**5. Conclusions**

The present study set out to understand the nature of both local and global threats to the relatively understudied coral reefs of Timor-Leste. Baseline information on these systems is limited despite the current and future importance of these marine resources to Timor-Leste. Coral reefs on the north coast of Timor-Leste are characterized by high coral cover, as much as 58.2 ± 6.4%. There is concern, however, that sites close to the urban areas of the capital city, Dili, are showing signs of degradation, since there is <5% hard coral cover at 5 m depth at one of the two urban sites. Coral disease and excess nutrients were not identified as significant causes of reef degradation at the sites surveyed in this work, although these aspects of reef health should continue to be monitored. Sites were affected by coral bleaching during a marine heatwave between the two surveys. However, in situ water temperatures were significantly lower than the CRWTL measurements, in line with previous oceanographic work identifying seasonal coastal upwelling in the region [155]. If this is so, healthy shallow reefs in such locations may serve as a climate refugia against ocean warming [157,158] which is corroborated by a global analysis including Timor-Leste as one of the 50 reef regions that are less vulnerable to climate change relative to other reefs [164]. As such, both community and national level coral reef management such as customary law (*tara bandu*) and climate mitigation policies, respectively, are necessary to ensure biodiversity is maintained while supporting coastal communities in a changing climate [165]. Although tackling climate change at an international level is still important for Timorese coral reefs, coral reef conservation efforts in-country should focus on mitigation of localized anthropogenic impacts such as sedimentation and fishing.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https: //www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/oceans2010012/s1, Tables S1–S8; Figures S1–S5. Supplemental materials includes supporting tables, figures, discussion on relevant nutrient data, and images. References [166–200] are cited in the Supplementary Materials.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, C.J.S.K. and S.D.; methodology, C.J.S.K. and S.D.; formal analysis, C.J.S.K. and S.D.; investigation, C.J.S.K.; resources, C.J.S.K.; data curation, C.J.S.K.; writing—original draft preparation, C.J.S.K.; writing—review and editing, C.J.S.K., S.D. and O.H.-G.; visualization, C.J.S.K.; supervision, S.D., C.R. and O.H.-G.; project administration, C.J.S.K.; funding acquisition, C.J.S.K. and O.H.-G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the ARC Laureate FL 120100066 to O.H.-G.; the Society of Conservation Biology Small Grant Award to C.J.S.K.; and the Winifred Violet Scott Trust to C.J.S.K.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data presented in this study are openly available in The University of Queensland eSpace data repository at doi: 10.48610/7278446, record number UQ:7278446. The R code and associated data used for analysis can also be found in a publicly accessible GitHub repository here: https://github.com/seaCatKim/Timor\_surveys20152017.

**Acknowledgments:** We gratefully acknowledge the following sources of funding in support of this research: the Australian Research Council, the Society of Conservation Biology, and the Winifred Violet Scott Trust. We thank the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Timor-Leste; Conservation International Timor-Leste; volunteers during fieldwork; and the XL CSS project logistical team. We also thank the Compass Boating & Diving and Aquatica crews. Samples were exported from Timor-Leste under export permit No. 455 and imported to Australia under AQIS import permit IP15000663. Finally, we thank those who contributed to the discussions and feedback on drafts.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
