Skip to Main Content
Skip Nav Destination

Worldwide coral reefs are declining in health due to anthropogenic impacts including widespread bleaching or corals which often leads to death of the coral colony. Not only are we witnessing impacts on the cover of live coral and fish populations, but also we are losing the tremendous diversity of other animals which are dependent on live corals. To date these losses of the other invertebrates (non corals) have been largely neglected and this paper attempts to rectify this and also to highlight the impact of these. However other groups of organisms responsible for bioerosion of coral substrates initially benefit from an increase in dead coral substrate available. So with climate change and other anthropogenic impacts there are winners and losers, but the long term outlook for coral reefs as we know them today is depressing and will have major impacts on the economy of many developing countries in the tropics which rely heavily on reefs for food, coastal protection and tourism.

Access Economics Pty Ltd 2008, Economic contribution of the GBRMP, 2006-07: prepared for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Access Economics Pty Ltd, Canberra, Australia.
Anthony, K.R.N., Kline, D.I., Diaz-Pulido, G., Dove, S. and Hoegh-Guldberg, O. 2008. Ocean acidification causes bleaching and productivity loss in coral reef builders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 105: 17442-17446.
Bellwood, D.R., Hoey, A.S., Ackerman, J.L., and Depczynski, M. 2006. Coral bleaching, reef fish community phase shifts and the resilience of coral reefs. Global Change Biology 12:1587-1594.
Brodie, J.E, Fabricius, K.E, De'ath, A.G. and Okaji, K. 2005. Are increased nutrient inputs responsible for more outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish? An appraisal of the evidence. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51:266-278.
Brodie, J., Furnas, M., Ghonnim, S., Haynes, D., Mitchell, A., Morris, S., Waterhouse, J., Yorkston, H., Audas, D., Lowe, D., Ryan, M., 2001. Great Barrier Reef Catchment Water Quality Action Plan. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, 116pp.
Brodie, K., McKergow, L.A., Prosser, I.P., Furnas, M., Hughes, A.O., and Hunter, H. 2003. Sources of sediment and nutrient exports to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. ACTER Report No 03/11., Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University, Townsville, pp 191.
Byrne, M. 2011. Impact of ocean warming and ocean acidification on marine invertebrate life history stages-Vulnerability and potential for persistence in a changing ocean. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 49: 1-42.
Byrne, M. and Walker, S.J. 2007. Distribution and reproduction of intertidal species of Aquilonastra and Cryptasterina (Asterinidae) from One Tree Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef. Bulletin of Marine Science 81: 209-218.
Coker, D.J., Pratchett, M.S. and Munday, P.L. 2009. Coral bleaching and habitat degradation increase susceptibility to predation for coral-dwelling fishes. Behavioural Ecology 20:1204-1210.
Dupont, S., Havenhand, J., Thorndyke, W., Peck, L. and Thorndyke, M. 2008. Near-future level of CO2-driven ocean acidification radically affects larval survival and development in the brittlestar Ophiothrix fragilis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 373: 285-294. (doi:10.3354/meps07800).
Fabricius, K.E, De'ath, A.G, McCook, L.J, Turak, E.I. and Williams D.McB. 2005. Changes in algal, coral and fish assemblages along water quality gradients on the inshore Great Barrier Reef. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51: 384-398.
Guldberg, O. 1999. Climate change, coral bleaching and the future of the world's coral reefs. Marine and Freshwater Research 50: 839-866.
Harris, A., Sheppard, C.R.C, and Sheppard, A.L.S. 2010. ‘Status of coral reefs in Madagascar’ Atoll Research Bulletin 574:1-16.
Hutchings, P.A., 1986. Biological Destruction of Coral Reefs—A review. Coral Reefs 4(4): 239-252.
Hutchings, P.A. 2011. Bioerosion. In Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs-Structure, Form and Processes, D. Hopley (ed.). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. Pp. 139-156.
Hutchings, PA., Ahyong, S., Byrne, M., Przeslawski, R. and Wörheide, G. 2007. Benthic invertebrates (excluding corals).GBR Ecological Vulnerability Assessment. Johnson J and Marshall P Eds. (2007) Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 309-356.
Hutchings, P.A., Kingsford, M.K., Hoegh-Guldberg. 2008. The Great Barrier Reef, Biology, Environment, And Management. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 378 pp.
Hutchings, P.A., Peyrot-Clausade, M. and Osnorno, A. 2005. Influence of land runoff on rates and agents of bioerosion of coral substrates. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51: 438-447.
