Research for Conservation Action
This page highlights our main publications based on their use and interest from partners. Download them directly from here or follow the links to the website pages for more information. Navigation tabs are above.
Our
Publications
global policy & conservation
Author list to be updated.
Gupta, J., Bai, X., Liverman, D. M., Rockström, J., Qin, D., Stewart-Koster, B., Rocha, J. C., Jacobson, Mohamed, A., Nakicenovic, N., Obura, D., et al. (2024). A just world on a safe planet: a Lancet Planetary Health–Earth Commission report on Earth-system boundaries, translations, and transformations. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00042-1
Bustamante, M., Roy, J., Ospina, D., Achakulwisut, P., Aggarwal, A., Bastos, A., Broadgate, W., Canadell, J. G., Carr, E. R., Chen, D., Cleugh, H. A., Ebi, K. L., Edwards, C., Farbotko, C., Fernández-Martínez, M., Frölicher, T. L., Fuss, Obura, D., et al. (2023). Ten new insights in climate science 2023. DOI. https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2023.25
Rockström, J., Gupta, J., Qin, D., Lade, S. J., Abrams, J. F., Andersen, L. S., Armstrong McKay, D. I., Bai, X., Bala, G., Bunn, S. E., Ciobanu, D., DeClerck, F., Ebi, K., Gifford, L., Obura, D., et al. (2023). Safe and just Earth system boundaries. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06083-8
Bell, J, Cheung W, De Silva S, Gasalla M, Frusher S, Hobday A, Lam V, Lehodey P, Pecl G, Samoilys M, Senina I (2016) Impacts and effects of ocean warming on the contributions of fisheries and aquaculture to food security. In: Laffoley, D., & Baxter, J.M. (eds). 2016. Explaining Ocean Warming: Causes, Scale, Effects and Consequences. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. pp. 456. Download PDF
Samoilys, M., Pabari, M., Andrew, T., Maina, G.W., Church, J., Momanyi, A., Mibei, B., Monjane, M., Shah, A., Menomussanga, M., Mutta, D. (2015). Resilience of Coastal Systems and Their Human Partners in the Western Indian Ocean. Nairobi, Kenya: IUCN ESARO, WIOMSA, CORDIO and UNEP Nairobi Convention. x + 74pp.Download PDF
Obura DO, Burgener V, Nicoll ME, Ralison HO & Scheren P (2015) The Northern Mozambique Channel. Setting the foundations for a regional approach to marine governance.Go to project page “A Background Document WWF International and CORDIO East Africa”
Obura, D.O., Church, J.E. and Gabrié, C. (2012). Assessing Marine World Heritage from an Ecosystem Perspective: The Western Indian Ocean. World Heritage Centre, United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 124 p.Download the report; Policy brief- English / French; Go to project page
H.-O. Pörtner, R. J. Scholes, A. Arneth, D.K.A. Barnes, M.T. Burrows, S.E. Diamond, C.M. Duarte, W. Kiessling, P. Leadley, S. Managi, P. McElwee, G. Midgley, H.T. Ngo, D.Obura, U. Pascual, M. Sankaran, Y.J. Shin, A.L. Val: Overcoming the coupled climate and biodiversity crises and their societal impacts. Science (2023). DOI: Download Paper
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , & (2023). Stakeholder-derived recommendations and actions to support deep-reef conservation in the Western Indian Ocean. Conservation Letters, 16, e12924. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12924
Obura D, Agrawal A, DeClerck F, Donaldson J, Dziba L, et al. (2023) Prioritizing sustainable use in the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation 2(1): e0000041. Download Paper
Herbert-Read, J.E., Thornton, A., Amon, D.J. et al. A global horizon scan of issues impacting marine and coastal biodiversity conservation. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 1262–1270 (2022). Download Paper
Obura, D.O., DeClerck, F., Verburg, P.H., Gupta, J., Abrams, J.F., Bai, X., Bunn, S., Ebi, K.L., et al. (2022). Achieving a nature- and people-positive future. One Earth Download Paper.
