Coral Reefs,

Edition 1 Their Complexity, Fragility and Future

Editors: By Robert Steneck, PhD

Publication Date: 01 Nov 2026

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Coral Reefs: Their Complexity, Fragility and Future offers an introduction to tropical coral reef ecosystems. It explores the combined geological, physical, chemical, and biological factors that make coral reefs among the most diverse and productive systems in the world. To unpack these complex systems, this book outlines the major players that create coral reefs, reconsiders how environmental and human forces shape reefs in the Anthropocene and identifies best practices for sustainable tourism and management of reef systems. Written by a leading expert of tropical reef systems, this book covers the biology, taxonomy, and ecological interactions of dominant reef organisms. Chapters systematically discuss the diversity of corals and the reef communities that they support, the key geological and biological factors driving their development, and critical processes of primary productivity, competition, predation, and herbivory. The book ends with a look to the future of coral reefs considering global change in the Anthropocene. Coral Reefs: Their Complexity, Fragility and Future combines fundamental concepts with novel research advances to explore the forces that shape coral reefs and predict the future of these ecosystems in the coming century. In discussing both the successes and failures of modern conservation efforts, this book offers a roadmap to guide stakeholders and industry leaders in developing policies surrounding the sustainable visitation and conservation of coral reef ecosystems. It is an indispensable resource for the next generation of marine scientists, conservationists, and policymakers concerned with the future of these critical ecosystems.

Key Features

Defines how and where coral reefs form
Identifies key drivers of coral reef ecosystem structure and function
Illustrates the risks of climate change, acidification, and sea level rise on coral reefs
Differentiates between monitoring, management, and restoration approaches that do and do not work

About the author

By Robert Steneck, PhD, University of Maine School of Biology and Ecology, USA

I. Overview • What are coral reefs and why should we care?
1. Where do we find reefs and where are they most diverse?
2. Why are coral reefs not found everywhere? Physical and chemical needs

II. Types of Coral Reefs
3. How many kinds of coral reefs are there and how do they differ?
4. Barrier reefs, atolls, and fringing reefs

III. Organisms that Build Coral Reefs
5. The phylum (Cnidaria) and the symbiosis that makes coral reefs happen
6. The role of sunlight and algal symbionts in coral calcification and growth
7. Other reef builders such as calcareous algae

IV. Reef Corals and Other Reef Creatures
8. It takes a village: Which critters thrive on coral reefs, and which help coral reefs thrive?
9. Macrophytes
10. Echinoderms
11. Lobsters
12. Mollusks
13. Fish

V. Geological Patterns and Processes
14. How do coral reefs form and how old are they?
15. Darwin’s volcanoes and other theories of how reefs form over geological time
16. Relative sea level changes: Catch up, keep up, or drown

VI. Biological Patterns and Processes
17. Who needs sexual reproduction on coral reefs and who doesn’t?
18. Fundamental distinctions between aclonal, clonal, and colonial animals
19. How and why populations are established on coral reefs
20. Larval dispersal and connectivity
21. What limits populations?
22. Interacting processes and their role in population dynamics
23. Thresholds, feedbacks, and resilience

VII. Scaling Up in Space and Time
24. Coral reefs before there were dinosaurs
25. Macroevolution of reef corals
26. Macroevolution of reef fishes
27. Why are coral reefs so different from place to place? Biodiversity hotspots

VII. Coral Reefs in the Anthropocene
28. Global climate stresses
29. Coral bleaching & disease
30. Overfishing, management, and MPAs
31. Coral restoration
32. Next-gen coral reefs and extreme measures to save reefs
33. Causes for optimism

ISBN: 9780443301643

Page Count: 300

Retail Price :

Advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying coral reef evolutionary biology, ecology, and marine science