Marshall, P.A. and Baird, A.H. 2000. Bleaching of corals on the Great Barrier Reef: differential susceptibilities among taxa. Coral Reefs 19: 155-163.
Irie, T. and Iwasa, Y. 2005. Optimal growth pattern of defensive organs: the diversity of shell growth among molluscs. American Naturalist 165: 238-249.
Johnson J. and Marshall P. Eds. 2007. Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef Great Barrier Reef. Marine Park Authority, Townsville.
Kleypas, J.A., Buddemeier, R.W., Archer, D. Gattuso, J.-P., Langdon, C., and Opdyke, B.N. 1999. Geochemical consequences of increased atmospheric CO2 on coral reefs. Science 284: 118-120.
Maynard, J.A., Turner, P.J., Anthony, K.R.N., Baird, A.H., Berkelmans, R., Eakin, C.M., Johnson, J., Marshall, P.A., Packer G.R., Rea, A. and Willis, B.L. 2008. ReefTemp: an interactive monitoring system for coral bleaching using highresolution SST and improved stress predictors. Geophysical Research Letters 35 : L05603
Levin, L. A. 2006. Recent progress in understanding larval dispersal: new directions and digressions. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46: 282-297.
Maynard, J.A., Johnson, J.E., Marshall, P.A., Eakin, C.M., Goby, G., Schuttenberg, H., and Spillman, C.M. 2009. A strategic framework for responding to coral bleaching events in a changing climate. Environmental Management 44(1): 2009; 1-11.
Osorno, A. Peyrot-Clausade, M. and Hutchings, P.A. 2005. Patterns and rates of erosion in dead Porites across the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) after 2 years and 4 years of exposure. Coral Reefs 24: 292-303.
Oxford Economics 2009. Valuing the effects of Great Barrier Reef bleaching, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Australia.
Pari, N., Peyrot-Clausade, M., Le Campion-Alsumard, T., Hutchings, P.A., Chazottes, V., Golubic, S., Le Campion and Fontaine, M.F. 1998. Bioerosion of experimental substrates on high islands and atoll lagoons (French Polynesia) after 2 years of exposure. Journal of Experimental Marine Ecology Progress Series 166: 119-130.
Pitcher, C.R., Doherty, P., Arnold, P., Hooper, J., Gribble, N., Bartlett, C., Browne, M., Campbell, N., Cannard, T., Cappo, M., Carini, G., Chalmers, S., Cheers, S., Chetwynd, D., Colefax, A., Coles, R., Cook, S., Davie, P., De'ath, G., Devereux, D., Done, B., Donovan, T., Ehrke, B., Ellis, N., Ericson, G., Fellegara, I., Forcey, K., Furey, M., Gledhill, D., Good, N., Gordon, S., Haywood, M., Hendriks, P., Jacobsen, I., Johnson, J., Jones, M., Kinninmoth, S., Kistle, S., Last, P., Leite, A., Marks, S., McLeod, I., Oczkowicz, S., Robinson, M., Rose, C., Seabright, D., Sheils, J., Sherlock, M., Skelton, P., Smith, D., Smith, G., Speare, P., Stowar, M., Strickland, C., Van der Geest, C., Venables, W., Walsh, C., Wassenberg, T., Welna, A., and Yearsley, G. 2007. Seabed Biodiversity on the Continental Shelf of the Great Barrier Reef. World Heritage Area. AIMS/CSIRO/QM/QDPI Final Report to CRC Reef Research. 320 pp. ISBN 978-1-921232-87-9. This can be downloaded from: http://www.reef.crc.org.au/resprogram/programC/seabed/final-report.htm
Pratchett, M.S., Munday, P.L., Wilson, S.K., Graham, N.A.J., Cinner, J.E., Bellwood, D.R., Jones, G.P., Polunin, N.V.C. and McClanahan, T.R. 2008. Effects of climate-induced coral bleaching on coral-reef fishes—ecological and economic consequences. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 46: 251-296.
Przeslawski, R., Ahyong, S, Byrne, M, Wörheide, G and Hutchings P. 2008. Beyond corals and fish: the effects of climate change on non-coral benthic invertebrates of tropical reefs. Global Change Biology. 14: 1-23.
Raven, J. Caldeira, K. Elderfield, H., Hoegh-Guldberg, O. Liss, P; Riebesell, U. Shepherd, J. Turley, C. and Watson, A. 2005. Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Royal Society London, Special Report, pp 68; ISBN 0 85403 617.
Steinberg, C. 2007. Impacts of climate change on the physical oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef. In: Climate change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assessment, eds J.E. Johnson & P.A. Marshall, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Australian Greenhouse Office, Townsville, Australia, 51-74.
Stella, J., Pratchett, M.S., Hutchings, P. and Jones, G.P, 2011. Diversity, importance and vulnerability of coral associated invertebrates. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 49:43-104.
Wilkinson, C. 2008. Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008. pp. 5. ISSN 1447-6185
Wood H.L, Spicer J.I. and Widdicombe, S. 2008. Ocean acidification may increase calcification rates, but at a cost. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275: 1767-1773.
This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.

