Loke Ming Chou

Coral reefs are declining globally, but region-specific drivers of degradation remain poorly quantified, hindering local conservation policymaking. By collecting two decades of field data from 102 sites across 22 coral reefs in the northern South China Sea and employing panel regressions and structural equation modeling, we identify key stressors that are responsible for 40% (17–50%) of the declines in live coral cover. Local anthropogenic stressors—overfishing, nutrient pollution from agriculture and coastal urbanization—collectively explain 73% of live coral coverage variance, outweighing climate-associated thermal stress. We then propose an Integrated Coast-Reef Management framework that couples land-sea interventions—prioritizing sustainable fisheries, watershed nutrient management, and controls of crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks. Spatial simulations indicate that this synergistical strategy could elevate live coral coverage by two to four times under global warming scenarios, avoiding reef calcification collapse. Our findings contribute to coral conservation paradigms by highlighting tailored strategies at the local level beyond globalized approaches, which offer scalable solutions for regions facing similar pressures.

Coral reefs are declining globally, but region-specific drivers of degradation remain poorly quantified, hindering targeted conservation. By collecting two decades of field data from 102 sites across 22 coral reefs in the northern South China Sea (SCS) and employing panel regressions and structural equation modeling, we identify key stressors that are responsible for 40% (17–50%) of the declines in live coral cover (LCC). Local anthropogenic stressors—overfishing, nutrient pollution from agriculture and coastal urbanization—collectively explain 73% of LCC variance, outweighing climate-associated thermal stress. We then propose an Integrated Coast-Reef Management (ICRM) framework that couples land-sea interventions—sustainable fisheries, watershed nutrient controls, and CoTS outbreak controls prioritization. Spatial simulations indicate that this synergistical strategy could elevate LCC by two to four times under global warming scenarios, avoiding reef calcification collapse (LCC > 10%). Our findings contribute to coral conservation paradigms by highlighting tailored strategies at the local level beyond globalized approaches, which offer scalable solutions for regions facing similar pressures.

The “coral gardening” approach has been effective in facilitating the recovery of degraded reefs but methodological variations can influence survivorship and growth of the coral material. In addition, the disproportionate use of certain corals, such as acroporids and pocilloporids, has contributed to a general lack of information on growth patterns and restoration strategies for species that are less common. To investigate how the yield of other species may be increased to support reef restoration efforts in Singapore, we assessed the effects of (1) environment (nursery, reef, and seawall) and (2) transplant orientation (horizontal and vertical) on the performance of Echinopora horrida (Dana, 1846) fragments. Fragments secured in the coral nursery grew significantly faster and survived better than those transplanted on the reef and seawall, highlighting the importance of a nursery‐rearing phase in optimizing the yield of this species. Additionally, survivorship and growth rates were not significantly different between vertically and horizontally transplanted corals, suggesting that modifying transplant orientation was less crucial toward enhancing coral yield. Our findings highlighted the need to optimize the propagation techniques of a wider range of understudied coral species in order to preserve their genetic diversity in the face of anthropogenic and climatic impacts.

Coral reefs in the Central Indo-Pacific region comprise some of the most diverse and yet threatened marine habitats. While reef monitoring has grown throughout the region in recent years, studies of coral reef benthic cover remain limited in spatial and temporal scales. Here, we analysed 24,365 reef surveys performed over 37 years at 1972 sites throughout East Asia by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network using Bayesian approaches. Our results show that overall coral cover at surveyed reefs has not declined as suggested in previous studies and compared to reef regions like the Caribbean. Concurrently, macroalgal cover has not increased, with no indications of phase shifts from coral to macroalgal dominance on reefs. Yet, models incorporating socio-economic and environmental variables reveal negative associations of coral cover with coastal urbanisation and sea surface temperature. The diversity of reef assemblages may have mitigated cover declines thus far, but climate change could threaten reef resilience. We recommend prioritisation of regionally coordinated, locally collaborative long-term studies for better contextualisation of monitoring data and analyses, which are essential for achieving reef conservation goals.