Traditional Vs New Approaches for Assessing Coral Health: a Global Overview and the Paradigm of French Polynesia

Today, there is increasing concern regarding the capacity of Scleractinian corals to sustain the growing number of insults associated with global and local changes (e.g. global warming, ocean acidification, pollution). If corals are to exist, there is an urgent need to use indicators of coral health that provide insight into early sub lethal shifts in corals before the irreversible effects of exposure manifest at the population and community levels. This paper will provide an overview of the most relevant and appropriate indicators of coral health currently used in traditional monitoring programs (traditional approach) or those that could be used in a near future to improve assessment of coral health (new and proactive approach). In addition, by using French Polynesia coral reefs as a study case, this paper will present how coral health was assessed in the past and how it will be in a near future.