Nearshore fringing reefs in north Queensland

Hopley, David; Slocombe, A. M.; Muir, F. J.; Grant, Carley

doi:10.1007/bf00571192

Cited by 70 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Evidence of onshore migrations of coral in response to past changes in sea level rise is well documented in the geologic record (e.g. Hopley et al, 1983;Neumann and Macintyre, 1985). However, evidence for co-location of live corals and mangroves is not.…”

Section: Alternative Refuges and Resiliency Factorsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Diverse coral communities in mangrove habitats suggest a novel refuge from climate change

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Risk analyses indicate that more than 90 % of the world's reefs will be threatened by climate change and local anthropogenic impacts by the year 2030 under "business-asusual" climate scenarios. Increasing temperatures and solar radiation cause coral bleaching that has resulted in extensive coral mortality. Increasing carbon dioxide reduces seawater pH, slows coral growth, and may cause loss of reef structure. Management strategies include establishment of marine protected areas with environmental conditions that promote reef resiliency. However, few resilient reefs have been identified, and resiliency factors are poorly defined.Here we characterize the first natural, non-reef coral refuge from thermal stress and ocean acidification and identify resiliency factors for mangrove-coral habitats. We measured diurnal and seasonal variations in temperature, salinity, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and seawater chemistry; characterized substrate parameters; and examined water circulation patterns in mangrove communities where scleractinian corals are growing attached to and under mangrove prop roots in Hurricane Hole, St. John, US Virgin Islands. Additionally, we inventoried the coral species and quantified incidences of coral bleaching, mortality, and recovery for two major reef-building corals, Colpophyllia natans and Diploria labyrinthiformis, growing in mangroveshaded and exposed (unshaded) areas.Over 30 species of scleractinian corals were growing in association with mangroves. Corals were thriving in low-light (more than 70 % attenuation of incident PAR) from mangrove shading and at higher temperatures than nearby reef tract corals. A higher percentage of C. natans colonies were living shaded by mangroves, and no shaded colonies were bleached. Fewer D. labyrinthiformis colonies were shaded by mangroves, however more unshaded colonies were bleached. A combination of substrate and habitat heterogeneity, proximity of different habitat types, hydrographic conditions, and biological influences on seawater chemistry generate chemical conditions that buffer against ocean acidification. This previously undocumented refuge for corals provides evidence for adaptation of coastal organisms and ecosystem transition due to recent climate change. Identifying and protecting other natural, non-reef coral refuges is critical for sustaining corals and other reef species into the future.

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Section: Alternative Refuges and Resiliency Factorsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Diverse coral communities in mangrove habitats suggest a novel refuge from climate change

et al. 2014

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“…Furthermore, the relatively exposed location of SI-N may mean this reef is more subjected to higher frequency disturbances and higher export rates, which would result in lower net reef accretion rates. The "up and out" mode of reef growth displayed in the reef chronostratigraphy at SI-N is typical of inshore fringing reefs in island embayment settings, such as Pioneer Bay at Orpheus Island, central GBR (Hopley et al 1983). …”

Section: Accepted M Manuscript 32mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, the ~400 m long sand spit indicates a large supply of sediment to this part of the island. The sand spit would be mobile under normal and storm conditions and spit migration may also influence the survival of coral recruits in this area of the reef flat (Hopley et al 1983). …”

Section: -1995mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-scale records of reef development and condition provide context for contemporary changes on inshore reefs

Ryan

Lewis

Smithers

et al. 2016

Global and Planetary Change

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Comparisons between historical and contemporary photographs of coral reef flats from the inshore Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have been cited by various authors and agencies as evidence of reef degradation since European settlement and have been presented as proof of widespread reef decline. The diminished condition is inferred from reduced live coral cover and structural diversity depicted in the contemporary photographs. Anthropogenic causes for this deterioration are most often proposed, usually because it is argued to have coincided with modifications to coastal catchments by European settlers. However, changes in reef condition inferred from photographic comparisons have rarely been verified against quantitative assessments of reef geomorphic state or current reef status. Photographs taken in the late 1800s of the reef flat at Stone Island, located in Edgecumbe Bay in the inshore central GBR, have been compared by others with more recent images to interpret significant reductions in coral cover and diversity over the past 120 or so years. We examined the internal structure of fringing reefs at two locations on Stone Island by collecting 14 percussion cores across the reef flats. Sedimentological analyses coupled with uranium-thorium dating allowed for the reconstruction of reef development over the past ~7,000 years. Both reefs at Stone Island A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT2 initiated prior to 7,000 calendar years before present (yBP, where present is 1950 AD) and both reef flats were almost entirely emplaced by 4,000 yBP. Surveys of the benthic ecology of reefs at Stone Island and at Middle Island, also in Edgecumbe Bay, indicate that coral cover and diversity across reef flats and slopes was patchy and varied spatially within each location and throughout the region. Live coral cover on the Middle Island reef flat reached an average (± 1σ standard deviation) of 63.1 ± 20.2%. This was much higher than the live coral cover at Stone Island, where only a few small living coral colonies were recorded. We evaluate the use of photographic records from Stone Island to depict regional changes in reef condition by comparing the trends in reef condition determined from photographic records with underlying reef geomorphic state reconstructed from reef cores. We conclude that inferred changes in reef condition at Stone Island are localised and should not be used as evidence of widespread regional decline on the GBR.

