CNH-L: Multiscale Dynamics of Coral Reef Fisheries: Feedbacks Between Fishing Practices, Livelihood Strategies, and Shifting Dominance of Coral and Algae

该项目将探讨捕鱼在珊瑚礁生态系统中所起的作用。它将包括一个以岛屿珊瑚礁渔业为中心的综合社会、生态和建模研究项目。调查人员将与当地社区的渔民接触，记录被捕捞的物种，以及渔民决定何时何地捕捞和捕捞什么的潜在社会和经济驱动因素。生态研究将记录主要鱼类的空间分布和丰度，以及珊瑚礁的状况，使用直接的实地工作和卫星观测。总的来说，这项研究将大大有助于了解影响珊瑚礁健康的因素。将为六名研究生、两名博士后研究员和众多本科生提供综合培训，他们将获得生态学、社会科学和建模方面的经验。研究生和博士后研究人员将出席并参加渔民社区讲习班。小学至12年级的外联活动将涉及与教师建立伙伴关系，并将为美国和太平洋岛屿的小学编制多语文课程。与公民科学家的合作将提高公众对捕鱼对珊瑚礁影响的认识。研究结果将对珊瑚礁保护和管理从业者具有直接价值，为可持续管理整个太平洋地区的类似系统以及决定全球珊瑚礁空间动态的过程提供见解。数以百万计的沿海居民依靠珊瑚礁渔业获得食物、收入，以及他们的个人和文化身份，然而，随着珊瑚越来越多地消失，并被海藻所取代，世界范围内的珊瑚礁正受到威胁。由于种种原因，在热带珊瑚礁上捕鱼经常以吃海藻的鱼类为目标，人们认为这些物种的减少会导致海藻的生长，最终取代活珊瑚。人们对推动捕捞行为的因素了解甚少，这些因素可能包括渔民现有的谋生机会以及他们对渔业资源的了解和获取。理解这些成分之间的反馈需要考虑生态相互作用和人类行为的空间动态。通过利用卫星技术、廉价智能手机以及创新的生态、社会网络和建模技术的最新进展，本研究项目将揭示渔业如何将物理景观与社会互动景观联系起来，并将为珊瑚礁系统的动态相互关系提供独特的见解。

This project will address the role that fishing practices play in coral reef ecosystems. It will consist of an integrated social, ecological, and modeling research program centered on an island coral reef fishery. The investigators will engage with fishers in their local communities to document the species that are fished and the underlying social and economic drivers of the decisions fishers make about where and when to fish and what to catch. Ecological studies will document spatial distribution and abundance of key fish species as well as the condition of the reefs using both direct field work and satellite derived observations. Overall the research will contribute greatly to the understanding of factors that influence the health of coral reefs. Integrative training will be provided for six graduate students, two post-doctoral researchers and numerous undergraduates who will gain experience in ecology, social science, and modeling. Graduate students and post-doctoral researchers will attend and participate in fisher community workshops. K-12 outreach activities will involve partnerships with teachers, and multilingual curricula for elementary schools in the United States and Pacific Islands will be developed. Collaborations with citizen scientists will increase public awareness of the effects of fishing on the reefs. The research findings will be of direct value to coral reef conservation and management practitioners, yielding insights into sustainably managing similar systems across the Pacific region and into the processes that determine the spatial dynamics of coral reefs worldwide.Millions of coastal dwellers rely on coral reef fisheries for food, income, and their personal and cultural identities, yet reefs are under threat worldwide as corals are increasingly lost and replaced by seaweeds. For a variety of reasons, fishing on tropical reefs often targets species of fish that eat seaweeds, and it is thought that reductions in these species can result in growth of seaweeds that eventually replace live coral. The factors that drive fishing behavior are poorly understood, and can include available livelihood opportunities to fishers as well as their knowledge of and access to fishery resources. Understanding feedbacks between these components requires accounting for the spatial dynamics of ecological interactions and human behavior. By capitalizing on recent advances in satellite technology, inexpensive smartphones, and innovative ecological, social network, and modeling techniques this research program will reveal how fishing links the physical landscape with the landscape of social interactions, and it will provide unique insights into the dynamic interrelations of the coral reef system.