Bibliography
Al-Rousan, S. A., Al-Shloul, R. N., Al-Horani, F. A., and AbuHilal, A., 2007. Heavy metal contents in growth bands of Porites
corals: record of anthrpogenic and human developments from
the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 54,
1912–1922.
Brown, B. E., Tudhope, A. W., Le Tissier, M. D. A., and Scoffin,
T. P., 1991. A novel mechanism for iron incorporation into coral
skeletons. Coral Reefs, 10, 211–215.
Esslemont, G., 1999. Heavy metals in corals from Heron Island and
Darwin Harbour, Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 389(11),
1051–1054.
Goreau, T. J., 1977. Coral skeleton chemistry: physiological and
environmental regulation of stable isotopes and trace metals in
Montastrea anularis. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences, 196, 291–315.
Howard, L. S., and Brown, B. E., 1984. Heavy metals and reef
corals. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review, 22,
195–210.
Mitterer, R. M., 1978. Amino acid composition and metal binding
capacity of the skeletal protein of corals. Bulletin of Marine Science, 28, 173–180.
Reichelt-Brushett, A. J., and McOrist, G., 2003. Trace metals in the
living and nonliving components of scleractinian corals. Marine
Pollution Bulletin, 46, 1573–1582.
Shah, S., 2008. Study of heavy metal accumulation in scleractinian
corals of Viti Levu, Fiji Islands, unpublished MSc thesis. Faculty
of Science, Technology and Environment, The University of the
South Pacific, Fiji.
St. John, B. E., 1974. Heavy metals in the skeletal carbonate of
scleractinian corals. In Proceedings of the Second International
Coral Reef Symposium, Brisbane, pp. 461–469.
HISTORICAL ECOLOGY OF CORAL REEFS
John M. Pandolfi
The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Definition
Historical ecology: Using time-series data collected over
single or multiple temporal scales to lend insight into the
history of modern communities and ecosystems.
Introduction
The diversity, frequency, and scale of human impacts on
coral reefs are increasing to the extent that reefs are threatened globally (Wilkinson, 2008). The direct and indirect
effects of overfishing and pollution from agriculture and
land development have been the major drivers of massive
and accelerating decreases in abundance of coral reef species (Moberg and Folke, 1999; Abram et al., 2001;
Jackson et al., 2001; Gardner et al., 2003; Hughes et al.,
2003; Pandolfi et al., 2003). These human impacts and
the increased fragmentation of coral reef habitat are
unprecedented and have the possibility to undermine reef
resilience (Bellwood et al., 2004), raising the likelihood
that modern coral reefs might be much more susceptible
to current and future climate-change than is suggested by
their geologic history (Hughes et al., 2003; Bellwood
et al., 2004).
One of the most urgent questions in conservation science is: What was natural in the world before humans
impacted it? Study of past ecosystem condition and the
relationship between ecosystem health and human–
ecological interactions provides a way to gain insight into
what was natural in the sea. Historical ecology is the name
generally given over to such study. It provides a basis for
avoiding the “shifting baseline syndrome” (Pauly, 1995)
which undermines current perspectives on what constitutes a pristine ecosystem.
The conceptual framework surrounding historical ecology finds its roots in Aldo Leopold who in 1941 called
for study of wilderness areas, for “. . .a science of land
health needs, first of all, a base-datum of normality,
a picture of how healthy land maintains itself. . .” (p. 3).
Several papers on terrestrial ecosystems in the early
1990s have set the tone of historical ecology (Morgan
et al., 1994; Swetnam et al., 1999). In general, historical
ecology links past ecosystem condition with the present
state using time series data over a number of temporal
scales, from decades to millennia, though shorter term
studies conducted over discrete time intervals can also
be used. Insights generally sought over the long temporal
frames of historical ecology include changes in states of
populations, species, and ecosystems (e.g., abundance,
biomass, geographic ranges), changes in environmental
parameters (e.g., sea surface temperature fluctuations),
and changes in magnitudes and rates of both biological
(e.g., mortality rates, trophic flows, disturbance regimes)
and physical (e.g., El Nino-Southern Oscillation, climate
change) processes.
The tools of marine historical ecology
Practitioners of marine historical ecology on coral reefs
use a number of different kinds of data from multiple time
periods to examine the recent past history and present condition of reef ecosystems to provide a natural baseline for
community ecology and coral growth rates. Archaeological sites provide insight into the relationship between the
development of civilization and its evolving impact on
coastal marine resources. Historical records such as those
found in ships logs, and publications of early naturalists
and European colonialists provide a moving window of
the natural history and inferred ecology of many coral reef
inhabitants. Fisheries records and modern ecological surveys can be used in association with remote sensing data
(going back the last 20 or 30 years) to provide a detailed
picture of changing environments and biodiversity as
human population and consumption, as well as economic
globalization, have accelerated during the past several
decades. Taken together, these databases provide
a holistic view of changing environments and ecology
on coral reefs that includes the onset of human disturbances and against which the acquisition of present day
data can be evaluated.
