Coral Reefs of the Western Pacific Ocean in a Changing Anthropocene

The monograph is based on the research and training activities in the Western Pacific Ocean Region within the umbrella of UNESCO/IOC-Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific Region. The results of these activities are compared to cases from other tropical and subtropical regions on this planet to make the knowledge applicable to global aspects of sustainability of coral reef ecosystems. In this monograph, we examine the coral reefs from viewpoint of multidisciplinary approaches, including, environmental impacts, coral biology and system ecology, biogeochemical cycles and processes that drive the material and energy flow through the food web, as well as the proxies in geochemistry that have been used to track the responses of coral reefs to the changing climate and human perturbations. Although this study is focused on the Western Pacific Ocean, the Western Pacific Ocean is so large and diverse that most reef environment types on this planet are located within it. Therefore, knowledge gained in this study is relevant to the application of coastal management in practice as well as in the teaching classes on the interactions between coral reef ecosystems with changing environments.

Chapter 1. Introduction and Background.- Chapter 2. Anthropogenic Environmental Impacts on Coral Reefs in the Western and South-Western Pacific Ocean.- Chapter 3. Advances in Coral Biology.- Chapter 4. Reef Ecology in the Western Pacific for Adaptation to Global Change.- Chapter 5. Biogeochemical Dynamics of Coral Reef Systems.- Chapter 6. Environmental and Climate Proxies Embedded in Coral Skeletons.- Chapter 7. Synthesis and Future Perspectives on the Coral Reefs in the Western Pacific Region.

Jing Zhang is a professor of chemical oceanography and biogeochemistry. His research Interests include understanding behavior of trace elements and nutrients in coastal environment, developing models to quantify the cycling of chemical elements, and studying the dynamic mechanisms that drive the chemical processes in the ocean.

Thamasak Yeemin is the president of the Marine Science Association of Thailand. He has worked on coral reef biology and ecology, environmental science, marine protected areas, and coastal ecosystem management in Thailand and other Western Pacific countries for over 30 years, with experiences in collaborative projects of international organizations on coastal and marine ecosystems.

R. John Morrison has extensive research experience in marine pollution in the South Pacific, atolls, coastal eutrophication, and current research includes Australian and Pacific Island lagoons and estuaries, nutrient and carbon cycling and mineralogy of soils, salinity issues, water quality and waste management impacts. He has supervised over 80 graduate students and published over 250 research papers.

Gi Hoon Hong is Strategy Director of the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research (IMBeR), and professor of marine biogeochemistry of natural and artificial radionuclides. He had served as president of national ocean science institute and as chair of the international environmental protection treaties with experiences to bring scientific facts and knowledge to the societal decision processes.