TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - A Decision Framework for Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs SN - DO - 10.17226/25424 PY - 2019 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25424/a-decision-framework-for-interventions-to-increase-the-persistence-and-resilience-of-coral-reefs PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences AB - Coral reefs are critical to ocean and human life because they provide food, living area, storm protection, tourism income, and more. However, human-induced stressors, such as overfishing, sediment, pollution, and habitat destruction have threatened ocean ecosystems globally for decades. In the face of climate change, these ecosystems now face an array of unfamiliar challenges due to destructive rises in ocean temperature, acidity and sea level. These factors lead to an increased frequency of bleaching events, hindered growth, and a decreasing rate of calcification. Research on interventions to combat these relatively new stressors and a reevaluation of longstanding interventions is necessary to understand and protect coral reefs in this changing climate. Previous research on these methods prompts further questions regarding the decision making process for site-specific interventions. A Decision Framework for Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs builds upon a previous report that reviews the state of research on methods that have been used, tested, or proposed to increase the resilience of coral reefs. This new report aims to help coral managers evaluate the specific needs of their site and navigate the 23 different interventions described in the previous report. A case study of the Caribbean, a region with low coral population plagued by disease, serves as an example for coral intervention decision making. This report provides complex coral management decision making tools, identifies gaps in coral biology and conservation research, and provides examples to help individuals and communities tailor a decision strategy to a local area. ER - TY - BOOK A2 - Richard Corfield TI - The Silent Landscape: The Scientific Voyage of HMS Challenger DO - 10.17226/10725 PY - 2003 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10725/the-silent-landscape-the-scientific-voyage-of-hms-challenger PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Explore Science KW - Biography and Autobiography AB - In 1872 HMS Challenger set sail from Portsmouth, England, to map and sample the ocean floor. This marked the birth of modern oceanography. By retracing Challenger’s extraordinary voyage, we view our underwater landscape anew – focusing on what 21st century science is now able to add to this incredible story. The oceans make up more than two thirds of the Earth’s surface. But they are as mysterious for what they conceal beneath their surfaces as they are familiar for their ubiquity. Deep below the susurrus swell of waves lies an alien world that we have only begun to explore. The quest to know more about this secret domain began in earnest in the late 1800s. In 1859, Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection set the scientific world abuzz with its radical theory of evolution, and sparked a feverish desire to know more about the workings of nature. Scientists became increasingly convinced that the ocean floor could provide proof – or refutation – of Darwin’s theory of natural selection. They believed that the ocean floor was a haven for life that had long been extinct on land and that obscure fossil evidence culled from the depths could provide us with information on species that no longer existed topside. So an expedition was specifically designed and undertaken to investigate the natural history and geology of the ocean floor. With its emphasis on locating and retrieving fossil records that would test the new theory of evolution, Challenger’s voyage was nothing less than a mission to choose between God and science. Sailing three and half years and 69,000 nautical miles through burning tropical heat waves and stupefyingly cold Antarctic seas, and suffering further privations of hunger, storms, and sometimes crushing boredom between data-collecting surveys, Challenger dredged up thousands of samples from the sea floor and mapped enormous areas of undersea terrain. The final result was nothing short of a roaring success. So extensive were their findings that it was to take the scientists 19 years to completely examine and report on all their data. The final report, published in 1895, ran to fifty volumes. Most startling of all was the revelation that the ocean was not a silent landscape that serenely reflected Earth’s past – it was a gloriously vibrant ecosystem teeming with a variety and multitude of life on a scale we could scarcely imagine from our landlocked perspective. Relying on the official documentation, logs, and journals of the ship’s company, The Silent Landscape recounts the tale of an extraordinary voyage brought to life by 21st-century science. From the endangered coral reefs of the Caribbean to the trackless depths beneath the western Pacific, The Silent Landscape takes us on an epic journey across time. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs SN - DO - 10.17226/25279 PY - 2019 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25279/a-research-review-of-interventions-to-increase-the-persistence-and-resilience-of-coral-reefs PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences AB - Coral reef declines have been recorded for all major tropical ocean basins since the 1980s, averaging approximately 30-50% reductions in reef cover globally. These losses are a result of numerous problems, including habitat destruction, pollution, overfishing, disease, and climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions and the associated increases in ocean temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations have been implicated in increased reports of coral bleaching, disease outbreaks, and ocean acidification (OA). For the hundreds of millions of people who depend on reefs for food or livelihoods, the thousands of communities that depend on reefs for wave protection, the people whose cultural practices are tied to reef resources, and the many economies that depend on reefs for fisheries or tourism, the health and maintenance of this major global ecosystem is crucial. A growing body of research on coral physiology, ecology, molecular biology, and responses to stress has revealed potential tools to increase coral resilience. Some of this knowledge is poised to provide practical interventions in the short-term, whereas other discoveries are poised to facilitate research that may later open the doors to additional interventions. A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs reviews the state of science on genetic, ecological, and environmental interventions meant to enhance the persistence and resilience of coral reefs. The complex nature of corals and their associated microbiome lends itself to a wide range of possible approaches. This first report provides a summary of currently available information on the range of interventions present in the scientific literature and provides a basis for the forthcoming final report. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Understanding Marine Biodiversity SN - DO - 10.17226/4923 PY - 1995 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4923/understanding-marine-biodiversity PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Biology and Life Sciences KW - Earth Sciences AB - The diversity of marine life is being affected dramatically by fishery operations, chemical pollution and eutrophication, alteration of physical habitat, exotic species invasion, and effects of other human activities. Effective solutions will require an expanded understanding of the patterns and processes that control the diversity of life in the sea. Understanding Marine Biodiversity outlines the current state of our knowledge, and propose research agenda on marine biological diversity. This agenda represents a fundamental change in studying the ocean—emphasizing regional research across a range of space and time scales, enhancing the interface between taxonomy and ecology, and linking oceanographic and ecological approaches. Highlighted with examples and brief case studies, this volume illustrates the depth and breadth of undescribed marine biodiversity, explores critical environmental issues, advocates the use of regionally defined model systems, and identifies a series of key biodiversity research questions. The authors examine the utility of various research approaches—theory and modeling, retrospective analysis, integration of biotic and oceanographic surveys—and review recent advances in molecular genetics, instrumentation, and sampling techniques applicable to the research agenda. Throughout the book the critical role of taxonomy is emphasized. Informative to the scientist and accessible to the policymaker, Understanding Marine Biodiversity will be of specific interest to marine biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, and research administrators, and to government agencies responsible for utilizing, managing, and protecting the oceans. ER - TY - BOOK AU - Institute of Medicine A2 - Eileen R. Choffnes A2 - LeighAnne Olsen A2 - Theresa Wizemann TI - The Science and Applications of Microbial Genomics: Workshop Summary SN - DO - 10.17226/18261 PY - 2013 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18261/the-science-and-applications-of-microbial-genomics-workshop-summary PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Biology and Life Sciences KW - Health and Medicine KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - Over the past several decades, new scientific tools and approaches for detecting microbial species have dramatically enhanced our appreciation of the diversity and abundance of the microbiota and its dynamic interactions with the environments within which these microorganisms reside. The first bacterial genome was sequenced in 1995 and took more than 13 months of work to complete. Today, a microorganism's entire genome can be sequenced in a few days. Much as our view of the cosmos was forever altered in the 17th century with the invention of the telescope, these genomic technologies, and the observations derived from them, have fundamentally transformed our appreciation of the microbial world around us. On June 12 and 13, 2012, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Forum on Microbial Threats convened a public workshop in Washington, DC, to discuss the scientific tools and approaches being used for detecting and characterizing microbial species, and the roles of microbial genomics and metagenomics to better understand the culturable and unculturable microbial world around us. Through invited presentations and discussions, participants examined the use of microbial genomics to explore the diversity, evolution, and adaptation of microorganisms in a wide variety of environments; the molecular mechanisms of disease emergence and epidemiology; and the ways that genomic technologies are being applied to disease outbreak trace back and microbial surveillance. Points that were emphasized by many participants included the need to develop robust standardized sampling protocols, the importance of having the appropriate metadata, data analysis and data management challenges, and information sharing in real time. The Science and Applications of Microbial Genomics summarizes this workshop. