Introduction to the special issue of Coral Reefs on “Coral Reef Algal Community Dynamics”

Coral Reefs ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Szmant
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Algal Community ◽  
Special Issue

Special Issue on Community Dynamics of Coral Reef Algae

Coral Reefs ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-302
Author(s):  
Not Available Not Available
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Coral Reef Algae

Prominence of environmental and anthropogenic agents on the occurrence of coral reef bleaching syndrome and coral diseases

2024 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 6139-2024
Author(s):  
MICHAŁ SCHULZ ◽  
ALEKSANDRA ŁOŚ ◽  
PATRYCJA SKOWRONEK ◽  
ANETA STRACHECKA
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Coral Diseases ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Threats ◽  
Negative Factors ◽  
Main Relationship

Coral reefs are the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They ensure the conservation of biodiversity and are a live habitat for 25% of all marine organisms. The main relationship on the coral reef is the symbiosis between corals and algae from the genus Symbiodinium (commonly called zooxanthellae). The authors of this publication have characterized and described the factors limiting the occurrence of coral reefs, including: water temperature, salinity, access to sunlight, contamination, physicochemical and hydromechanical parameters of water. Moreover anthropogenic threats to coral reefs have been specified, including diving tourism, ecological disasters (e.g. oil spills) and the development of marine aquaristics. Rapid changes in the basic living conditions are dangerous for corals and their symbionts and may cause the unsuitability of the new environment resulting in diseases such as coral bleaching. Corals bleaching is a disease associated with the break of the coral and algae relationship which results in a coral reef death on a global scale. Awareness of these negative factors, often related to human activity, may allow us to better understand the ecological processes that are the basis of reef functioning and might enable us to prevent and oppose to the changes and ecological recessions of coral reefs.

scholarly journals Turbid Coral Reefs: Past, Present and Future—A Review

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Adi Zweifler (Zvifler) ◽  
Michael O’Leary ◽  
Kyle Morgan ◽  
Nicola K. Browne
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Reef Complex ◽  
Sediment Input

Increasing evidence suggests that coral reefs exposed to elevated turbidity may be more resilient to climate change impacts and serve as an important conservation hotspot. However, logistical difficulties in studying turbid environments have led to poor representation of these reef types within the scientific literature, with studies using different methods and definitions to characterize turbid reefs. Here we review the geological origins and growth histories of turbid reefs from the Holocene (past), their current ecological and environmental states (present), and their potential responses and resilience to increasing local and global pressures (future). We classify turbid reefs using new descriptors based on their turbidity regime (persistent, fluctuating, transitional) and sources of sediment input (natural versus anthropogenic). Further, by comparing the composition, function and resilience of two of the most studied turbid reefs, Paluma Shoals Reef Complex, Australia (natural turbidity) and Singapore reefs (anthropogenic turbidity), we found them to be two distinct types of turbid reefs with different conservation status. As the geographic range of turbid reefs is expected to increase due to local and global stressors, improving our understanding of their responses to environmental change will be central to global coral reef conservation efforts.

scholarly journals Stokes drift through corals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J. Webber ◽  
Herbert E. Huppert
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Porous Layer ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fluid Layer ◽  
Ocean Waves ◽  
Stokes Drift ◽  
Inviscid Fluid ◽  
Porous Bed ◽  
Vertical Drift

AbstractMotivated by shallow ocean waves propagating over coral reefs, we investigate the drift velocities due to surface wave motion in an effectively inviscid fluid that overlies a saturated porous bed of finite depth. Previous work in this area either neglects the large-scale flow between layers (Phillips in Flow and reactions in permeable rocks, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991) or only considers the drift above the porous layer (Monismith in Ann Rev Fluid Mech 39:37–55, 2007). Overcoming these limitations, we propose a model where flow is described by a velocity potential above the porous layer and by Darcy’s law in the porous bed, with derived matching conditions at the interface between the two layers. Both a horizontal and a novel vertical drift effect arise from the damping of the porous bed, which requires the use of a complex wavenumber k. This is in contrast to the purely horizontal second-order drift first derived by Stokes (Trans Camb Philos Soc 8:441–455, 1847) when working with solely a pure fluid layer. Our work provides a physical model for coral reefs in shallow seas, where fluid drift both above and within the reef is vitally important for maintaining a healthy reef ecosystem (Koehl et al. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Coral Reef Symposium, vol 2, pp 1087–1092, 1997; Monismith in Ann Rev Fluid Mech 39:37–55, 2007). We compare our model with field measurements by Koehl and Hadfield (J Mar Syst 49:75–88, 2004) and also explain the vertical drift effects as documented by Koehl et al. (Mar Ecol Prog Ser 335:1–18, 2007), who measured the exchange between a coral reef layer and the (relatively shallow) sea above.

scholarly journals Introduction: Special issue on species interactions, ecological networks and community dynamics – Untangling the entangled bank using molecular techniques

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Roslin ◽  
Michael Traugott ◽  
Mattias Jonsson ◽  
Graham N. Stone ◽  
Simon Creer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Ecological Networks ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Special Issue

scholarly journals Can we measure beauty? Computational evaluation of coral reef aesthetics

PeerJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e1390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas F. Haas ◽  
Marine Guibert ◽  
Anja Foerschner ◽  
Tim Co ◽  
Sandi Calhoun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Monitoring Tool ◽  
Photographic Images ◽  
Aesthetic Appearance ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Monitoring Protocols ◽  
Aesthetic Values

The natural beauty of coral reefs attracts millions of tourists worldwide resulting in substantial revenues for the adjoining economies. Although their visual appearance is a pivotal factor attracting humans to coral reefs current monitoring protocols exclusively target biogeochemical parameters, neglecting changes in their aesthetic appearance. Here we introduce a standardized computational approach to assess coral reef environments based on 109 visual features designed to evaluate the aesthetic appearance of art. The main feature groups include color intensity and diversity of the image, relative size, color, and distribution of discernable objects within the image, and texture. Specific coral reef aesthetic values combining all 109 features were calibrated against an established biogeochemical assessment (NCEAS) using machine learning algorithms. These values were generated for ∼2,100 random photographic images collected from 9 coral reef locations exposed to varying levels of anthropogenic influence across 2 ocean systems. Aesthetic values proved accurate predictors of the NCEAS scores (root mean square error < 5 forN≥ 3) and significantly correlated to microbial abundance at each site. This shows that mathematical approaches designed to assess the aesthetic appearance of photographic images can be used as an inexpensive monitoring tool for coral reef ecosystems. It further suggests that human perception of aesthetics is not purely subjective but influenced by inherent reactions towards measurable visual cues. By quantifying aesthetic features of coral reef systems this method provides a cost efficient monitoring tool that targets one of the most important socioeconomic values of coral reefs directly tied to revenue for its local population.

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