“Coral Dominance”: A Dangerous Ecosystem Misnomer?
Over 100 years ago, before threats such as global climate change and ocean acidification were issues engrossing marine scientists, numerous tropical reef biologists began expressing concern that too much emphasis was being placed on coral dominance in reef systems. These researchers believed that th...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a75e1bd46ca34a03bedea6df27c03566 2024-09-15T18:28:13+00:00 “Coral Dominance”: A Dangerous Ecosystem Misnomer? Peter S. Vroom 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/164127 https://doaj.org/article/a75e1bd46ca34a03bedea6df27c03566 EN eng Wiley http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/164127 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-9481 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-949X 1687-9481 1687-949X doi:10.1155/2011/164127 https://doaj.org/article/a75e1bd46ca34a03bedea6df27c03566 Journal of Marine Biology, Vol 2011 (2011) Oceanography GC1-1581 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2011 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/164127 2024-08-05T17:48:36Z Over 100 years ago, before threats such as global climate change and ocean acidification were issues engrossing marine scientists, numerous tropical reef biologists began expressing concern that too much emphasis was being placed on coral dominance in reef systems. These researchers believed that the scientific community was beginning to lose sight of the overall mix of calcifying organisms necessary for the healthy function of reef ecosystems and demonstrated that some reefs were naturally coral dominated with corals being the main organisms responsible for reef accretion, yet other healthy reef ecosystems were found to rely almost entirely on calcified algae and foraminifera for calcium carbonate accumulation. Despite these historical cautionary messages, many agencies today have inherited a coral-centric approach to reef management, likely to the detriment of reef ecosystems worldwide. For example, recent research has shown that crustose coralline algae, a group of plants essential for building and cementing reef systems, are in greater danger of exhibiting decreased calcification rates and increased solubility than corals in warmer and more acidic ocean environments. A shift from coral-centric views to broader ecosystem views is imperative in order to protect endangered reef systems worldwide. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Marine Biology 2011 1 8 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
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Oceanography GC1-1581 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
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Oceanography GC1-1581 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Peter S. Vroom “Coral Dominance”: A Dangerous Ecosystem Misnomer? |
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Oceanography GC1-1581 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Over 100 years ago, before threats such as global climate change and ocean acidification were issues engrossing marine scientists, numerous tropical reef biologists began expressing concern that too much emphasis was being placed on coral dominance in reef systems. These researchers believed that the scientific community was beginning to lose sight of the overall mix of calcifying organisms necessary for the healthy function of reef ecosystems and demonstrated that some reefs were naturally coral dominated with corals being the main organisms responsible for reef accretion, yet other healthy reef ecosystems were found to rely almost entirely on calcified algae and foraminifera for calcium carbonate accumulation. Despite these historical cautionary messages, many agencies today have inherited a coral-centric approach to reef management, likely to the detriment of reef ecosystems worldwide. For example, recent research has shown that crustose coralline algae, a group of plants essential for building and cementing reef systems, are in greater danger of exhibiting decreased calcification rates and increased solubility than corals in warmer and more acidic ocean environments. A shift from coral-centric views to broader ecosystem views is imperative in order to protect endangered reef systems worldwide. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Peter S. Vroom |
author_facet |
Peter S. Vroom |
author_sort |
Peter S. Vroom |
title |
“Coral Dominance”: A Dangerous Ecosystem Misnomer? |
title_short |
“Coral Dominance”: A Dangerous Ecosystem Misnomer? |
title_full |
“Coral Dominance”: A Dangerous Ecosystem Misnomer? |
title_fullStr |
“Coral Dominance”: A Dangerous Ecosystem Misnomer? |
title_full_unstemmed |
“Coral Dominance”: A Dangerous Ecosystem Misnomer? |
title_sort |
“coral dominance”: a dangerous ecosystem misnomer? |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/164127 https://doaj.org/article/a75e1bd46ca34a03bedea6df27c03566 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Journal of Marine Biology, Vol 2011 (2011) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/164127 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-9481 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-949X 1687-9481 1687-949X doi:10.1155/2011/164127 https://doaj.org/article/a75e1bd46ca34a03bedea6df27c03566 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/164127 |
container_title |
Journal of Marine Biology |
container_volume |
2011 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
8 |
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1810469545335324672 |