Sub-theme and Sessions

Coral reefs are increasingly shaped by interactions between ecological processes and human activities operating across multiple spatial and temporal scales. While global stressors such as climate change and marine heatwaves threaten reef persistence, local drivers; including fisheries, tourism, coastal development, land use, pollution, and governance, often determine how reefs respond to and recover from these disturbances. Treating humans merely as external drivers is therefore no longer sufficient to understand or conserve coral reef ecosystems.

This session promotes a social–ecological systems perspective, recognizing that coral reefs are coupled human–natural systems in which ecological dynamics, ecosystem services, institutions, and human decisions continuously interact. We welcome contributions that integrate long-term ecological and social observations to better understand resilience, sustainability, and adaptive governance across coral reef ecosystems.

Translating scientific research into actionable policy remains one of the most critical, yet challenging, hurdles in marine conservation. When executed effectively, science-informed governance significantly enhances spatial planning, improves management efficiency, and yields tangible socio-economic benefits for coastal communities. However, because conservation solutions are rarely one-size-fits-all, understanding the mechanics of past successes and failures is essential for future progress.

This oral session explores the diverse pathways through which coral reefs and marine science successfully inform policy decisions, regulation, and local management across the Asia-Pacific region. Moving beyond ideal models, speakers will present real-world case studies highlighting what strategies worked, what failed, and how adaptive approaches were used to bridge gaps between scientists, policy-makers, and local communities. By fostering an open dialogue on both achievements and missteps, this session aims to extract actionable insights and build collaborative toolkits to increase the real-world impact of science on marine governance.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) are expanding across the Asia-Pacific as countries work toward the KMGBF 30x30 target. However, coverage does not always lead to effective or lasting conservation. Many sites face leadership changes, limited funding, unclear staff roles, skill gaps, weak coordination, social conflict, and escalating local and climate pressure. This session asks: what helps marine conservation work and continue over time? We welcome studies and examples on the social, ecological, institutional, and financial conditions that shape conservation outcomes. Topics may include staff capacity, community leadership, customary governance, rights and participation, partnerships, sustainable financing, monitoring, enforcement, and responses to change. Contributions may focus on MPAs, potential, candidate or formally recognized OECMs, or other area-based management arrangements, whether or not formally recognized (e.g. ICCAs–territories of life, LMMAs, TURF-reserves and customary marine tenure systems), at local, national, or regional scales. The session will support learning across locations and management systems to avoid repeated mistakes and improve conservation efforts. It will also consider how success can be assessed beyond area coverage and short-term results. By bringing together researchers, practitioners, managers, and policy makers, the session aims to identify practical ways to design, support, and sustain marine conservation efforts that protect biodiversity and benefit communities across the Asia Pacific.

Understanding climate change impacts and ecosystem resilience is key to climate-adaptive conservation of coral reefs. Research on climate change impacts on reefs in the Asia-Pacific region have likely intensified in recent years, in light of global coral bleaching events, marine heatwaves and typhoons. Studies within the last decade also predict some climate refugia for reefs within the region. However, to be truly climate-adaptive, reef science must be integrated into governance mechanisms and community-led conservation practices to ensure long-term reef protection and monitoring. This includes strengthening the capacity of local communities and conservation partners to translate science into practical adaptive action. This session invites researchers and conservation practitioners whose works address questions consistent with the following: How has climate change impacted coral reefs in your region and what is the evidence for reef resilience, if any? How can the identification of potentially resilient reefs be accelerated? How have reef science, governance and community practice been linked to enhance climate-adaptive reef conservation? The session welcomes contributions that discuss implications for local- or national-scale climate-adaptive reef conservation, ranging from documentation of climate impacts, community-based monitoring and citizen science, local reef stewardship, to broader-scale studies that capitalize on remote sensing or modeling.

Marine ecosystems host extraordinary biodiversity, yet much of it remains unresolved or underestimated, a knowledge gap that inhibits our capacity to protect these ecosystems. Traditional morphology-based taxonomy is now complemented by powerful molecular tools, including DNA barcoding, reduced-representation sequencing and genome sequencing. Such approaches are reshaping our understanding of species boundaries, cryptic speciation, geographic distributions and diversification across a wide range of marine taxa.

This session highlights how these advances are revising biodiversity estimates and enabling more effective conservation planning under increasing global pressure. Presentations will explore marine biodiversity across bathymetric and latitudinal gradients through molecular, morphological, or fossil data; characterize cryptic speciation; reconstruct evolutionary relationships; and assess spatiotemporal patterns in taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity. Studies may focus on major reef groups such as cnidarians, crustaceans, molluscs, fishes and macroalgae; taxa that are often overlooked such as non-hermatypic cnidarians, benthic and symbiotic invertebrates and dinoflagellates; or underexplored cryptobiota.

