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1.
High‐resolution single‐channel seismic reflection surveys were carried out in the northern Ryukyu Island Arc during an NT05‐14 cruise of the R/V Natsushima. The survey area is located northeast of Amami Oshima and southwest of Kikai Shima immediately south of the current northern limit of coral reef formation in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The main purpose of the surveys was to ascertain whether coral reefs formed during glacial periods and, if so, to determine their three‐dimensional distribution. We collected 784 km of high‐resolution single‐channel seismic data during the cruise. The acoustic basement is clearly observed under the Amami Spur, off Amami Oshima. The seismic profiles show two anticlines, each with an axis trending northeast to southwest. Thin Quaternary stratified sediment overlies the acoustic basement in the northwestern and southeastern slope areas, as well as between the anticlinal axes. The stratified sediment can be divided into several sedimentary units. The mound‐shaped reflections are found within the stratified sedimentary units in the central to eastern parts of the spur. Because the mound‐shaped reflections are characterized by strong reflections and chaotic internal structures in profiles, they are considered biogenic ‘reefs’ or banks consisting of coarse‐grained bioclasts. They overlie the acoustic basement or stratified sediment and reach 15 m in thickness and 400 m in width. In contrast, irregularly shaped topographic highs were detected at the shelf edge southwest off Kikai Shima, which are likely to be remnants of coral reefs formed during the last glacial period. Our seismic data indicate probable coral reef formation at low stands during glacial stages, such as the Last Glacial Maximum, even in the northern Central Ryukyus. The occurrence of drowned reefs may indicate that their growth rate was not sufficient to keep up with a rapid rise in sealevel after a glacial period.  相似文献   

2.
Keiichi  Sasaki  Akio  Omura  Tetsuo  Miwa  Yoshihiro  Tsuji  Hiroki  Matsuda  Toru  Nakamori  Yasufumi  Iryu  Tsutomu  Yamada  Yuri  Sato  Hiroshi  Nakagawa 《Island Arc》2006,15(4):455-467
Abstract   High-resolution seismic reflection profiles delineated the distribution of mound-shaped reflections, which were interpreted as reefs, beneath the insular shelf western off Irabu Island, Ryukyus, southwestern Japan. A sediment core through one of the mounded structures was recovered from the sea floor at a depth of −118.2 m by offshore drilling and was dated by radiometric methods. The lithology and coral fauna of the core indicate that the mounded structure was composed of coral–algal boundstone suggesting a small-scaled coral reef. High-precision α-spectrometric 230Th/234U dating coupled with calibrated accelerator mass spectrometric 14C ages of corals obtained reliable ages of this reef ranging from 22.18 ± 0.63 to 30.47 ± 0.98 ka. This proves that such a submerged reef was formed during the lowstand stage of marine oxygen isotope stages 3–2. The existence of low-Mg calcite in the aragonitic coral skeleton of 22.18 ± 0.63 ka provides evidence that the reef had once been exposed by lowering of the relative sealevel to at least −126 m during the last glacial maximum in the study area. There is no room for doubt that a coral reef grew during the last glacial period on the shelf off Irabu Island of Ryukyus in the subtropical region of western Pacific.  相似文献   

3.
Material cored during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 310 ‘Tahiti Sea Level’ revealed that the fossil reef systems around Tahiti are composed of two major stratigraphic sequences: (i) a last deglacial sequence; and (ii) an older Pleistocene sequence. The older Pleistocene carbonate sequence is composed of reef deposits associated with volcaniclastic sediments and was preserved in Hole 310‐M0005D drilled off Maraa. Within an approximately 70‐m‐thick older Pleistocene sequence (33.22–101.93 m below seafloor; 92.85–161.56 m below present sealevel) in this hole, 11 depositional units are defined by lithological changes, sedimentological features, and paleontological characteristics and are numbered sequentially from the top of the hole downward (Subunits P1–P11). Paleowater depths inferred from nongeniculate coralline algae, combined with those determined by using corals and larger foraminifers, suggest two major sealevel rises during the deposition of the older Pleistocene sequence. Of these, the second sealevel rise is associated with an intervening sealevel drop. It is likely that the second sealevel rise corresponds to that during Termination II (TII, the penultimate deglaciation, from Marine Isotope Stages 6 to 5e). Therefore, the intervening sealevel drop can be correlated with that known as the ‘sealevel reversal’ during TII. Because there are limited data on the Pleistocene reef systems in the tropical South Pacific Ocean, this study provides important information about Pleistocene sealevel history, the evolution of coral reef ecosystems, and the responses of coral reefs to Quaternary climate changes.  相似文献   

