Climate of Our Future

ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222100815.htm

(Feb. 24, 2010) — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is showing an extraordinary range of benefits from the network of protected marine reserves introduced there five years ago, according to a comprehensive new study published in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences.

The scientific team, a ‘who’s-who’ of Australian coral reef scientists, describe the findings as “a globally significant demonstration of the effectiveness of large-scale networks of marine reserves.”

“Our data show rapid increases of fish inside no-take reserves, in both reef and non-reef habitats ,” says Professor Terry Hughes, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, speaking February 22 at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences meeting in San Diego, California.

“Critically, the reserves also benefit overall ecosystem health and resilience,” says lead author Dr Laurence McCook of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

“Outbreaks of coral-eating, crown-of-thorns starfish are less frequent on no-take reefs, which consequently have a higher abundance of healthy corals after outbreaks.  Keep Reading