Home | Archived February 20, 2019 | (i) |
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New Review Paper on the Conservation of Western Atlantic Coral Reefs
Research marine biologist Ilsa Kuffner and Mendenhall Fellow Lauren Toth of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center published a review article entitled “A geological perspective on the degradation and conservation of western Atlantic coral reefs” in the resource-management focused journal, Conservation Biology. The article highlights the importance of geologic processes and geomorphologic structure of reefs in providing ecosystem services such as coastline protection and habitat for fisheries. The authors’ aim in writing this paper was to raise awareness among ecologically focused reef managers and conservationists of processes that often go unappreciated because they occur more slowly than can be noticed easily by human observers. Processes like physical and biological erosion (see coral photo, below), sediment production and transport, and reef construction and cementation are difficult but important to measure.
Ecological monitoring programs on coral reefs traditionally focus on the thin, living veneer of the reef, carefully quantifying the extent of cover by animals and plants, but rarely quantify loss of reef structure or framework destabilization. The USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program is helping achieve a more effective and balanced approach to assessing and managing coral reefs through investigations of physical (see “Coral Reefs Provide Critical Coastal Protection”), biogeochemical (see “Mangroves Protecting Corals from Climate Change”), and geological (see “Weight-Based Approach to Measuring Coral Growth Offers Valuable Tool for Reef Researchers and Managers” and “Research: Holocene Coral-Reef Development)” reef processes. Managing reefs with respect to physical resilience, in addition to ecological resilience, could optimize the expenditure of resources in conserving coral reefs and the services they provide.
The full citation for the review paper is: The paper is available for open-access download at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12725/abstract.
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in this issue:
New Map Reuses Decades-Old USGS Data Website Provides Oceanographic Time-Series Data New Data Added to USGS Time-Series Data Collection
Future Fieldwork, August–September 2016
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Home | Archived February 20, 2019 |