consistent with the “phase shift” concept (Done, 1992) –
and thus to alter the carbonate depositional system. Such
changes clearly demonstrate the potential for reef budget
states to shift from positive (accretionary) to negative (erosional), a concept illustrated in recent studies of both anthropogenically impacted reefs in Indonesia (Edinger et al.,
2000) and those impacted by El Nino-related sea-surface
temperature fluctuations in the Eastern Pacific (Eakin
1996; 2001). In both cases, elevated rates of bioerosion have
lead to shifts from positive to negative budgetary states, and
emphasize the potential value, to reef health assessments, of
quantifying budgetary components on coral reefs.
These concepts were recently developed by Perry et al.
(2008) who proposed a framework production states
approach that integrates assessments of the three key
carbonate budget process groupings; primary production by
coral, secondary production by calcareous encrusters, and
bioerosion. The approach allows different states of reef production to be plotted within a ternary space (each process
defining one corner of the ternary space; Figure 2a) and
delineates areas of net accretion, net erosion, or accretionary
stasis. One of the potential advantages of this approach is
that it allows the relative importance of different process
groups to be considered, thus acknowledging that while
corals often dominate carbonate production, in some reef
settings it is the calcareous encrusters (especially the coralline algae) that make an equal or greater contribution to reef
framework production. Similarly, appropriate consideration
can be given to the role played by bioeroders in determining
net carbonate production rates. This ternary approach also
provides a useful mechanism for tracking temporal variations in the budgetary states of individual reefs, especially
where ecological shifts (driven by either intrinsic or extrinsic factors) may modify the relative production rates or the
abundances of carbonate producers/eroders (Figure 2b).
This approach compliments the coral-macroalgal shifts
identified within ecological reef phase shift models by
encompassing transitions in carbonate production states
resulting from different community states and disturbance
regimes.
Summary
A carbonate budget is a quantitative measure of the net
rate of carbonate production on a reef (or within
a carbonate sedimentary environment). The approach
relies on census-based measures of the different producer
and eroder groups on a reef – the individual measures of
production and erosion being summed to determine net
production rates per unit area of reef surface (typically
expressed as a measure in kg CaCO 3 m
À2 year
À1
). The use
of carbonate budgets, although methodological complex,
has considerable conceptual merit for understanding spatial and temporal variations in styles of reef framework
development. Budgets also have considerable quantitative
merit for determining production states at a given point in
time and for tracking temporal shifts in carbonate productivity (e.g., production to erosion-dominated states) such
as may result from both intrinsically and extrinsicallydriven environmental change.
Bibliography
Benzoni, F., Bianchi, C. N., and Morri, C., 2003. Coral communities
of the northwestern Gulf of Aden (Yemen): variation in framework building related to environmental factors and biotic conditions. Coral Reefs, 22, 475–484.
Blanchon, P., Jones, B., and Kalbfleisch, W., 1997. Anatomy of
a fringing reef around Grand Cayman: storm rubble not coral
framework. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 67, 1–16.
Bosence, D. W. J., 1984. Construction and preservation of two modern coralline algal reefs, St. Croix, Caribbean. Palaeontology,
27, 549–574.
Bruggemann, J. H., van Kessel, A. M., van Rooij, J. M., and
Breeman, A. M., 1996. Bioerosion and sediment ingestion by
the Caribbean parrotfish Scarus vetula and Sparisoma viride:
Implications of fish size, feeding mode and habitat use. Marine
Ecology Progress Series, 134, 59–71.
Camoin, G., Cabioch, G., Eisenhauer, A., Braga, J. C., Hamelin, B.,
and Lericolais, G., 2006. Environmental significance of
microbialites in reef environments during the last deglaciation.
Sedimentary Geology, 185, 277–295.
Done, T. J., 1992. Phase shifts in coral reef communities and their
ecological significance. Hydrobiologia, 247, 121–132.
Done, T. J., 1999. Coral community adaptability to environmental
change at the scales of regions, reefs and reef zones. American
Zoologist, 39, 66–79.
Eakin, C., 1996. Where have all the carbonates gone? A model comparison of calcium carbonate budgets before and after the 1982–
1983 El Nino at Uva Island in the eastern Pacific. Coral Reefs,
15, 109–119.
