Coral reefs are 50% less able to provide food, jobs, and climate
protection than in 1950s, putting millions at risk

Date:
September 17, 2021
Source:
University of British Columbia
Summary:
The capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services such
as food and jobs, relied on by millions of people worldwide, has
declined by half since the 1950s, according to a new study. Other
findings are equally bleak: the authors found that global coverage
of living corals had declined by about half since the 1950s and
consequently, the diversity of species had also declined, by
more than 60 per cent. Finding targets for recovery and climate
adaptation would require a global effort, while also addressing
needs at a local level, authors say.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services relied on
by millions of people worldwide has declined by half since the 1950s,
according to a new University of British Columbia-led study.


==========================================================================
The study offers the first comprehensive look at what climate change, overfishing, and habitat destruction of coral reefs mean for their
ecosystem services, or the ability of the reef to provide essential
benefits and services to humans, including food, livelihoods, and
protection from storms. Overall, the findings showed that the significant
loss in coral reef coverage has led to an equally significant loss in
the ability of the reef to provide these services.

Other findings are equally bleak: the authors found that global
coverage of living corals had declined by about half since the 1950s
and consequently, the diversity of species had also declined, by more
than 60 per cent.

"It's a call to action -- we've been hearing this time and time again from fisheries and biodiversity research," said lead author Dr. Tyler Eddy,
who conducted the research as a research associate at the UBC Institute
for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). Now a research scientist at the
Fisheries & Marine Institute at Memorial University of Newfoundland,
Dr. Eddy said the continuing decline of healthy coral reefs and the
quality of habitat they provide is contributing to a global decrease in provision of ecosystem services for the millions of people who rely on
them. "We know coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots. And preserving biodiversity not only protects nature, but supports the humans that
use these species for cultural, subsistence and livelihood means."
The researchers analyzed trends for coral reef systems and associated ecosystems worldwide, combining datasets from coral reef surveys,
estimating coral reef associated biodiversity, fisheries catches
and effort, fisheries impacts on food web structure, and Indigenous
consumption of coral reef associated fish. They also analyzed global
and country level trends in ecosystem services and how they compared to
trends for small island developing states.

As well as declines in reef coverage and biodiversity, the researchers
found catches of fishes on coral reefs peaked in 2002 and have steadily declined ever since, despite an increase in fishing effort. The catch
per unit effort, often used as an indication of changes in biomass,
is now 60 per cent lower than it was in 1950.

"This study speaks to the importance of how we manage coral reefs not only
at regional scales, but also at the global scale, and the livelihoods of communities that rely on them," said senior author Dr. William Cheung, professor and director of IOF.

The findings led the researchers to conclude that continued degradation
of the reef in years to come now threaten the well-being and sustainable development of human communities on the coast that depend on the coral
reef.

Fish and fisheries provide essential micronutrients in coastal developing regions with few alternative sources of nutrition, Dr. Eddy said,
with coral reef biodiversity and fisheries taking on added importance
for Indigenous and coastal communities, where important cultural
relationships with reefs exist and coastal Indigenous communities'
consumption of seafood is 15 times higher than non-Indigenous communities.

The study highlights that Indigenous and coastal communities -- in this
case in the tropics -- are being unfairly hurt by the world's actions,
said co-author Dr. Andre's Cisneros-Montemayor, an IOF research associate
at the time of the study, and now an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University. "It's heart- wrenching for us to see photos and video of
wildfires or floods, and that level of destruction is happening right now
all over the world's coral reefs and threatening people's culture, their
daily food, and their history. This isn't just an environmental issue,
it's also about human rights." "Finding targets for recovery and climate adaptation would require a global effort, while also addressing needs at a local level, said Dr. Cheung. "Climate mitigation actions, such as those highlighted in the Paris Agreement, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, all call for integrated action to address biodiversity, climate, and social challenges. We are not there yet." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_British_Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Tyler D. Eddy, Vicky W.Y. Lam, Gabriel Reygondeau, Andre's
M. Cisneros-
Montemayor, Krista Greer, Maria Lourdes D. Palomares, John F. Bruno,
Yoshitaka Ota, William W.L. Cheung. Global decline in capacity of
coral reefs to provide ecosystem services. One Earth, 2021; 4 (9):
1278 DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2021.08.016 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210917110852.htm

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