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“…Subsequent to these studies, the results of the cross sectional drillings have been reported on the Great Bar rier Reef (e. g. Davies and Marshall, 1980;Mar shall and Davies, 1982;Davies and Hopley, 1983;Hopley et al, 1983;Hopley and Barnes, 1985), Caribbean (e. g. Macintyre et al, 1981Macintyre et al, , 1985, Florida (e. g. Shinn et al, 1977), Eastern Pacific (e. g. Glynn and Macintyre, 1977), French Polynesia (e. g. Montaggioni, 1988), Japan (e. g. Konishi et al, 1983;Takahashi et al, 1988). Hubbard (1985) reconstructed the accretion patterns of the Holocene reef proposed by Kinsey (1981) which ascribed the Pacific and Atlantic controversy, into Type I (detritus remains within the reef complex) and Type II (the sediment not incorporated as backfill) by taking into account drilling results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morpho-Dynamics on Holocene Reef Accretion: Drilling Results from Nishimezaki Reef, Kume Island, the Central Ryukyus

Kan

Takahashi

Koba

1991

Geogr. Rev. Jpn, Ser B

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This paper focuses on the relationships between time, space and geomorphic environments of the Holocene reef-flat formation.The discussion is based on nine core logs drilled in the Holocene emerged reef-flat of Nishimezaki, Kume Island, the Central Ryukyus. The following results are obtained.The apparent sea-level curve during the period from 7,500 to 2,000 Y . B. P. can be divided into three phases on the basis of sea-level rise rates. 1) 7,500 to 6,500 Y. B . P.; Sea-level rose rapidly at an approximated rate of 10m/1,000yrs.2) 6,500 to 5,000 Y. B. P.; Sea-level rise rate slowed abruptly to less than 3m/1,000yrs.Rise rate gradually decreased up to 5 ,000 Y. B. P. 3) 5,000 to 2,000 Y. B. P.; Stabilization of sea-level.The formational process of the reef-flat topography could be divided into three phases . 1) Initial growth phase; Reef initiation occurred at ca. 7,500 Y. B. P. The differences of growth fabrics in this phase depend on the direction of driving waves and slopes on the pre-Holocene topography, and the depth variation at that time. 2) Reef-crest growth phase; Vigorous reef growth of autochthonous tabular corals coincides with the slowing down of the sea-level rise rate between 6,500 to 6,000 Y. B. P. The spurs or pinnacles located in shallow water and attacked by strong wave action reached the sea-level earlier than those in other locations (e . g. deep water, not under strong wave action). 3) Reef-flat formation phase; This phase coincides with the slow rise and stabilization of sea-level from 6,000 Y. B. P. The reef-crest ridge is the earliest to reach sea-level. Subsequently, the outer part and inner part of the reef-crest reached the sea-level and formed the reef-flat.Where breaks or interruptions are present in the reef-crest ridge, there is rapid growth of the inner part.In contrast to the sea-level rise rate and the wave direction controlling unilaterally the reef accretion processes, topography is both a result of reef accretion and a factor which controls the subsequent reef accretion.

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Nearshore fringing reefs in north Queensland

Cited by 70 publications

References 15 publications

Diverse coral communities in mangrove habitats suggest a novel refuge from climate change

Diverse coral communities in mangrove habitats suggest a novel refuge from climate change

Multi-scale records of reef development and condition provide context for contemporary changes on inshore reefs

Morpho-Dynamics on Holocene Reef Accretion: Drilling Results from Nishimezaki Reef, Kume Island, the Central Ryukyus

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