Palmyra Atoll Research Coordination Network (PARCnet): Integrating Research For Coral Reef Ecosystem Science and Management

American Museum Natural History, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The Palmyra Atoll Research Coordination Network aims to unite academic and conservation institutions involved in conducting research at Palmyra Atoll, a remote coral atoll in the Central Pacific. Palmyra offers an ideal setting for studying the functioning of healthy reef ecosystems. Recently, recognition has increased substantially about the degree to which humans, over historical and pre-historical times, have modified the structure of coral reefs as well as most other marine systems. Current management practices urgently need reassessment in the face of global declines in coral reefs and integrative science about the processes governing reef community structure should play a strong role in this reassessment. PARCnet will bring together a broad group of individuals, including governmental and NGO conservation biologists, educators, systems modelers, theoreticians, and coral reef experts to form a network that conducts innovative, interdisciplinary work to improve scientific understanding and conservation of reef and remote tropical island systems. Annual retreats for PARCnet members will provide a general forum for active discussion and collaboration, and an interactive website will provide a centralized resource to store, explore, discuss, and disseminate scientific data to PARCnet members and the broader public. In addition, the Network will actively promote student involvement in PARCnet through financial assistance to attend network meetings and through the organization of PARCnet symposia at other relevant scientific meetings. Through the promotion of synergistic research and collaboration across a diverse range of individuals and career stages, as well as the involvement of major natural history museums and universities, PARCnet will inform both the general public as well as conservation and resource managers about the earth's coral ecosystems. PARCnet's efforts promise to provide exciting new insights into the future trajectory of the world's coral reefs and terrestrial atoll systems as they respond to changes in climate, human usage, and management practices.