This session is intended for a broad coral reef audience including biodiversity scientists, evolutionary biologists, systematists, ecologists, conservation practitioners and policymakers. Key topics include but are not limited to molecular phylogenetics and reef biodiversity, cryptic species and taxonomic revisions, as well as biogeographic and diversification patterns.

Coral reef ecosystems support diverse communities beyond reef-building corals, yet many reef-associated invertebrates and non-scleractinian benthic organisms remain understudied. These organisms, including octocorals, zoantharians, anemones, corallimorpharians, sponges, hydrozoans, bryozoans, molluscs, echinoderms, crustaceans and other benthic fauna, play important roles in ecosystem functioning, habitat complexity and reef resilience.

This session invites contributions exploring the biodiversity, biology, ecology and conservation of these often-overlooked organisms across the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Topics include biodiversity patterns, ecological interactions, functional roles, biogeography, connectivity, environmental vulnerability, acclimation and adaptation, and responses to climate change and local anthropogenic pressures. We particularly welcome studies examining shifts in benthic community composition, the increasing dominance of non-scleractinian taxa, and the implications of these changes for reef ecosystem functioning and future trajectories. Research on field surveys, long-term monitoring, conservation, restoration and management is also encouraged.

By bringing together researchers studying diverse reef-associated fauna, this session aims to advance understanding of their ecological importance and strengthen their integration into coral reef biodiversity assessments, conservation and management.

Around half of the known giant clam species are endangered facing high risk of extinction in the wild, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. These species continue to face accelerated population declines throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Current conservation actions such as CITES listing, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, local laws, and mariculture for restocking have all contributed to stemming further declines and curtain illegal poaching. As giant clam conservation requires long-term commitment and sustainable finances, novel conservation strategies can help determine the pathways to more effective conservation and management. This session welcomes fellow researchers and conservation managers to discuss and share their own recent efforts working on these iconic species, from biodiversity status and monitoring, basic ecology and physiology, mariculture, population genetics, and conservation science and policy. Its greater goal is to build up an informal network for participants to meet others and collaborate on research about these charismatic species.

This session explores the diversity, evolution, and ecological significance of symbiotic interactions involving reef animals. We welcome contributions on mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, host–symbiont associations, and cryptic biodiversity revealed through integrative taxonomy, molecular approaches, behavioural studies, and ecological research. Topics include taxonomy, evolution, life histories, host specificity, coevolution, symbiont transmission, and the ecological roles of symbiotic organisms in reef ecosystem functioning, resilience, and conservation. Contributions on all reef-associated animals - including corals, fishes, sponges, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, annelids, cnidarians, and other marine taxa - are encouraged.

Coral reefs are facing unprecedented challenges driven by global climate change, resulting in widespread coral bleaching and ecosystem degradation. Safeguarding these vital ecosystems requires an integrative perspective on how cnidarian symbiosis evolves, functions, and breaks down across biological scales, from cellular and genomic mechanisms to eco-evolutionary dynamics. This session focuses on leveraging cellular biology, multi-omics innovations, and evolutionary frameworks to decipher cnidarian symbiosis in a changing ocean. By integrating single-cell omics, comparative genomics, metagenomics, cellular and physiological approaches, we explore how Cnidarian holobionts, comprising hosts, Symbiodiniaceae, and associated microbiomes, interact, co-evolve, and adapt across biological organization levels. Key topics include cellular and molecular insights into host-symbiont interactions and holobiont resilience and eco-evolutionary dynamics under environmental gradients and stress. Serving as a dedicated interdisciplinary platform for researchers across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, this session aims to foster cross-disciplinary dialogues to advance a mechanistic understanding of cnidarian symbiosis across biological scales, from cellular and molecular processes to eco-evolutionary adaptation and resilience.

Macroalgae play multifaceted ecological roles on coral reefs. They act as primary producers, contribute to nutrient cycling, and provide vital habitats that support recruitment and nursery grounds for diverse reef associated species. Calcifying macroalgae, particularly crustose coralline algae (CCA), are critical reef builders as they stabilise reef frameworks by cementing sediment and rubbles together. In addition, CCA are known to contain chemical cues that promote coral larval settlement, thereby facilitating coral recruitment.

However, macroalgae also exert strong competitive pressures on corals. On degraded reefs, the abundance of fleshy macroalgae has increased dramatically. Macroalgae may compete with corals via multiple direct and indirect mechanisms, including shading, abrasion, allelopathy, and microbially, resulting in reduced coral health, growth, and recruitment. Over time, dominance of fleshy macroalgae can suppress coral survival and recovery, ultimately altering reef trajectories.

