title: Warm-water coral reefs and climate change.
abstract: Coral reefs are highly dynamic ecosystems that are regularly exposed to natural perturbations. Human activities have increased the range, intensity, and frequency of disturbance to reefs. Threats such as overfishing and pollution are being compounded by climate change, notably warming and ocean acidification. Elevated temperatures are driving increasingly frequent bleaching events that can lead to the loss of both coral cover and reef structural complexity. There remains considerable variability in the distribution of threats and in the ability of reefs to survive or recover from such disturbances. Without significant emissions reductions, however, the future of coral reefs is increasingly bleak.
authors.affiliation: Global Ocean Team, The Nature Conservancy, Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Pian dei Mantellini, 44, 53100 Siena, Italy; and Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. mspalding@tnc.org.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Spalding
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE1 7RU, UK; and Environmental Research Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands, Thurso KW14 7EE, UK.
authors.forename: Barbara E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D057894:Coral Reefs; D057232:Global Warming; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D012623:Seawater; D013559:Symbiosis; D014876:Water Pollution