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academy of Sciences A2 - John C. Avise A2 - Stephen P. Hubbell A2 - Francisco J. Ayala TI - In the Light of Evolution: Volume II: Biodiversity and Extinction SN - DO - 10.17226/12501 PY - 2008 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12501/in-the-light-of-evolution-volume-ii-biodiversity-and-extinction PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Biology and Life Sciences AB - The current extinction crisis is of human making, and any favorable resolution of that biodiversity crisis--among the most dire in the 4-billion-year history of Earth--will have to be initiated by mankind. Little time remains for the public, corporations, and governments to awaken to the magnitude of what is at stake. This book aims to assist that critical educational mission, synthesizing recent scientific information and ideas about threats to biodiversity in the past, present, and projected future. This is the second volume from the In the Light of Evolution series, based on a series of Arthur M. Sackler colloquia, and designed to promote the evolutionary sciences. Each installment explores evolutionary perspectives on a particular biological topic that is scientifically intriguing but also has special relevance to contemporary societal issues or challenges. Individually and collectively, the ILE series aims to interpret phenomena in various areas of biology through the lens of evolution, address some of the most intellectually engaging as well as pragmatically important societal issues of our times, and foster a greater appreciation of evolutionary biology as a consolidating foundation for the life sciences. ER - TY - BOOK TI - (NAS Colloquium) The Future of Evolution DO - 10.17226/10499 PY - 2002 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10499/nas-colloquium-the-future-of-evolution PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Biology and Life Sciences ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Review of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program's Synthesis and Assessment Product 3.3, "Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate" SN - DO - 10.17226/11973 PY - 2007 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11973/review-of-the-us-climate-change-science-programs-synthesis-and-assessment-product-33-weather-and-climate-extremes-in-a-changing-climate PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Maureen Mellody TI - Robust Methods for the Analysis of Images and Videos for Fisheries Stock Assessment: Summary of a Workshop SN - DO - 10.17226/18986 PY - 2015 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18986/robust-methods-for-the-analysis-of-images-and-videos-for-fisheries-stock-assessment PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Math, Chemistry, and Physics KW - Agriculture KW - Surveys and Statistics AB - The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for the stewardship of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat. As part of this charge, NMFS conducts stock assessments of the abundance and composition of fish stocks in several bodies of water. At present, stock assessments rely heavily on human data-gathering and analysis. Automatic means of fish stock assessments are appealing because they offer the potential to improve efficiency and reduce human workload and perhaps develop higher-fidelity measurements. The use of images and video, when accompanies by appropriate statistical analyses of the inferred data, is of increasing importance for estimating the abundance of species and their age distributions. Robust Methods for the Analysis of Images and Videos for Fisheries Stock Assessment is the summary of a workshop convened by the National Research Council Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics to discuss analysis techniques for images and videos for fisheries stock assessment. Experts from diverse communities shared perspective about the most efficient path toward improved automation of visual information and discussed both near-term and long-term goals that can be achieved through research and development efforts. This report is a record of the presentations and discussions of this event. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Dynamic Changes in Marine Ecosystems: Fishing, Food Webs, and Future Options SN - DO - 10.17226/11608 PY - 2006 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11608/dynamic-changes-in-marine-ecosystems-fishing-food-webs-and-future PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences KW - Environment and Environmental Studies KW - Agriculture AB - Recent scientific literature has raised many concerns about whether fisheries have caused more extensive changes to marine populations and ecosystems than previously realized or predicted. In many cases, stocks have been exploited far beyond management targets, and new analyses indicate that fishing has harmed other species—including marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, and sea grasses—either directly through catch or habitat damage, or indirectly through changes in food-web interactions. At the request of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Research Council conducted an independent study to weigh the collective evidence for fishery-induced changes to marine ecosystems and the implications of the findings for U.S. fisheries management. Dynamic Changes in Marine Ecosystems provides comprehensive information in regard to these findings. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Sustaining Marine Fisheries SN - DO - 10.17226/6032 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6032/sustaining-marine-fisheries PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Agriculture KW - Earth Sciences AB - Fluctuations and declines in marine fish populations have caused growing concern among marine scientists, fisheries managers, commercial and recreational fishers, and the public. Sustaining Marine Fisheries explores the nature of marine ecosystems and the complex interacting factors that shape their productivity. The book documents the condition of marine fisheries today, highlighting species and geographic areas that are under particular stress. Challenges to achieving sustainability are discussed, and shortcomings of existing fisheries management and regulation are examined. The volume calls for fisheries management to adopt a broader ecosystem perspective that encompasses all relevant environmental and human influences. Sustaining Marine Fisheries offers new approaches to building workable fisheries management institutions, improving scientific data, and developing management tools. The book recommends ways to change current practices that encourage overexploitation of fish resources. It will be of special interest to marine policymakers and ecologists, fisheries regulators and managers, fisheries scientists and marine ecologists, fishers, and concerned individuals. