Science Articles, Publications, and Annual Reports

Publications

Research to Support Marine Conservation

Publications

Research to Support Marine Conservation

PUBLICATIONS

Research That Drives Real-World Impact

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has conducted extensive marine research, contributing to hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications and producing a wealth of reports, maps, and management resources. Our research provides critical insights into the health and resiliency of coral reefs worldwide, supporting conservation efforts, policy decisions, and sustainable management of coastal marine ecosystems.

In addition to peer-reviewed studies, we have published reports summarizing our scientific findings in key locations, atlases mapping coral reef and coastal marine habitats, and resources designed to assist marine managers in safeguarding their reefs. These publications have been shared with governments, conservation organizations, and local communities to help guide marine conservation initiatives.

Marine Atlases

Our atlases of coral reefs and other shallow-water marine habitats are a showcase of our work in a region, containing comprehensive color maps of the seafloor along with a summary of our scientific findings on the health and resiliency of their marine ecosystems.

Atlases are a final product of our scientific research, the culmination of all of our coral reef surveys and mapping activities, available in a form governments can use to make decisions about how they use their coastal lands and waters. To date, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has published three Atlases, the Red Sea Atlas, the Bahamas Atlas, and the Atlas of the Amirantes:

Red Sea Atlas

Over a four-year period, the Living Oceans Foundation led a massive marine habitat research mission in the Red Sea. The results of our surveys are published in the Atlas of Saudi Arabian Red Sea Marine Habitats, the first-ever atlas covering all of Saudi Arabia’s coral reef habitats in the Red Sea. It is available for download in both English and Arabic.

The Bahamas Atlas

The Atlas of Shallow Marine Habitats of Cay Sal Bank, Great Inagua, Little Inagua, and Hogsty Reef, Bahamas, is the result of months of underwater research to survey and map the seafloor. The Bahamas Atlas combines advanced satellite imagery, aerial photography, and data from hundreds of research dives into the first high-resolution coral reef ecosystem maps of many Bahamian reefs.

The Atlas of the Amirantes

In 2005, the Living Oceans Foundation traveled to the Seychelles, a 115-island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, to study the impact of an El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) ocean warming event on their coral reefs. The Atlas of the Amirantes contains high-resolution benthic habitat maps that were created from this research project for the purpose of aiding the Seychelles government in marine conservation efforts and management plans, the result of months of underwater research to survey and map the seafloor.

Final Reports

These reports are the final reports we create following an ocean research expedition. They include coral reef site descriptions, relevant data and observations, research images, survey method details, and data analysis. Please download these reports and share them freely.

Annual Reports

Each year, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation publishes an annual report highlighting our key achievements, activities, and financials as we work to protect and preserve ocean health around the world. Click on the images below to download the full report.

Scientific Publications

We are committed to making our research accessible to those working to protect the ocean. Scroll down to browse our publications by location and/or research topic to explore our findings. If you need additional information, you can request data to support your marine research and conservation efforts.

Mitigating the Impacts of Acanthaster planci (crown of thorns starfish, COTS) outbreak on coral reefs in Aitutaki, Cook Islands

This report on the COTS outbreak in Aitutaki, Cook Islands was prepared for the Government of the Cook Islands and local Stakeholders by the Living Oceans Foundation Chief Scientist who conducted the Cook Islands mission of the Global Reef Expedition in 2013.

World Heritage in the High Seas: An Idea Whose Time has Come

Embodying our motto Science Without Borders®, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has supported the efforts of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre Marine Programme to identify ways in which World Heritage status could be used to protect outstanding places on the High Seas. This project resulted in the publication of World Heritage in the High Seas: An Idea Whose Time has Come, a report by UNESCO and IUCN that proposes multiple ways in which World Heritage status could be used to protect places on the High Seas.

Galápagos Coral Reef and Coral Community Monitoring Manual

The Galápagos is an isolated archipelago of volcanic islands that straddle the equator, about 1000 km (620 miles) off the coast of Ecuador, in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. There are 14 main islands and over 100 small islets that sit on a deep platform and are surrounded by deep (2000-4000 m) water.

Field Guide to Western Atlantic Stony Corals

Bruckner, A. (2010). Western Atlantic Coral Identification Field Guide. Woods Lithographics, 22.

This Field Guide to Western Atlantic Stony Corals is a compilation of photographs of the dominant scleractinian and hydrozoan corals observed on reefs throughout the region. Depending on taxonomic sources, between 65‐75 species have been identified. This guide identifies all known genera and the 49 dominant coral species common throughout shallow Caribbean reefs. Rare coral species are not included. Taxa that have been divided into multiple species (e.g. Colpophyllia, Meandrina, Dichocoenia, Agaricia agaricites, Stephanocoenia) are reported as single species due to taxonomic uncertainty. Common names appearing in this guide follow the nomenclature used in Reef Coral Identification (Humann and Deloach 2002). Whenever possible, taxa with similar growth forms or corallite arrangements are placed together to facilitate identification.

Field Guide to Western Atlantic Coral Diseases

Western Atlantic Coral Disease Identification Field Guide uses standardized nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for coral diseases developed by the Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC). This involves a three-tiered approach to naming diseases and a decision tree that would help unify disease names. Through application of a series of steps, a researcher can determine a common field name for a disease which can be further refined based on a morphologic diagnosis and an etiologic diagnosis. This is based on techniques applied to the study of other terrestrial and marine animal diseases that include 1) detection of disease, 2) description...

Western Atlantic Coral Reef Health and Resilience Cards

Bruckner, A. (2010). Western Atlantic Health and Resilience Cards. Woods Lithographics, 12.

The Western Atlantic Health and Resilience Cards provide photographic examples of the dominant habitat features and biological indicators of coral reef condition, health and resilience to future perturbations. Representative examples of benthic substrates types, indicators of coral health, algal functional groups, dominant sessile invertebrates, large, motile invertebrates, and herbivorous and predatory fishes are presented, with emphasis on major functional groups regulating coral diversity, abundance and condition. This is not intended as a taxonomic ID guide.

Field Manual for Investigating Coral Disease Outbreaks

Woodley, C., Bruckner, A., McLenon, A., Higgins, J., Galloway, S., & Nicholson, J. (2008). Field Manual for Investigating Coral Disease Outbreaks. Coral Disease and Health Consortium. NOAA Tech Memo. NOS NNCOS 80 and CRCP 6, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, 85.

Field Manual for Investigating Coral Disease Outbreaks.

Coral Disease Handbook: Guidelines for Assessment, Monitoring & Management

Raymundo, L., Couch, C., Bruckner, A., Harvell, C., Work, T., Weil, E., … Sato, Y. (2008). Coral Disease Handbook: Guidelines for Assessment, Monitoring, and Management. CRTR, Australia, 131.

Our research careers began in Discovery Bay, Jamaica, in the mid 1970s, where we both studied the behavior of coral reef organisms, rather than the corals themselves. At that time, living coral covered 70 percent of the bottom, and no one worried about the long term persistence of the reefs, even though the reefs were clearly impacted by people via severe overfishing. Quite simply, we took the reefs for granted.

That sunny confidence turned out to be totally unfounded. In 1980, Hurricane Allen, a category five storm, struck and turned much of the reef into a rubble ground. However, reefs routinely get hit...