US EPA

Coral reefs are complex, nonlinear systems in which the interplay of spatial heterogeneity and stochastic events with environmental factors results in highly variable patterns of resource availability and use. Given the myriad interacting effects of climate and other stressors on coral reefs and human socioeconomic systems, there is a growing need for improvements in information management and development of decision support tools that present many layers of data to decision-makers in a user-friendly form. This report builds on existing research on the biological, physical, social and economic components of coral reef ecosystem management and incorporates climate change considerations into this ongoing work.

The purpose of this report is to examine the challenge of integrating geographic information and scenario-testing simulations to develop tools for assessing the potential impacts of climate change on coral reefs. Such tools will assist decision makers in understanding vulnerabilities and evaluating the potential outcomes of adaptive management decisions.