4.
Kaoru  Sugihara  Naoto  Masunaga  Kazuhiko  Fujita 《Island Arc》2006,15(4):437-454
Abstract The taxonomic diversity of hermatypic corals decreases with increasing latitude, which correlates with sea‐surface temperatures. However, little is known about latitudinal changes in the taxonomic diversity and biogeographic patterns of larger benthic foraminifera, although their physiological requirements are similar to those of hermatypic corals because of their symbiotic relationships with microalgae. The present study examined how the abundance and taxonomic composition of larger foraminiferal assemblages in shallow‐water reef sediments change with latitude along the Ryukyu Islands (Ryukyus), which are located near the northern limit of coral‐reef distributions in the western Pacific Ocean. Three islands from different latitudes in the Ryukyus were selected to investigate latitudinal changes in larger foraminiferal assemblages: Ishigaki Island (24°20′N, 124°10′E), Kudaka Island (26°09′N, 127°54′E) and Tane‐ga‐shima Island (30°20′N, 131°E). Four sediment samples were taken at each of three topographic sites (beach, shallow lagoon and reef crest) on the reef flat of each island. Foraminiferal tests of a 2.0‐ to 0.5‐mm size fraction were selected, identified and counted. The variations in foraminiferal abundance in reef sediments from three latitudinally different islands exhibit two contrasting trends along reef flats: a shoreward decrease on Ishigaki and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands and a shoreward increase on Kudaka Island. A total of 25, 24 and 13 foraminiferal taxa were identified in Ishigaki, Kudaka and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands, respectively. Baculogypsina sphaerulata, Neorotalia calcar and Amphistegina spp. were dominant (i.e. >3% of foraminiferal assemblages) in the three islands. Calcarina gaudichaudii and Calcarina hispida were common on Ishigaki and Kudaka Islands but were absent on Tane‐ga‐shima Island. Larger foraminiferal assemblages from three different reef‐flat environments on Ishigaki Island can be distinguished, whereas those from the three environments on Kudaka and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands are similar in composition. These latitudinal changes in larger foraminiferal assemblages in reef sediments may possibly be caused by variations in the topography of reef flats, distributions and standing crops of living foraminifers on reef flats, and the northern limit of some calcarinid species in the northern Ryukyus.  相似文献   

5.
Kazuhiko  Fujita  Hiroaki  Shimoji  Koichi  Nagai 《Island Arc》2006,15(4):420-436
Abstract A new method for reconstructing depositional environments of larger foraminifera‐bearing limestones is proposed. First, depth and spatial distributions of empty tests of 10 foraminiferal taxa in a 1–2 mm size fraction were examined using 32 surface sediment samples collected from depths shallower than 200 m, located to the west of Miyako Island, Ryukyu Islands, northwest Pacific. Distributional ranges of empty tests in the 1–2 mm size fraction appear to be more limited than those including other size fractions in previous reports, partly because larger empty tests of each taxon are less easily transported than smaller ones. Multivariate analyses (Q‐mode cluster analysis and non‐metric multidimensional scaling ordination) based on binary (presence/absence) data of the 10 taxa delineate four sample groups, each of which corresponds to different depositional environments: nearshore zone/bay inlet; back‐reef to fore‐reef; outer shelf to shelf slope; and shelf slope distant from coral reefs. Next, these modern data were applied to reconstruct the depositional environment of a rock section distributed in the Shiratorizaki area (Irabu Island, Ryukyu Islands), which consists of larger foraminiferal limestone of the Pleistocene Ryukyu Group. Multivariate analyses were performed on the fossil plus the modern foraminiferal data to explore the possible relationship of the fossil associations with variations in modern associations, demonstrating that the fossil foraminiferal associations resemble the modern outer shelf associations. The modern analog technique was also applied to estimate paleobathymetry using fossil foraminiferal data. The results indicate that the section studied was deposited in outer shelf environments at depths between 53.5 and 98.6 m. These paleoenvironmental interpretations are consistent with previous studies based on sedimentary facies and the computer‐based expert system. The modern dataset and methods used in our work would be particularly useful for paleoenvironmental reconstructions of Quaternary reef and shelf carbonates along active margins of the northwest Pacific.  相似文献   