This session invites contributions examining the diversity and ecological roles of macroalgae, the drivers that regulate macroalgal dominance and distribution, and the processes mediating coral–macroalgal interactions. We also welcome insights into the ecosystem functioning of macroalgal-dominated reefs, approaches to manage coral–macroalgal interactions to support coral restoration efforts, and the broader potential of macroalgae as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Coral reefs across the Asia-Pacific are increasingly exposed to a myriad of environmental stressors, creating marginal conditions that challenge their persistence. For reef conservation to be effective, strategies must be tailored for such environments, rather than relying solely on approaches developed for conventional tropical reefs. At the same time, marginal reefs offer valuable opportunities to innovate, evaluate, and refine solutions that may inform the conservation and management of other reef systems.

Focusing on the protection and enhancement of coral reefs in marginal environments, this session aims to bring together studies that advance our understanding of reef persistence and translate scientific knowledge into practical conservation and management solutions. We welcome contributions spanning ecological and evolutionary processes, restoration science, innovative technologies, environmental monitoring, socioeconomic dimensions, governance, policy, and other interdisciplinary approaches. We particularly encourage research that bridges science and practice, develops transferable solutions, and enhances the resilience, recovery, and long-term sustainability of marginal reef systems under increasingly challenging environmental conditions.

The Asia-Pacific region harbours some of the world's greatest marine biodiversity, including the extraordinary diversity of fishes associated with coral reefs and other tropical coastal ecosystems. In particular, the Coral Triangle represents a remarkable natural setting for investigating the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain biodiversity across such ecosystems.

This session will explore how population genetics and genomics are advancing our understanding of the evolutionary history, population structure, connectivity and diversification of fishes across Asia-Pacific coastal ecosystems. We welcome studies of coral reef fishes as well as species associated with seagrass meadows, sandy habitats, mangroves and other reef-associated environments. We invite diverse taxa and approaches, from classical population genetic analyses to whole-genome studies, as well as work integrating genetic data with ecology, behaviour, biogeography and environmental variation. Topics may include gene flow and dispersal, population differentiation, local adaptation, demographic history, hybridisation, speciation and the evolutionary consequences of environmental change. By bringing together perspectives across species, habitats and geographic scales, the session aims to highlight how evolutionary processes shape and maintain the remarkable biodiversity of Asia-Pacific coastal ecosystems.

Bony fishes, sharks, and rays, are integral to the structure, functioning and resilience of coral reef ecosystems, while supporting fisheries, livelihoods, tourism and coastal communities across the Asia-Pacific. These attributes make fishes choice candidates as indicators of ecosystem condition and change. Knowledge of their ecology is therefore central to understanding how reef systems function, persist, and respond to disturbance. This session invites research works that span the ecology of coral reef fishes across all life stages, encompassing larval dispersal and connectivity, recruitment, population and community ecology, trophic interactions, behaviour, and conservation. By integrating perspectives across scales and disciplines, we aim to advance understanding of how reef fishes shape coral reef ecosystems and how their populations, functions, and human values can be sustained in an era of rapid environmental change. Importantly, this session aims to advance our collective understanding of the complex contributions reef fishes make toward ecosystem function and resilience, so that they can be effectively and sustainably managed and conserved.

Coastal development, resource extraction, and pollution increasingly alter marine environments and drive coral reef degradation near densely populated coasts, yet diverse fish assemblages frequently thrive within remaining natural reefs and novel manmade habitats such as seawalls and port structures. Currently, we lack generalised knowledge regarding how reef fishes navigate these urban disturbances while assessing the impacts of urban disturbances on fish diversity through conventional field survey approaches are often challenged by turbid waters. This session invites submissions investigating species and assemblage responses to urban stressors, characterising fish assemblage patterns in heavily altered environments, and proposing innovative solutions to enhance urban reef fish diversity as well as novel approaches to study fishes in turbid waters. Ultimately, this session aims to identify our current understanding and uncover critical knowledge gaps in urban reef fish ecology within the Asia-Pacific region, providing a foundation for future marine conservation efforts.

Coral reef fisheries across the Asia-Pacific provide food, nutrition, livelihoods and cultural value for millions of people, yet face growing pressures from climate change, overfishing, habitat degradation, market dynamics and broader socio-economic change. Sustaining these fisheries requires transformations that address ecological sustainability alongside the social, economic and governance systems on which reef-dependent communities rely.

