Reef Zonation
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SEDIMENTARY FRAMEWORK of Lmainland FRINGING REEF DEVELOPMENT, CAPE TRIBULATION AREA
GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK AUTHORITY TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM GBRMPA-TM-14 SEDIMENTARY FRAMEWORK OF lMAINLAND FRINGING REEF DEVELOPMENT, CAPE TRIBULATION AREA D.P. JOHNSON and RM.CARTER Department of Geology James Cook University of North Queensland Townsville, Q 4811, Australia DATE November, 1987 SUMMARY Mainland fringing reefs with a diverse coral fauna have developed in the Cape Tribulation area primarily upon coastal sedi- ment bodies such as beach shoals and creek mouth bars. Growth on steep rocky headlands is minor. The reefs have exten- sive sandy beaches to landward, and an irregular outer margin. Typically there is a raised platform of dead nef along the outer edge of the reef, and dead coral columns lie buried under the reef flat. Live coral growth is restricted to the outer reef slope. Seaward of the reefs is a narrow wedge of muddy, terrigenous sediment, which thins offshore. Beach, reef and inner shelf sediments all contain 50% terrigenous material, indicating the reefs have always grown under conditions of heavy terrigenous influx. The relatively shallow lower limit of coral growth (ca 6m below ADD) is typical of reef growth in turbid waters, where decreased light levels inhibit coral growth. Radiocarbon dating of material from surveyed sites confirms the age of the fossil coral columns as 33304110 ybp, indicating that they grew during the late postglacial sea-level high (ca 5500-6500 ybp). The former thriving reef-flat was killed by a post-5500 ybp sea-level fall of ca 1 m. Although this study has not assessed the community structure of the fringing reefs, nor whether changes are presently occur- ring, it is clear the corals present today on the fore-reef slope have always lived under heavy terrigenous influence, and that the fossil reef-flat can be explained as due to the mid-Holocene fall in sea-level. -
Reef Structures Subject Matter: Recall the Different Types of Reef Structure (E.G
THE REEF AND BEYOND - CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION Reef Structures Subject matter: Recall the different types of reef structure (e.g. fringing, platform, ribbon, barrier, atolls, coral cays). Recommended reading: Coral Reefs and Climate Change - Patterns of distribution (p.84-85) Zones across the reef (p.92-94) FRINGING REEF Fringing reefs are reefs that grow directly from a shore, with no “true” lagoon (i.e., deep water channel) between the reef and the nearby land. Without an intervening lagoon to effectively buffer freshwater runoff, pollution, and sedimentation, fringing reefs tend to particularly sensitive to these forms of human impact. Fringing reef Tane Sinclair Taylor Tane Tane Sinclair Taylor Tane Planet Dove - Allen Coral Atlas Allen Coral Planet Dove - Coral coast, Fiji Fringing reef in Indonesia. PLATFORM REEFS AND CORAL CAYS Platform reefs begin to form on underwater mountains or other rock-hard outcrops between the shore and a barrier reef. Coral cays begin to form when broken coral and sand wash onto these flats; cays can also form on shallow reefs around atolls. Coral cays are small islands, with Platform reef and Coral cay typical length scales between 100 - 1000 m, that form on platform reefs, Dave Logan Heron Island Lady Elliot Island Marine Science Senior Syllabus 8 THE REEF AND BEYOND - CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION Reef Structures BARRIER REEFS BARRIER REEFS are coral reefs roughly parallel to a RIBBON REEFS are a type of barrier reef and are unique shore and separated from it by a lagoon or other body of to Australia. The name relates to the elongated Reef water.The coral reef structure buffers shorelines against bodies starting to the north of Cairns, and finishing to the waves, storms, and floods, helping to prevent loss of life, east of Lizard Island. -
Coral Reef Algae
Coral Reef Algae Peggy Fong and Valerie J. Paul Abstract Benthic macroalgae, or “seaweeds,” are key mem- 1 Importance of Coral Reef Algae bers of coral reef communities that provide vital ecological functions such as stabilization of reef structure, production Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and productive eco- of tropical sands, nutrient retention and recycling, primary systems on the planet, forming heterogeneous habitats that production, and trophic support. Macroalgae of an astonish- serve as important sources of primary production within ing range of diversity, abundance, and morphological form provide these equally diverse ecological functions. Marine tropical marine environments (Odum and Odum 1955; macroalgae are a functional rather than phylogenetic group Connell 1978). Coral reefs are located along the coastlines of comprised of members from two Kingdoms and at least over 100 countries and provide a variety of ecosystem goods four major Phyla. Structurally, coral reef macroalgae range and services. Reefs serve as a major food source for many from simple chains of prokaryotic cells to upright vine-like developing nations, provide barriers to high wave action that rockweeds with complex internal structures analogous to buffer coastlines and beaches from erosion, and supply an vascular plants. There is abundant evidence that the his- important revenue base for local economies through fishing torical state of coral reef algal communities was dominance and recreational activities (Odgen 1997). by encrusting and turf-forming macroalgae, yet over the Benthic algae are key members of coral reef communities last few decades upright and more fleshy macroalgae have (Fig. 1) that provide vital ecological functions such as stabili- proliferated across all areas and zones of reefs with increas- zation of reef structure, production of tropical sands, nutrient ing frequency and abundance. -
