Life and death of coral reefs
Birkeland, C. (Ed.) (1997). Life and death of coral reefs. Chapman & Hall: New York. ISBN 0-412-03541-3. 536 pp.
|
| Content |
- Birkeland, C. (1997). Introduction, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 1-12, more
- Hallock, P. (1997). Reefs and reef limestones in Earth history, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 13-42, more
- Hubbard, D.K. (1997). Reefs as dynamic systems, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 43-67, more
- Glynn, P.W. (1997). Bioerosion and coral-reef growth: A dynamic balance, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 68-95, more
- Muller-Parker, G.; D'Elia, C.F. (1997). Interactions between corals and their symbiotic algae, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 96-113, more
- Peters, E.C. (1997). Diseases of coral-reef organisms, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 114-139, more
- Hatcher, B.G. (1997). Organic production and decomposition, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 140-174, more
- Richmond, R.H. (1997). Reproduction and recruitment in corals: Critical links in the persistence of reefs, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 175-197, more
- Carpenter, R.C. (1997). Invertebrate predators and grazers, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 198-229, more
- Hixon, M.A. (1997). Effects of reef fishes on corals and algae, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 230-248, more
- Pennings, S.C. (1997). Indirect interactions on coral reefs, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 249-272, more
- Birkeland, C. (1997). Geographic differences in ecological processes on coral reefs, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 273-287, more
- Ogden, J.C. (1997). Ecosystem interactions in the tropical coastal seascape, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 288-297, more
- Paulay, G. (1997). Diversity and distribution of reef organisms, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 298-353, more
- Brown, B.E. (1997). Disturbances to reefs in recent times, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 354-379, more
- Johannes, R.E. (1997). Traditional coral-reef fisheries management, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 380-385, more
- Hodgson, G. (1997). Resource use: Conflicts and management solutions, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 386-410, more
- Birkeland, C. (1997). Implications for resource management, in: Birkeland, C. (Ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. pp. 411-435, more
|
| Abstract |
Charles Birkeland Living coral is a thin veneer, measured in millimeters. Yet this thin film of living tissue has shaped the face of the Earth by creating limestone structures sometimes over 1,300 m thick from the surface down to its base on volcanic rock (Enewetak Atoll), or over 2,000 km long (Great Barrier Reef). About half the world's coastlines are in the tropics and about a third of the tropical coastlines are made of coral reef. Archipelagoes of hundreds of atolls such as the Marshalls, the Maldives, the Tuamotus, and most of the Carolines and Kiribati have been fonned by coral. In addition to enlarging high islands (such as the entire northern end of Guam) and extending and protecting coastlines, ancient biogenic reefs have fonned even larger areas on the present continents. Shallow living coral 2 reefs are estimated to presently cover over 600,000 km (Smith, 1978). Coral reefs are dynamic systems, producing limestone at the rate of 400-2,000 tons per hectare per year (Chave et aI. , 1972). The Great Barrier Reef dominates 2 230,000 km and has grown to this size in a geologically brief period of a few million years. Coral reefs influence the chemical balance of the world's oceans. Roughly half the calcium that enters the sea each year around the world, from the north to south poles, is taken up and temporarily bound into coral reefs (Smith, 1978). |
|