Eakin, C. M., 2001. A tale of two ENSO events: carbonate budgets
and the influence of two warming disturbances and intervening
variability, Uva Island, Panama. Bulletin of Marine Sciences,
69, 171–186.
Edinger, E. N., Limmon, G. V., Jompa, J., Widjatmoko, W.,
Heikoop, J. M., and Risk, M. J., 2000. Normal coral growth rates
on dying reefs: are coral growth rates good indicators of reef
health? Marine Pollution Bulletin, 40, 606–617.
Hallock, P., 2001. Coral reefs, carbonate sediments, nutrients, and
global change. In: Stanley, G. D. (ed.), The history and sedimentology of ancient reef systems. Kluwer, Topics in Geobiology,
Vol. 17, pp. 387–427.
Harney, J. N., and Fletcher, C. H. III, 2003. A budget of carbonate
framework and sediment production, Kailua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii.
Journal of Sedimentary Research, 73, 856–868.
Hart, D. E., and Kench, P. S., 2007. Carbonate production of an
emergent reef platform, Warraber Island, Torres Strait, Australia.
Coral Reefs, 26, 53–68.
Hopley, D., Smithers, S. G., and Parnell, K. E., 2007. The
geomorphology of the great barrier reef: development,
diversity and change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
xiiiþ532.
Hubbard, D., Miller, A., and Scaturo, D., 1990. Production and
cycling of calcium carbonate in a shelf-edge reef system (St.
Croix, US Virgin Island): applications to the nature of reef systems in the fossil record. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 60,
335–360.
Hubbard, D. K., 1997. Reefs as dynamic systems. In: Birkeland, C.
(ed.), Life and death of coral reefs. New York: Chapman & Hall,
pp. 43–67.
Kleypas, J., Buddemeier, R. W., and Gattuso, J. P., 2001. The future
of coral reefs in an age of global change. International Journal of
Earth Sciences, 90, 426–437.
CARBONATE BUDGETS AND REEF FRAMEWORK ACCUMULATION
189
and thus to alter the carbonate depositional system. Such
changes clearly demonstrate the potential for reef budget
states to shift from positive (accretionary) to negative (erosional), a concept illustrated in recent studies of both anthropogenically impacted reefs in Indonesia (Edinger et al.,
2000) and those impacted by El Nino-related sea-surface
temperature fluctuations in the Eastern Pacific (Eakin
1996; 2001). In both cases, elevated rates of bioerosion have
lead to shifts from positive to negative budgetary states, and
emphasize the potential value, to reef health assessments, of
quantifying budgetary components on coral reefs.
These concepts were recently developed by Perry et al.
(2008) who proposed a framework production states
approach that integrates assessments of the three key
carbonate budget process groupings; primary production by
coral, secondary production by calcareous encrusters, and
bioerosion. The approach allows different states of reef production to be plotted within a ternary space (each process
defining one corner of the ternary space; Figure 2a) and
delineates areas of net accretion, net erosion, or accretionary
stasis. One of the potential advantages of this approach is
that it allows the relative importance of different process
groups to be considered, thus acknowledging that while
corals often dominate carbonate production, in some reef
settings it is the calcareous encrusters (especially the coralline algae) that make an equal or greater contribution to reef
framework production. Similarly, appropriate consideration
can be given to the role played by bioeroders in determining
net carbonate production rates. This ternary approach also
provides a useful mechanism for tracking temporal variations in the budgetary states of individual reefs, especially
where ecological shifts (driven by either intrinsic or extrinsic factors) may modify the relative production rates or the
abundances of carbonate producers/eroders (Figure 2b).
This approach compliments the coral-macroalgal shifts
identified within ecological reef phase shift models by
encompassing transitions in carbonate production states
resulting from different community states and disturbance
regimes.
