Editorial: Coral Reefs in the Anthropocene – Reflecting on 20 Years of Reef Conservation UK

摘要

The term “Anthropocene” has been suggested as the current epoch (denoting the current geologicalage) and is viewed as the period where human-based activity is the dominant influence on climateand the environment (Lewis and Maslin, 2015). Arguably, one of the most prevalent and visibleeffects of this anthropogenic activity has manifested in the equatorial tropics—where coral reefecosystems have suffered alarming declines (Pandolfi et al., 2003; Hughes et al., 2017). For example,recent increases in mass bleaching events brought about by prolonged periods of elevated seasurface temperatures highlight a worrying trend, with predictions that over half of reefs willexperience annual severe bleaching before 2050 (van Hooidonk et al., 2016). For this reason,coral reefs have often been referred to as “canaries in the coal mine” for the marine biome. Yetreefs continue to be crucial sources of food, protection, livelihoods, and cultural identity for manypeople around the world (Teh et al., 2013; Hicks and Cinner, 2014; Lau et al., 2019). It is thereforecritical that the link between healthy reefs, food security, and sustainable community livelihoods ismaintained into the future.