6.
Well‐sorted detrital limestone is one of the typical lithofacies of the latest interval of the Pleistocene Ryukyu Group, which is exposed in the Ryukyu Archipelago in southwestern Japan. The depositional environments of the limestone are interpreted to be extremely shallow and to include back‐reef lagoons or moats and subaerial sand dunes. However, detailed micropaleontological analyses have not been performed on this limestone. In this study, the interpretation of the depositional environments and paleo‐water depths was improved by quantitative examination of foraminiferal assemblages for the well‐sorted detrital limestone of the Minatogawa Formation in the southern part of Okinawa Island. Thin sections of limestone collected from the Minatogawa (Horikawa) quarry were subjected to sedimentological and foraminiferal analyses. Comparison with modern foraminiferal distribution within the Ryukyu Archipelago indicates that back‐reef and fore‐reef dwelling foraminifers characterize the fossil assemblages from the well‐sorted detrital limestone (bioclastic grainstone). Three ratios of indicator foraminiferal taxa (ratios of back‐reef to fore‐reef taxa, planktonic foraminifers to Amphistegina lobifera and Amphistegina lessonii, and Calcarina gaudichaudii to other Calcarina species), as well as multivariate analyses suggest that the well‐sorted detrital limestone was deposited in fore‐reef setting shallower than 40 m in water depth. A comparable depth range was reconstructed from the coral assemblage in the associated coral limestone, suggesting that the Minatogawa Formation was deposited in a gently inclined ramp setting with patch reefs and/or fringing reefs. Stratigraphic changes in paleo‐water depth, together with evidence of several unconformities associated with paleosol layers suggest that there were repeated transgressions and regressions, with an amplitude up to several tens of meters, when the Minatogawa Formation was deposited.  相似文献   

7.
Bathymetric mapping and observations of the seafloor using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV, Hyper‐Dolphin 3K) were carried out on the slopes of the Miyako‐Sone submarine platform, east of Miyako‐jima in the Ryukyu Islands, northwestern Pacific Ocean. The bathymetric map indicates that terraces are present at water depths of approximately 140 m, 330 m, 400 m, and 680 m on the northwestern slope of the platform. A number of NW–SE trending lineaments, probably faults, extend perpendicular to the axis of the Ryukyu Island Arc. Two ROV surveys were conducted at water depths ranging from 519 m (on the slope) to 121 m (shallowest part of the platform). The surveys revealed that well‐indurated carbonate rocks are exposed at terrace margins and on upper slopes, and that the lower slopes are covered with modern sediments consisting of unconsolidated, coarse‐sand‐sized bioclastic carbonates. Calcareous nannofossils from the well‐indurated carbonate rocks indicate a Middle–Late Pleistocene age, which suggests that the rocks correlate with the Quaternary reef and fore‐reef deposits of the Ryukyu Group (Ryukyu Limestone) on the Ryukyu Islands. No siliciclastic deposits corresponding to the upper Miocene–lower Pleistocene Shimajiri Group (as exposed on Okinawa‐jima and Miyako‐jima islands) were recovered during the surveys. Coeval well‐indurated carbonate rocks, all of which formed in a similar sedimentary environment, have been downthrown towards the west due to displacements on the western sides of normal faults. Subsidence of the Miyako‐Sone submarine platform was the result of large vertical displacements on such normal faults. The timing of initial subsidence cannot be tightly constrained, but the presence of the youngest limestone at progressively lower levels towards the west suggests the subsidence continued until after 0.265 Ma.  相似文献   

