Burt April J, Koester Anna, Bunbury Nancy, Haupt Philip, Walton Rowana, Fleischer-Dogley Frauke, Chong-Seng Karen M
Seychelles Islands Foundation, PO Box 853, Victoria, Seychelles.
Marine Ecology Department, Faculty of Biology & Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 16;15(1):25836. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-09531-9.
Resilience-Based Management of coral reefs aims to maintain ecosystem function and maximise resilience. This requires identification of resilience indicators and clear ecological reference thresholds for reef managers to maintain or aim for. In the absence of local thresholds, managers can assess reef condition by comparing locally collected indicator data to broadscale thresholds, which account for spatial and temporal variability. This study assesses reef condition at Aldabra Atoll, a remote MPA in the western Indian Ocean, relative to broadscale thresholds for structural complexity, fish biomass, herbivore biomass, juvenile coral density, and trophic-level fish biomass. Results were synthesized into a resilience index, and sites were classified into 'management strategies' using a published reef management framework. Resilience scores were then compared to observe coral cover changes following the 2016 bleaching event, tracking recovery through to 2022. Findings showed that seven of the eight assessed seaward reefs at Aldabra displayed the resilience expected of a remote, well-managed marine reserve. The research station and associated human activity appeared to have minimal negative impacts on reef resilience. We recommend expanding the range of broadscale threshold categories and integrating site-specific factors to improve future assessments and management decisions.
基于恢复力的珊瑚礁管理旨在维持生态系统功能并使恢复力最大化。这需要确定恢复力指标以及明确的生态参考阈值，以供珊瑚礁管理者维持或以此为目标。在缺乏当地阈值的情况下，管理者可以通过将本地收集的指标数据与考虑了空间和时间变异性的广泛阈值进行比较，来评估珊瑚礁状况。本研究评估了印度洋西部偏远海洋保护区阿尔达布拉环礁的珊瑚礁状况，相对于结构复杂性、鱼类生物量、食草动物生物量、幼年珊瑚密度和营养级鱼类生物量的广泛阈值。结果被综合为一个恢复力指数，并使用已发表的珊瑚礁管理框架将各地点分类为“管理策略”。然后比较恢复力得分，以观察2016年白化事件后珊瑚覆盖率的变化，追踪直至2022年的恢复情况。研究结果表明，阿尔达布拉八个评估的向海珊瑚礁中有七个展现出了一个偏远、管理良好的海洋保护区应有的恢复力。研究站及相关人类活动似乎对珊瑚礁恢复力的负面影响极小。我们建议扩大广泛阈值类别的范围，并纳入特定地点因素，以改进未来的评估和管理决策。