This session invites research and practice examining pathways towards resilient and sustainable coral reef fisheries at local, national and regional scales. Contributions may address fisheries assessment and monitoring, bioeconomic approaches, sustainable fishing practices, fisher behaviour and adaptive strategies, market and trade dynamics, climate resilience, marine protected areas, and approaches for reducing trade-offs among fisheries and other ocean uses. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary studies examining community-based management, co-management, institutional capacity, governance arrangements and coordination across multiple levels of decision-making, including experiences from decentralised and archipelagic settings across Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific.

By bringing together scientists, practitioners, resource users and governance researchers, the session aims to identify effective practices, enabling conditions and barriers for transforming reef fisheries. It will highlight how ecological knowledge, social innovation and multi-scale governance can be integrated to support resilient fisheries, healthy reef ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods in a rapidly changing ocean.

Anthropogenic activities are accelerating global climate change and it is increasingly challenging for organisms to keep pace. A plethora of studies have suggested that anomalies in ocean environmental parameters such as temperature, currents, pH, etc., can result in detrimental consequences to the physiology, ecology, and behavior of marine species, including the disruption of key processes such as calcification, development, and predator and prey recognition. This is especially relevant in the case of coral reefs, an ecosystem rich in sessile organisms that are sensitive to environmental changes (e.g., temperature, pH, nutrients) with consequences for the livelihoods of millions of people. The proposed session will contribute to that goal by bridging environmental variation driving rapid evolution and phenotypic plasticity in coral reef organisms. The session aims to not only contribute novel data but also robust experimental designs to drive research addressing acclimatization and adaptation. For that purpose, the session will assemble cross-disciplinary studies from a variety of taxa and biological scales. We are confident this session will be of interest for a wide audience within the participants of the APCRS 2027, specifically (but not limited to) coral reef ecology and evolution, reef-omics, and coral conservation and restoration.

Coral reefs are evolutionary animals that have survived millions of years, but raging climate change impacts are threatening their very survival. Due to the elevated temperature levels, corals around the world are suffering severely. Certain benthic organisms have been predicted to be sturdier than corals and are projected to dominate future reef ecosystems which include sponges, octocorals, zoanthids, etc. However, climate change has become hard on all of these photosymbiotic organisms as well. Hence, more dynamic benthic community shifts are imminent in the context of climate change. Having much of the global reef areas, tracking changes in benthic community shifts in the Indo-Pacific region is of greater importance.

Photosymbiosis is a widespread evolutionary strategy in which heterotrophic hosts exchange shelter for photosynthetically derived carbon from microbial partners, having evolved independently across multiple marine lineages. Symbioses between reef-building corals and the Symbiodiniaceae, together with other microbial partners, underpin the productivity and resilience of coral reef ecosystems. Yet climate change and intensifying marine heatwaves are destabilizing photosymbiotic relationships, most visibly through the global coral bleaching event. Understanding why some pairings persist while others collapse, and how this variation is encoded across genomes, is central to understanding acclimation, adaptation and anticipating the fate of reefs. This session brings together researchers investigating the genomics, diversity, function, and evolution of photosymbioses in corals and other coral reef organisms. We welcome research leveraging omics, multi-omics, single-cell and spatial approaches, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies to uncover the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms of symbiosis, and predict symbiosis resilience and adaptation to environmental change. By connecting new technologies with emerging hypotheses about host-photosymbiont interactions, this session will be of broad interest to the coral reef research community, spanning genomics, molecular biology, holobiont physiology, ecology and evolution, while offering insights relevant to reef managers and conservationists working to protect reefs under global climate change.

Coral reef restoration is expanding rapidly across diverse environmental and socio-economic contexts as reefs face increasing pressures from climate change and local stressors. A growing range of approaches—including coral gardening, larval propagation, substrate stabilisation, artificial structures and assisted recovery—offers new opportunities for reef recovery, but outcomes vary substantially among methods, sites and environmental conditions. Building effective restoration programmes therefore requires robust evidence, long-term evaluation and adaptive management.

This session invites contributions from researchers, restoration practitioners, reef managers and communities on advances and lessons learned from coral reef restoration. We welcome studies evaluating restoration methods and ecological outcomes, including coral survival and growth, benthic community development, reef structural complexity and associated fish communities. Contributions addressing long-term monitoring, comparative assessments, cost-effectiveness, socio-economic outcomes, modelling and decision-support are particularly encouraged. We also welcome emerging innovations in larval propagation, coral gardening, substrate stabilisation, artificial reef structures and scalable restoration approaches.

By bringing together scientific evidence and practical experience, the session aims to identify what works, where and under which conditions, while highlighting how monitoring and evaluation can inform adaptive changes in restoration practice. The session will promote knowledge exchange and collaboration towards more effective, evidence-based and climate-responsive restoration across Southeast Asia, the Coral Triangle and beyond.

Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by ocean warming and other climate-driven disturbances that may outpace the capacity of corals and their associated organisms to adapt naturally. Assisted evolution has emerged as a promising approach to accelerate or enhance adaptive responses and improve coral persistence under future environmental conditions. However, translating experimental advances into effective conservation and restoration remains a major challenge.

This session invites cutting-edge research on assisted evolution across the coral holobiont, including selective breeding, hybridisation, assisted gene flow, experimental evolution, thermal conditioning and selection, and manipulation or evolution of coral photosymbionts and associated microbial communities. We also welcome omics and modelling approaches that identify mechanisms and targets of adaptation, as well as studies evaluating the performance, stability and heritability of enhanced traits across coral life stages.

Particular emphasis will be placed on research connecting assisted evolution with field-based restoration, including outplanting, survivorship, reproductive success, scalability and cost-effectiveness. Contributions addressing ecological risks, regulatory frameworks, ethical considerations and societal perspectives are also encouraged.

By bringing together evolutionary biology, physiology, genomics, microbiology, restoration science and conservation practice, the session aims to assess the current state of assisted evolution, identify synergies and knowledge gaps, and advance pathways for responsibly translating experimental innovation into resilient reef restoration across the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

In the face of continuing coral reef decline and exacerbating climate change, coral restoration has the potential to deliver ecological recovery and community benefits. However, whether these benefits are realised, and by whom, depends on local factors: coastal uses such as tourism and aquaculture, illegal fishing and other stressors, existing customary marine tenure, and the participation and ownership of resident communities. Local governance capacity is crucial in realising and sustaining positive outcomes. This is especially true in Asia and the Pacific where community interaction with the coastal environment is driven by dependence.

This session views coral restoration through a socio-ecological lens, as a deliberate intervention in dynamic, interrelated natural and socio-political systems. We invite research, innovations, and practical experience demonstrating how restoration can be designed and implemented in light of site context, responding meaningfully to local threats, community needs and priorities, and governance realities. We particularly welcome evidence on approaches that strengthen implementation and monitoring; connect reef recovery with tangible social and economic outcomes; critically examine who benefits, who does not, and who holds rights over restored reefs; advance inclusive participation, gender equity, and Indigenous and local knowledge; and contribute to enabling policy, effective regulation, and local stewardship.

Coral reef monitoring has traditionally relied on structural and biodiversity metrics such as coral cover, species richness, fish abundance, and biomass to assess reef condition. Whilst these are valuable indicators of reef health, they quantify ecosystem state rather than the dynamic ecological processes that underpin reef functioning.

Measuring ecological functions alongside conventional metrics can provide a more mechanistic understanding of reef condition and change. Ecosystem functions are underpinned by processes that govern energy and nutrient fluxes on reefs, including (but not limited to) primary and secondary production, trophic transfer, nutrient cycling, calcification, and bioerosion.

As coral reefs face escalating pressures from climate change and local stressors, quantifying these processes can support proactive management. Changes in ecosystem functioning can occur before detectable shifts in conventional monitoring metrics, enabling earlier detection of ecological change. Process-based approaches can also identify the levels of functioning associated with healthy, resilient reefs, providing benchmarks for conservation, restoration, and adaptive management.

This session invites contributions that advance coral reef monitoring by quantifying ecological processes across biological and spatial scales. We welcome studies using field observations, experiments, remote sensing, and emerging technologies to improve understanding of ecosystem functioning and to inform restoration, adaptive management, policy, and community-led conservation.

The Asia-Pacific Region houses one of the largest marine biodiversity hotspots, the Coral Reef Triangle, spanning 6 million km2 over at least six nations. Given the large spatial scale and transboundary nature of the coral reef systems, long-term monitoring by academic experts alone is logistically and financially difficult. Hence, community-based monitoring programs have emerged as vital alternatives for researchers, coastal managers, and policy makers.

Community protocols, while having relatively broader taxonomic resolution, offer unparalleled spatial coverage, cost-effective long-term data collection, and rapid in-situ alert networks during acute stress events. With proper standardized data collection, these initiative-driven data sets provide essential baseline information to track reef health, resilience, and recovery over time.

This session invites researchers, conservation practitioners, and local community leaders to share long-term monitoring strategies, data validation frameworks, and success stories. Topics include protocols for community-led coral reef stress reporting and rapid response; methodologies for integrating community data into peer-reviewed research and regional policy; financial and social strategies for long-term program sustainability; and best practices, common pitfalls, and lessons learned in co-designed marine monitoring. By exchanging real-world experiences, this session aims to refine community monitoring strategies, build equitable scientific partnerships, and inspire scalable monitoring frameworks adaptable to resource-limited environments.

