Chapter 15
Science and Management
Stacy Jupiter, Chris M. Roelfsema and Stuart R. Phinn
Abstract Coral reef scientists and managers are increasingly relying on remote
sensing data to provide information on biophysical processes of reefs and to help
identify optimum management strategies for reef resources. For these users, we
provide some guidelines to identify which remote sensing tools and data should be
used to address coral reef research and management questions. We additionally
discuss: opportunities to reconcile the sometimes conflicting needs of producers
and users of coral reef information; data requirements and limitations for specific
coral reef management applications; and trade-offs between production costs and
accuracy of coral reef remote sensing data products. Finally, we provide several indepth examples of current uses of remote sensing data to: provide resources
inventories for prioritizing areas for management; develop spatially explicit
models of reef fish assemblage characteristics; and monitor and respond to threats
(e.g., from terrestrial runoff, crown-of-thorns outbreaks, oil spills and ship
groundings). Throughout, we emphasize ways that remote sensing can be costeffectively integrated within coral reef management programs to improve the
quality of information on which management decisions are based.
S. Jupiter (&)
Wildlife Conservation Society, Fiji Country Program, 11 Ma’afu Street, Suva, Fiji
e-mail: sjupiter@wcs.org
C. M. Roelfsema Á S. R. Phinn
School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management,
University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
e-mail: c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au
S. R. Phinn
e-mail: s.phinn@uq.edu.au
J. A. Goodman et al. (eds.), Coral Reef Remote Sensing,
DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9292-2_15,
Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
403
Science and Management
Stacy Jupiter, Chris M. Roelfsema and Stuart R. Phinn
Abstract Coral reef scientists and managers are increasingly relying on remote
sensing data to provide information on biophysical processes of reefs and to help
identify optimum management strategies for reef resources. For these users, we
provide some guidelines to identify which remote sensing tools and data should be
used to address coral reef research and management questions. We additionally
discuss: opportunities to reconcile the sometimes conflicting needs of producers
and users of coral reef information; data requirements and limitations for specific
coral reef management applications; and trade-offs between production costs and
accuracy of coral reef remote sensing data products. Finally, we provide several indepth examples of current uses of remote sensing data to: provide resources
inventories for prioritizing areas for management; develop spatially explicit
models of reef fish assemblage characteristics; and monitor and respond to threats
(e.g., from terrestrial runoff, crown-of-thorns outbreaks, oil spills and ship
groundings). Throughout, we emphasize ways that remote sensing can be costeffectively integrated within coral reef management programs to improve the
quality of information on which management decisions are based.
S. Jupiter (&)
Wildlife Conservation Society, Fiji Country Program, 11 Ma’afu Street, Suva, Fiji
e-mail: sjupiter@wcs.org
C. M. Roelfsema Á S. R. Phinn
School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management,
University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
e-mail: c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au
S. R. Phinn
e-mail: s.phinn@uq.edu.au
J. A. Goodman et al. (eds.), Coral Reef Remote Sensing,
DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9292-2_15,
Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
403