Coral reef ecosystems are among the highest biodiverse and productive ecosystems on the Earth. It is reported that 500 million people worldwide benefit from coral reef ecosystems in terms of food, tourism, building materials and breakwaters, etc. However, in recent years, due to climate change and various anthropogenic impacts, coral reef ecosystems are rapidly declining. East Asia is located in the most economically developed region of the world. Thus, and various anthropogenic impacts are likely to become apparent on the coral reefs of this region. On the other hand, coral reef ecosystems in high latitude areas such as Jeju Island in South Korea and the southern coasts of Kyushu and Shikoku are expanding as sea temperatures increase due to climate change.
In June this year, Professor Ichiro Takeuchi, Director of the Center of Advanced Technology for the Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, and Professor Emeritus Hideyuki Yamashiro, Research Centre for Tropical Biosphere, University of the Ryukyus, edited and published “Coral Reefs of Eastern Asia under Anthropogenic Impacts” as one of the “Coral Reefs of the World” series. “Coral Reefs of the World” is one of a series of scientific books published by Springer, which consists of reviews by leading researchers and others on the current state of the world’s coral reefs, based on the latest research findings, etc. Since the publication of the first volume on coral reefs of the Grade Barrier Reef, Australia in 2009, 17 volumes have been published so far, with volumes 18 and 19 planned for publication in near future. This book is the 17th of these volumes.
This book publishes the latest research on the current status of coral reefs in East Asia under anthropogenic impacts, etc., and consists of 10 chapters. Authors include leading researchers from Ehime University, University of the Ryukyus, Academia Sinica, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, etc. Five of the chapters are authored by Professor Takeuchi and other faculty members of the Graduate School of Agriculture. The Chapter 10 proposes a new perspective (Perspective) on the conservation of coral reef ecosystems in the coastal areas of the East China Sea. It is therefore expected to make a significant contribution to the conservation of coral reef ecosystems under climate change, which is now an urgent issue.
Professor Takeuchi has conducted research on the distribution characteristics and behaviour of anthropogenic chemicals in shallow-water ecosystems, but since the mid-2010s, his research has mainly focused on the conservation of coral reef ecosystems. Professor Takeuchi’s research group published its first paper on reef-building corals in 2017. In addition to this publication, a total of 16 original papers have been published in journals such as Marine Pollution Bulletin and Science of the Total Environment until the present.
[Content]
Chapter 1
Introduction: The Relevance of Anthropogenic Factors toCoral Reef Conservation in the Coastal Areas of the East China Sea.
Ichiro Takeuchi
Chapter 2
Transitional Coral Ecosystem of Taiwan in the Era of Changing Climate. Chao-Yang Kuo, Shashank Keshavmurthy, Ya-Yi Huang, Ming-Jay Ho, Hernyi Justin Hsieh, An-Tzi Hsiao, Wei-Cheng Lo, Yi-Chia Hsin & Chaolun Allen Chen
Chapter 3
Dynamics of Coral Reef Communities in the Sekisei Lagoon, Japan, Following the Severe Mass Bleaching Event of 2016.
Mariyam Shidha Afzal, Kana Ikeda, Mitsuhiro Ueno & Takashi Nakamura
Chapter 4
Succession and Emergence of Corals in High-Latitude (Temperate) Areas of Eastern Asia into the Future.
Shashank Keshavmurthy, Takuma Mezaki, James Davis Reimer, Kwang-Sik Choi & Chaolun Allen Chen
Chapter 5
Succession and Spread of Coral Diseases and Coral-Killing Sponges with Special Reference to Microbes in Southeast Asia and Adjacent Waters.
Hideyuki Yamashiro, Naohisa Wada & Sen-Lin Tang
Chapter 6
Succession of Ocean Acidification and its Effects on Reef-Building Corals.
Atsushi Suzuki, Akira Iguchi, Kazuhiko Sakai, Masahiro Hayashi & Yukihiro Nojiri
Chapter 7
Anthropogenic Stresses in Coral Reefs and Adjacent Ecosystems of the East China Sea.
Ichiro Takeuchi
Chapter 8
Development of a Compact Experimental System for Ecotoxicological Experiments on Acropora spp.
Ichiro Takeuchi & Kotaro Takayama
Chapter 9
Effects of Anthropogenic Chemicals on Hermatypic Corals with Special Reference to Gene Expression.
Hiroshi Ishibashi & Ichiro Takeuchi
Chapter10
Perspective for the Conservation of Coral Reefs in the East China Sea.
Ichiro Takeuchi