Deciphering the ocean’s dynamic history is critical for forecasting future climate regimes and ecosystem responses. This session brings together paleoceanographic proxy reconstructions (including carbonate geochemistry from corals, shells, otoliths, and sediments) and modern observational methods (including satellite remote sensing, autonomous floats, and in-situ monitoring networks) to build a seamless timeline of marine conditions. By linking biogenic archives with ocean data, ongoing global changes and their impacts on coral reefs can be better contextualized. Integrating historical records with high-resolution, modern observation data will also improve predictive climate models and marine environmental risk assessments. We invite submissions on innovative marine proxy development, observation networks, novel sensing technologies, long-term monitoring datasets, and interdisciplinary approaches that connect past ocean variability with future marine management strategies.

Coral reefs are increasingly exposed to a wide range of anthropogenic pollutants that threaten ecosystem structure, function, and resilience. While climate change remains the dominant global stressor, local and regional pollution—including plastic debris, microplastics, abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, chemical contaminants, and emerging pollutants—continues to intensify across many reef systems. Understanding the sources, transport, environmental fate, ecological impacts, and mitigation of these stressors is essential for effective coral reef conservation and management.

This session invites contributions that advance our understanding of pollution in coral reef ecosystems across biological, ecological, and environmental scales. We welcome interdisciplinary studies investigating pollutant sources and pathways, interactions with reef habitats and organisms, ecosystem responses, monitoring and analytical approaches, experimental and field-based assessments, ecological risk, restoration strategies, and innovative management solutions. Studies examining the combined effects of pollution with other environmental stressors, such as ocean warming, marine heatwaves, and ocean acidification, are particularly encouraged.

By bringing together researchers, practitioners, and resource managers, this session aims to foster interdisciplinary discussion, highlight emerging research, and identify knowledge gaps that will inform future research priorities and evidence-based conservation strategies for protecting coral reef ecosystems in a rapidly changing ocean.

Overwhelming evidence has shown that the success of attaining coral reef conservation goals depends on a fundamental shift towards centering Indigenous Peoples and local community leadership. While on the frontlines of climate change and biodiversity loss, these communities are deeply connected to coastal ecosystems through identity, heritage, cultural practices, traditional knowledge and long-standing systems of stewardship. We must foster leadership amongst those that llive conservation every day, and build strong partnerships and meaningful exchanges between local communities, organisations, governments, and global platforms. Building on the success of the For and By the Community sessions at APCRS 2023, we intend to continue nurturing opportunities for indigenous and local communities to share and subsequently publish experiences, lessons learned and locally-grounded solutions so that scientists, policy-makers and communities can learn from each other. Community presentations and interactive workshops.will embrace linguistic and cultural diversity by supporting multiple languages (with translations) and different forms of knowledge sharing and presentation. The workshops will provide opportunities to build networks, exchange experiences, and collectively analyze lessons learned in order to strengthen coral reef and marine habitat conservation.

The seas are more than just places of thriving biodiversity, coral reef species and fisheries resources. Her existence and presence is also intertwined with local and indigenous communities’ identities, belief systems, nature-based livelihoods and heritage. While generational knowledge and traditional science is now widely recognised and highlighted in conservation action and policy, communities use more than just biological science to overcome climate change and other threats. Generational wisdom weaves together an understanding of non-human species behaviour, habitats, seasonality, observed changes over time, spirits and other more-than-human elements in a web that is far more complicated than physical and ecological science. This holistic, in situ understanding beyond just biology, water, weather and species are vital in communities’ ability to survive change, adapt without modern scientific models or technology, and continue to preserve the ecosystems that they are a part of. Send us your stories of this wisdom, practice and beliefs, applied to the preservation of coral reef ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific, so that we can all learn how to conserve these precious habitats with more than just science. Presentations can include video story-telling, artwork or oral traditions presented by local communities. Translation assistance might be available on a case-by-case basis.

Southeast Asia's coastal ecosystems are among the most biodiverse and socially dynamic globally. Coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests form interconnected coastal systems that support fisheries, livelihoods, and cultural practices, while also providing critical ecosystem services that ameliorate impacts of climate change. Yet, coastal areas are increasingly shaped by tourism, mariculture, infrastructure development, and other competing resource demands. Challenges facing Southeast Asia's living coasts, from biodiversity losses and habitat degradation to development pressures and resource conflict, cannot be addressed in silo. Understanding contemporary coastal change and challenges requires attention not only to ecological processes, but also to the historic, political, and social forces that have shaped relationships between people and the sea. This session invites interdisciplinary perspectives, including but not limited to, marine science, environment history, and social sciences, to explore Southeast Asia's coastal environments as interconnected socio-ecological systems. It considers how ecological change intersects with histories of resource use, governance, development, and changing coastal livelihoods, and how different communities and stakeholders perceive and value these environments. The interdisciplinary approach for this session seeks to illuminate the complex interactions that characterise rapidly changing coastal ecosystems; with the hope to inspire conversations and research collaborations that span science, ecology, history, community, method, and language.

