Spotlight: ReefBase Online Library

"ReefBase is the official database of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), as well as the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). The ReefBase Project is housed at the WorldFish Center in Penang, Malaysia, with funding through ICRAN from the United Nations Foundation (UNF)."  Of relevance to researchers, this information repository "contains a total collection of 28,576 coral reef related articles, reports and publications. This library includes the publications from International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) Proceedings, Coral Reefs Status Report, Reef Fisheries Portal and International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium (ITMEMS) Symposium Papers."  Access to Reefbase's articles, maps, and photos is free with a one-time registration.

 

Resources

International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) Proceedings (dating back to 1972)
Coral Reefs Status Report (last five editions)

Reef Fisheries Portal (coral reef fisheries management information)
International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium (ITMEMS) Symposium Papers (dating back to 2003)
ReefBase's Online Geographic Information System (ReefGIS)

Corals provide evidence of changes to oceanic currents through Global Warming

This report dated January 4, 2011 reveals that there have been drastic changes to oceanic currents in the western North Atlantic since the 1970s. The influence of the cold water Labrador Current, which is in periodic interchange with the warm Gulf Stream, has been decreasing continually since the 1970s. Occurring at the same time as Global Warming this phenomenon is unique in the past 2000 years. These results are reported by researchers from the University of Basel and Eawag in the current edition of the scientific journal «PNAS».

Implementation of the National Coral Reef Strategy -- NOAA

The Report to Congress by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration covers coral reef-related activities by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP or Program) between 2007 and 2009, and fulfills the requirement under the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 of periodic
reporting on the activities undertaken to advance coral reef conservation. During the period covered by this report, the CRCP operated pursuant to thirteen program goals organized under two themes: Understanding Coral Reef Ecosystems and Reducing the Adverse Impacts of Human Activities. These thirteen goals guided most of the funding and activities undertaken by the CRCP from 2007 to 2009, and the content for this report is organized accordingly.

The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force developed these themes and goals in 2000 when it produced the National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. A National Action Strategy, published in 2002, put forth a strategy to achieve the goals listed in the National Coral Reef Action Plan.

Coral Reef Habitat Assessment for U.S. Marine Protected Areas -- NOAA

This analysis demonstrates that the percentage of coral reef ecosystem resources in MPAs and no-take MPAs varies dramatically by location. Within the five U.S. Coral Territories, the U.S. Virgin Islands have the largest percentage of their coral reef resources in MPAs (64%). At 15%, American Samoa has protected the largest percentage of any Territory in no-take status. The designation of the Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument has had a dramatic effect on the protection status of coral reef ecosystems in the State of Hawaii. The entirety of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have been designated as a no-take MPA, but MPAs cover much less of the coral reef ecosystems in the Main Hawaiian Islands.