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Integrative Observations and Assessments pp 65–81Cite as

Current Status of the National Coral Database in Japan: Dataset Development, Applications, and Future Directions

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Part of the book series: Ecological Research Monographs ((APBON))

Abstract

Corals are facing rapid environmental changes including global-scale climate changes and local-scale anthropogenic influences. Japan covers a wide latitudinal range, stretching from subtropical to temperate areas, and latitudinal limits of coral reefs and coral distributions are observed around the Japanese islands. Further, at some islands, land development is causing sedimentation of coral reefs via the rivers. The variation in environmental parameters in Japan provides one of the best opportunities to examine the relationships between changes in coral reef status and environmental variables.

In this chapter, we review the current status of the national coral reef database of Japan and present the applications and possible future directions of the database. The database was developed by collecting information from published reports and scientific papers in a survey spanning the period from the 1930s to the present. Currently, coral coverage and species data originate from ~10,000 and ~1,000 sites, respectively. The databases enable the detection of decreases in coral coverage caused by coral bleaching from anomalously high sea surface temperatures in subtropical areas, as well as poleward range expansions of coral distributions in temperate areas. In addition to these specific applications, by integrating environmental variables and their future projections, the database could play a central role in the integration of observations, statistical modeling, and future projections to understand coral dynamics and to establish proper management protocols for coral reef ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

This study is a contribution to the S-9 Project (Environment Research and Technology Development Fund, Ministry of the Environment, Japan), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas “Coral reef science for symbiosis and coexistence of human and ecosystem under combined stresses” (No. 20121004, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [MEXT], Japan), the Program for Risk Information on Climate Change (MEXT), and the Biodiversity Priority Program (National Institute for Environmental Studies).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Hiroya Yamano, Chuki Hongo, Kaoru Sugihara & Yumiko Yara

  2. Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Chuki Hongo

  3. Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, 7th Floor, Shibakoen Annex Bldg., 3-1-8, Shibakoen, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0011, Japan

    Yushin Nakao

  4. Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan

    Yushin Nakao

  5. Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan

    Masahiko Fujii

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  1. Hiroya Yamano
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  2. Chuki Hongo
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  3. Kaoru Sugihara
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  4. Yumiko Yara
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  5. Yushin Nakao
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  6. Masahiko Fujii
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Correspondence to Hiroya Yamano .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu, Shiga, Japan

    Shin -ichi Nakano

  2. Department of Biology Center for Asian Conservation Ecology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Tetsukazu Yahara

  3. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

    Tohru Nakashizuka

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Yamano, H., Hongo, C., Sugihara, K., Yara, Y., Nakao, Y., Fujii, M. (2014). Current Status of the National Coral Database in Japan: Dataset Development, Applications, and Future Directions. In: Nakano, Si., Yahara, T., Nakashizuka, T. (eds) Integrative Observations and Assessments. Ecological Research Monographs(). Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54783-9_4

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