Demand for cultured corals is growing across ornamental markets, reef restoration, research, public aquaria and ex situ conservation. Scaling production sustainably, however, requires more than improved propagation. It requires integration of species-specific biology, efficient equipment, responsible sourcing, environmental performance and evidence-based management.

This session will bring together coral biologists, aquaculture researchers, restoration practitioners, engineers, technology developers, producers and policymakers to examine the complete coral-production pathway, from broodstock selection and spawning to propagation, nursery culture, transport, outplanting and monitoring.

We invite contributions on in situ and land-based nurseries; sexual and asexual propagation; larval rearing and settlement technologies; tanks, raceways, lighting, water circulation, filtration and life-support systems; sustainable substrates; sensors, imaging and automation; renewable energy; water and waste reduction; disease management; biosecurity; traceability; and cost-effective production models.

The session will also explore how growth, survival, reproduction, population demography and vulnerability can guide species selection, broodstock management, harvest limits and production targets. Particular attention will be given to affordable, locally adaptable and circular systems. These approaches can reduce pressure on wild populations while supporting responsible trade, restoration, conservation and coastal livelihoods. By connecting biological evidence with technological innovation, the session aims to identify pathways for scalable, economically viable and environmentally responsible coral production across the Asia-Pacific.

Coral reef tourism is entering a new era in which sustainability must advance beyond impact reduction toward actively supporting reef recovery, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, and community well-being. This session will explore innovative pathways for regenerative, low-carbon, carbon-neutral, net-zero, responsible, ecotourism, and nature-positive tourism across coral reef destinations. Emphasis will be placed on integrating coral reef ecology, biodiversity conservation, climate-change adaptation and mitigation, nature-based solutions, and community-based approaches into tourism planning and management. The session will highlight scientific evidence, monitoring tools, practical case studies, and policy innovations that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, strengthen reef resilience, enhance biodiversity, and generate sustainable benefits for local communities. Contributions addressing carbon accounting, reef restoration, carrying capacity, environmental education, sustainable financing, visitor engagement, and partnerships among scientists, tourism operators, governments, and communities are particularly encouraged. By linking science, policy, and practice, the session aims to identify scalable approaches for transforming coral reef tourism into a driver of net-zero development, nature-positive outcomes, reef resilience, and long-term social-ecological sustainability.

The next frontier in coral reef science is moving from observation to prediction. As marine heatwaves become more frequent and severe, there is an urgent need for scalable tools that can rapidly identify resilient corals, predict their responses to environmental stress, and support effective conservation and restoration interventions.

This symposium will showcase emerging advances in coral phenotyping, spanning molecular and physiological biomarkers, optical and imaging technologies, environmental sensors, high-throughput screening platforms, and artificial intelligence-driven predictive models. Together, these innovations are transforming how we measure, monitor, and understand coral resilience, enabling faster and more accurate assessments than ever before.

By bringing together coral biologists, engineers, data scientists, and restoration practitioners, the session will highlight how cutting-edge technologies are accelerating the translation of scientific discovery into practical outcomes for reef management. Presentations will explore novel approaches for diagnosing coral health, forecasting thermal tolerance, improving restoration success, and developing next-generation monitoring and decision-support tools.

Aligned with Subtheme 8: Innovation, Sustainable Reef Use and Nature-based Solutions, this session will provide a timely platform to showcase transformative technologies that are helping build more climate-resilient reefs and advancing the future of conservation and restoration across the Asia-Pacific region.

Hard-engineered structures such as revetments, seawalls, and breakwaters are the primary means of defending shorelines against sea level rise and increased storm intensity. However, these interventions often result in natural habitat loss, ecological degradation, and decline in local biodiversity. In recent years, hybrid approaches that combine grey infrastructure with green elements have emerged as promising nature-based solutions for sustainable coastal management and development. Corals, mangroves, and seagrass are examples of taxa that naturally establish themselves on and around artificial structures in the tropics, making them ideal candidates for hybrid coastal protection. Emerging technologies such as topographically complex substrates, novel green materials, and wave attenuation structures can be used to increase colonisation and survival. This session will engage with the ongoing challenge of how to incorporate habitat-forming species and ecosystem restoration approaches into existing and new-build coastal infrastructure, as well as upscaling these solutions to ensure feasibility of large-scale implementation. As this topic spans multiple disciplines, we welcome submissions from ecological, engineering, hydrodynamic, and social perspectives.

