The concentration of dissolved fatty acids decreased in seawater as it flowed across a windward barrier reef at Grand Cayman. No comparable changes were observed over a leeward fringing reef although an increasingly enriched organic surface layer could be detected as distance from shore increased. across reefs (e.g. Johannes et al. 1972). Here I report observations on changes in dissolved fatty...

Fringing reefs are generally not simple veneers of coral growth along tropical shorelines. Extensive research over the past few decades, based on radiocarbon dating of Holocene reef deposits, has indicated that they can develop in a complex variety of ways even though the surface morphology may appear relatively simple. The principal factor that appears to determine the growth and morphology of...

For sea turtles nesting on beaches surrounded by coral reefs, the most important element of hatchling recruitment is escaping predation by fish as they swim across the fringing reef, and as a consequence hatchlings that minimize their exposure to fish predation by minimizing the time spent crossing the fringing reef have a greater chance of surviving the reef crossing. One way to decrease the t...

In 1842 Charles Darwin claimed that vertical growth on a subsiding foundation caused fringing reefs to transform into barrier reefs then atolls. Yet historically no transition between reef types has been discovered and they are widely considered to develop independently from antecedent foundations during glacio-eustatic sea-level rise. Here we reconstruct reef development from cores recovered b...

Storm surges cause coastal inundation due to setup of the water surface resulting from atmospheric pressure, surface winds and breaking waves. Here we show that during Typhoon Haiyan, the setup generated by breaking waves near the fringing-reef-protected town of Hernani, the Philippines, oscillated with the incidence of large and small wave groups, and steepened into a tsunami-like wave that ca...

Coral reefs are highly dynamic and productive marine ecosystems, providing habitat and refuge for an enormous number of species including fish, invertebrates and algae. With increased anthropogenic pressures and global climate change, many coral reefs are rapidly declining. Currently, there is limited knowledge on condition and community assemblage composition of shallow fringing coral reefs al...

Oyster reefs provide valuable ecosystem services that contribute to coastal resilience. Unfortunately, many reefs have been degraded or removed completely, and there are increased efforts to restore oysters in many coastal areas. In particular, much attention has recently been given to the restoration of shellfish reefs along eroding shorelines to reduce erosion. Such fringing reef approaches, ...

. Abstract: The benthic communities of fringing and mushroom-shaped shalIow-water reefs of the Abrolhos region (southern coast of Bahia) were surveyed. Line transects were used to estimate coral and alga1 percentage cover. Mussismilia braziliensis is the most conspicuous coral species in the majority of the communities surveyed, but turf algae make up the dominant cover in alI but one studied r...

The impact of the gastropod predator Cassis tuberosa (Linnaeus ) on the local distribution of the sea urchin Diadema antiOanml Philippi was investigated. Artificial reefs stocked with Diadema were established 5 m otTthe fringing reef of St John, US Virgin Islands. Cassis preyed upon 17% of the urchins after 30 days. All predation by Cassis occurred on sand rather than on artificial reefs or a n...

For my parents, for introducing me to the wonders of coral reefs from an early age and for their everlasting support " Coral reefs are threatened, not doomed – if we can avoid extreme climate change, runoff and over-fishing. Prevention is better than cure, but recovery is possible. The decisions we make now, or don't make, will have profound long-term consequences. " und Alex, die mich zu jeder...