The Coral Islands and Associated Features of the Great Barrier Reefs

Steers, J. A.

doi:10.2307/1786988

Cited by 43 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Stanley (1928) refers to both the "extensive fringing reef to the south" (presumably the SI-S reef) and the reef in Shoalwater Bay but does not specify which reef was recovering in the mid-1920s. In 1936 the reef flats at Stone Island and Middle Island were "dead on their upper surfaces" (Steers, 1937) and negligible recolonisation of coral had occurred by 1953 (Stephenson et al 1958). According to anecdotal evidence in Wachenfeld, (1997), the reef flat at SI-S was apparently in good condition in the 1970s.…”

Section: Goniastraea Grayi (Goniastrea Pectinata) Turbinaria Cinerasmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Section: Goniastraea Grayi (Goniastrea Pectinata) Turbinaria Cinerasmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…Since the earliest descriptions of coral reef islands (Darwin, 1842;Gardiner, 1903), energy exposure has also been favoured to explain the great variability in island morphology, sedimentary character and distribution in reef systems (Steers, 1937;Umbgrove, 1947;Verstappen, 1954;Wiens, 1962;Stoddart and Steers, 1977;Guilcher, 1988). Wiens (1962) discussed the prevalence of atoll islands on windward reef margins (eastern sectors) in 125 Pacific atolls, suggesting the correspondence with prevailing trade winds indicated that boundary energy conditions were responsible for island distribution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stoddart et al (1966) also noted that there is regular variation in location of islands around Addu Atoll, Maldives as exposure changes with orientation. On the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Steers (1937) also proposed cross-reef changes in energy as an explanation for geographic differences in reef island distribution and morphology. Furthermore, McLean and Stoddart (1978) found differences in island sediment types from the mainland to outer ribbon reefs reflected variations in energy gradients across the GBR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wave energy gradients across a Maldivian atoll: Implications for island geomorphology

et al. 2006

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“…Another reason is that many of the early reef researchers concentrated on the reef structure. Darwin (1842) was certainly preoccupied with just how reefs formed, as was Dana (1872), and many others of the present century (Yonge 1930;Steers 1937;Stoddart et al 1978). Davis (1928) exemplified the geologist's attitude in the following:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The future of coral reefs in an age of global change

2000

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Coral reefs are the only ecosystem that is strongly defined by a geological component ± most definitions require that the biological community produces its own build-up of calcium carbonate. In terms of ªreef-building,º the geological record reveals that coral reefs have flourished over the past few million years, particularly during interglacial periods. Based on our observations of modern-day reefs, which are limited to the past few centuries, we tend to link ªcoral reef healthº to carbonate production; however, reef ecosystems face future global-scale environmental changes that may decrease their reef-building capacity. In contrast to past discussions of the factors which determine reef-building potential by a coral reef community, the essential question that arises from this review is: How important is reef building to a coral reef community?

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The Coral Islands and Associated Features of the Great Barrier Reefs

Cited by 43 publications

References 0 publications

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

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

Wave energy gradients across a Maldivian atoll: Implications for island geomorphology

The future of coral reefs in an age of global change

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