cORAL REEFS
Gudka, M., Obura, D., Treml, E., Samoilys, M., Aboud, S. A., Osuka, K. E., Mbugua, J., Mwaura, J., Karisa, J., Knoester, E. G., Musila, P., Omar, M., & Nicholson, E. (2024). Leveraging the Red List of Ecosystems for action on coral reefs through the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Conservation Science and Practice. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13255
Warmuth, L. M., Kelly, S., Samoilys, M. A., Popova, E., Head, C. E. I., & Bonsall, M. B. (2024). Environmental change and connectivity drive coral reef fish
abundance in the Western Indian Ocean, ICES Journal of Marine Science 81 (9). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsae125
Goetze, J.S., Heithaus, M.R., MacNeil, M.A., Harvey, E., Simpfendorfer, C. A., Heupel, M. R., Meekan, M., Wilson, S., Bond, M. E., Speed, Samoilys, M, Kiilu, B, et al. Directed conservation of the world’s reef sharks and rays. Nature Ecology and Evolution 8, 1118–1128 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02386-9
Obura, D.O. Thirteen steps to transformation. Nat Sustain 6, 1512–1513 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01214-5
Osuka, K. E., Samoilys, M. A., Musembi, P., Thouless, C. J., Obota, C., & Rambahiniarison, J. (2024). Status and characteristics of sharks and rays impacted by artisanal fisheries:
potential implications for management and conservation. Marine and Fishery Sciences, 38 (1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3812025010101
Gudka, M., Samoilys, M., Musembi, P., Aboud, S. A., Grimsditch, G., Mabwa, R., Yahya, S. A., & Osuka, K. E. (2024). Complex coral reefs offer hope for management in a Marine Protected Area
in Zanzibar. Regional Studies in Marine Science, Volume 77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103667
Gudka, M., Obura, D., Treml, E. A., & Nicholson, E. (2023). Strengthening resilience potential assessments for coral reef management. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 15 (4), 612-627. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14303
Gudka, M., Aboud, S., and Obura, D. (2023). Establishing historical benthic cover levels for coral reefs of the Western Indian Ocean. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 22 (1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v22i1.11
C. A. Simpfendorfer, M. R. Heithaus, M. R. Heupel, M. A. MacNeil, E. Harvey, C. S. Sherman, M. Samoilys, K. Osuka et al., Science 380, 1155 (2023).
Obura, D., Gudka, M., Samoilys, M. et al. Vulnerability to collapse of coral reef ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean. Nat Sustain 5, 104–113 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00817-0
, , , , , , , , , , , , & (2022). Trait-based approaches reveal that deeper reef ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean are functionally distinct. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12924
Jacobs Z. L., Yool A., Jebri F., Srokosz M, van Gennip S., Kelly S. J., Roberts M, Sauer W., Queirós A. M., Osuka K. E., Samoilys M., Becker A. E., Popova E, Key climate change stressors of marine ecosystems along the path of the East African coastal current, Ocean & Coastal Management, 208 (2021)
doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105627.
Osuka K. E, McClean C., Stewart B. D, Bett B. J., Le Bas T., Howe J., Abernerthy C., Yahya S., Obura D., Samoilys M.,Characteristics of shallow and mesophotic environments of the Pemba Channel, Tanzania: Implications for management and conservation, Ocean & Coastal Management, 200 (2021).
Fox, M. D., Cohen, A. L., Rotjan, R. D.,
Mangubhai, S., Sandin, S. A., Smith, J.
E., et al. (2021). Increasing coral reef
resilience through successive marine
heatwaves. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL094128.
Obura D.O., Katerere Y., Mayet M., Kaelo D., Msweli S., Mather K., Harris J., Louis M., Kramer R., Teferi T., et al. (2021). Integrate biodiversity targets from local to global levels. Science. 373: 746-748. doi.org/10.1126/science.abh2234
Obura D. O., Aeby G., Amornthammarong N., Appeltans W., Bax N, Bishop J., Brainard R. E., Chan S., Fletcher P., Gordon T. A. C., Gramer L,. Gudka M., Osuka K., Samoilys M., et al. (2019) Coral Reef Monitoring, Reef Assessment Technologies, and Ecosystem-Based Management. Front. Mar. Sci. 6:580. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00580
Cowburn, B., Samoilys, M. A., Osuka, K., Klaus, R., Newman, C., Gudka, M., & Obura, D. (2019). Healthy and diverse coral reefs in Djibouti–A resilient reef system or few anthropogenic threats?. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 148, 182-193.Download paper
Samoilys M. A., Halford A., Osuka K. E. (2019) Disentangling drivers of the abundance of coral reef fishes in the Western Indian Ocean. Ecol Evol. 00:1–19 .doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5044
Cowburn, B., Samoilys, M. A., & Obura, D. (2018). The current status of coral reefs and their vulnerability to climate change and multiple human stresses in the Comoros Archipelago, Western Indian Ocean. Marine pollution bulletin.DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.065.
Samoilys, M., Roche, R., Koldewey, H., & Turner, J. (2018). Patterns in reef fish assemblages: Insights from the Chagos Archipelago. PloS one, 13(1), e0191448. See paper performance metrics
Osuka, K., Kochzius, M., Vanreusel, A., Obura, D., & Samoilys, M. (2018). Linkage between fish functional groups and coral reef benthic habitat composition in the Western Indian Ocean. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 98(2), 387-400. doi:10.1017/S0025315416001399
Obura, D. O. (2015), An Indian Ocean centre of origin revisited: Palaeogene and Neogene influences defining a biogeographic realm. Journal of Biogeography.
Obura, D. (2012). The diversity and biogeography of Western Indian Ocean reef-building corals.
He, S., Green, A.L., Samoilys, M.A. et al. Waif or hybrid? Observation records of rare coloration grouper in Djibouti. Environ Biol Fish 105, 531–536 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01253-5
Samoilys M, Alvarez-Filip L, Myers R, Chabanet P. Diversity of Coral Reef Fishes in the Western Indian Ocean: Implications for Conservation. Diversity. 2022; 14(2):102. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14020102
Osuka K. E., Stewart B. D, Samoilys M, McClean C., Musembi P., Yahya S., Hamad, A. R., Mbugua J. (2022). Depth and habitat are important drivers of abundance for predatory reef fish off Pemba Island, Tanzania,
Marine Environmental Research, 175,
doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105587.
