Using NASA capabilities for biodiversity assessment and ecological forecasting in coral reef environments Christopher Moses, Frank Müller-Karger, and Serge Andréfouët NASA Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting Meeting Washington DC - August 29 to 31, 2005

Questions What needs to be done for science and conservation of coral reefs? What is NASA currently doing for science and conservation of coral reefs? How could NASA advance science and conservation applications for coral reefs?

Biodiversity of Coral Reefs Reefs fringe ~15% of world’s coastlines High biodiversity –>2,000 reef fishes –>800 species of corals –~7% of corals and 27% of fish are endemic Roberts, et al., 2002 ~58% are threatened by human activities Ginsburg, et al., % reef loss by 2050 due to climate variability Kleypas, et al., 1999

Biodiversity and Coral Research Biodiversity: –Inventory/cataloging of diversity –Factors controlling diversity –Influence of diversity on processes –Management, biodiversity conservation Ecological forecasting: –Dynamics of these fields under changing climate and anthropogenic impacts –Planning and management for predicted changes

Organism (coral colony) Community Island and reef geomorphology Global coral reef distribution

NASA’s Right Stuff ( ) Millennium Coral Reef Map: –Landsat 7 systematic global coral reef acquisitions Geomorphology mapping On-line archive at SeaWiFS Project Interdisciplinary study (IDS) on coral reef connectivity: –Mesoamerican barrier reef –French Polynesia –Great Barrier Reef

Coral Reef RS Priorities Reef mapping (Millennium Map) –Geomorphology, communities, species Climatology of land, ocean and atmosphere around reefs (IDS) –Forcing of local water masses (circulation, temperature, pollution, etc…) Modeling and forecasting of the biodiversity dynamics (IDS) –Connectivity, climate change, anthropogenic impacts

Millennium Coral Reef Map

Previous Coral Reef Maps UNEP-WCMC ReefBase SE New Caledonia

Ishigaki, Ryukyus, Japan Sample Landsat-7 true color composite used in Millennium Map 35 geomorphic reef units Monitoring design - Ideal sampling - Reference for site selection - Representative of sites

USF Millenium UNEP-WCMC

Reef Area Estimations

NASA Coral Reef Connectivity Interdisciplinary Study (IDS)

River Plumes - SeaWiFS SeaWiFS ag440, Feb 12, 2004SeaWiFS ag440, Feb 24, 2004

River Plumes - MODIS MODIS/Aqua, Oct. 19, 2003

Connectivity Modeling

Larval transport and settlement Spread of disease Metapopulation dynamics Range of anthropogenic influence Possible regions of refugia Trans-boundary planning of protected areas

Conclusions Meeting needs for mapping, integration with environmental data, and connectivity modeling NASA’s impact on the management community is growing However: –Poor (public/management/scientist) understanding of the possibilities and limits of the data and products –Need for the creation of an application-oriented structure (jointly with ??) of user-friendly systems to consult and download in simple format

Acknowledgements NASA Julie Robinson (NASA), Damaris Torres- Pulizza, Alan Spraggins, Christine Kranenburg, Chuanmin Hu, Gene C. Feldman, Norman Kuring, Ed Green (WCMC), Marco Noordeloos (WorldFish/ReefBase)