Scientific articles
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2019
National-scale marine bioregions for the Southwest Pacific
This scientific paper, by KSLOF scientists Alex Dempsey and Sam Purkis, shows how they used data-based methods to develop the first comprehensive oceanic and marine bioregions for the South Pacific. These marine bioregions enable the design of ecologically representative national marine protected areas in Pacific nations.
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2019
High-resolution habitat and bathymetry maps for 65,000 sq. km of Earth’s remotest coral reefs
A study from scientists at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation and the University of Miami offers a new way to accurately map coral reefs using a combination of Earth-orbiting satellites and field observations. Using this new method, the scientists mapped over 65,000 km2 of coral reefs and surrounding habitats--by far the largest collection of high-resolution coral reef maps ever made.
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2019
Diversity and Structure of Parrotfish Assemblages across the Northern Great Barrier Reef
A study of the structure and diversity of parrotfish assemblages across the Northern Great Barrier Reef.
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2019
Modeling environmentally-mediated variation in reef coral physiology
Increases in seawater temperature associated with global climate change are breaking down the mutualistic relationship between reef-building corals and the symbiotic dinoflagellates that reside within their cells. This work sought to uncover the environmental factors that contribute most to observed spatio-temporal variation in coral physiology and devise means of detecting anomalous behavior in field corals.
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2018
A statistical platform for evaluating coral health in an era of changing global climate
Given the significant threats against coral reef ecosystems, there is an urgent need to develop the capacity to make predictions as to which coral reefs are most stress-susceptible, as well as which are most resilient.
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2018
Bottom-up processes mediated by social systems drive demographic traits of coral-reef fishes
We surveyed dichromatic parrotfishes across the northern Great Barrier Reef to examine variation in body size distributions against hypotheses of directional influence from biotic and abiotic factors. Across sites, body size was predictably linked to variation in temperature and productivity, but the strongest predictor was whether subpopulations occurred at sheltered mid and inner shelf reefs or at wave-exposed outer shelf reef systems.
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2017
The molecular ecophysiology of closely related pocilloporid corals of New Caledonia
Given the severe threats against Earth’s coral reef ecosystems, there is an urgent need to collect baseline data such that the condition of these endangered habitats can be tracked over the coming decades. Many of the most spectacular coral reefs are found in remote locations that are only accessible by research ships; therefore, little is known about the vast majority of the planet’s reefs.
