After the horse has bolted: leveraging global contexts for coral reef conservation

Concern for the state of the marine environment is particularly acute among coral reefs that have been impacted by widespread fishing, pollution, and global warming. Yet coral reef ecology as a discipline is barely 50 years old, meaning the majority of data collected to understand levels of reef degradation is subject to shifting baselines of an unknown degree. Despite these problems, the interconnectedness of researchers working on reefs around the world provides an important opportunity to combine datasets to understand the current state of reef ecosystems, what may have been lost, and potential pathways to recovery. Examining three case studies relating to reef fish biomass, small-scale fisheries, and reef sharks, this talk will outline strategies for data integration at large scales to help guide reef conservation and management in local contexts.