8.
Emiko  Ikeda  Yasufumi  Iryu  Kaoru  Sugihara  Hideo  Ohba  Tsutomu  Yamada 《Island Arc》2006,15(4):407-419
Abstract Investigations were conducted on bathymetry, reef biota and sediments on the Hirota Reef, Tane‐ga‐shima, North Ryukyus, near the northern limit for coral‐reef formation. A bathymetric profile from shore to the reef edge was depicted along an approximately 420‐m transect on the Hirota Coast of this island. A total of 20 quadrats (1 m × 1 m) were analyzed along the profile at 10‐ or 20‐m intervals to clarify distribution of macrobenthos inhabiting the reef. The Hirota Reef is divided into four geomorphologic zones according to their depth, gradient, surface roughness, substrate and characteristic macrobenthos. They are, from shore to offshore, shallow lagoon, seaward reef flat, reef edge and reef slope. The shallow lagoon comprises a shoreward depression (∼160 m wide on the transect) with a sand/gravel bottom that inclines gently toward offshore, and a seaward patch zone (∼70 m wide). The patches (<2 m high) are covered with fleshy algae, coralline algae and hermatypic corals. The seaward reef flat (∼190 m wide) is a flat plane that is constructed by biogenic carbonates and is covered with turf algae, with hermatypic corals scattered. Although the seaward reef flat of the Hirota Reef cannot be differentiated into different geomorphologic zones, similar seaward reef flat areas in the Central and South Ryukyus can be clearly subdivided into inner reef flat, reef crest and outer reef flat. This difference may be attributed to a lower reef growth rate and/or the later reef formation of the Hirota Reef in Holocene time than the southern examples. The coral fauna on the Hirota Reef is delineated by low diversity and characterized by taxa typical of high‐latitude, non‐reefal communities. The algal flora consists of tropical to subtropical species associated with warm‐temperate species. These faunal and floral characteristics may be related largely to lower water temperature in Tane‐ga‐shima than those in typical coral‐reef regions.  相似文献   

9.
Saburo  Sakai  Mayumi  Jige 《Island Arc》2006,15(4):468-475
Abstract   Characterization of magnetic particles, and magnetostratigraphic dating, of Holocene and Pleistocene shallow-water carbonates (the Ryukyu Group) in the Ryukyu Islands was carried out to infer the age of reef formation. Magnetic particles from these strata are dominated by fine-grained, single-domain magnetite/maghemite (40–140 nm in length). The magnetite crystals exhibit the size and morphologies characteristic of the magnetite formed by magnetotactic bacteria. No large multidomain grains were seen in transmission electron microscopy observations. The widespread presence of single-domain magnetite in the Ryukyu Islands suggests that bacterial magnetites carry depositional remanent magnetization, which is stable enough for magnetostratigraphic dating and thereby for elucidating the evolution of shallow-water carbonates. The polarity-reversal sequence seen in a core taken from the Ryukyu Group correlates with the timescale of the Matuyama chron, including the Jaramillo subchron, Kamikatsura or Santa Rosa Excursions, through the Brunhes chron. These magnetostratigraphic results imply that the time of reef initiation in the Ryukyu Islands of the northwestern Pacific was earlier than in the Great Barrier Reef of the southwestern Pacific, where it started after the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary.  相似文献   

10.
The continuing degradation of coral reefs has serious consequences for the provision of ecosystem goods and services to local and regional communities. While climate change is considered the most serious risk to coral reefs, agricultural pollution threatens approximately 25% of the total global reef area with further increases in sediment and nutrient fluxes projected over the next 50 years. Here, we aim to inform coral reef management using insights learned from management examples that were successful in reducing agricultural pollution to coastal ecosystems. We identify multiple examples reporting reduced fluxes of sediment and nutrients at end-of-river, and associated declines in nutrient concentrations and algal biomass in receiving coastal waters. Based on the insights obtained, we recommend that future protection of coral reef ecosystems demands policy focused on desired ecosystem outcomes, targeted regulatory approaches, up-scaling of watershed management, and long-term maintenance of scientifically robust monitoring programs linked with adaptive management.  相似文献   

11.
This research focuses on coral reef health in the South Pacific region, an area of high global coral diversity. Coral reef health surrounding four island case studies in the Cook Islands and Fiji have been assessed in areas that have not been previously surveyed. This study compares four islands with barrier and fringing reefs that have different levels of economic development, population pressure, land-use practices, and marine management practices. This interdisciplinary research methodology includes both ecological and social data collection to further understanding of human environment interactions. In comparing the reefs with different socio-economic factors, this research shows that reefs with traditional systems of resources management are healthier, population pressure is not the main factor causing the demise of the reefs and agro-industry is the main industry causing the degradation of the reef in these four South Pacific Islands. In addition, researchers need to use a whole reef perspective to examine coral reef health.  相似文献   

