Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda
Bermuda’s reefs have endured the impact of 400 years of human settlement and resource extraction. Although the reef system has benefited from pro-active regulation and control of fishing and pollution since the twentieth century, the nearshore environment and lagoon reefs are threatened by ongoing a...
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:374124 2023-07-30T04:06:05+02:00 Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda Smith, Struan R. Sarkis, Samia Murdoch, Thad J.T. Weil, Ernesto Croquer, Aldo Bates, Nicholas R. Johnson, Rodney J. de Putron, Samantha Andersson, Andreas J. Sheppard, Charles R.C. 2013 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/374124/ English eng Springer Smith, Struan R., Sarkis, Samia, Murdoch, Thad J.T., Weil, Ernesto, Croquer, Aldo, Bates, Nicholas R., Johnson, Rodney J., de Putron, Samantha and Andersson, Andreas J. (2013) Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda. In, Sheppard, Charles R.C. (ed.) Coral Reefs of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories. (Coral Reefs of the World, 4) Dordrecht, NL. Springer, pp. 173-188. (doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5965-7_13 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5965-7_13>). Book Section PeerReviewed 2013 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5965-7_13 2023-07-09T21:57:28Z Bermuda’s reefs have endured the impact of 400 years of human settlement and resource extraction. Although the reef system has benefited from pro-active regulation and control of fishing and pollution since the twentieth century, the nearshore environment and lagoon reefs are threatened by ongoing and planned activities. Coastal development, including cruise ship ports, marinas and shipping channel expansion are significant potential threats through reef removal and sedimentation. The dense human population on Bermuda has produced chronic chemical and nutrient pollution in nearshore bays and harbours. Sewage has reduced water quality in some enclosed bays but is generally not a major threat. Coral bleaching has occurred repeatedly since the 1980s, in response to elevated seawater temperatures, but these events have not resulted in significant mortality. Corals diseases are prevalent at low levels of infection in a large number of species but do not appear to have caused significant mortality. The invasive lionfish (Pterios volitans) is present and the population is growing but culling and harvesting efforts are conducted. There is great concern for the potential impacts of climate-related changes, in particular ocean acidification. Bermuda’s corals grow at reduced rates compared with Caribbean conspecifics and there is evidence that some corals are already growing slower, under the current condition of declining aragonite saturation state in reef waters. The potential for reduced coral and reef growth, in combination with rising sea level, may compromise the effectiveness of the reef as a natural barrier to storm waves, resulting in greater coastal erosion. Book Part Ocean acidification University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton 173 188 |
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University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
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ftsouthampton |
language |
English |
description |
Bermuda’s reefs have endured the impact of 400 years of human settlement and resource extraction. Although the reef system has benefited from pro-active regulation and control of fishing and pollution since the twentieth century, the nearshore environment and lagoon reefs are threatened by ongoing and planned activities. Coastal development, including cruise ship ports, marinas and shipping channel expansion are significant potential threats through reef removal and sedimentation. The dense human population on Bermuda has produced chronic chemical and nutrient pollution in nearshore bays and harbours. Sewage has reduced water quality in some enclosed bays but is generally not a major threat. Coral bleaching has occurred repeatedly since the 1980s, in response to elevated seawater temperatures, but these events have not resulted in significant mortality. Corals diseases are prevalent at low levels of infection in a large number of species but do not appear to have caused significant mortality. The invasive lionfish (Pterios volitans) is present and the population is growing but culling and harvesting efforts are conducted. There is great concern for the potential impacts of climate-related changes, in particular ocean acidification. Bermuda’s corals grow at reduced rates compared with Caribbean conspecifics and there is evidence that some corals are already growing slower, under the current condition of declining aragonite saturation state in reef waters. The potential for reduced coral and reef growth, in combination with rising sea level, may compromise the effectiveness of the reef as a natural barrier to storm waves, resulting in greater coastal erosion. |
author2 |
Sheppard, Charles R.C. |
format |
Book Part |
author |
Smith, Struan R. Sarkis, Samia Murdoch, Thad J.T. Weil, Ernesto Croquer, Aldo Bates, Nicholas R. Johnson, Rodney J. de Putron, Samantha Andersson, Andreas J. |
spellingShingle |
Smith, Struan R. Sarkis, Samia Murdoch, Thad J.T. Weil, Ernesto Croquer, Aldo Bates, Nicholas R. Johnson, Rodney J. de Putron, Samantha Andersson, Andreas J. Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda |
author_facet |
Smith, Struan R. Sarkis, Samia Murdoch, Thad J.T. Weil, Ernesto Croquer, Aldo Bates, Nicholas R. Johnson, Rodney J. de Putron, Samantha Andersson, Andreas J. |
author_sort |
Smith, Struan R. |
title |
Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda |
title_short |
Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda |
title_full |
Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda |
title_fullStr |
Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda |
title_full_unstemmed |
Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda |
title_sort |
threats to coral reefs of bermuda |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/374124/ |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_relation |
Smith, Struan R., Sarkis, Samia, Murdoch, Thad J.T., Weil, Ernesto, Croquer, Aldo, Bates, Nicholas R., Johnson, Rodney J., de Putron, Samantha and Andersson, Andreas J. (2013) Threats to coral reefs of Bermuda. In, Sheppard, Charles R.C. (ed.) Coral Reefs of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories. (Coral Reefs of the World, 4) Dordrecht, NL. Springer, pp. 173-188. (doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5965-7_13 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5965-7_13>). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5965-7_13 |
container_start_page |
173 |
op_container_end_page |
188 |
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1772818483627687936 |