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - The Chemistry of Microbiomes: Proceedings of a Seminar Series SN - DO - 10.17226/24751 PY - 2017 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24751/the-chemistry-of-microbiomes-proceedings-of-a-seminar-series PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Math, Chemistry, and Physics AB - The 21st century has witnessed a complete revolution in the understanding and description of bacteria in eco- systems and microbial assemblages, and how they are regulated by complex interactions among microbes, hosts, and environments. The human organism is no longer considered a monolithic assembly of tissues, but is instead a true ecosystem composed of human cells, bacteria, fungi, algae, and viruses. As such, humans are not unlike other complex ecosystems containing microbial assemblages observed in the marine and earth environments. They all share a basic functional principle: Chemical communication is the universal language that allows such groups to properly function together. These chemical networks regulate interactions like metabolic exchange, antibiosis and symbiosis, and communication. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Chemical Sciences Roundtable organized a series of four seminars in the autumn of 2016 to explore the current advances, opportunities, and challenges toward unveiling this “chemical dark matter” and its role in the regulation and function of different ecosystems. The first three focused on specific ecosystems—earth, marine, and human—and the last on all microbiome systems. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the seminars. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Priorities for Coastal Ecosystem Science SN - DO - 10.17226/4932 PY - 1994 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4932/priorities-for-coastal-ecosystem-science PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences KW - Environment and Environmental Studies AB - This book describes critical environmental issues that face coastal ocean and Great Lakes areas, including eutrophication, habitat modification, hydrologic and hydrodynamic disruption, exploitation of resources, toxic effects on ecosystems and humans, introduction of nonindigenous species, global climate change and variability, and shoreline erosion and hazardous storms. These issues can be approached through science activities (including research, monitoring, and modeling) discussed in this book and through coordination among federal agencies. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Saline Agriculture: Salt-Tolerant Plants for Developing Countries SN - DO - 10.17226/1489 PY - 1990 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1489/saline-agriculture-salt-tolerant-plants-for-developing-countries PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Agriculture AB - ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Marine Protected Areas: Tools for Sustaining Ocean Ecosystems SN - DO - 10.17226/9994 PY - 2001 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9994/marine-protected-areas-tools-for-sustaining-ocean-ecosystems PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences KW - Environment and Environmental Studies AB - Although the ocean-and the resources within-seem limitless, there is clear evidence that human impacts such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution disrupt marine ecosystems and threaten the long-term productivity of the seas. Declining yields in many fisheries and decay of treasured marine habitats, such as coral reefs, has heightened interest in establishing a comprehensive system of marine protected areas (MPAs)-areas designated for special protection to enhance the management of marine resources. Therefore, there is an urgent need to evaluate how MPAs can be employed in the United States and internationally as tools to support specific conservation needs of marine and coastal waters. Marine Protected Areas compares conventional management of marine resources with proposals to augment these management strategies with a system of protected areas. The volume argues that implementation of MPAs should be incremental and adaptive, through the design of areas not only to conserve resources, but also to help us learn how to manage marine species more effectively. ER - TY - BOOK TI - Molecular Biology in Marine Science: Scientific Questions, Technological Approaches, and Practical Implications DO - 10.17226/9119 PY - 1994 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9119/molecular-biology-in-marine-science-scientific-questions-technological-approaches-and PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Biology and Life Sciences KW - Earth Sciences ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean SN - DO - 10.17226/12904 PY - 2010 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12904/ocean-acidification-a-national-strategy-to-meet-the-challenges-of PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences AB - The ocean has absorbed a significant portion of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions. This benefits human society by moderating the rate of climate change, but also causes unprecedented changes to ocean chemistry. Carbon dioxide taken up by the ocean decreases the pH of the water and leads to a suite of chemical changes collectively known as ocean