Summary
A carbonate budget is a quantitative measure of the net
rate of carbonate production on a reef (or within
a carbonate sedimentary environment). The approach
relies on census-based measures of the different producer
and eroder groups on a reef – the individual measures of
production and erosion being summed to determine net
production rates per unit area of reef surface (typically
expressed as a measure in kg CaCO 3 m
À2 year
À1
). The use
of carbonate budgets, although methodological complex,
has considerable conceptual merit for understanding spatial and temporal variations in styles of reef framework
development. Budgets also have considerable quantitative
merit for determining production states at a given point in
time and for tracking temporal shifts in carbonate productivity (e.g., production to erosion-dominated states) such
as may result from both intrinsically and extrinsicallydriven environmental change.
Bibliography
Benzoni, F., Bianchi, C. N., and Morri, C., 2003. Coral communities
of the northwestern Gulf of Aden (Yemen): variation in framework building related to environmental factors and biotic conditions. Coral Reefs, 22, 475–484.
Blanchon, P., Jones, B., and Kalbfleisch, W., 1997. Anatomy of
a fringing reef around Grand Cayman: storm rubble not coral
framework. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 67, 1–16.
Bosence, D. W. J., 1984. Construction and preservation of two modern coralline algal reefs, St. Croix, Caribbean. Palaeontology,
27, 549–574.
Bruggemann, J. H., van Kessel, A. M., van Rooij, J. M., and
Breeman, A. M., 1996. Bioerosion and sediment ingestion by
the Caribbean parrotfish Scarus vetula and Sparisoma viride:
Implications of fish size, feeding mode and habitat use. Marine
Ecology Progress Series, 134, 59–71.
Camoin, G., Cabioch, G., Eisenhauer, A., Braga, J. C., Hamelin, B.,
and Lericolais, G., 2006. Environmental significance of
microbialites in reef environments during the last deglaciation.
Sedimentary Geology, 185, 277–295.
Done, T. J., 1992. Phase shifts in coral reef communities and their
ecological significance. Hydrobiologia, 247, 121–132.
Done, T. J., 1999. Coral community adaptability to environmental
change at the scales of regions, reefs and reef zones. American
Zoologist, 39, 66–79.
Eakin, C., 1996. Where have all the carbonates gone? A model comparison of calcium carbonate budgets before and after the 1982–
1983 El Nino at Uva Island in the eastern Pacific. Coral Reefs,
15, 109–119.
Eakin, C. M., 2001. A tale of two ENSO events: carbonate budgets
and the influence of two warming disturbances and intervening
variability, Uva Island, Panama. Bulletin of Marine Sciences,
69, 171–186.
Edinger, E. N., Limmon, G. V., Jompa, J., Widjatmoko, W.,
Heikoop, J. M., and Risk, M. J., 2000. Normal coral growth rates
on dying reefs: are coral growth rates good indicators of reef
health? Marine Pollution Bulletin, 40, 606–617.
Hallock, P., 2001. Coral reefs, carbonate sediments, nutrients, and
global change. In: Stanley, G. D. (ed.), The history and sedimentology of ancient reef systems. Kluwer, Topics in Geobiology,
Vol. 17, pp. 387–427.
Harney, J. N., and Fletcher, C. H. III, 2003. A budget of carbonate
framework and sediment production, Kailua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii.
Journal of Sedimentary Research, 73, 856–868.
Hart, D. E., and Kench, P. S., 2007. Carbonate production of an
emergent reef platform, Warraber Island, Torres Strait, Australia.
Coral Reefs, 26, 53–68.
Hopley, D., Smithers, S. G., and Parnell, K. E., 2007. The
geomorphology of the great barrier reef: development,
diversity and change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
xiiiþ532.
Hubbard, D., Miller, A., and Scaturo, D., 1990. Production and
cycling of calcium carbonate in a shelf-edge reef system (St.
Croix, US Virgin Island): applications to the nature of reef systems in the fossil record. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 60,
335–360.
Hubbard, D. K., 1997. Reefs as dynamic systems. In: Birkeland, C.
(ed.), Life and death of coral reefs. New York: Chapman & Hall,
pp. 43–67.
Kleypas, J., Buddemeier, R. W., and Gattuso, J. P., 2001. The future
of coral reefs in an age of global change. International Journal of
Earth Sciences, 90, 426–437.
CARBONATE BUDGETS AND REEF FRAMEWORK ACCUMULATION
189