The Physical Environment in Coral Reefs of the Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombian Caribbean) in Response to Seasonal Upwelling*
Bol. Invest. Mar. Cost. 43 (1) 137-157 ISSN 0122-9761 Santa Marta, Colombia, 2014 THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT IN CORAL REEFS OF THE TAYRONA NATIONAL NATURAL PARK (COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN) IN RESPONSE TO SEASONAL UPWELLING* Elisa Bayraktarov1, 2, Martha L. Bastidas-Salamanca3 and Christian Wild1,4 1 Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Coral Reef Ecology Group (CORE), Fahrenheitstraße 6, D-28359 Bremen, Germany. [email protected], [email protected] 2 Present address: The University of Queensland, Global Change Institute, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia 3 Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (Invemar), Calle 25 No. 2-55 Playa Salguero, Santa Marta, Colombia. [email protected] 4 University of Bremen, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry (FB2), D-28359 Bremen, Germany ABSTRACT Coral reefs are subjected to physical changes in their surroundings including wind velocity, water temperature, and water currents that can affect ecological processes on different spatial and temporal scales. However, the dynamics of these physical variables in coral reef ecosystems are poorly understood. In this context, Tayrona National Natural Park (TNNP) in the Colombian Caribbean is an ideal study location because it contains coral reefs and is exposed to seasonal upwelling that strongly changes all key physical factors mentioned above. This study therefore investigated wind velocity and water temperature over two years, as well as water current velocity and direction for representative months of each season at a wind- and wave-exposed and a sheltered coral reef site in one exemplary bay of TNNP using meteorological data, temperature loggers, and an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) in order to describe the spatiotemporal variations of the physical environment. -
The Fringing Reef Coasts of Eastern Africa—Present Processes in Their
Western Indian Ocean J. Mar.THE Sci. FRINGING Vol. 2, No. REEF 1, COASTSpp. 1–13, OF 2003 EASTERN AFRICA 1 © 2003 WIOMSA TheFringingReefCoastsofEasternAfrica—Present ProcessesinTheirLong-termContext RussellArthurton 5A Church Lane, Grimston, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE14 3BY, UK Key words: Kenya, Tanzania, fringing reef, reef platform, sediment, sea-level change, climate variability, shoreline change, Late Pleistocene, Holocene Abstract—Sea-level changes through the Quaternary era have provided recurrent opportunities for the biosphere to significantly shape the coastal geomorphology of eastern Africa. Key agents in this shaping have been the calcium carbonate-fixing biota that have constructed the ocean- facing fringing reefs and produced the extensive backreef sediments that form the limestone platforms, cliffs and terraces that characterise these coasts. Today’s reefs comprise tough, algal- clad intertidal bars composed largely of coral rubble derived from their ocean front. They provide protection from wave attack to the inshore platforms with their sediment veneers and their beach and beach plain sands that are susceptible to erosion. If the eastern African coasts are subjected to the rise of sea-level that is predicted at the global scale during the coming century, the protective role of the reef bars will be diminished if their upward growth fails to keep pace. Favourable ocean temperatures and restraint in the destructive human pressures impacting the reef ecosystems will facilitate such growth. INTRODUCTION limestones). The wedges lap onto the much older rocks that form the continental margin and are Today’s eastern coast of Africa from Egypt to probably more than 100 m thick at their steep northern Mozambique is a reef coast, mostly ocean-facing edges (Fig. -
BIOT Field Report
©2015 Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Science Without Borders®. All research was completed under: British Indian Ocean Territory, The immigration Ordinance 2006, Permit for Visit. Dated 10th April, 2015, issued by Tom Moody, Administrator. This report was developed as one component of the Global Reef Expedition: BIOT research project. Citation: Global Reef Expedition: British Indian Ocean Territory. Field Report 19. Bruckner, A.W. (2015). Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, MD. pp 36. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) was incorporated in California as a 501(c)(3), public benefit, Private Operating Foundation in September 2000. The Living Oceans Foundation is dedicated to providing science-based solutions to protect and restore ocean health. For more information, visit http://www.lof.org and https://www.facebook.com/livingoceansfoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/LivingOceansFdn Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation 130 Severn Avenue Annapolis, MD, 21403, USA [email protected] Executive Director Philip G. Renaud Chief Scientist Andrew W. Bruckner, Ph.D. Images by Andrew Bruckner, unless noted. Maps completed by Alex Dempsey, Jeremy Kerr and Steve Saul Fish observations compiled by Georgia Coward and Badi Samaniego Front cover: Eagle Island. Photo by Ken Marks. Back cover: A shallow reef off Salomon Atoll. The reef is carpeted in leather corals and a bleached anemone, Heteractis magnifica, is visible in the fore ground. A school of giant trevally, Caranx ignobilis, pass over the reef. Photo by Phil Renaud. Executive Summary Between 7 March 2015 and 3 May 2015, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted two coral reef research missions as components of our Global Reef Expedition (GRE) program. -
Upwelling As a Source of Nutrients for the Great Barrier Reef Ecosystems: a Solution to Darwin's Question?
