Master's Group Project
Year
2017

Bridging Science and Management in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument

Outside Group Members
Shannon Boyle , Vanessa De Anda , Kara Koenig , Erin O'Reilly , Monique Schafer
Faculty Advisors
Mark Buntaine
Clients
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Underwater photo of coral reef
Description

Many of the Earth's greatest coral reef ecosystems are directly threatened by human activity through local and global threats such as overfishing and climate change, respectively. We aim to further improve management practices for coral reefs by determining the ecological health of, and threats to corals reefs in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM). The PRIMNM serves as a living laboratory where the effects of climate change can be studied on a relatively pristine coral reef ecosystem. Our results will serve as a comparison to reefs heavily impacted by human disturbance today as well as those that will be impacted by climate change in the future.