12.
The Cenozoic sedimentary succession in Okinawa‐jima, including the upper Miocene to Pleistocene siliciclastic deposits (Shimajiri Group) and the Pleistocene reef to shelf deposits (Ryukyu Group), suggests a drastic paleoceanographic change from a ‘mud sea’ to a ‘coral sea.’ To delineate the paleoceanographic evolution of the mud sea, we quantified the stratigraphic distribution of the calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the Shimajiri Group in a 2119.49 m‐deep well (Nanjo R1 Exploratory Well) drilled in southern Okinawa‐jima (Ryukyu Islands, southwestern Japan). Four late Miocene and Pliocene datum planes were found in the studied interval: the first occurrence of Amaurolithus spp. (7.42 Ma), the last occurrence of Discoaster quinqueramus (5.59 Ma), the first occurrence of Ceratolithus rugosus (5.12 Ma), and the last occurrence of Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilicus (3.70 Ma). The calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the Tomigusuku Formation and the lower part of the Yonabaru Formation are characterized by a lower total number of coccoliths and abundant Sphenolithus abies that is associated, at times, with common Discoaster spp. Overall, these suggest the existence of oligotrophic conditions between 5.3 and >8.3 Ma. The total number of coccoliths increased and small Reticulofenestra spp. became more common in the middle part of the Yonabaru Formation, suggesting that eutrophic conditions were present between 3.5 and 5.3 Ma. The rare occurrence of calcareous nannofossils in the upper part of the Yonabaru Formation indicates a return to oligotrophic conditions at 3.5 Ma. Micropaleontological evidence suggests that these oceanographic changes were likely caused by local tectonic movement (shallowing of the sedimentary basin in which the Shimajiri Group was deposited).  相似文献   

13.
Recent dasycladalean algae (Dasycladales, Chlorophyta) are classified into two families, 11 genera, and 44 species, and inhabit the tropical to warm‐temperate waters of the world. Twelve species of dasycladalean algae occur in Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands. In this paper, the present‐day dasycladalean species and their distributions in Okinawa Jima are reported and their paleontological implications are discussed. Dasycladalean algae grow mainly on coral rubble and rocks, often forming large meadows in calm shallow lagoons. However, Dasycladus vermicularis occurs in deeper waters, at depths of 15–89 m, around Okinawa Jima. Neomeris annulata is found at water depths of 0–30 m. These data throw doubt on the interpretation that the occurrence of dasycladalean algae is linked to warm shallow habitats.  相似文献   

14.
Meiji (Mischief) coral atoll, in Nansha (Spratly) Islands, South China Sea, consists of an annular reef rim surrounding a central lagoon. On the atoll rim there are either protuberant 'motu' (small coral patch reefs on the rim of atoll) islets or lower sandy cays that contain modern microbialite deposits on the corals in pinnacles and surrounding bottoms of the atoll. Microbialites, including villiform, hairy, and thin spine growth forms, as well as gelatinous masses, mats and encrustation, developed on coral colonies and atoll rim sediments between 0 and 15 m deep-water settings. The microbialites were produced by natural populations of filamentous cyanobacteria and grew on (1) bulbous corals together with Acropora sp., (2) on massive colonies of Galaxea fascicularis, (3) on dead Montipora digitata, and (4) on dead Acropora teres, some hairy microbialite growing around broken coral branches. This study demonstrates that microbial carbonates are developed in coral reefs of South China Sea and indicates that microbial processes may be important in the construction of modern reef systems. The results have significance in the determination of nature and composition in microorganisms implied in the formation ancient microbialites, and permit evaluation of the importance of microbial deposits in mo-dern coral reefs and of 'microbialites' in biogeochemical cycles of modern coral reef systems. The re-sults also provide evidence of modern analogues for ancient microbialites in shallow-water settings, and combine with sedimentological studies of ancient microbialites to understand their controls.  相似文献   

