1999/02/01 by John M. Pandolfi, JOHN M. PANDOLFI · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Marine and coastal plant biology #Marine and fisheries research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/icb/39.1.113
SYNOPSIS. TWO studies from the Pleistocene coral reef fossil record demonstrate the sensitivity of reef communities to both local environmental parameters and habitat reduction. In the first study, Pleistocene reef coral assemblages from Papua New Guinea show pronounced constancy in taxonomic composition and species diversity between 125 and 30 ka (thousand years). Spatial differences in reef coral community composition during successive high stands of sea level were greater among sites of the same age than among reefs of different ages, even though global changes in sea level, atmospheric CO2 concentration, tropical benthic habitat area, and temperature varied at each high sea level stand. Thus, local environmental variation associated with runoff from the land had greater influence on reef coral community composition than variation in global climate and sea level. Proportional sampling from a regional species pool does not explain the temporal persistence and local factors likely played a major role. Examination of coral reef response to global change should not only involve regional diversity patterns but also local ecological factors, and the interactive effects of local and global environmental