554
HISTORICAL ECOLOGY OF CORAL REEFS
Al-Rousan, S. A., Al-Shloul, R. N., Al-Horani, F. A., and AbuHilal, A., 2007. Heavy metal contents in growth bands of Porites
corals: record of anthrpogenic and human developments from
the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 54,
1912–1922.
Brown, B. E., Tudhope, A. W., Le Tissier, M. D. A., and Scoffin,
T. P., 1991. A novel mechanism for iron incorporation into coral
skeletons. Coral Reefs, 10, 211–215.
Esslemont, G., 1999. Heavy metals in corals from Heron Island and
Darwin Harbour, Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 389(11),
1051–1054.
Goreau, T. J., 1977. Coral skeleton chemistry: physiological and
environmental regulation of stable isotopes and trace metals in
Montastrea anularis. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences, 196, 291–315.
Howard, L. S., and Brown, B. E., 1984. Heavy metals and reef
corals. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review, 22,
195–210.
Mitterer, R. M., 1978. Amino acid composition and metal binding
capacity of the skeletal protein of corals. Bulletin of Marine Science, 28, 173–180.
Reichelt-Brushett, A. J., and McOrist, G., 2003. Trace metals in the
living and nonliving components of scleractinian corals. Marine
Pollution Bulletin, 46, 1573–1582.
Shah, S., 2008. Study of heavy metal accumulation in scleractinian
corals of Viti Levu, Fiji Islands, unpublished MSc thesis. Faculty
of Science, Technology and Environment, The University of the
South Pacific, Fiji.
St. John, B. E., 1974. Heavy metals in the skeletal carbonate of
scleractinian corals. In Proceedings of the Second International
Coral Reef Symposium, Brisbane, pp. 461–469.
HISTORICAL ECOLOGY OF CORAL REEFS
John M. Pandolfi
The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Definition
Historical ecology: Using time-series data collected over
single or multiple temporal scales to lend insight into the
history of modern communities and ecosystems.
Introduction
The diversity, frequency, and scale of human impacts on
coral reefs are increasing to the extent that reefs are threatened globally (Wilkinson, 2008). The direct and indirect
effects of overfishing and pollution from agriculture and
land development have been the major drivers of massive
and accelerating decreases in abundance of coral reef species (Moberg and Folke, 1999; Abram et al., 2001;
Jackson et al., 2001; Gardner et al., 2003; Hughes et al.,
2003; Pandolfi et al., 2003). These human impacts and
the increased fragmentation of coral reef habitat are
unprecedented and have the possibility to undermine reef
resilience (Bellwood et al., 2004), raising the likelihood
that modern coral reefs might be much more susceptible
to current and future climate-change than is suggested by
their geologic history (Hughes et al., 2003; Bellwood
et al., 2004).
One of the most urgent questions in conservation science is: What was natural in the world before humans
impacted it? Study of past ecosystem condition and the
relationship between ecosystem health and human–
ecological interactions provides a way to gain insight into
what was natural in the sea. Historical ecology is the name
generally given over to such study. It provides a basis for
avoiding the “shifting baseline syndrome” (Pauly, 1995)
which undermines current perspectives on what constitutes a pristine ecosystem.
The conceptual framework surrounding historical ecology finds its roots in Aldo Leopold who in 1941 called
for study of wilderness areas, for “. . .a science of land
health needs, first of all, a base-datum of normality,
a picture of how healthy land maintains itself. . .” (p. 3).
Several papers on terrestrial ecosystems in the early
1990s have set the tone of historical ecology (Morgan
et al., 1994; Swetnam et al., 1999). In general, historical
ecology links past ecosystem condition with the present
state using time series data over a number of temporal
scales, from decades to millennia, though shorter term
studies conducted over discrete time intervals can also
be used. Insights generally sought over the long temporal
frames of historical ecology include changes in states of
populations, species, and ecosystems (e.g., abundance,
biomass, geographic ranges), changes in environmental
parameters (e.g., sea surface temperature fluctuations),
and changes in magnitudes and rates of both biological
(e.g., mortality rates, trophic flows, disturbance regimes)
and physical (e.g., El Nino-Southern Oscillation, climate
change) processes.
The tools of marine historical ecology
Practitioners of marine historical ecology on coral reefs
use a number of different kinds of data from multiple time
periods to examine the recent past history and present condition of reef ecosystems to provide a natural baseline for
community ecology and coral growth rates. Archaeological sites provide insight into the relationship between the
development of civilization and its evolving impact on
coastal marine resources. Historical records such as those
found in ships logs, and publications of early naturalists
and European colonialists provide a moving window of
the natural history and inferred ecology of many coral reef
inhabitants. Fisheries records and modern ecological surveys can be used in association with remote sensing data
(going back the last 20 or 30 years) to provide a detailed
picture of changing environments and biodiversity as
human population and consumption, as well as economic
globalization, have accelerated during the past several
decades. Taken together, these databases provide
a holistic view of changing environments and ecology
on coral reefs that includes the onset of human disturbances and against which the acquisition of present day
data can be evaluated.
554
HISTORICAL ECOLOGY OF CORAL REEFS