In this book, contributors from diverse backgrounds take a first step toward an integrated view of reefs and the significance of their recent decline. More than any other earth system, coral reefs sit at a disciplinary crossroads. Most recently, they have reached another crossroads - fundamental changes in their bio-physical structure greater than those of previous centuries or even millennia. Effective strategies to mitigate recent trends will require an approach that embraces the myriad perspectives from across the scientific landscape, but will also need a mechanism to transform scientific understanding into social will and political implementation.

Autorentext

Dennis K. Hubbard
Department of Geology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, USA

Caroline S. Rogers
US Geological Survey, Wetlands and Aquatic Research Center, Caribbean Field Station, St. John, VI, USA Jere H. Lipps
John D. Cooper Archaeological and Paleontological Center, Santa Ana, CA, USA, and Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

George D. Stanley, Jr.
Department of Geosciences, The University of Montana, Missoula MT, USA

Inhalt

1. Coral reefs at the Crossroads.- 2. Coral Calcification and Ocean Acidification.- 3. Photosymbiosis in Past and Present Reefs.- 4. Bioerosion on Modern Reefs: Impacts and Responses Under Changing Ecological and Environmental Conditions.- 5. Sponge Contributions to the Geology and Biology of Reefs: Past, Present, and Future.- 6. The Changing Face of Reef Building.- 7. Stability of Reef-Coral Assemblages in the Quaternary.- 8. Reefs Through Time: An Evolutionary View.- 9. Climate Change, Ocean Chemistry, and the Evolution of Reefs through Time.- 10. Living and Mineral Reefs: Are They Comparable and What Ecological Information is Preserved?.- 11. Physical and Biological Drivers of Coral-Reef Dynamics.- 12. Measuring, Interpreting, and Responding To Changes in Coral Reefs: A Challenge for Biologists, Geologists and Managers.