Vol. 8: 257-269, 1982 MARINE ECOLOGY - PROGRESS SERIES Published May 28 Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. / I Upwelling as a Source of Nutrients for the Great Barrier Reef Ecosystems: A Solution to Darwin's Question? John C. Andrews and Patrick Gentien Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville 4810, Queensland, Australia ABSTRACT: The Great Barrier Reef shelf ecosystem is examined for nutrient enrichment from within the seasonal thermocline of the adjacent Coral Sea using moored current and temperature recorders and chemical data from a year of hydrology cruises at 3 to 5 wk intervals. The East Australian Current is found to pulsate in strength over the continental slope with a period near 90 d and to pump cold, saline, nutrient rich water up the slope to the shelf break. The nutrients are then pumped inshore in a bottom Ekman layer forced by periodic reversals in the longshore wind component. The period of this cycle is 12 to 25 d in summer (30 d year round average) and the bottom surges have an alternating onshore- offshore speed up to 10 cm S-'. Upwelling intrusions tend to be confined near the bottom and phytoplankton development quickly takes place inshore of the shelf break. There are return surface flows which preserve the mass budget and carry silicate rich Lagoon water offshore while nitrogen rich shelf break water is carried onshore. Upwelling intrusions penetrate across the entire zone of reefs, but rarely into the Lagoon. Nutrition is del~veredout of the shelf thermocline to the living coral of reefs by localised upwelling induced by the reefs. -
Life on the Coral Reef
Coral Reef Teacher’s Guide Life on the Coral Reef Life on the Coral Reef THE CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM The muddy silt drifts out to sea, covering the nearby Coral reefs provide the basis for the most productive coral reefs. Some corals can remove the silt, but many shallow water ecosystem in the world. An ecosystem cannot. If the silt is not washed off within a short pe- is a group of living things, such as coral, algae and riod of time by the current, the polyps suffocate and fishes, along with their non-living environment, such die. Not only the rainforest is destroyed, but also the as rocks, water, and sand. Each influences the other, neighboring coral reef. and both are necessary for the successful maintenance of life. If one is thrown out of balance by either natural Reef Zones or human-made causes, then the survival of the other Coral reefs are not uniform, but are shaped by the is seriously threatened. forces of the sea and the structure of the sea floor into DID YOU KNOW? All of the Earth’s ecosystems are a series of different parts or reef zones. Understand- interrelated, forming a shell of life that covers the ing these zones is useful in understanding the ecol- entire planet – the biosphere. For instance, if too many ogy of coral reefs. Keep in mind that these zones can trees are cut down in the rainforest, soil from the for- blend gradually into one another, and that sometimes est is washed by rain into rivers that run to the ocean. -
Marine Plants in Coral Reef Ecosystems of Southeast Asia by E
Global Journal of Science Frontier Research: C Biological Science Volume 18 Issue 1 Version 1.0 Year 2018 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Online ISSN: 2249-4626 & Print ISSN: 0975-5896 Marine Plants in Coral Reef Ecosystems of Southeast Asia By E. A. Titlyanov, T. V. Titlyanova & M. Tokeshi Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology Corel Reef Ecosystems- The coral reef ecosystem is a collection of diverse species that interact with each other and with the physical environment. The latitudinal distribution of coral reef ecosystems in the oceans (geographical distribution) is determined by the seawater temperature, which influences the reproduction and growth of hermatypic corals − the main component of the ecosystem. As so, coral reefs only occupy the tropical and subtropical zones. The vertical distribution (into depth) is limited by light. Sun light is the main energy source for this ecosystem, which is produced through photosynthesis of symbiotic microalgae − zooxanthellae living in corals, macroalgae, seagrasses and phytoplankton. GJSFR-C Classification: FOR Code: 060701 MarinePlantsinCoralReefEcosystemsofSoutheastAsia Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of : © 2018. E. A. Titlyanov, T. V. Titlyanova & M. Tokeshi. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Marine Plants in Coral Reef Ecosystems of Southeast Asia E. A. Titlyanov α, T. V. Titlyanova σ & M. Tokeshi ρ I. Coral Reef Ecosystems factors for the organisms’ abundance and diversity on a reef. -
Chapter 3 Impacts of Climate Change on the Physical Oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef
Part I: Introduction Chapter 3 Impacts of climate change on the physical oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef Craig Steinberg Sea full of life, the nourisher of kinds, Purger of earth, and medicines of men; Creating a sweet climate by my breath… Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sea shore, (1803–1882) American Philosopher and Poet. Part I: Introduction 3.1 Introduction The oceans function as vast reservoirs of heat, the top three metres of the ocean alone stores all the equivalent heat energy contained within the atmosphere29. This is due to the high specific heat of water, which is a measure of the ability of matter to absorb heat. The ocean therefore has by far the largest heat capacity and hence energy retention capability of any other climate system component. Surface ocean currents (significantly forced by large scale winds) play a major role in redistributing the earth’s heat energy around the globe by transporting it from the tropical regions poleward principally via western boundary currents such as the East Australian Current (EAC). These currents therefore have a major affect on maritime and continental weather and climate. It is important to understand the temporal and spatial scales that influence ocean processes. Energy is imparted to the ocean by sun, wind and gravitational tides. The energy of the resulting large-scale motions is transmitted progressively to smaller and smaller scales of motion through to molecular vibrations where energy is finally dissipated as heat 42. The oceans therefore play an important role in climate control and change, and Figure 3.1 shows the ranges of time and space, which characterise physical processes in the ocean and their hierarchical nature. -
Biodiversity of the Caribbean
Biodiversity of the Caribbean A Learning Resource Prepared For: (Protecting the Eastern Caribbean Region’s Biodiversity Project) Photo supplied by: Andrew Ross (Seascape Caribbean) Part 2 / Section C Coral Reef Ecosystems February 2009 Prepared by Ekos Communications, Inc. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada [Part 2/Section C] Coral Reef Ecosystems Table of Contents C.1. What is a Coral Reef Ecosystem? C.2. Formation of Coral Reefs C.3. Types of Coral Reefs C.4. Species Biodiversity C.5. Importance of Coral Reefs C.5.a. Food Source and Habitat C.5.b. Water Filtration C.5.c. Fisheries C.5.d. Tourism C.5.e. Coastal Protection C.5.f. Source of Scientific Advances C.5.g. Intrinsic Value C.6. Types of Human & Natural Impacts C.6.a. Pollution C.6.b. Over-fishing C.6.c. Tourism C.6.d. Sedimentation C.6.e. Mining Reef Resources C.6.f. Climate Change C.7. Protecting Coral Reefs C.8. Student Fact Sheet: Fifty Facts About Wider Caribbean Coral Reefs C.9. Case Study: Tobago Cays Marine Park (TCMP), Southern Grenadines C.10. Activity 1: Mock Marine Management Plan C.11. Activity 2: Coral Reef Ecosystem Poster Presentation C.12. Case Study: Community-Based Natural Resource Management in the Bay Islands, Honduras C.13. Activity 3: Diagram the Case! C.14. References [Part 2/Section C] Coral Reef Ecosystems C.1. What is a Coral Reef Ecosystem? 30°C. Tropical corals are found within three main regions of the Coral reefs exist in the warm, clear, shallow waters of tropical world: the Indo-Pacific, the Western North Atlantic, and the Red oceans worldwide but also in the cold waters of the deep seas. -
Coral Reef Ecosystem Research Plan Noaa for Fiscal Years 2007 to 2011
CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH PLAN NOAA FOR FISCAL YEARS 2007 TO 2011 NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 1 CITATION: Puglise, K.A. and R. Kelty (eds.). 2007. NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Research Plan for Fiscal Years 2007 to 2011. Silver Spring, MD: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 1. 128 pp. PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE: Gary Matlock and Barbara Moore (co-chairs) Eric Bayler, Andy Bruckner, Mark Eakin, Roger Griffis, Tom Hourigan, and David Kennedy FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information about this report or to request a copy, please contact NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program at 301-713-3155 or write to: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program; NOAA/NOS/OCRM; 1305 East West Highway; Silver Spring, MD 20910 or visit www.coralreef.noaa.gov. DISCLAIMER: Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for their use by the United States government. NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Research Plan for Fiscal Years 2007 to 2011 K.A. Puglise and R. Kelty (eds.) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration January 2007 NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 1 United States Department of National Oceanic and National Ocean Service Commerce Atmospheric Administration Carlos M. Gutierrez Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. John H. Dunnigan Secretary Administrator Assistant Administrator ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to express gratitude to all of the people, named and unnamed, who contributed to this Research Plan. This document truly represents the collective work of several individuals. In particular,