Climate Change and a range of human activities threaten the natural resilience of coral reef ecosystems. Reef resilience is the ability to resist and recover from disturbances while retaining essentially the same function and structure. Managers can support the natural resilience of reefs by reducing their sensitivity to climate-related disturbances, such as coral bleaching, by reducing stress on reefs caused by human activities. The challenge for natural resource managers in Florida, as with everywhere else reefs occur, lies in deciding which actions to implement and where, to best support resilience. Understanding spatial variation in resilience to Climate Change in the Florida Reef Tract was the goal of this project, with the aim being to produce information that can inform management decisions. This project is a collaboration co-funded by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and The Nature Conservancy's Florida office. This study addresses this priority from Florida's Climate Change Action Plan - Determine and map areas of high and low resilience to Climate Change in order to prioritize management efforts.
Citation: Maynard J, Byrne J, Kerrigan K, Tracey D, Bohnsack K, Pagan F, Walczak J, and Williams GJ. 2017. Coral reef resilience to Climate Change in the Florida Reef Tract. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Miami, FL. Pp. 1-30.
