Search results for "Coral reef"
showing 9 items of 49 documents
South China Sea or West Philippine Sea?
2017
The South China Sea (“West Philippine Sea”) has been for several years a space of potential conflict between several countries due to overlapping of their EEZs and China’s claim of a large part of this oceanic space, well beyond its UN-endorsed EEZ. The Spratly islets and Scarborough shoal are mere coral reefs, uninhabited for the most part, but they lie in the middle of rich fishing grounds and atop large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Furthermore, the area is one of the world’s busiest sea lanes for commercial navigation. This chapter presents the general rules of UNCLOS (international laws pertaining to oceanic space), and then examines the competing claims, focusing on the China…
Growth impacts in a changing ocean: insights from two coral reef fishes in an extreme environment
2020
AbstractDetermining the life history consequences for fishes living in extreme and variable environments will be vital in predicting the likely impacts of ongoing climate change on reef fish demography. Here, we compare size-at-age and maximum body size of two common reef fish species (Lutjanus ehrenbergiiandPomacanthus maculosus) between the environmentally extreme Arabian/Persian Gulf (‘Arabian Gulf’) and adjacent comparably benign Oman Sea. Additionally, we use otolith increment width profiles to investigate the influence of temperature, salinity and productivity on the individual growth rates. Individuals of both species showed smaller size-at-age and lower maximum size in the Arabian G…
The influence of thermal extremes on coral reef fish behaviour in the Persian Gulf
2019
AbstractDespite increasing environmental variability within marine ecosystems, little is known about how coral reef fish species will cope with future climate scenarios. The Arabian/Persian Gulf is an extreme environment, providing an opportunity to study fish behaviour on reefs with seasonal temperature ranges which include both values above the mortality threshold of Indo-Pacific reef fish, and values below the optimum temperature for growth. Summer temperatures in the Gulf are comparable to those predicted for the tropical ocean by 2090-2099. Using field observations in winter, spring and summer, and laboratory experiments, we examined the foraging activity, distance from refugia and res…
Persentase Tutupan Terumbu Karang di Perairan Pasir Putih Kabupaten Manokwari
2017
Penelitian ini dilakukan pada bulan Oktober sampai November 2014 di perairan Pasir Putih Kabupaten Manokwari, berlokasi di Pantai Air Salobar. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengetahui persentase tutupan terumbu karang, kualitas fisik-kimia air dan korelasi kualitas fisik-kimia air terhadap persentase tutupan terumbu karang di bagian barat daya perairan Pasir Putih, Manokwari. Metode yang digunakan untuk memperoleh data persentase tutupan karang adalah Point Intercept Transect (PIT) pada kedalaman 3 m (Transek I), 7 m (Transek II) dan 10 m (Transek III). Hasil pengamatan diperoleh persentase tutupan karang pada Transek I adalah 91%, Transek II adalah 78% dan Transek III adalah 54%. Kondisi …
Freshwater discharge and sediment dispersal — Control on growth, ecological structure and geometry of Late Miocene shallow-water coral ecosystems (ea…
2007
Abstract Insolation-driven oceanographic changes are well documented in the Mediterranean deep-sea record and reflect episodes of high precipitation and/or freshwater discharge. In the shallow-water record, however, changes in relative sea-level and sea surface temperature are usually regarded as prime controls on Miocene coral reefs, whereas pulses of freshwater influx represent a hitherto unrecognized factor influencing their growth, ecological structure and geometry. On the island of Crete (NW Messara Basin, Greece) early Tortonian coral biostromes occur associated with deltas along the basin margin and rimming islands formed by large uplifted tectonic blocks. In turbid delta environment…
Interspecific-Competition Strongly Constrains Species-Richness and Species-Abundance Evenness in a Tropical Marine Molluscan Community Inhabiting Cau…
2021
Increasing species-richness at the local scale (within species communities) is accommodated, first, by the diversification of the niches respectively associated to species. Yet, in case of excessive supply in colonizing species issued from the regional pool, the corresponding increase in the number of solicited niches may lead to some “niche-overcrowding” resulting in significant niche-overlaps. Then, second, strong interspecific competition for shared resource can arise, triggered by the density in individuals among those species co-occurring at niche-overlaps. Accordingly, the accommodation of species-richness within a local community involves a balance between (i) the positive contributi…
One Rational Strategy for Restoration of Coral Reefs: Application of Molecular Biological Tools to Select Sites for Rehabilitation by Asexual Recruits
2000
Experiments for reef rehabilitation were performed at two selected sites near Hurghada (Red Sea, Egypt) the reef close to the Marine Biological Station (with a high sedimentation rate from landfilling) and El-Fanadir Reef (a clear water site). Since only little is known about the influence of the physical environmental conditions, novel molecular biological approaches have been introduced to assess the metabolic status of corals. In order to avoid possible interference with symbionts the molecular studies have been performed with the octocoral Dendronephthya klunzingeri; this species does not contain zooxanthellae. The metabolic enzymes fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and the succinat-dehydroge…
Lowstand carbonates, highstand sandstones?
2003
The sedimentary facies, sediment dynamics and sequence architecture of modern high-energy shelves in the mid and high latitudes are largely governed by wave abrasion processes. Cool-water carbonates may form there, if the influx and/or net accretion of siliciclastics is kept at a minimum. Little dilution of the carbonate produced in situ is generally promoted by a wide "epicontinental" shelf, subdued topography of the adjacent mainland, the predominance of limestone outcrops, and an arid climate. The aforementioned requirements are rarely met, and thus will automatically lead to the formation of mixed siliciclastic-cool-water carbonates. Such an example is found in the Early to Mid-Miocene …
Trophic cascades in benthic marine ecosystems: lessons for fisheries and protected-area management
2000
An important principle of environmental science is that changes in single components of systems are likely to have consequences elsewhere in the same systems. In the sea, food web data are one of the few foundations for predicting such indirect effects, whether of fishery exploitation or following recovery in marine protected areas (MPAs). We review the available literature on one type of indirect interaction in benthic marine ecosystems, namely trophic cascades, which involve three or more trophic levels connected by predation. Because many indirect effects have been revealed through fishery exploitation, in some cases we include humans as trophic levels. Our purpose is to establish how wi…