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Scientific Plan Synopsis

The Global Reef Expedition: Science Without Borders® is being planned to take place from 2010-2013. The primary scientific goals of the Expedition are to map and characterize the coral reefs, identify their current status and major threats, and examine factors that enhance their capacity to resist, survive and rapidly recover from major disturbance events. This unique global expedition will enable coral reef scientists of many nations, under the Living Oceans Foundation Science Without Borders® program, to conduct research in order to:

• Identify the locations of coral reefs, their spatial extent, community structure, condition, and human and natural threats;

• Assess the major habitat types within these reef systems and create high-resolution benthic habitat maps using remote sensing technology, ground truthing and advanced GIS technology;

• Understand the extent, nature and causes of coral reef degradation and identify ways to address the threats;

• Characterize factors that enhance the capacity of coral reefs to resist, survive and rapidly recover from major disturbance events;

• Determine impacts of climate change, including long-term effects of elevated temperatures and alkalinity, consequences of bleaching and reduced potential for coral growth and calcification, and synergistic effects of non-climate stresses;

• Provide forecasts on the future condition of coral reefs exposed to varying threats and under different scenarios of management;

• Develop regional and global conservation measures to counter the most serious threats impacting the health of coral reefs.

Research activities will focus on:

1) Acquisition of multispectral Quickbird satellite imagery of each area and targeted airborne hyperspectral
imagery of high priority sites within these areas;

2) Collection of detailed ground truthing and bathymetric data to verify and map the habitat types and their boundaries;

3) Conducting benthic surveys and fish transects to characterize coral reef community structure, condition and threats;

4) Evaluation of processes controlling coral reef community structure and function and how gradients of human pressure, biophysical attributes, and environmental stressors affect these processes;

5) Targeted assessment and sampling of resilience indicators to identify site and species-specific factors that may allow coral reefs to adapt and persist under scenarios of global climate change;

6) Evaluation of connectivity within and between reef ecosystems and biological and physical factors that affect and enhance recovery and resilience.

For more information:

CAPT Philip G. Renaud, USN (ret)
Executive Director
Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
8181 Professional Place, Suite 215
Landover, MD 20785
(301) 577-1288
http://www.livingoceansfoundation.org/