Session 36: “Assessing and addressing the effects of multiple stressors on coral reefs towards developing effective management and policy responses”
The abstract submission deadline is Midnight, Central Standard Time USA / 06:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), 15 January 2016!
Session overview
Over the coming decades, the combined stresses of elevated temperature, annual bleaching, ocean acidification, and other stressors (e.g., pollution, eutrophication, overfishing, sedimentation, etc.) could have critical impacts on coral reefs. These stressors may, or may not, interact with others to drive changes in the diversity and function of coral reefs. However, the underlying mechanisms and interaction of these processes are not well understood, therefore, most ecosystem management programs fail to protect and enhance reef health. In addition, the application of laboratory derived results to field conditions is not always straightforward. This session will explore the interactive effects of multiple stressors on corals from the molecular to ecosystem level scales in both laboratory, field, and lab-field comparative studies. Applications of these findings to reef management are also welcome. In order to develop a more robust and nuanced understanding of physiological and ecological impacts of climate change related stressors, more integrated laboratory and field studies should be developed and, hopefully, this session will encourage this approach by bringing together experts employing either methodology. The understanding of the interactive effects of multiple stressors on corals is critical to scientists’ ability to identify species, populations, traits, and/or genes that impart resilience to reef organisms, and for improving our ability to model, manage, and protect future coral reef diversity and persistence.
This session will address the integration of laboratory studies (such as -omics, biochemical, molecular and cellular assays, multi-generational manipulation studies, etc.) with field studies (such as natural gradients, CO2 vents and seeps, transplant studies, in situ mesocosms and FOCE style experiments). Discussions will be encouraged on a variety of topics, including but not limited to laboratory based studies on the physiological effects of ocean acidification, temperature stress and multi-stressors, field experiments, and studies that integrate both approaches. Hypotheses developed in the laboratory and in aquarium systems often have associated experimental artifacts, and their conclusions and implications must be validated in the field under natural environmental and ecological conditions.
More information about this session can be found here.
For abstract submission information, please consult the dedicated section on the Symposium website.
