Ilsa B Kuffner

A framework for identifying and characterising coral reef “oases” against a backdrop of degradation

Abstract Human activities have led to widespread ecological decline; however, the severity of degradation is spatially heterogeneous due to some locations resisting, escaping, or rebounding from disturbances. We developed a framework for identifying oases within coral reef regions using long‐term monitoring data. We calculated standardised estimates of coral cover (z‐scores) to distinguish sites that deviated positively from regional means. We also used the coefficient of variation (CV) of coral cover to quantify how oases varied temporally, and to distinguish among types of oases. We estimated “coral calcification capacity” (CCC), a measure of the coral community's ability to produce calcium carbonate structures...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation

Calcification rates for the reef coral/electronic supplementary table

Electronic Supplementary Material ESM Table S1. Calcification rates for the reef coral Siderastrea siderea and crustose coralline algae (CCA) communities at four sites in the Florida Keys, U.S.A, from May 2010 until May 2012. Sample size ( N), mean, and standard error (SEM) are reported. Site Time interval Coral calcification (mg cm-2 d-1) CCA calcification (mg cm-2 d-1) N Mean SEM N Mean SEM Pulaski Shoal N 24° 41.613’ W 82° 46.368’ Summer 2010 10 4.12 0.33 10 0.132 6.8E-03 Winter 2011 10 2.75 0.28 10 0.080 5.0E-03 Summer 2011 9 4.50 0.43 9 0.076 4.5E-03 Winter 2012 9 2.85 0.48 9 0.082 5.8E-03 Sombrero Key N 24° 37.612’ W 81° 06.536’ Summer 2010 10 2.67 0.22 9 0.229 0.018 Winter 2011...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Florida, Florida Keys, Other Wildlife, Sea-Level Rise and Coasts, Siderastrea siderea, All tags... Southeast CASC, Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants, calcification rates, coral, crustose coralline algae, Fewer tags

Coral reefs are some of the most biologically rich and economically valuable ecosystems in the world. They provide food, fishing, and recreation opportunities for millions of people, protect coastlines from storms, and shelter thousands of plant and animal species. However, climate change is contributing to the degradation of coral reefs in two significant ways: warming temperature and increasing acidification of ocean waters. Scientists are actively working to gather more specific information about how these factors will impact coral reef ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in climate vulnerability among three important reef-building coral species in the Florida Keys. Researchers...

Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2011, CASC, Climate Change, Completed, Coral reefs, All tags... Ocean Warming, Other Wildlife, Other Wildlife, Projects by Region, Sea-Level Rise and Coasts, Sea-Level Rise and Coasts, Southeast, Southeast CASC, Water, Coasts and Ice, Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants, Wildlife and Plants, ocean acidification, Fewer tags

Calcification rates of the massive coral Siderastrea siderea and crustose coralline algae along the Florida Keys (USA) outer-reef tract

Coral reefs are degrading on a global scale, and rates of reef-organism calcification are predicted to decline due to ocean warming and acidification. Systematic measurements of calcification over space and time are necessary to detect change resulting from environmental stressors. We established a network of calcification monitoring stations at four managed reefs along the outerFlorida Keys Reef Tract (FKRT) from Miami to the Dry Tortugas. Eighty colonies (in two sequential sets of 40) of the reef-building coral, Siderastrea siderea, were transplanted to fixed apparatus that allowed repetitive detachment for buoyant weighing every 6 months. Algal-recruitment tiles were also deployed during each weighing interval...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Buoyant weight, CCA, Climate Change, Coral growth, Other Wildlife, All tags... Sea-Level Rise and Coasts, Southeast CASC, Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants, bioerosion, ocean acidification, Fewer tags

Coral reefs are massive, wave resistant structures found throughout the tropics, where they have long attracted attention for their beauty, ecological importance, and rich biological diversity. However, in recent years attention to these systems has focused on their downturn in health and the potential that they effectively could disappear within a century. Yet while many coral reefs have deteriorated, a small number have flourished and now represent “oases” with the potential to drive repopulation of the denuded areas that surround them. This working group focuses on the geographic, biological, ecological, and physical features that characterize oases in coral reef communities, and evaluates the potential of...

Categories: Project; Tags: Active, All Working Groups, Climate, Coral Reef Resilience, Coral Reefs, All tags... Ecosystems, Ocean, Fewer tags