SYMBIOSIS, FISHERIES AND ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT ON CORAL-REEFS

Life-history traits of commercially important species, physiological a ttributes of the framework species, and characteristics of ecosystem p rocesses make coral reefs especially vulnerable to export of biomass. Organisms in ecosystems driven by upwelling and terrestrial nutrient i nput are more amenable to biomass yield. Nonexportive approaches to re source management, exemplified by Palau, are compatible with the attri butes of coral-reef ecosystems; they satisfy to a greater degree the e conomic demands and pressures of growing human populations, and they p rovide motivation to manage.