Global trait axes reveal overarching dimensions of plant functional variation. However, how these dimensions are spatially organized within and across forest types remains unclear. We combined drone‐based full‐range imaging spectroscopy with crown‐level measurements of 16 physiological, morphological and biochemical traits across temperate, subtropical and tropical forests in China to enable spatially‐explicit trait mapping. T...

Coral life cycle dynamics are poorly understood in most reefs, especially at the large geographic scales commensurate with ocean transport, genetic flow, and other synoptic scale processes. We present a spatially explicit, large-scale, and multi-temporal study of coral settlement along a 30 km long reef system in the Southwest portion of Hawaiʻi Island. Here, we focused on interannual variability in coral recruitment from 2021...

Sewage pollution is a global threat to coastal ecosystems and amplifies the negative effects of climate change on coral reefs. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a major transport pathway for land-based pollution, but underlying drivers of SGD water quality are poorly understood, especially in nearshore coral reef ecosystems. We combined airborne mapping, field sampling, and statistical modeling to identify locations alo...

Coral bleaching poses a severe threat to the health and survival of global coral reef ecosystems, with recent events surpassing historical heat stress records. To address this crisis, improved long-term monitoring, communication, and coordination are urgently required to enhance conservation, management, and policy responses. This study reviews global coral bleaching survey methodologies and datasets spanning 1963 to 2022, ide...

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a recognized contributor to the hydrological and biogeochemical functioning of coral reef ecosystems located along coastlines. However, the distribution, size, and thermal properties of SGD remain poorly understood at most land–reef margins. We developed, deployed, and demonstrated an operational method for airborne detection and mapping of SGD using the 200 km coastline of western Hawa...

Despite the limited coverage of coral reefs in the world’s oceans, they play a crucial role in global marine biodiversity and providing essential ecosystem services. This study explores the influence of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration in the water column on the estimation of bottom reflectance (rb) in coral reefs monitored by the Allen Coral Atlas coral reef monitoring system, using satellite imagery from a Sentinel-2 MSI...

Metrosideros polymorpha Gaud. (‘ōhi‘a) is the most abundant native forest tree in Hawai‘i and a keystone species of cultural, ecological, and economic importance. ‘Ōhi‘a forests, particularly on Hawaiʻi Island, are being severely impacted by Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death (ROD), which is caused by the fungal pathogens Ceratocystis lukuohia and C. huliohia . ROD is characterized by branch dieback, crown wilting, and mortality. Initial dise...

The recently described crustose calcifying red algal species Ramicrusta hawaiiensis, known only from mesophotic depths off Lehua Island, west of Kaua’i Island, was found in shallow benthic reef habitats (3-18 m deep) along the western coast of Hawai’i Island. Molecular and microscopy techniques were used for genetic confirmation and for detailed morphological and anatomical examination. Two independent benthic cover survey dat...

Turbidity from land-based runoff has been identified as a possible driver of coral bleaching refugia, as particulate matter in turbid habitats may block excessive irradiance and alter the food supply to corals during ocean heatwaves. However, negative effects of turbidity have also been documented worldwide, and high-resolution data across reef regions are required to identify habitats where turbidity is harmful or helpful dur...

Increases in sea surface temperature impact animal metabolism, which in turn could influence benthic structure and resulting algal-coral balance. We utilized a long-term coral reef dataset from the west coast of Hawai‘i Island to investigate impacts of annual positive and negative sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) on benthic cover [algal turf, macroalgae, crustose coralline algae (CCA), and coral], herbivore density (se...

Over the past decade, coral restoration efforts have increased as reefs continue to decline at unprecedented rates. Identifying suitable coral outplanting locations to maximize coral survival continues to be one of the biggest challenges for restoration practitioners. Here, we demonstrate methods of using derivatives from imaging spectroscopy from the Global Airborne Observatory (GAO) to identify suitable coral outplant sites...

Coral reefs are undergoing changes caused by coastal development, resource use, and climate change. The extent and rate of reef change demand robust and spatially explicit monitoring to support management and conservation decision-making. We developed and demonstrated an airborne-assisted approach to design and upscale field surveys of reef fish over an ecologically complex reef ecosystem along Hawai‘i Island. We also determin...

Competitively dominant carnivore species can limit the population sizes and alter the behavior of inferior competitors. Established mechanisms that enable carnivore coexistence include spatial and temporal avoidance of dominant predator species by subordinates, and dietary niche separation. However, spatial heterogeneity across landscapes could provide inferior competitors with refuges in the form of areas with lower competito...

Our ability to completely and repeatedly map natural environments at a global scale have increased significantly over the past decade. These advances are from delivery of a range of on-line global satellite image archives and global-scale processing capabilities, along with improved spatial and temporal resolution satellite imagery. The ability to accurately train and validate these global scale-mapping programs from what we w...