Coral reefs provide critical ecosystem services but evolve under specific disturbance regimes exceeding the system’s adaptive capacity. In contrast to the Caribbean, some Pacific Island communities exhibit higher levels of local social-ecological resilience. Such societies appear to be able to confine the impact of ecological disturbances to manageable levels and enhance the regenerative capacity of the ecosystems. Which human activities contribute to the recovery of socially and ecologically desirable and productive states? Which behaviors and social structures are most important for maintaining the resilience of these systems? How is resilience likely to change as social conditions change? The overarching goal of ACRoSS is to develop better system modeling methods for quantitative integration of ecology and social science.