats, restoration, and mitigation, yet there remains a global knowledge gap due to limited quantitative studies. Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Lower Florida Keys with sustained 209 km h-1 winds and greater than 8 m waves on 10 September 2017, directly impacting the Florida Reef Tract (FRT), and providing an opportunity to perform a unique comprehensive, quantitative assessment of its impact on coral reef structure and sediment redistribution. We used lidar and multibeam derived digital elevation models (DEMs) collected before and after the passing of Hurricane Irma over a 15.98 km2 area along the Lower FRT including Looe Key Reef to quantify changes in seafloor elevation, volume, and structure due to storm impacts. Elevation change was calculated at over 4-million point-locations across 10 habitat types within this study area for two time periods using data collected from 1) approximately one year before the passing of Irma and three to six months following the storm’s impact, and 2) from three to six months after, and up to 16.5 months after, the storm. Elevation-change data were then used to generate Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) models in ArcMap to calculate changes in seafloor volume during each time-period. Our results indicate that Hurricane Irma was primarily a depositional event that increased mean seafloor elevation and volume at this study site by 0.34 m and up to 5.4 Mm3, respectively. Sediment was transported primarily west-southwest (WSW) and downslope modifying geomorphic seafloor features including the migration of sand waves and rubble fields, formation of scour marks in shallow seagrass habitat, and burial of seagrass and coral-dominated habitat. Approximately 16.5 months after Hurricane Irma (during a 13-month period between 2017 and 2019), net erosion was observed across all habitats with mean elevation-change of -0.15 m and net volume change up to -2.46 Mm3. Rates of elevation change during this post-storm period were one to two orders of magnitude greater than decadal and multi-decadal rates of change in the same location, and changes showed erosion of approximately 50 % of sediment deposited during the storm event as seafloor sediment distribution began to re-equilibrate to non-storm sea state conditions. Our results suggest higher resolution elevation-change data collected over seasonal and annual time periods could enhance characterization and understanding of short-term and long-term rates and processes of seafloor change and help guide post-storm recovery and restoration of benthic habitats in topographically complex coral reef systems. 

Impact of Hurricane Irma on Coral Reef Sediment Redistribution at Looe Key Reef, Florida, USA

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Coral reef condition: A status report for Florida's Coral Reef

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Coral reef condition: A status report for Florida's Coral Reef