Complexity Digest 2006.02 - 10

09-Jan-2006

Ecology: Complexities Of Coral Reef Recovery, Science Bookmark and Share

Excerpts: The world's coral reefs are deteriorating--nearly half may have disappeared in the past 30 to 50 years (1). The plethora of threats they face include declining water quality, overexploitation, and climate change (2). Although there is no single panacea for these problems, marine protected areas have emerged as a potentially powerful means for managing reefs within the world's changing oceans. These protected areas create refugia for species that would otherwise be overfished.