Wilson, R., Sailley, S., Jacobs, Z., Kamau, J., Mgeleka, S., Okemwa, G., Osuka K. E., Samoilys, M., et al. (2021). Large projected reductions in marine fish biomass for Kenya and Tanzania in the absence of climate mitigation. Ocean Coast. Manag. 215, 105921–11. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105921
Osuka K. E., Stewart B. D, Samoilys M, Roche C., Turner J., McClean C. (2021). Protection outcomes for fish trophic groups across a range of management regimes, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 173, A. doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113010.
MacNeil, M. A., Chapman, D. D., Heupel, M., Simpfendorfer, C. A., Heithaus, M., Meekan, M., … & Cinner, J. E. (2020). Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks. Nature, 583(7818), 801-806. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y
Osuka K. E., Stewart B. D, Samoilys M, McClean C., Musembi P., Yahya S., Hamad, A. R., Mbugua J. (2022). Depth and habitat are important drivers of abundance for predatory reef fish off Pemba Island, Tanzania,
Marine Environmental Research, 175,
doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105587.
Wilson, R., Sailley, S., Jacobs, Z., Kamau, J., Mgeleka, S., Okemwa, G., Osuka K. E., Samoilys, M., et al. (2021). Large projected reductions in marine fish biomass for Kenya and Tanzania in the absence of climate mitigation. Ocean Coast. Manag. 215, 105921–11. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105921
FISHERIES
Osuka, K., Kawaka, J. A., & Samoilys, M. A. (2021). Evaluating Kenya’s coastal gillnet fishery: trade-offs in recommended mesh-size regulations. African Journal of Marine Science, 43(1), 15-29. Download PDF
, , , , & (2020). Integrating resource perception, ecological surveys, and fisheries statistics: A review of the fisheries in Zanzibar. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture, 30, 1– 18.
de Mitcheson, Y. J. S., Linardich, C., Barreiros, J. P., Ralph, G. M., Aguilar-Perera, A., Afonso, P., … & Nair, R. J. (2020). Valuable but vulnerable: Over-fishing and under-management continue to threaten groupers so what now?. Marine Policy, 116, 103909.Download paper
Samoilys, M. A., Osuka, K., Mussa, J., Rosendo, S., Riddell, M., Diade, M., … & Koldewey, H. (2019). An integrated assessment of coastal fisheries in Mozambique for conservation planning. Ocean & Coastal Management, 182, 104924.Download pdf
Samoilys M., Osuka K., Muthiga N., Harris A. (2017). Locally managed fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean: a review of past and present initiatives, iv + 40p.WIOMSA. WIOMSA Book Series 17. Download pdf
Samoilys, M., et al. “Artisanal fisheries on Kenya’s coral reefs: Decadal trends reveal management needs.” Fisheries Research 186 (2017): 177-191.Download paper
Sadovy de Mitcheson, Y., Craig, M. T., Bertoncini, A. A., Carpenter, K. E., Cheung, W. W., Choat, J. H., … & Liu, M. (2013). Fishing groupers towards extinction: a global assessment of threats and extinction risks in a billion dollar fishery. Fish and fisheries, 14(2), 119-136.Download paper
Kawaka, Joan A., et al. “Developing locally managed marine areas: Lessons learnt from Kenya.” Ocean & Coastal Management 135 (2017): 1-10. Download paper
Robinson J and Samoilys MA (Co-editors) (2013) Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations in the Western Indian Ocean: Research for Management. WIOMSA/SIDA/SFA/CORDIO. WIOMSA Book Series 13.Download the book
Policy Brief – Recommendations for sustainable and responsible fishing in Kenya’s coastal artisanal fisheries. Samoilys, M.A, Maina, G.W, Ater, S. & Osuka, K. (October 2011).Download the policy brief; Go to project page
social science and sustainable development
Obura D. O. (2020). Getting to 2030 – Scaling effort to ambition through a narrative model of the SDGs, Marine Policy, 117,
doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103973
Bennett NJ, Katz L, Yadao-Evans W, Ahmadia GN, Atkinson S, Ban NC, Dawson NM, de Vos A, Fitzpatrick J, Gill D, Imirizaldu M, Lewis N, Mangubhai S, Meth L, Muhl E-K, Obura D, et al. (2021) Advancing Social Equity in and Through Marine Conservation.
Front. Marine Science. 8:711538. doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.711538
Gupta J, Liverman D, Bai X, Gordon C, Hurlbert M, Inoue CYA, Jacobson L, Kanie N, Lenton TM, Obura D, Otto IM (2021) Reconciling safe planetary targets and planetary justice: why should social scientists engage with planetary targets? Earth System Governance 10:100122. doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2021.100122
Obiene S., Shilabukha K., Muga G., Ojwang L., Owuor M.A. (2022). Understanding of Sustainable Development Goals among communities living adjacent to mangroves in Kenya. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 1/2022, 59-73. doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.si2022.1.5