15.
Managing the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on coral reefs is highly dependant on effective strategies to assess degradation and recovery. We used five years of field data in the US Virgin Islands to investigate coral reef response to a potential gradient of stress. We found that the prevalence of old partial mortality, bleaching, and all forms of coral health impairment (a novel category) increased with nearshore anthropogenic processes, such as a five-fold higher rate of clay and silt sedimentation. Other patterns of coral health, such as recent partial mortality, other diseases, and benthic cover, did not respond to this potential gradient of stress or their response could not be resolved at the frequency or scale of monitoring. We suggest that persistent signs of disturbance are more useful to short-term, non-intensive (annual) coral reef assessments, but more intensive (semi-annual) assessments are necessary to resolve patterns of transient signs of coral health impairment.  相似文献   

16.
The coral reef ecosystems of Nanwan Bay, Southern Taiwan are undergoing degradation due to anthropogenic impacts, and as such have resulted in a decline in coral cover. As a first step in preventing the continual degradation of these coral reef environments, it is important to understand how changes in water quality affect these ecosystems on a fine-tuned timescale. To this end, a real-time water quality monitoring system was implemented in Nanwan Bay in 2010. We found that natural events, such as cold water intrusion due to upwelling, tended to elicit temporal shifts in coral spawning between 2010 and 2011. In addition, Degree Heating Weeks (DHWs), a commonly utilized predictor of coral bleaching, were 0.92 and 0.59 in summer 2010 and 2011, respectively. Though this quantity of DHW was below the presumed stress-inducing value for these reefs, a rise in DHWs in the future may stress the resident corals.  相似文献   

17.
Field experiments were conducted to investigate the refraction and propagation of ocean waves across two coral reef platforms in the Maldives, central Indian Ocean. A total of seven pressure sensors were deployed on each reef to quantify temporal and spatial variations in wave characteristics across the platform surfaces. Directional wave properties were calculated from high frequency (2 Hz) wave and current records obtained at two locations on each reef and corroborate theoretically predicted propagation pathways derived from an analytical wave refraction model. Results demonstrate that reef geometry critically controls the refraction and propagation behaviour of incident swell across the reef structures. Differences in the magnitude of refraction (approximately 57° and 14°) observed on each reef can be attributed to variations in platform shape and orientation to incident waves. Results demonstrate that reef flat wave patterns define the segmentation of platform surfaces into distinctive high and low wave energy zones. Furthermore, wave focussing has been identified as a major mechanism controlling the transformation of wave energy across the reefs. Results provide the first field‐based validation of wave refraction and convergence on coral reefs and have significant implications for sedimentation processes and the formation of platform deposits. Reef configurations which promote marked wave convergence are more likely to retain sediment on the reef surface, whereas platforms that induce less refraction and changes in the direction of incident waves have a higher potential for the off‐reef evacuation of sediment over leeward reef margins. Results of wave measurements substantiate such projections and provide a first order explanation for the existence and absence of a coral cay on the two study reefs. The study presents empirical evidence of wave refraction and convergence on coral reefs and establishes a baseline for future investigations of hydrodynamic process controls on platform sedimentation and island formation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

18.
The threats of wide-scale coral bleaching and reef demise associated with anthropogenic climate change are widely known. Here, the additional role of poor water quality in lowering the thermal tolerance (i.e. bleaching ‘resistance’) of symbiotic reef corals is considered. In particular, a quantitative linkage is established between terrestrially-sourced dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) loading and the upper thermal bleaching thresholds of inshore reefs on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Significantly, this biophysical linkage provides concrete evidence for the oft-expressed belief that improved coral reef management will increase the regional-scale survival prospects of corals reefs to global climate change. Indeed, for inshore reef areas with a high runoff exposure risk, it is shown that the potential benefit of this ‘local’ management imperative is equivalent to ∼2.0-2.5 °C in relation to the upper thermal bleaching limit; though in this case, a potentially cost-prohibitive reduction in end-of-river DIN of >50-80% would be required. An integrated socio-economic modelling framework is outlined that will assist future efforts to understand (optimise) the alternate tradeoffs that the water quality/coral bleaching linkage presents.  相似文献   

19.
Large amounts of derelict fishing gear accumulate and cause damage to shallow coral reefs of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). To facilitate maintenance of reefs cleaned during 1996-2005 removal efforts, we identify likely high-density debris areas by assessing reef characteristics (depth, benthic habitat type, and energy regime) that influence sub-regional debris accumulation. Previously cleaned backreef and lagoonal reefs at two NWHI locations were resurveyed for accumulated debris using two survey methods. Accumulated debris densities and weights were found to be greater in lagoonal reef areas. Sample weight-based debris densities are extrapolated to similar habitats throughout the NWHI using a spatial 'net habitat' dataset created by generalizing IKONOS satellite derivatives for depth and habitat classification. Prediction accuracy for this dataset is tested using historical debris point data. Annual NWHI debris accumulation is estimated to be 52.0 metric tonnes. For planning purposes, individual NWHI atolls/reefs are allotted a proportion of this total.  相似文献   