Contents

Data & Figures

References

Access Economics Pty Ltd 2008, Economic contribution of the GBRMP, 2006-07: prepared for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Access Economics Pty Ltd, Canberra, Australia.
Anthony, K.R.N., Kline, D.I., Diaz-Pulido, G., Dove, S. and Hoegh-Guldberg, O. 2008. Ocean acidification causes bleaching and productivity loss in coral reef builders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 105: 17442-17446.
Bellwood, D.R., Hoey, A.S., Ackerman, J.L., and Depczynski, M. 2006. Coral bleaching, reef fish community phase shifts and the resilience of coral reefs. Global Change Biology 12:1587-1594.
Brodie, J.E, Fabricius, K.E, De'ath, A.G. and Okaji, K. 2005. Are increased nutrient inputs responsible for more outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish? An appraisal of the evidence. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51:266-278.
Brodie, J., Furnas, M., Ghonnim, S., Haynes, D., Mitchell, A., Morris, S., Waterhouse, J., Yorkston, H., Audas, D., Lowe, D., Ryan, M., 2001. Great Barrier Reef Catchment Water Quality Action Plan. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, 116pp.
Brodie, K., McKergow, L.A., Prosser, I.P., Furnas, M., Hughes, A.O., and Hunter, H. 2003. Sources of sediment and nutrient exports to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. ACTER Report No 03/11., Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University, Townsville, pp 191.
Byrne, M. 2011. Impact of ocean warming and ocean acidification on marine invertebrate life history stages-Vulnerability and potential for persistence in a changing ocean. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 49: 1-42.
Byrne, M. and Walker, S.J. 2007. Distribution and reproduction of intertidal species of Aquilonastra and Cryptasterina (Asterinidae) from One Tree Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef. Bulletin of Marine Science 81: 209-218.
Coker, D.J., Pratchett, M.S. and Munday, P.L. 2009. Coral bleaching and habitat degradation increase susceptibility to predation for coral-dwelling fishes. Behavioural Ecology 20:1204-1210.
Dupont, S., Havenhand, J., Thorndyke, W., Peck, L. and Thorndyke, M. 2008. Near-future level of CO2-driven ocean acidification radically affects larval survival and development in the brittlestar Ophiothrix fragilis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 373: 285-294. (doi:10.3354/meps07800).
Fabricius, K.E, De'ath, A.G, McCook, L.J, Turak, E.I. and Williams D.McB. 2005. Changes in algal, coral and fish assemblages along water quality gradients on the inshore Great Barrier Reef. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51: 384-398.
Guldberg, O. 1999. Climate change, coral bleaching and the future of the world's coral reefs. Marine and Freshwater Research 50: 839-866.
Harris, A., Sheppard, C.R.C, and Sheppard, A.L.S. 2010. ‘Status of coral reefs in Madagascar’ Atoll Research Bulletin 574:1-16.
Hutchings, P.A., 1986. Biological Destruction of Coral Reefs—A review. Coral Reefs 4(4): 239-252.
Hutchings, P.A. 2011. Bioerosion. In Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs-Structure, Form and Processes, D. Hopley (ed.). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. Pp. 139-156.
Hutchings, PA., Ahyong, S., Byrne, M., Przeslawski, R. and Wörheide, G. 2007. Benthic invertebrates (excluding corals).GBR Ecological Vulnerability Assessment. Johnson J and Marshall P Eds. (2007) Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 309-356.
Hutchings, P.A., Kingsford, M.K., Hoegh-Guldberg. 2008. The Great Barrier Reef, Biology, Environment, And Management. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 378 pp.
Hutchings, P.A., Peyrot-Clausade, M. and Osnorno, A. 2005. Influence of land runoff on rates and agents of bioerosion of coral substrates. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51: 438-447.
Marshall, P.A. and Baird, A.H. 2000. Bleaching of corals on the Great Barrier Reef: differential susceptibilities among taxa. Coral Reefs 19: 155-163.
Irie, T. and Iwasa, Y. 2005. Optimal growth pattern of defensive organs: the diversity of shell growth among molluscs. American Naturalist 165: 238-249.
Johnson J. and Marshall P. Eds. 2007. Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef Great Barrier Reef. Marine Park Authority, Townsville.
