title: Conservation management options and actions: putative decline of coral cover at Palmyra Atoll, Northern Line Islands, as a case study.
abstract: Localised loss of live coral cover at Palmyra Atoll (central Pacific Ocean) has been attributed to increased temperature and/or sedimentation arising from alterations made to the lagoon system. It has been hypothesised that a causeway spanning the lagoon hinders water circulation, resulting in warmer and/or more turbid water flowing towards a site of high coral cover and diversity (Coral Gardens). Analyses of a multi-site and multi-year data set revealed no differences in mean temperature or turbidity values on either side of the causeway and provided no evidence of significantly warmer or more turbid water at Coral Gardens. We conclude that the putative decline in live coral cover cannot be attributed to the presence of the causeway and that proposed management actions involving modification to the causeway cannot achieve the conservation outcomes suggested of them.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Marine Environmental & Economic Research, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. Electronic address: jonathan.gardner@vuw.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Jonathan P A
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: R John
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Bartz
authors.affiliation: Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, HI, USA.
authors.forename: Russell E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Brainard
authors.affiliation: Centre for Marine Environmental & Economic Research, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Collen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Garton
authors.affiliation: Centre for Marine Environmental & Economic Research, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Powell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D010139:Pacific Islands; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: Coral decline; Management options and actions; Palmyra Atoll; Sediment; Temperature; Turbidity