20.
Coral reef degradation resulting from nutrient enrichment of coastal waters is of increasing global concern. Although effects of nutrients on coral reef organisms have been demonstrated in the laboratory, there is little direct evidence of nutrient effects on coral reef biota in situ. The ENCORE experiment investigated responses of coral reef organisms and processes to controlled additions of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P) on an offshore reef (One Tree Island) at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A multi-disciplinary team assessed a variety of factors focusing on nutrient dynamics and biotic responses. A controlled and replicated experiment was conducted over two years using twelve small patch reefs ponded at low tide by a coral rim. Treatments included three control reefs (no nutrient addition) and three + N reefs (NH4Cl added), three + P reefs (KH2PO4 added), and three + N + P reefs. Nutrients were added as pulses at each low tide (ca twice per day) by remotely operated units. There were two phases of nutrient additions. During the initial, low-loading phase of the experiment nutrient pulses (mean dose = 11.5 microM NH4+; 2.3 microM PO4(-3)) rapidly declined, reaching near-background levels (mean = 0.9 microM NH4+; 0.5 microM PO4(-3)) within 2-3 h. A variety of biotic processes, assessed over a year during this initial nutrient loading phase, were not significantly affected, with the exception of coral reproduction, which was affected in all nutrient treatments. In Acropora longicyathus and A. aspera, fewer successfully developed embryos were formed, and in A. longicyathus fertilization rates and lipid levels decreased. In the second, high-loading, phase of ENCORE an increased nutrient dosage (mean dose = 36.2 microM NH4+; 5.1 microM PO4(-3)) declining to means of 11.3 microM NH4+ and 2.4 microM PO4(-3) at the end of low tide) was used for a further year, and a variety of significant biotic responses occurred. Encrusting algae incorporated virtually none of the added nutrients. Organisms containing endosymbiotic zooxanthellae (corals and giant clams) assimilated dissolved nutrients rapidly and were responsive to added nutrients. Coral mortality, not detected during the initial low-loading phase, became evident with increased nutrient dosage, particularly in Pocillopora damicornis. Nitrogen additions stunted coral growth, and phosphorus additions had a variable effect. Coral calcification rate and linear extension increased in the presence of added phosphorus but skeletal density was reduced, making corals more susceptible to breakage. Settlement of all coral larvae was reduced in nitrogen treatments, yet settlement of larvae from brooded species was enhanced in phosphorus treatments. Recruitment of stomatopods, benthic crustaceans living in coral rubble, was reduced in nitrogen and nitrogen plus phosphorus treatments. Grazing rates and reproductive effort of various fish species were not affected by the nutrient treatments. Microbial nitrogen transformations in sediments were responsive to nutrient loading with nitrogen fixation significantly increased in phosphorus treatments and denitrification increased in all treatments to which nitrogen had been added. Rates of bioerosion and grazing showed no significant effects of added nutrients. ENCORE has shown that reef organisms and processes investigated in situ were impacted by elevated nutrients. Impacts were dependent on dose level, whether nitrogen and/or phosphorus were elevated and were often species-specific. The impacts were generally sub-lethal and subtle and the treated reefs at the end of the experiment were visually similar to control reefs. Rapid nutrient uptake indicates that nutrient concentrations alone are not adequate to assess nutrient condition of reefs. Sensitive and quantifiable biological indicators need to be developed for coral reef ecosystems. The potential bioindicators identified in ENCORE should be tested in future research on coral reef/nutrient interactions. Synergistic and cumulative effects of elevated nutrients and other environmental parameters, comparative studies of intact vs. disturbed reefs, offshore vs. inshore reefs, or the ability of a nutrient-stressed reef to respond to natural disturbances require elucidation. An expanded understanding of coral reef responses to anthropogenic impacts is necessary, particularly regarding the subtle, sub-lethal effects detected in the ENCORE studies.  相似文献   

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