Bioerosion and Reef Ecology

Bioerosion and Reef Ecology

The breakdown of calcareous substrates among coral reefs, or bioerosion, is a facet of reef ecology too often forgotten. The process plays a much more important role than it is usually credited with. Bioeroding species, consisting of many different types of organisms that act on the environment in a seemingly endless variety of ways, interact with the ecosystem and with each other as part of the reef growth and degradation cycle. The degradation portion of this cycle, the part that is most often overlooked, is essential for the development of reefs as the diverse and beautiful habitats that we know them as. Bioerosive interactions are very complex, and a general understanding of the process of bioerosion is necessary to gain a solid understanding of the reef ecosystem.

Introduction

What is the significance, if any, of bioerosion in respect to a reef’s ecosystem? How does bioerosion take place, and what effects does it have on the biology of a reef? These are important questions to ask, as the processes that take place inside dead coral skeletons or over long periods of time generally happen beyond the perception of the human eye or mind, and thus are often looked over.

Bioerosion, defined for this paper as the biological breakdown of substrates (specifically the calcareous skeletons of corals and other reef organisms), is half of the process of reef growth and decay and is too often looked upon as a negative force in reef dynamics. Not only is bioerosion the occasional victim of a generally negative sentiment, but bioerosion is sometimes simply forgotten from scientific literature. For example, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef attributes the whole of physical breakdown of dead coral skeleton...

... middle of paper ...

...-604.

LeCampion-Alsumard, T., Golubic, S., Hutchings, P. (1995). Microbial endoliths in skeletons of live and dead corals: Porites lobata (Moorea, French Polynesia). Marine Ecology. Progress Series 11, 149-157.

Naylor, L.A., Viles, H. A., and Carter, N.E.A. (2002). Biogeomorphology revisited: looking towards the future. Geomorphology. Volume 47. Issue 1. pp. 3-14.

Rouse, Greg W., and Fredrik Pleijel. (2001). Polychaetes. Oxford University Press, Inc. New York.

Spencer, T., and Viles, H. (2002). Bioconstruction, bioerosion, and disturbance on tropical coasts: coral reefs and rocky limestone shores. Geomorphology. Volume 48. Issues 1-3. pp. 23-50.

Zubia, M. and M. Peyrot-Clausade. (2001). Internal bioerosion of Acropora formosa in Reunion (Indian Ocean): microborer and macroborer activities. Oceanologica Acta. Vol. 24, Issue 3. pp. 251-262.