The social-ecological system that defines the coral reef resource use environment contains many facets of the environment, the ecosystem, harvesting and associated culture, the interaction or policy environment and the proposed management institutions (Fig. 1).
Resource use is complicated because it has environmental, ecological, cultural, economic, sociological, and governance dimensions.
Each of these sub-systems is complex and worthy of considerable scientific investigation for both pure and applied reasons, yet those professionals most interested in coral reefs are natural scientists who largely study the environment and ecosystem and less often the three other subcomponents, which may be viewed as multidisciplinary or social science.