Climate change and other human impacts have driven widespread coral reef degradation, catalysing decades of reef restoration practice and innovation. These include (i) direct, coral-focused methods such as transplantation and outplanting, in-situ and ex-situ coral gardening, fragmentation and microfragmentation, larval propagation and seeding, selective breeding and assisted evolution; and (ii) indirect, habitat- and ecosystem-focused methods such as rubble stabilisation, artificial reefs, substrate enhancement and conditioning, mineral accretion, macroalgal removal, coral-predator and disease control, and water-quality, sediment and fisheries management.

Three decades on, can these first-generation approaches be improved, integrated or reimagined to usher in the next era of reef restoration?

This session will showcase techniques at the forefront of restoration innovation, including novel or improved approaches that reduce environmental impacts and costs, increase scalability and accessibility, and deliver multiple ecological functions. We seek contributions that improve the performance of first-generation methods, combine complementary techniques into synergistic restoration systems, or introduce entirely new pathways that define “Generation 2 Reef Restoration”. We welcome high- to low-tech solutions, including “Industry 4.0” automation and robotics, developed specifically for coral reefs and those adapted from other marine, coastal or terrestrial systems. All contributions should consider economic viability and present a credible pathway to widespread implementation.

Active restoration is essential to conserve diverse and resilient coral reef communities capable of withstanding future climate change. Yet as restoration scales up globally, ensuring these interventions consider the genetic consequences remains a critical and often overlooked challenge. Molecular tools offer a powerful means to strengthen the scientific foundation of interventions and the overall resilience of restored reefs.

This session will highlight research applying genomic and molecular approaches to inform and advance restoration and conservation strategies across reef systems. We invite studies that showcase how these tools can be applied across the restoration pipeline. This includes disciplines spanning diversity characterisation, such as population genomics and quantitative genetics, as well as applied molecular fields such as transcriptomics, CRISPR/Cas applications, cryopreservation, eDNA, metabarcoding and target detection assays. Applications may cover broodstock curation, selective breeding, rearing, outgrowth, deployment or field monitoring to help safeguard organism health and characterise ecologically and evolutionarily responsible restoration outcomes.

The expected audience includes practitioners and researchers working in reef restoration and conservation aquaculture, who will benefit from the timely cross-disciplinary dialogue this session fosters. This exchange of knowledge will bring together molecular insight with restoration practice critical to building resilient reefs equipped to withstand a changing climate.

Marine megafauna movement, driven by key life cycle activities and environmental variability, occurs across coastal and oceanic habitats at varying spatial and temporal scales (i.e. daily movements within individual home ranges to seasonal migrations). These movements, which often transcend political boundaries, highlight the important role of marine megafauna in maintaining seascape connectivity and their exposure to diverse threats with potential cumulative impacts. Coordinated science-backed conservation strategies are therefore imperative, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, where coastal and marine habitats face widespread and intensifying stressors.

This session focuses on extant marine mammals and turtles within the Asia Pacific region. We invite scientists, conservation practitioners, and policy makers to present research on megafauna ecology, movement and habitat connectivity, threats, and emerging monitoring techniques; with focus on studies which inform the conservation management of coral-reef associated habitats in the Asia-Pacific region. This session aims to provide a platform for knowledge exchange which fosters interdisciplinary and transboundary collaboration that strengthens the evidence base needed to advance marine megafauna conservation across the region.

Seagrass meadows are among the most productive and biodiverse coastal ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific, providing essential habitats, supporting fisheries and livelihoods, storing carbon, and contributing to coastal protection and biogeochemical cycling. Their persistence is increasingly threatened by coastal development, land-based pollution, climate-driven marine heatwaves and other cumulative stressors. Understanding the ecological processes that underpin seagrass resilience is therefore critical for effective conservation and restoration.

This session invites contributions on the conservation, restoration and ecological functioning of seagrass ecosystems, with particular emphasis on emerging approaches that connect ecosystem processes with management and recovery. Topics may include seagrass biodiversity and ecology, restoration and rehabilitation, ecosystem services, blue carbon, coastal connectivity, land–sea interactions, and responses to climate and other environmental stressors. We particularly welcome research investigating seagrass-associated microbiomes and their roles in nutrient cycling, pollutant degradation, disease resistance, stress tolerance and restoration success.

Contributions examining connectivity among seagrass meadows and adjacent coral reef, mangrove and other coastal ecosystems are also encouraged, as are studies addressing governance, monitoring, community engagement and regional conservation strategies. By bringing together ecological, microbiological and applied perspectives, the session aims to advance understanding of seagrass ecosystem resilience and identify innovative approaches for conserving and restoring connected coastal ecosystems across the Asia-Pacific.