Catastrophe and the life span of coral reefs

dc.contributor.authorAronson, Richard B.
dc.contributor.authorPrecht, William F.
dc.contributor.authorMacintyre, Ian G.
dc.contributor.authorToth, Lauren T.
dc.date.accessioned2012-05-10T15:51:18Z
dc.date.available2012-05-10T15:51:18Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractA strong earthquake in the western Caribbean in 2009 had a catastrophic impact on uncemented, unconsolidated coral reefs in the central sector of the shelf lagoon of the Belizean barrier reef. In a set of 21 reef sites that had been observed prior to the earthquake, the benthic assemblages of 10 were eradicated, and one was partially damaged, by avalanching of their slopes. Ecological dynamics that had played out over the previous 23 years, including the mass mortalities of two sequentially dominant coral species and a large increase in the cover of an encrusting sponge, were instantaneously rendered moot in the areas of catastrophic reef-slope failure. Because these prior dynamics also determined the benthic composition and resilience of adjacent sections of reef that remained intact, the history of disturbance prior to the earthquake will strongly influence decadal-scale recovery in the failed areas. Geological analysis of the reef framework yielded a minimum return time of 2000-4000 years for this type of high-amplitude event. Anthropogenic degradation of ecosystems must be viewed against the backdrop of long-period, natural catastrophes, such as the impact of strong earthquakes on uncemented, lagoonal reefs.
dc.format.extent303–313
dc.identifier0012-9658
dc.identifier.citationAronson, Richard B., Precht, William F., Macintyre, Ian G., and Toth, Lauren T. 2012. "<a href="https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/18465">Catastrophe and the life span of coral reefs</a>." <em>Ecology</em>, 93, (2) 303–313. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/11-1037.1">https://doi.org/10.1890/11-1037.1</a>.
dc.identifier.issn0012-9658
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10088/18465
dc.publisherThe Ecological Society of America
dc.relation.ispartofEcology 93 (2)
dc.titleCatastrophe and the life span of coral reefs
dc.typearticle
sro.description.unitNH-Paleobiology
sro.description.unitNMNH
sro.identifier.doi10.1890/11-1037.1
sro.identifier.itemID111359
sro.identifier.refworksID3515
sro.identifier.urlhttps://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/18465
sro.publicationPlaceWashington, DC

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