Experimental study on bioerosion of marginal reefs in the Weizhou Island,northern South China Sea
In the context of global change,marginal coral reefs are threatened by both natural and anthropogenic disturbances.Biological erosion caused by seawater eutrophication is one of the potential hazards of marginal coral reefs,which can adversely impact the development of the coral community and the reef-framework stability.Here,in-situ bioerosion experiments were conducted for nearly a year on three typical marginal reefs in the Weizhou Island,northern South China Sea,to quantify coral reef bioerosion intensities and rates.Combined with the water environment parameters monitored by satellite remote sensing,we explored the relationship between coral reef erosion and water-quality parameters.We suggested that the bioerosion rates of internal bioeroders were more indicative of seawater eutrophication and high turbidity environment than the bioerosion intensities,which could reflect the community evolutionary stage of bioeroders.In addition,by comparing the bioerosion rate data of the Weizhou Island with other typical reef areas,we found that its bioerosion rate was at a moderate level(dominated by internal macroborers)in the world,but at a low level among the"anthropogenic marginal reefs".Combined with the trends of climate change,urbanization development,reef health status,as well as the results of this study,we speculated that the biological erosion of the Weizhou Island may strengthen further to reach a high level for the"anthropogenic marginal reefs",and may aggravate the degradation of coral reefs.
marginal coral reefbioerosion ratesin-situ bioerosion experimentsnorthern South China Sea
万方数据
维普
