A study of 7000-year-old exposed coral reef fossils reveals how human fishing has transformed Caribbean reef food webs: as ...

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. ... Beneath the soft bodies of scleractinian, or stony corals, polyps secrete a calcium carbonate skeleton, ...

But the study also found more signs of trouble for coral reefs: carbonate productivity today is half what has been for thousands of years of sand apron formation in the southern Great Barrier Reef.

These measurements gave them a sense of the rate that the reef’s functions were returning to normal. To compare, they also measured the carbonate budgets of degraded reefs and healthy control sites.

Lange’s research team assessed the health of reefs that were restored between 2018 and 2023 by looking at how much limestone (calcium carbonate) is produced within the coral reef versus what was ...

Artificial coral reefs. The metric Lamont’s team used to measure the success of the MARS program restoration was a carbonate budget, which describes an overall growth of the whole reef structure.

Coral restoration can drive rapid reef carbonate budget recovery. Article Publication Date. 8-Mar-2024. Disclaimer: ...

Coral secretes calcium carbonate, creating a sort-of concrete around itself that becomes the structure for the reef. But that process can take "hundreds and thousands of years," Brosnan said.

And he's found the perfect place to gather this data: Curaçao, an arid Caribbean island north of Venezuela. "Curaçao is home to some of the most pristine coral reefs in the Caribbean and in the world, ...

The reef in Hōnaunau Bay today, however, showed an average net carbonate production of only 0.5 kg per square meter, indicating that the reef is growing very slowly.

Of all the sites studied, 506 were losing reef habitat each year. A positive carbonate budget means the reef is growing, whereas a negative budget suggests it is losing structure.