The Coral Triangle Atlas: An Integrated Online Spatial Database System for Improving Coral Reef Management

Cros, Annick; Fatan, Nurulhuda Ahmad; White, Alan T.; Teoh, Shwu Jiau; Tan, Stanley; Handayani, Christian N. N.; Huang, Charles; Peterson, Nate; Venegas‐Li, Rubén; Siry, Hendra Yusran; Fitriana, Ria; Gove, Jamison M.; Acoba, Tomoko; Knight, Maurice; Acosta, Renerio; Andrew, Neil L.; Beare, Doug

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096332

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This atlas could be linked to the previous Coral Triangle Atlas developed by Cros et al (2014) that is currently managed by the Coral Triangle Initiative Secretariat. These atlases are complementary in design and applications and may provide options to stakeholders to retrieve reliable Coral Triangle data.…”

Section: Zoom Slidermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While our prioritization of locations for marine protected areas (MPAs) (Asaad et al, 2018a, b) was successfully collating data of biodiversity features, threats, and environmental variables, this did not make it easily viewable to the public. In addition, a previous online atlas of the CT was developed to support coral reef management and provided biophysical and MPA data from the region (Cros et al, 2014), but was more limited in data on species ranges (e.g., threatened species, endemic species). Thus, updated, more systematic and comprehensive "biodiversity informatics" datasets are required to showcase all of the available data in the region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An interactive atlas for marine biodiversity conservation in the Coral Triangle

Asaad¹,

Lundquist²,

Erdmann³

et al. 2019

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. An online atlas of the Coral Triangle region of the Indo-Pacific biogeographic realm was developed. This online atlas consists of the three interlinked parts: (1) Biodiversity Features; (2) Areas of Importance for Biodiversity Conservation; (3) recommended priorities for Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network Expansion (http://www.marine.auckland.ac.nz/CTMAPS). The first map, Biodiversity Features, provides comprehensive data on the region's marine protected areas and biodiversity features, threats, and environmental characteristics. The second provides spatial information on areas of high biodiversity conservation values, while the third map shows priority areas for expanding the current Coral Triangle MPA network. This atlas provides the most comprehensive biodiversity datasets that have been assembled for the region. The datasets were retrieved and generated systematically from various open-access sources. To engage a wider audience and to raise participation in biodiversity conservation, the maps were designed as an interactive and online atlas. This atlas presents representative information to promote a better understanding of the key marine and coastal biodiversity characteristics of the region and enables the application of marine biodiversity informatics to support marine ecosystem-based management in the Coral Triangle region.

show abstract

Section: Zoom Slidermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An interactive atlas for marine biodiversity conservation in the Coral Triangle

Asaad¹,

Lundquist²,

Erdmann³

et al. 2019

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Dahdouh-Guebas (2002) applied an environmental GIS database to the sustainable development and management of tropical coastal ecosystems by collecting and integrating data from different disciplines. More recently, a regionalscale GIS database named ReefBahia was developed to assist in managing and conserving the coral reefs of Bahia in Brazil (Carvalho and de Kikuchi 2013), and another was created to improve management of the Coral Triangle (Beare 2014;Cros et al 2014).…”

Section: Reef Geodatabasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

ReefKIM: An integrated geodatabase for sustainable management of the Kimberley Reefs, North West Australia

Kordi

Collins

O’Leary

et al. 2016

Ocean & Coastal Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coral reefs of the Kimberley Bioregion are seldom studied due to limited accessibility and extreme water conditions, which make management of these vital ecosystems a challenging task. Managing reef resources requires a considerable amount of credible, consistent and continual information. We identified the geographic information system (GIS) approach to be useful in developing an integrated geodatabase by acquiring information from different sources relating to the Kimberley reefs. Based on this approach, the study aimed to create a foundation for the first comprehensive geodatabase of the Kimberley reefs, called ReefKIM. The work included compiling existing spatial and non-spatial data, as well as collecting new data to complete information gaps. The study demonstrates how new 2 technologies can be harnessed to crowdsource data from a wide range of people though a web-based platform. ReefKIM will provide a practical tool for scientists and managers to facilitate better monitoring and sustainable management of these vital natural resources. Moreover, it will support further studies in various disciplines leading to a more detailed understanding of the Kimberley Bioregion reefs.

show abstract

“…More than 1,900 MPAs covering an area of 200,881 km 2 have been established within the CT (Cros et al, 2014b). This current protection equates to less than 2% of the CT marine areas and is predominantly located in coastal waters (Cros et al, 2014a;. Underrepresentation of ecological and biodiversity coverage occurs in the region, where it was estimated that only 14.7% of coral reefs and 5.4% of mangroves in the CT are located within protected areas (Beger et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designating Spatial Priorities for Marine Biodiversity Conservation in the Coral Triangle

Asaad

Lundquist

Erdmann³

et al. 2018

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To date, most marine protected areas (MPAs) have been designated on an ad hoc basis. However, a comprehensive regional and global network should be designed to be representative of all aspects of biodiversity, including populations, species, and biogenic habitats. A good exemplar would be the Coral Triangle (CT) because it is the most species rich area in the ocean but only 2% of its area is in any kind of MPA. Our analysis consisted of five different groups of layers of biodiversity features: biogenic habitat, species richness, species of special conservation concern, restricted range species, and areas of importance for sea turtles. We utilized the systematic conservation planning software Zonation as a decision-support tool to ensure representation of biodiversity features while balancing selection of protected areas based on the likelihood of threats. Our results indicated that the average representation of biodiversity features within the existing MPA system is currently about 5%. By systematically increasing MPA coverage to 10% of the total area of the CT, the average representation of biodiversity features within the MPA system would increase to over 37%. Marine areas in the Halmahera Sea, the outer island arc of the Banda Sea, the Sulu Archipelago, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Malaita Islands were identified as priority areas for the designation of new MPAs. Moreover, we recommended that several existing MPAs be expanded to cover additional biodiversity features within their adjacent areas, including MPAs in Indonesia (e.g., in the Birds Head of Papua), the Philippines (e.g., in the northwestern part of the Sibuyan Sea), Malaysia (e.g., in the northern part of Sabah), Papua New Guinea (e.g., in the Milne Bay Province), and the Solomon Islands (e.g., around Santa Isabel Island). An MPA system that covered 30% of the CT would include 65% of the biodiversity features. That just two-thirds of biodiversity was represented by one-third of the study area supports calls for at least 30% of the ocean to be in no-fishing MPA. This assessment provides a blueprint for efficient gains in marine conservation through the extension of the current MPA system in the CT region. Moreover, similar data could be compiled for other regions, and globally, to design ecologically representative MPAs.

show abstract

The Coral Triangle Atlas: An Integrated Online Spatial Database System for Improving Coral Reef Management

Cited by 27 publications

References 23 publications

An interactive atlas for marine biodiversity conservation in the Coral Triangle

An interactive atlas for marine biodiversity conservation in the Coral Triangle

ReefKIM: An integrated geodatabase for sustainable management of the Kimberley Reefs, North West Australia

Designating Spatial Priorities for Marine Biodiversity Conservation in the Coral Triangle

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About