Altered States: What Will Coral Reefs Look Like in the Future?
Future environmental conditions for coral reefs are rapidly approaching states outside the ranges reefs have experienced for thousands to millions of years. Coral reef ecosystems, once thought to be robust to climate change because of their ability to bounce back after large scale physical impacts,...
| Published in: | The Paleontological Society Papers |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2011
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1089332600002497 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1089332600002497 |
| Summary: | Future environmental conditions for coral reefs are rapidly approaching states outside the ranges reefs have experienced for thousands to millions of years. Coral reef ecosystems, once thought to be robust to climate change because of their ability to bounce back after large scale physical impacts, have proven to be sensitive to both temperature rise and ocean acidification. Predicting what coral reefs will look like in the future is not an easy task, and one that is likely to be proven flawed. The discussion presented here is a starting point for those predictions, mostly from the perspective of reef building and ocean acidification. |
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