Kleypas, J.A., Buddemeier, R.W., Archer, D. Gattuso, J.-P., Langdon, C., and Opdyke, B.N. 1999. Geochemical consequences of increased atmospheric CO2 on coral reefs. Science 284: 118-120.
Maynard, J.A., Turner, P.J., Anthony, K.R.N., Baird, A.H., Berkelmans, R., Eakin, C.M., Johnson, J., Marshall, P.A., Packer G.R., Rea, A. and Willis, B.L. 2008. ReefTemp: an interactive monitoring system for coral bleaching using highresolution SST and improved stress predictors. Geophysical Research Letters 35 : L05603
Levin, L. A. 2006. Recent progress in understanding larval dispersal: new directions and digressions. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46: 282-297.
Maynard, J.A., Johnson, J.E., Marshall, P.A., Eakin, C.M., Goby, G., Schuttenberg, H., and Spillman, C.M. 2009. A strategic framework for responding to coral bleaching events in a changing climate. Environmental Management 44(1): 2009; 1-11.
Osorno, A. Peyrot-Clausade, M. and Hutchings, P.A. 2005. Patterns and rates of erosion in dead Porites across the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) after 2 years and 4 years of exposure. Coral Reefs 24: 292-303.
Oxford Economics 2009. Valuing the effects of Great Barrier Reef bleaching, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Australia.
Pari, N., Peyrot-Clausade, M., Le Campion-Alsumard, T., Hutchings, P.A., Chazottes, V., Golubic, S., Le Campion and Fontaine, M.F. 1998. Bioerosion of experimental substrates on high islands and atoll lagoons (French Polynesia) after 2 years of exposure. Journal of Experimental Marine Ecology Progress Series 166: 119-130.
Pitcher, C.R., Doherty, P., Arnold, P., Hooper, J., Gribble, N., Bartlett, C., Browne, M., Campbell, N., Cannard, T., Cappo, M., Carini, G., Chalmers, S., Cheers, S., Chetwynd, D., Colefax, A., Coles, R., Cook, S., Davie, P., De'ath, G., Devereux, D., Done, B., Donovan, T., Ehrke, B., Ellis, N., Ericson, G., Fellegara, I., Forcey, K., Furey, M., Gledhill, D., Good, N., Gordon, S., Haywood, M., Hendriks, P., Jacobsen, I., Johnson, J., Jones, M., Kinninmoth, S., Kistle, S., Last, P., Leite, A., Marks, S., McLeod, I., Oczkowicz, S., Robinson, M., Rose, C., Seabright, D., Sheils, J., Sherlock, M., Skelton, P., Smith, D., Smith, G., Speare, P., Stowar, M., Strickland, C., Van der Geest, C., Venables, W., Walsh, C., Wassenberg, T., Welna, A., and Yearsley, G. 2007. Seabed Biodiversity on the Continental Shelf of the Great Barrier Reef. World Heritage Area. AIMS/CSIRO/QM/QDPI Final Report to CRC Reef Research. 320 pp. ISBN 978-1-921232-87-9. This can be downloaded from: http://www.reef.crc.org.au/resprogram/programC/seabed/final-report.htm
Pratchett, M.S., Munday, P.L., Wilson, S.K., Graham, N.A.J., Cinner, J.E., Bellwood, D.R., Jones, G.P., Polunin, N.V.C. and McClanahan, T.R. 2008. Effects of climate-induced coral bleaching on coral-reef fishes—ecological and economic consequences. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 46: 251-296.
Przeslawski, R., Ahyong, S, Byrne, M, Wörheide, G and Hutchings P. 2008. Beyond corals and fish: the effects of climate change on non-coral benthic invertebrates of tropical reefs. Global Change Biology. 14: 1-23.
Raven, J. Caldeira, K. Elderfield, H., Hoegh-Guldberg, O. Liss, P; Riebesell, U. Shepherd, J. Turley, C. and Watson, A. 2005. Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Royal Society London, Special Report, pp 68; ISBN 0 85403 617.
Steinberg, C. 2007. Impacts of climate change on the physical oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef. In: Climate change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assessment, eds J.E. Johnson & P.A. Marshall, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Australian Greenhouse Office, Townsville, Australia, 51-74.
Stella, J., Pratchett, M.S., Hutchings, P. and Jones, G.P, 2011. Diversity, importance and vulnerability of coral associated invertebrates. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 49:43-104.
Wilkinson, C. 2008. Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008. pp. 5. ISSN 1447-6185
Wood H.L, Spicer J.I. and Widdicombe, S. 2008. Ocean acidification may increase calcification rates, but at a cost. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275: 1767-1773.
Close Modal

or Create an Account

Close Modal
Close Modal