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Challenge 10: Change humanity’s relationship with the ocean

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.unesco.gov.ph/handle/123456789/27

Ocean Decade


Challenge 10:
Change humanity’s relationship with the ocean



Meaningful society-ocean connections are strengthened, driving increased motivation, capability and opportunity for people, across all sectors of society, to make decisions, act and behave in ways that ensure a healthy ocean.

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    Limited progress in improving gender and geographic representation in coral reef science
    Ahmadia, Gabby N.; Cheng, Samantha H.; Andradi-Brown, Dominic A.; Baez, Stacy K.; Barnes, Megan D.; Bennett, Nathan J.; Campbell, Stuart J.; Darling, Emily S.; Gill, David; Gress, Erika; Gurney, Georgina G.; Horigue, Vera; Jakub, Raymond; Kennedy, Emma V.; Mahajan, Shauna L.; Mangubhai, Sangeeta; Matsuda, Shayle B.; Muthiga, Nyawira A.; Navarro, Michael O.; Santodomingo, Nadia; Vallès, Henri; Veverka, Laura; Villagomez, Angelo; Wenger, Amelia S.; Wosu, Adaoma (Frontiers Media SA, 2021-09-29)
    Despite increasing recognition of the need for more diverse and equitable representation in the sciences, it is unclear whether measurable progress has been made. Here, we examine trends in authorship in coral reef science from 1,677 articles published over the past 16 years (2003–2018) and find that while representation of authors that are women (from 18 to 33%) and from non-OECD nations (from 4 to 13%) have increased over time, progress is slow in achieving more equitable representation. For example, at the current rate, it would take over two decades for female representation to reach 50%. Given that there are more coral reef non-OECD countries, at the current rate, truly equitable representation of non-OECD countries would take even longer. OECD nations also continue to dominate authorship contributions in coral reef science (89%), in research conducted in both OECD (63%) and non-OECD nations (68%). We identify systemic issues that remain prevalent in coral reef science (i.e., parachute science, gender bias) that likely contribute to observed trends. We provide recommendations to address systemic biases in research to foster a more inclusive global science community. Adoption of these recommendations will lead to more creative, innovative, and impactful scientific approaches urgently needed for coral reefs and contribute to environmental justice efforts.
    We acknowledge the contributions of the many unrecognized and undervalued individuals in coral reef research whose efforts have made it possible for the field to progress. These scientists have collected data, translated across languages, coordinated field work, welcomed foreign visitors to their countries, shared ideas, trained and mentored students, become friends, inspired, and built the foundation for the discipline we know today. We acknowledge the work of all coral reef scientists who continue day after day to pursue equity, inclusion, and justice in the field and for their colleagues and themselves.
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    Two hidden mtDNA-clades of crown-of-thorns starfish in the Pacific Ocean
    Yasuda, Nina; Inoue, Jun; Hall, Michael R.; Nair, Manoj R.; Adjeroud, Mehdi; Fortes, Miguel D.; Nishida, Mutsumi; Tuivavalagi, Nat; Ravago-Gotanco, Rachel; Forsman, Zac H.; Soliman, Taha; Koyanagi, Ryo; Hisata, Kanako; Motti, Cherie A.; Satoh, Noriyuki (Frontiers Media SA, 2022-04-27)
    Recurring outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) severely damage healthy corals, especially in the Western Pacific Ocean. To obtain a better understanding of population genetics of COTS and historical colonization across the Pacific Ocean, complete mitochondrial genomes were sequenced from 243 individuals collected in 11 reef regions. Our results indicate that Pacific COTS (Acanthaster cf. solaris) comprise two major clades, an East-Central Pacific (ECP) clade and a Pan-Pacific (PP) clade, separation of which was supported by high bootstrap value. The ECP clade consists of COTS from French Polynesia, Fiji, Vanuatu and the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The Hawaii population is unique within this clade, while California COTS are included in EPC clade. On the other hand, the PP clade comprises multiple lineages that contain COTS from Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, GBR, Vanuatu, Fiji and French Polynesia. For example, a lineage of the PP clade, which has the largest geographic distribution, includes COTS from all of these locations. These results suggest two alternative histories of current geographic distributions of COTS in the Pacific Ocean, an ECP clade ancestry or Western Pacific clade ancestry. Although further questions remain to be explored, this discovery provides an evolutionary context for the interpretation of COTS population structure which will aid future coral reef research in the Pacific Ocean, and ultimately improve reef management of COTS.
    We thank the following people for their help with sample collection: Dr. Hugh Sweatman and the AIMS Bioresources Library for GBR samples, Dr. Molly Timmers for Hawaiian samples, Geoff Jones and Jeff Kinch for Papua New Guinean samples, Monal Lal for Fijian samples, Christina Shaw for Vanuatu samples, Hoang Dinh Chieu for Vietnamese samples, and Hiromitsu Ueno for Japanese samples. The DNA Sequencing Section and IT section of OIST are acknowledged for its expert help with genome sequencing and bioinfomatic analysis. Last, but not least, we acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and sea country on which this research took place.