Where have all the carbonates gone? A model comparison of calcium carbonate budgets before and after the 1982–1983 El Nino at Uva Island in the eastern Pacific

Heterozoan carbonates in subtropical to tropical settings in the present and past

“…This low pH is the consequence of upwelling mixing CO 2 -enriched deep waters into the surface layers along the shallow thermocline (e.g., Manzello et al 2008). It results in poor cementation of coral reef structures and may favour the high bioerosion rates previously reported for Eastern Tropical Pacific reefs (Eakin 1996). However, elevated nutrients in upwelled waters may also limit cementation and/or stimulate bioerosion (Manzello et al 2008).…”

Coral reefs and changing seawater carbonate chemistry

“…It is unclear whether these bioeroders were more attracted by the high-indurated reef surface, or by the high-energy environment, but is clear that bioerosion can have a profound effect on reef-building. Following the 1982-83 mortality on many Eastern Pacific reef communities, bioerosion removed thousands of years of coral reef accumulation in a matter of a few years [Glynn, 1994;Eakin, 1996]. Here, bioeroders preferred softer substrates as well as the coralline algae pavements [Reaka-Kudla et al, 1996].…”

Eastern Pacific Coral Reefs: New Revelations in the Twentieth Century

“…It was disheartening to witness the relentless breakdown and disappearance of the Galapagos reefs in less than 20 years following the El Nifio disturbance (Glynn, 1994;Reaka-Kudla et al, 1996). Erosion of the Uva Island reef in Panama following coral mortality in 1982-83 was not so dran~atic as in the Galapagos, but nonetheless substantial, particularly in certain reef zones (Eakin, 1996). In Panama, the most influential surface bioeroder is Dzacienlcz me.xicunttnl A. Agassiz, the blackspined sea urchin.…”