Get started
Work

Restoration as a meaningful aid to ecological recovery of coral reefs

Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Restoration supports the recovery of ecological attributes such as cover, complexity, and diversity to slow the areal decline of natural ecosystems. Restoration activity is intensifying worldwide to combat persistent stressors that are driving global declines to the extent and resilience of coral reefs. However, restoration is disputed as a meaningful aid to reef ecological recovery, often as an expensive distraction to addressing the root causes of reef loss. We contend this dispute partly stems from inferences drawn from small-scale experimental restoration outcomes amplified by misconceptions around cost-based reasoning. Alongside aggressive emissions reductions, we advocate urgent investment in coral reef ecosystem restoration as part of the management toolbox to combat the destruction of reefs as we know them within decades.
DOI: 10.1038/s44183-024-00056-8
Authors: David J. Suggett, James Guest, Emma F. Camp, Alasdair Edwards, Liz Goergen, Margaux Hein, Adriana Humanes, Jessica S. Levy, Phanor H. Montoya-Maya, David J. Smith, Tali Vardi, R. Scott Winters, Tom Moore
Institutions: University of Technology Sydney, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Coral Restoration Foundation, University of Essex, University of Oxford
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,990
OpenAlex ID: W4393397153
FWCI: 17.09
Cites: 21
Cited by: 73
Related to: 10