acidification. The long term consequences of ocean acidification are not known, but are expected to result in changes to many ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean reviews the current state of knowledge, explores gaps in understanding, and identifies several key findings. Like climate change, ocean acidification is a growing global problem that will intensify with continued CO2 emissions and has the potential to change marine ecosystems and affect benefits to society. The federal government has taken positive initial steps by developing a national ocean acidification program, but more information is needed to fully understand and address the threat that ocean acidification may pose to marine ecosystems and the services they provide. In addition, a global observation network of chemical and biological sensors is needed to monitor changes in ocean conditions attributable to acidification. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Building Ocean Science Partnerships: The United States and Mexico Working Together SN - DO - 10.17226/5874 PY - 1999 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5874/building-ocean-science-partnerships-the-united-states-and-mexico-working PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences AB - Building Ocean Science Partnerships describes a set of potential ocean science projects for cooperative research between scientists from the United States and Mexico, particularly focused on the Pacific Coast of California and Baja California, the Gulf of California, and the Gulf of Mexico. Barriers to cooperation between scientists of the two nations are identified, and methods to overcome such barriers are recommended. The book describes how interactions can be promoted by enhancing opportunities for education and training, building and sharing scientific infrastructure, participating together in large-scale marine research programs and regional ocean observing systems, planning joint science events and publications, and developing sources of binational funding. Building Ocean Science Partnerships will be published in English and Spanish to make its contents widely accessible in the United States and Mexico. ER - TY - BOOK AU - Institute of Medicine A2 - Eileen R. Choffnes A2 - Alison Mack TI - The Influence of Global Environmental Change on Infectious Disease Dynamics: Workshop Summary SN - DO - 10.17226/18800 PY - 2014 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18800/the-influence-of-global-environmental-change-on-infectious-disease-dynamics PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Health and Medicine KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - The twentieth century witnessed an era of unprecedented, large-scale, anthropogenic changes to the natural environment. Understanding how environmental factors directly and indirectly affect the emergence and spread of infectious disease has assumed global importance for life on this planet. While the causal links between environmental change and disease emergence are complex, progress in understanding these links, as well as how their impacts may vary across space and time, will require transdisciplinary, transnational, collaborative research. This research may draw upon the expertise, tools, and approaches from a variety of disciplines. Such research may inform improvements in global readiness and capacity for surveillance, detection, and response to emerging microbial threats to plant, animal, and human health. The Influence of Global Environmental Change on Infectious Disease Dynamics is the summary of a workshop hosted by the Institute of Medicine Forum on Microbial Threats in September 2013 to explore the scientific and policy implications of the impacts of global environmental change on infectious disease emergence, establishment, and spread. This report examines the observed and potential influence of environmental factors, acting both individually and in synergy, on infectious disease dynamics. The report considers a range of approaches to improve global readiness and capacity for surveillance, detection, and response to emerging microbial threats to plant, animal, and human health in the face of ongoing global environmental change. ER - TY - BOOK A2 - Rosaleen Love TI - Reefscape: Reflections on the Great Barrier Reef DO - 10.17226/10014 PY - 2001 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10014/reefscape-reflections-on-the-great-barrier-reef PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Explore Science KW - Earth Sciences AB - Located off Australia's eastern coast, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the natural world. The diversity of life is simply incredible. It is also the ideal environment for coral, making it a diver's paradise. Indeed, some 200 million tourists visit the reef each year. Looking beyond the sheer beauty of this place, we learn, too, that it is a region rich in history, the setting for fateful shipwrecks and exotic Aboriginal myths. Australian writer Rosaleen Love explores the reef from all these angles, allowing us to see this stunning geography anew. Part travelogue, part eco-history, Reefscape represents multiple views of the reef - through the eyes of mariners, pearl divers, naturalists, filmmakers, pirates, industrialists, and tourists alike- painting a fascinating portrait of a unique locale. Told in a reflectively poetic voice, Love writes evocatively of the ecological, and geological significance of the reef. Woven throughout is the intriguing history of the area. This twofold approach provides a rich perspective on the reef an ecosystem as well as a natural resource for its inhabitants. By recounting both tales, Reefscape provides a window on the past and foreshadows the future of this extraordinary environment. Reefscape will illuminate the meaning of the human encounter with nature. It will inspire delight in the imagination and spirit of all who yearn for the transcendence of turquoise waters. ER -