Herbivorous sea urchins (Echinometra mathaei) support resilience on overfished and sedimented tropical reefs.

Human impacts are dramatically changing ecological communities, motivating research on resilience. Tropical reefs are increasingly undergoing transitions to short algal turf, a successional community that mediates either recovery to coral by allowing recruitment or transitions to longer turf/macroalgae. Intense herbivory limits turf height; subsequently, overfishing erodes resilience of the desirable coral-dominated reef state.

Establishing a Framework for Sustainable Community Action Research.

Community-based participatory research/community-partnered participatory research (CBPR/CPRR) is viewed as a critical approach for improving health and addressing inequities found in under-resourced communities by pairing community partners and academic partners to address health and environmental concerns. This article aims to amplify the potential of the current CBPR/CPPR models through insights learned from the underserved community of Watts in south central Los Angeles. We discuss our framework that shifts the primary academic focus in the community-academia partnership from individual investigators and/or research groups to the academic institution to generate sustainable partnerships.