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Coral reefs in the Anthropocene

Nature volume 546, pages 82–90 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Coral reefs support immense biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services to many millions of people. Yet reefs are degrading rapidly in response to numerous anthropogenic drivers. In the coming centuries, reefs will run the gauntlet of climate change, and rising temperatures will transform them into new configurations, unlike anything observed previously by humans. Returning reefs to past configurations is no longer an option. Instead, the global challenge is to steer reefs through the Anthropocene era in a way that maintains their biological functions. Successful navigation of this transition will require radical changes in the science, management and governance of coral reefs.

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Figure 1: The climate gauntlet faced by coral reefs.
Figure 2: Linkages and feedbacks between people and coral reefs.
Figure 3: The modelled response of coral reefs to multiple anthropogenic drivers.
Figure 4: A heuristic model of future management options for coral reefs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the seven institutions that supported this research, in Australia, the Netherlands and the United States. Six of the authors are supported by funding from the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence Program. Other funding support includes the Australian Commonwealth Government, the Netherlands Earth System Science Centre (NESSC), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the US National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville, 4811, Queensland, Australia

    Terry P. Hughes, Michele L. Barnes, David R. Bellwood, Joshua E. Cinner, Graeme S. Cumming, Janice M. Lough & Tiffany H. Morrison

  2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego La Jolla, 92093-0244, California, USA

    Jeremy B. C. Jackson

  3. Department of Paleobiology National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution, 20013, Washington DC, USA

    Jeremy B. C. Jackson

  4. National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, Colorado, 80307, USA

    Joanie Kleypas

  5. Department of Environmental Sciences Wageningen University, PO Box 47, Wageningen, 6700 AA, The Netherlands

    Ingrid A. van de Leemput, Egbert H. van Nes & Marten Scheffer

  6. Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville, 4810, Queensland, Australia

    Janice M. Lough

  7. Hopkins Marine Station Department of Biology Stanford University Pacific Grove, 93950, California, USA

    Stephen R. Palumbi

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Correspondence to Terry P. Hughes.

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Additional information

Author Contributions All authors contributed to the development of the paper. T.P.H. led the initial planning and writing. J.M.L. and J.K. undertook the climate analysis, I.v.d.L, M.S and E.v.N. carried out the modelling; M.L.B., J.E.C. and T.H.M. led the social science component; and D.R.B., G.S.C., T.P.H., J.B.C.J. and S.R.P. provided the ecological and evolutionary elements.

Reviewer Information Nature thanks T. Gouhier, R. Richmond and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Hughes, T., Barnes, M., Bellwood, D. et al. Coral reefs in the Anthropocene. Nature 546, 82–90 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22901

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